While the falls were drying between layers I filled under the "bones" with hydro balls. Be sure your pump is in place and working before doing this or you'll have to vacuum the balls out and start over
. You have to rinse the hydro balls before using them but make sure they are dry or they wont pour down the pump access hole. I had help tilting the tank so they filled in the bottom nicely. Also, make sure everything is dry enough so nothing falls if you tilt the tank.
Here is the little window I carved out next to the falls.
While the falls were drying (again, after adding more rocks) I planted the terrarium with some pothos, Dracaena variegatus (gloden ribbon plant), Ophiopogon japonica (kyoto grass) , and some polka dot plant (don't use this one if there will be animals, its mildly toxic). I also added forest bedding as the soil. You can also use aquatic plant soil. Rinse the potting soil off the plants before planting in new, safe soil. I also added some hydro balls to the small pots to help with aeration and water retention. The kyoto is actually inserted through the landscape fabric so the roots are in the water under the egg crate. I made holes in the foam and glued the "roots" in place with caulk and where the caulk oozed out I stuck some forest bedding to it to make it blend with the wall.
Water trials!
Had to turn it off and let it dry to make more adjustments to the flow of water.
Finally! All doneand added the frog moss for a finishing touch. Lastly, I cut out black paper to hide all the "guts" on the side of the glass.
Hope you enjoyed. It was a lot of work but I'm really happy with the way it turned out.
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