poison dart frog vivarium build

[myreefclub0070]

well if anyone care to see my first attempt of building a poison dart frog vivarium, here is the starting point.
yes I know I've got my hands full with my reef tank but I need another challenge at this point.

after much much research I decided to go with the exo terra habitat tank, size 24"x18"x24" tall.
i'm putting in a small pond in the bottom front of the tank fed by a little waterfall.
i'll post more details with the pictures as we go along, might be easier to follow.

this is the brand new tank I pickup at creation that just started carrying josh's frogs products.
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[popsbjd]

Following

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[urbanknight]

MYREEFCLUB0070;1056981 wrote: well if anyone care to see my first attempt of building a poison dart frog vivarium, here is the starting point.
yes I know I've got my hands full with my reef tank but I need another challenge at this point.

after much much research I decided to go with the exo terra habitat tank, size 24"x18"x24" tall.
i'm putting in a small pond in the bottom front of the tank fed by a little waterfall.
i'll post more details with the pictures as we go along, might be easier to follow.

this is the brand new tank I pickup at creation that just started carrying josh's frogs products.

You are NUTS! Following!! :thumbs::yay:

 

[myreefclub0070]

Doug, not nuts but in a nut shell just a bit nutty.....lol

I'm sure someone will ask again so.... Dart frog are only poisonous in the wild, captive breed frog are just _art frogs because it's their diet in the wild that make them poisonous and their bright pretty colors are a warning to potential predators.

I have done all the research already so fell free to ask a question and I don't know the answer it means I have more to learn, which is usually the case.

 

[popsbjd]

How are planning on keeping the frogs safe with the water feature? It is my understanding that they are poor swimmers.

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[myreefclub0070]

That is what I came up with also, my plan for the pond itself is to house the pump and cover it with rocks so it no deeper than the frogs themselves and the waterfall slash stream would just be a gentle flow of water for aesthetics.
I wanted to do a tank with a flowing fw river but didn't want to drill this tank to add a canister filter for fish, so I scrapped that idea.
Plans include a monsoon rs400 misting system along with a fogger to keep the humidity over 80%.

 

[popsbjd]

My thought was to drill and install a sump for chemical filtration and to make water changes easier (and increase water volume and open the possibility of an ato). I'm thinking of having the drain and return low at the water line and installing a small pump to power the waterfall. I've never drilled glass before so I'm a little nervous. I might try a test run on some cheap craigslist 10 gallon tanks to get my technique right.

What lights are you planning on using. I see a lot of people using compact florescent. I thought maybe a two bulb t5HO but I'm wondering if that's overkill. Maybe a current led? I wonder if you could program it to run the thunderstorm program with the mister came on...

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[myreefclub0070]

For lighting I'm going with the current USA pro, I'm not sure you want to go with any lights that produce lots of heat unless you have a lots of ventilation and cooling fans cause the frogs will be fine at cooler temps. But can't handle the warmt.
As far as drilling a tank, just make sure it's not tempered glass and you should be fine or you can use a reef ready tank and remove the overflow.

 

[dball711]

Cant wait to see this, always wanted to set up something like this. Like the shallow pond and waterfall feature idea.

 

[myreefclub0070]

i used black silicone on the bottom section where the drain and soil layer is going to be so you don't see it, I did leave a one inch clear section so I can see if the water level is getting too high in the drain layer.
I also got the baffle in for the pond.

 

[dasianguy]

Neat! Following.

 

[myreefclub0070]

Got a little more done.
The background platform for when I spray on the foam, the false bottom support with egg crate for egg crate substrate layer, also my false over flow so I can pass all my tubes and wires down into the tank.
I placed an order for all my supply's at creation pets to come from Josh's frogs which would take about a week to come in, so I would say by weekend we would be able to go to the next step.
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[hn1]

Very cool. Have you decided on species and number?

 

[myreefclub0070]

HN1;1057638 wrote: Very cool. Have you decided on species and number?

Not sure on the species yet but which ever is recommended for beginners, most likly bubble bees and another, 2 pairs is all I think the tank can handle, dart frog are not much as tree climbers so they will mostly be on the ground and the foot print of the tank is only 24x18" which would put me at a max of 4 frogs.

 

[hn1]

MYREEFCLUB0070;1057650 wrote: Not sure on the species yet but which ever is recommended for beginners, most likly bubble bees and another, 2 pairs is all I think the tank can handle, dart frog are not much as tree climbers so they will mostly be on the ground and the foot print of the tank is only 24x18" which would put me at a max of 4 frogs.

Aurutus or tinctorius would probably work too. I'd definitely recommend waiting on a Repticon to stock.

I researched and meticulously planned a similar setup, but never followed through.

Living vicariously.

 

[bcavalli]

This is pretty cool. I'm looking forward to seeing the frogs!

 

[myreefclub0070]

lol, for those how know me, it's all about the build.
when we get down to adding the frogs, it's all over and then I hand it over to my son.
I do like a tropical rain forest looking tank and would just be one of the many many animals that have passed through my doors.
hopefully my shipment comes in tomorrow so I can have something to do over the weekend.

 

[myreefclub0070]

I'm almost there, been working and reworking the design and the water fall feature.
Ready to get it wet and test it out with some water but i need some more tubeing.
The coco fiber make a big mess and the tank took 3 tubes of silicone to get it all in place, gloves is a must!
I picked up some nice drift wood and chalk bark to foam in the tank, didn't turn out too bad.
Got to get a 18-24" current usa orbit marine pro to use as the light source and a monsoon rs400 mister.
For some reason i can't get pictures to load at all so till i do just imagine.

 

[sewer urchin]

When you are ready I'll be happy to split some of my cultures for you, I have...

1. Fruit flies, wingless D.melanogaster the smaller ones
2. Orange Isopods
3 Purple Isopods

I had some bean beetles and man those things were great and the frogs loved them, but I let my culture die out while I was out of town. If you get some I'd be happy to spit a culture with you.

Also once you get the media in, think about inoculating with some spring tails. It's worth reading up on.

 

[myreefclub0070]

Ben, what critters are you keeping flies for?