Building first Vivarium

[PghPittViper]

Hi,

I just yesterday learned of vivariums and frogs, now I am totally obsessed. I have so many questions that I don't know if I will remember to ask here on the first post.

I have an old 29g laying around and will use that.

Now, the questions.

I wanted to make it 75% land and 25% water so I could put in a couple of hardy fish.

how would I filter this water
do I need a heater in a viv setup, and what kind and where to put it
I would ideally like to have a waterfall that goes into the pond area, so I would need some way to pump the water from the pond to the waterfall.

How do I make a waterfall.

What goes on the back of the tank.

What's the deal on different substrates, drainage, and a false bottom.

I am having trouble visualizing this in my mind.

Well, if you could point me somewhere on the net with info and building pics, I would appreciate it.

Thanks for reading my first barrage of questions

TIA,

Viper

[Tindomul1of9]

I just yesterday learned of vivariums and frogs, now I am totally obsessed. I have so many questions that I don't know if I will remember to ask here on the first post.

I have an old 29g laying around and will use that.

Now, the questions.

I wanted to make it 75% land and 25% water so I could put in a couple of hardy fish.

how would I filter this water
You can get yourself a cheap-o zoomed 501 external canister filter, these do well in filtering up to I guess 3 or 4 gallons of water.
do I need a heater in a viv setup, and what kind and where to put itNo for frogs you want to keep temps between 60 and 80, depending on the species. Do you know what kind of frog you want? The requirments could be from 60-70, or from 70-80, and I don't think anything likes higher than that. So unless you room temps fall below 60 you won't need a heater.
I would ideally like to have a waterfall that goes into the pond area, so I would need some way to pump the water from the pond to the waterfall. Again, I bet you can figure out how to build a nice water fall using the zoo-med 501. Other ways would be to get a little submersible pump in your pond area, and pump the water up to a certain height.

How do I make a waterfall.
Most people use backgrounds to hide the tubes that bring the water up to your desired height, and then the background is fashioned so the water falls in a controlled manner.

What goes on the back of the tank.
People like to use tree fern fiber or cork bark. They get siliconed to the back of the vivarium and then you can attach epiphytic plants to this. Or you can use expanding foam for a more 3 dimensional look, and you can use this one to help fashion a waterfall.

What's the deal on different substrates, drainage, and a false bottom.
False bottoms are basically some cut PVC tubes that will be siliconed to the bottom of the tank. These will be placed so the ends hold up something called eggcrate (which is the aluminum grating used in offices to cover ligths. This creates a space which collects the water used in the tank. On top you put some sort of screen mesh material on which you put sphagnum moss, or somekind of frog friendly potting material. Then the plants. If you dont want to go with false bottoms, you can just use a thick three to 5 inch layer of gravel, or expanded clay pellets which weigh alot less. That will be your drainage layer. Then your screen mesh, then your moss, or potting material. For any drainage layer to work properly you want the water level, which will become visible to you through the glass, to not go higher than the level where you put your screen mesh. In fact you want it to be at least 1 or 2 inches below the top of your drainage layer. That is 1 or 2 inches below your moss or potting substrate layer. If the water level is too high, it will make your moss or potting layers soggy and unhealthy for plants. Hope this is not too confusing.

I am having trouble visualizing this in my mind.

Well, if you could point me somewhere on the net with info and building pics, I would appreciate it.
There are many places that tell you how to build a viv. This is one, http://www.blackjungle.com/basics.htm and if you ever want to buy from them I will tell you that they are reputable vendors with great reputations among vivarium/frog hobbiests.

Thanks for reading my first barrage of questions
I know I didnt answer them all, or at least not fully. Once you get the general idea you can start asking better more specific questions.

[Tindomul1of9]

Here is a link to a very usefull guide on how to build a good vivarium from Black Jungle.
http://www.blackjungle.com/gallery/talltank/page1.html

[plates55]

So I opted to build my tank without a alse bottom. I placed two inches of clay rock on the bottom, followed by my substrate. I then planted several plants. Problem I have now is my misting system and water fall run out of water and I can now see the water accumulating on the surface. I need to dry the tank out. The frogs are currently living in the cage. Best way to let the tank dry out? I have two lights. I was going to stop the waterfall and not mist for several days and see if this dries things out. ANy issues with this?