Some questions

[Natural Solitude]

Oh! And I DO already have PVC pipe that I can cut up and use as supports.

Okay...I've GOT to get to P.T. *LOL*

[MtuPup]

not that this at all helpful information, but I feel for you not being able to get stuff in the UP. I was in Houghton for 5.5 yrs and tank building was always mailorder goods.

[Natural Solitude]

Yeah, I'll bet it was worse there than in Mqt. But you'd think there'd be more of a variety of industrial stuff around Tech, eh? Hmmm...wonder if NMU might have some eggcrate scraps. I should give them a call. They've been doing a lot of construction around campus...and the skills center might be an option too.

You were more helpful than you thought, MtuPup.

[Natural Solitude]

Just checked the Lowe's website and found out they DO have Great Stuff Gaps and Cracks (but not Pond and Stone). That'll probably work for my needs.

Still trying to think of other places for eggcrate or similar material. The university idea was a bust.

[Natural Solitude]

Originally Posted by froggsong

i think i can come up with some suggestions for eggcrate alternatives. What stores DO you have nearby? Wal-Mart? give me an idea of what you have available store wise and i'll get creative.

froggsong: Did you, by chance, manage to figure out an alternative? I do have some scraps of plastic (fairly strong stuff from one of those stackable bins used for storing small items, like toys, etc) from my first attempt at creating a home for these li'l beasties. But the only pieces big enough to use were from the bottoms of the bins, since they had a lot of curved and solid parts to the frames. (You know...those bins that have the curved fronts for easy access to the contents.)

I'm almost ready to get started on this project (key word being "started") - at least the basic layout of it anyway. I have the GS, silicone (exchanged the bronze for black and bought a tube of clear just in case I needed it), a few pieces of driftwood, and some eco earth (also left over from the original tank - to be used instead of coco fiber since that's what I have on hand). I was also given a 501 filter (I had decided against using that, but since it was free....well, I obviously couldn't turn it down). I'm also thinking of using the reptofilter that's in the frogs' tank now as a backup, but may use the given suggestions for modifying the filter media.

I also have an air pump that I used while they were still tadpoles. Since I'm going to try to keep the entire bottom open for the water area, I'm thinking of using that (with an air stone, of course) just to increase the water circulation.

It may still be a while before I am able to do much on this project. Fortunately, my daughter's friend is willing to help me out. He has a little experience with this sort of thing (he used to have salamanders), but is also somewhat mechanically inclined. With my shoulder slowly on the mend, a strong teenager may just be what I need to get this thing going.

Any and all suggestions are definitely still welcomed!