first viv build. 55 gallon long: build log w/ pics.

[suptrace]

First attempt viv build. 55 gallon long tank. Fire belly toads. Here goes...


don't mind my preggo belly... xD






Cork bark that we bought online.


Some rocks we bought at Lowe's for the stream we planned on building.


The filter we ended up buying, and it turned out we picked well. Link to filter at petsmart.


Filter layer for in between the egg crate, and cocofiber terrain.


The stream/pool area Justin built while I wasn't around...... You can see the filter in the back corner.


Rocks in the stream/pool. I know it looks kinda gross... but the end result looks much better... I promise.


Without the filter turned on... and we ended up moving the coco hut. We accidentally bought one for hermit crabs? And they're actually a lot bigger than the ones for reptiles/amphibians... So, another trip to petsmart...


Some brom we bought at Lowe's as well... Jeeze, I think I've spent more time at Lowe's while building this, than I've spent in any other store in such a short time.


some more fun plants from Lowe's.


planted.


water side.




some wood from when we had the fresh water tank set up.


finished


We're gonna wait about a week till we get our fire belly toads, just to make sure everything's working right. When I woke up today, the water looked kind of yellow-ish. I'm assuming from the cork bark.... Anyone know how long that'll last?

Love to hear any feed back

[brp4e.]

its probably releasing tannins into your water, it shouldn't last for that long, just siphon out the water daily and add new water. Once it has stopped releasing tannins get some water conditioner so the water isnt so hard and you can get this stuff from petsmart called nutrafin cycle which will start the beneficial bacteria colony then just wait like 2-3 days for the cycle to finish its thing then you can add frogs.

[suptrace]

Alright. Justin said he has some of that stuff, and just went to go take out the water...

Also meant to ask... Do you guys think that the wood at the edge of the waterfall is enough for the toads to be able to get in and out easily? If not, we were going to get some bigger rocks and make more of a slope... But Justin insists that the wood should be enough. Will it?

[froggsong]

Your firebellies will likely spend alot of time in the water, they swim pretty well, and they will be able to get in and out of the water pretty easily just using that log. That said, I think you should add some rocks and wood and stuff to make varying depths (they get tired and float around alot, and it is good for them to be able to float over to a rock that is submerged just enough for them to rest on it).

I don't think that brom is going to be very happy in the corner where it can't spread out. I suggest you move it to the edge of the water where it can spread out better or maybe attach it to the back wall. (I don't know if those have to grow in soil or not... HewesHort should be able to answer that question if you PM him.)

As for the water, the tannins don't really hurt anything, they lower the pH of the water some, but I personally haven't had problems with it (they recommend that you add some bog wood or peat to a fish tank to lower pH, and if it is safe for fish, it will be safe for your toads). It's really just about aesthetics.

I read something recently about those bacterial supplements that really made me think about using them again. See, the bacteria you want in a fish tank (or a paludarium) is aerobic bacteria. Aerobic bacteria need oxygen to survive, and they also need a nitrogen source to "eat". So, In order for that bacteria to live long enough to make it in your tank, it needs to be in a bottle full of nitrates (basically). Also, the good bacteria (the aerobic kind) isn't going to live very long without oxygen (where is it going to come from inside of a small, sealed bottle???), which will lead to it dying off and the bad kind of bacteria, the anaerobic bacteria, to grow (since they don't need oxygen). So, when you use that stuff, you are likely pouring a bunch of nitrates full of bad bacteria into your water. I threw my bottle out after I read that. You want the bacteria to "eat" the nitrates from your tank, so why do you want to pour a bunch of nitrates into the tank? Anyway, I guess what I'm saying is, I don't think you should use the bacterial supplement. If you have a fish tank, take a rock, piece of wood, a bit of the gravel, or part of a filter pad and use THAT to seed the tank with aerobic bacteria.

[suptrace]

Thank you. Looks like we'll be purchasing some rocks after all. (: Do you think the brom would do well in the planter on the wall? ( where the ivy is )

And yes, we have the filter from the 55 gal when it was our fish tank, good idea (: thanks.

[beckdg]

if you are worried about seeding it then put an extra filter pad in your fish tank for about a couple days or a week. take the old one out when you're ready to add animals to your viv and toss it in the water in the viv. you can get a mesh media bag and put some of your substrate in there too. if you put the media in too early you will just kill the bacteria in the filter for lack of a food source. it needs animal waste or ammonia to survive.

froggsong hit it on the money except minor details... the bacteria actually turns ammonia/ammonium into nitrites then stage two hits and the next set turns nitrites into the safer nitrates. a nitrate buildup can be harmful but ammonia and nitrites are the bad guys. anyway your still left with any introduced voc's, any doc's and nitrates in the end to get rid of. that's why water changes are important... the solution to pollution is dilution!

if you truly want to cycle the tank including the water before you put the frogs in i'd go with a fishless cycle. when i start it i'd start by adding the filter pad/sponge and bag of gravel from your fish tank and dosing ammonia at the same time. you will need an aquarium test kit that includes ammonia, nitrite and nitrate for this procedure as well as a bottle of pure ammonia. no surfactants! if you are interested go to aquariacentral.com and look through their article corner... you'll find one or two on fishless cycling as well as atleast one on where to get ammonia.

yes, also screw the bacterial supplements... there is one that a few people swear by but i forget the name momentarily. regardless no ammonia, no circulation, no aeration... no good bacteria. basically you'd have to buy it as they put it on the shelf anyway.

tannins are fine, you can wash them out if you want to. the best way is with hotter water though... circulation does help a little. i boil my wood, but it's because i don't trust the area i get it from mostly. definitely not because of tannins.

activated carbon helps with tannins that you can see through. it gets used up quick if it looks muddy though.

for water conditioner prime is the best stuff. you can most likely use whatever you use to dechlorinate your fish water though.

i would put something along the wet part of that back wall to give it some depth too and hide the underwater area and just above it too. it looks nice now but once that coco fiber starts breaking down it'll be a different story... haha, nevermind it's cork bark... duh. anyway obviously i'm leaving that there... oops.

[beckdg]

oh, and congratulations mom and dad.

[froggsong]

Originally Posted by beckdg

for water conditioner prime is the best stuff. you can most likely use whatever you use to dechlorinate your fish water though.

Don't use a fish tank decholrinator that has stuff to help with a fish's slime coat. You don't want that for the toads. You want to go with a simple dechlorinator (removes chlorine and heavy metals). It will usually come in a small bottle and will be measured by the drop. You can get one for fish tanks (cheaper than the reptile one), just make sure it doesn't have stuff for the slime coat. I picked up an inexpensive one, the Top Fin "Tap Water Dechlorinator" for like 3 bucks. It treats 600 gallons of water (2 drops/gallon of tap water).

[beckdg]

true, you don't want something that advertises slime coat on the label. i have the top fin and have been using it for quite some time. i have the 8 ounce bottle that treats 2400 gallons. i also have the prime as i've seen it recommended over and over again on fish forums. i tried the prime a few months back and have had great success with it and won't turn back. i now only use the top fin for dechlorinating after cleaning something with bleach to finish the bottle i have.

as far as i know prime doesn't put something in that adds slime coat specifically. on the back of the label it states that "Prime also promotes the production and regeneration of the natural slime coat." that suggests to me that it makes the water healthy enough for the fish to regenerate their own as opposed to adding another chemical to supply it.

prime and top fin get dosed at the same rate so no adjustment is necessary. 1 ml per 10 gallons. prices are comparable also from what i remember. i personally was skeptical at first but prime is good stuff.