I've made some great tank updates!

froggsong · #1 08-24-2009, 09:37 AM

So, I have made quite a few tank updates. Nothing is finished yet (are they ever finished? lol), but I have the corn snake tank done, the BP tank done, the beardie terra is done-ish (less so than the snakes'), the CWD palu has a new topper (made out of bare eggcrate, of all things... It was what I had available that I could construct something out of quickly) and she is loving the vertical room, and the frog/toad/japalura palu has been revamped a bit. I JUST got the computer up and running again (you should have seen the hairballs the fan was coughing out, lol, no wonder it wouldn't run!) so I don't have pics uploaded yet, but I'll post some later today of all that I have been up to. I also have a little 10G outside with some baby pacific tree frogs I raised from tads with plants growing naturally in it (as in: seeds fell through the screen and started growing). It's actually starting to look somewhat nice, so I may keep it that way for a while, I'll take a pic of that and post it as well. You guys are going to love the corn snake tank. I normally go all natural, but his only has artificial plants, and they look just great. When I post the pic, I want to see if anyone can guess how I made the barrier in the corn tank.

Anyway, I'm going to go take a nap (been up all night fixing this machine), and then I'll get them posted.

Austin · #2 08-24-2009, 11:35 PM

Hi again, its been a long time.

froggsong · #3 08-26-2009, 06:17 AM

Ok folks, got those pics updated, so here they are! If you click on the pic of the Corn Snake tank, it will take you to the contest thread where you can guess the composition and method of construction of the retaining wall for 20 Rep points!

Corn Tank

CWD tank with Aquarium in the shot:

Close up of the CWD tank:

I'll get some new pics taken of the other tanks, I can't get my PC to read my SD card that is full of pics (heh, had to buy a new one when that one got full with no computer to use for so long), so I don't have any to upload right now (that I can access). Remember, click on the corn snake tank pic and go to the contest page to participate in the contest!

froggsong · #4 08-27-2009, 01:09 AM

I posted a horrible quality vid on Youtube of the new beardie tank, here's a link:
YouTube - Franky's new cage

HewesHort · #5 08-27-2009, 06:12 PM

Your tanks look great!! that schefflera is georgeous. its hard to tell from the pic, does the eggcrate have screen across the front? the eggcrate top idea is awesome, i might steal it

i cant really see the retaining wall in the photo, so im going to withhold my thoughts for now, the screen caught the light.

froggsong · #6 08-27-2009, 09:46 PM

LOL, Hewes, that's that POINT! If you could easily see it, it wouldn't be worth guessing.

It's the grey thing on the left.

As for the schefflera, thank you very much. It was suffering outside in the dry weather we've been having and has perked up quite nicely in the tank. It gets plenty of water and lots of light. Just a quick question, is it going to hurt it to be sitting in the water? I couldn't find anything when I put it in there to keep the pot out of the water (it is sitting on top of the filter box in about an inch of water). I do like plants that can go right in the water, but I'm not sure about this one. To be honest I haven't done the research, but I just don't have a brain for plant care and will likely forget anyway. I'm trying to do better, lol... I'm so tired of killing my plants accidentally right when I've become so attached to them.

As for the eggcrate topper, there is a plexiglass door that hangs from a piece of eggcrate that comes partway down from the top (to keep it all square). The screen lid that I was using on the tank sits on top of the eggcrate with the lights on top and the UV light hangs inside (the ballast on my hood burned out so I have to use a separate one... It stinks. But she gets better exposure that way anyway). If you try a topper this way, make sure you remember that the UV must be on the inside of the eggcrate because it is designed to block UV. It is remarkably strong and actually doesn't look that bad. I am quite amazed at how well it turned out. The only problem I am having is feeding. She hasn't been eating well for a few weeks, and now it is hard to just toss food inside and I can't get her to hand feed. I have resorted to force feeding... I don't like it but she is getting thin. Because there is no screen around the eggcrate, I can't just throw bugs in (they will quickly escape), and there is also no real land (just the "tree" and that coke crate for her to climb on). I'm out of funds right now to get anything to do it differently or "finish" it. We are trying to get a new house to move into and we'll have to borrow some money for the deposit already... (I hope we get it though, it's $475 cheaper per month, 500 sq ft bigger, and on around 5 acres of land [1 of which is the yard and for our use]. I could build her a mansion the first month, lol. This could totally be our big break.)

Anywho... I'll get some other pics up soon. I did some things to the frog tank today (it's not looking as good as I'd like... My dieffenbachia is straggly in the land part due to low lighting and my brom didn't make it, though it did make a baby before expiring), I really love how it turned out. I also got some super pics of the japaluras, so check the thread in the lizards forum soon to see really good pics of the male (I think, lol... it's hard to tell the apart when I'm not looking at both of them at the same time).

froggsong · #7 08-27-2009, 09:50 PM

Oh I almost forgot!

Here is the next pic of the corn snake tank. Good luck with the contest!

momerath · #8 08-27-2009, 10:26 PM

"If you try a topper this way, make sure you remember that the UV must be on the inside of the eggcrate because it is designed to block UV."

This is the first time I have heard this about eggcrate, but I've only used as a top for tanks occasionally, and not with UV lights anyway, so I've never really considered it before. It seems odd that such large holes could block any significant amount of UV light. Any source for this tidbit?

froggsong · #9 08-27-2009, 10:42 PM

I don't recall the source, but they are designed to block the minimal amount of UV produced by regular fluorescent bulbs. It isn't so much the size of the holes but the depth of the squares (I can't think of a better way to say that...). The squares are sized so that the light reflects around the inside of the squares and the UV is blocked. I'll have to see if I can come across the source again. It was when I was trying to find out more about it so that I could locate some. So it either came from a manufacturer, seller, or perhaps even from Phillips or GE...

froggsong · #10 08-27-2009, 10:51 PM

I was incorrect, I actually got some of that tidbit from the UV Guide UK site. Here is a link to the page with the info (measured with a UV meter). Scroll down until you reach the part about the Arcadia Compact Lamp Reflector.