Here we go!!

[angry-monkey]

Ok! Hello from Ireland! After much research and inspiration (thanks guys) i FINALLY bought myself an exoterra 30/30/45cm today (thats around 55 litres (15 gallons) isnt it?)! I’m aiming for a green tree frog friendly planted viv. Soooooooooo i need advice!

Ok so there’s one or two things im still wondering about,
A- What’s the best way to set up the false bottom to make it easier to get the dirty water out, if its sealed in will it not just build up and start stinking?
B- What plants would be suited best to a viv this small?
C- Is the viv big enough for two frogs, id prefer them to have 'lots' rather than 'enough' space?
D- Oh and if i mount the heat pad behind the foam background will enough head get through because i dont think it would get up through all the layers of substrate?

Any other bits of advice or caution are much appreciated too folks! Thanks in advance! I cant wait to get the lads into it!

[Green Ghost]

For B and C:

Your plants need to match up with your set up and I don't know what you will be doing but in general I'd say baby's tears, people like to put orchids in thier tanks, or any other spade shaped leaf plant. They tend to do well in humid environments.

By "green tree frog" you mean Hyla cinerea? The american green tree frog? I have 2 of those and I'm sure they'd do well in the area you're talking about.

Have you considered what you will use for lighting?

[angry-monkey]

Yup american green tree frogs, how big is your viv?

Im looking at getting a exoterra compact top with a repti glo 5.0 tropical terrarium lamp. It looks tidy, but i'd love to have a night bulb as well but given the size of the viv i can only fit a single bulb unit, any ideas??

I had a nose around my local garden centre today and i was interested in bromeliads, they also had small ficus plants with large leaves? Oh and Peace Lilies, they seem nice, have broad leaves and they’re the right size? Could be an option?

I cant find egg crate anywhere, we dont seem to have it in Ireland?! Or clay pellets! We're still in the horticultural stone age! Any alternative suggestions? As you can see, this is gonna be a challenge!

[captaincarot]

for the GTF you will only need the reptiglo 2 bulbs mine do fine with them.
if you cover the bottom with coco husk soil and keep it moist, the heat mat will warm it up and this heats the whole viv, as long as you have it in a warm room.
you will also be well off sticking an 18" repti glo 2.0 fluorescent behind the hood with a reflector clipped on.
my green tree frogs spend most of the day sat on a leaf right next to this.
don't bother faffing about with water, just put a small tupperware container about half a litre sunk into the soil. they never really go into the water. give them a few climbing plants and make sure you spray the tank with about 250ml of water every day, i do mine straight after the lights go out once per day for 4 days then i do it twice as often for the next 4 days. but only spray about 150 ml of water in the morning spray.
i work 4 on 4 off shifts so this works for me.
good luck on saturday give the taffs a thrashing at croke!

[angry-monkey]

Ha! Nervous times, could through it wide open!!

Thanks for the advice! Only two things though, I have to have a false bottom for my water feature pump and because of that I need to mount the pad on the back of the tank? Do you think the heat will get through the exo-terra foam background?

So just to clear up, that’s 4 days of 250ml after dark followed by 4 days 250ml morning and again 150ml that evening (and repeat)?

Thanks again for the feedback guys!

P.S Go on you boys in green!

[Green Ghost]

Originally Posted by angry-monkey

Yup american green tree frogs, how big is your viv?

I cant find egg crate anywhere, we dont seem to have it in Ireland?! Or clay pellets! We're still in the horticultural stone age! Any alternative suggestions? As you can see, this is gonna be a challenge!

Egg crate is actually the flourescent light diffuser you'll usually see in elevators (when you look up). If you guys have a local home improvement store there maybe you could ask for that. No one knows what "egg crate" is here either. I think that's an american term or sometihing.

The lighting's for your plants not your frogs, by the way. People usually want thier plants to grow out.

I have 2 vivs - 45gal and 55gal

[angry-monkey]

AAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaah right! I got so many stupid looks when i asked for egg crate

So the lights are for the plants (and viewing) so heat mats are best then right? Where will i mount it if i have a false bottom and foam backing? Id say it'll get through neither? Whats your heat setup??

Thanks for all the help by the way!

[angry-monkey]

Exciting times folks (forgive my insanity but im new to this and i cant help myself! ), i went to a DIY store today with your 'light diffuser' advice aaaaaaaaaaaaaaand they didn’t have any! I did however find a big white plastic air vent ,which, once i broke open (after i bought it), gave me the same thing AND i got to break something which is always fun!

I also got an Aqua Pro 5 watt filter pump because its tiny and cheap, but when i plugged it in i found out its got more thrust than a Boeing 747! It cant be turned down so im gonna have to leave it on 'tsunami mode'! Once i find some rubber tubing to fit it we're laughing!!

I also got a bit of wood for my water feature which i love!

So over the next few days i'll have a wonder to see if i can get the tubing, some pvc pipe and silicon and, Bobs your aunties live in lover, we can start the build!

[angry-monkey]

Hey folks! I built the false bottom today (for the second time, didn’t trust the glue i used for the last one, thought it might contaminate the water), i used the plastic grate i found, glued it together with a hot glue gun (hope that’s ok to use?).

The pics are below so any feedback or advice is welcome guys. One of the pics shows the wood I’m using for the water feature, its bit dark because its wet but ya get the idea!! I’m aiming for a nice big pond with water trickling down into it from the wood. next step, substrate!!

[angry-monkey]

Hey folks, through in some fish tank gravel today as a drainage layer (we dont seem to have clay pellets here!), i think its nice stuff. I popped in some weed barrier too for good measure!! Just thought i'd put up the progress. I bought a block of exo-terra coco husk substrate today too but im gonna wait till i have the plants before i put it in.