Changing False Plants to Live Plants

[Andry]

I have so many questions, and yet I've already gotten started because my husband wants all the new plants out of the kitchen. Ok, here are my questions:

1 - Most important... Do I relocate my frogs temporarily while changing and would a 5 gallon tank be ok for this (three Red Eye Tree Frogs). I also have my other Exo Terra Medium but I haven't cleaned it out yet (bought it used). Or will they be okay asleep on the only live plant I have in there, see picture 1 below while I clean and add stuff to the tank.

I don't have a substrate currently, just a cocoa plant liner which looks nice, is easy to clean under and I can see the poops and get those out easily.

2 - Should I put in a new liner and just add plants with pots and hang vines/pothos from glass with strong magnets or possibly even leave the fake plants on the walls...or should I add substrate around the potted plants so that it looks like the plants are planted in the substrate (so that I can clean later without bothering the plants too much) or should I just plant the plants in the substrate and if I do, how long can I take before I clean the tank fully again changing substrate and all?

3 - If I do add substrate bottom, do I need to add the egg crate on bottom with mesh so that the water will drain? Or do I have to add Cocoa Beads/clay pellets to bottom for draining soil? Or can I just add the soil with nothing on bottom?

4 - What kind of soil substrate is best for plants and frogs?

I've read so much, but there is so much info and nothing clear cut, like "you have to do add this or else", that I'm getting really confused.

Thanks!

here are some pictures of what I have:

The only live plant I have currently in the tank:


This is what I have to work with, keep in mind, I took out most of the fake plants and vines out already. It was really full of fake foliage before this picture:

[beckdg]

1. would be a good idea. the 5 gallon should be fine while you transplant.
2. substrate, yes... replace it, no
3. you can add the soil on the bottom without drainage so long as you don't over water. if you might over water it's best to have a drainage layer and something to siphon out the extra water.
4. looks like you've got some regular house plants there. some organic potting soil mixed with some peat moss and or another additive might be best for them without adding too much fertilizer for the frogs. i don't know what's best for the brom personally. maybe one of our plant gurus will chime in on soil.

[froggsong]

If you do soil straight into the tank, I recommend adding something to keep it from compacting, like a little gravel and a bit of sand. That worked really well for me when I had my tanks without FBs, and I never had to change out the substrate.

You shouldn't have to clean too often, just make sure you get some critters for your cleanup crew (springtails, isopods, red wigglers), they'll help turn that nasty poo into plant food, lol...

How big is that tank? I'm just curious how you'll fit all that in there! Great leaf sizes for the frogs though, you're on the right track for sure.

[Andry]

Okay, I chickened out with the substrate. I need to do more reading/learning before I do that. I did move the tree out where the frogs were sleeping while I did a cleaning and rearranging. I ended up leaving just the false plants that are stuck to the sides of the tank to cover the sides so they won't get stressed. Everything else in the middle is now live plants. I left 2 plants in their pots and the rest/vines and bamboo sticks are in water. I did not use the bromelaid, nor the fern, nor the Anthurium, nor the pothos.

Here's before and after


Here's the bottom of the tank from the front. Pretty open because they like to feed in the empty are up front. Just vines crossing and water bowl. You can see Big Mamma in this pic:


Here's the plant water bowl where the frogs like to sit and soak. There are two there now, Big Mamma and Niko.


Here you can see the potted plant on the left and the small one on the right:


On the back wall I used wire to hold up a vine and the plant/vine to the background.


Question:

Can anyone tell me what type of plant this is? It grows in my front yard along the side of the house. It crawls up like a vine (like a large version of Pothos) and has very very large leaves. Leaves can get like maybe 12 inches long, 7-8 inches wide. Just a rough estimate. The stem looks as if it were dead but the leaves grow out of it very much alive.

[froggsong]

Looks like pothos to me. Sometimes the leaves can be very large, depending on the type.

[Andry]

Thanks!

[Saviorself]

Originally Posted by froggsong

If you do soil straight into the tank, I recommend adding something to keep it from compacting, like a little gravel and a bit of sand. That worked really well for me when I had my tanks without FBs, and I never had to change out the substrate.

When mixing different sized grains of subtrate don't you wind up with settling issues? (bigger stuff on top smaller on the bottom)

[froggsong]

I did not, no. I would imagine there would have to be some sort of shaking or sifting going on to have that happen. That might happen under water, or with completely dry substrates (such as trying to layer sand and gravel without either being wet), but I really don't see that happening with soil in a vive. If that happened normally, perlite and such mixed into potting soils would never stay mixed in. All in all, I don't think that would be an issue.

[Adventure King]

Can anyone tell me what type of plant this is? It grows in my front yard along the side of the house. It crawls up like a vine (like a large version of Pothos) and has very very large leaves.

[Andry]

Yes, I did get a reply somewhere that it is a type of pothos. Thanks!