New viv for dart frogs(my first viv)

[sweetriden76]

got an Exo-terra 24x18x24 tank...build false bottom, waterfall and what not using methods gathered here and around the web. Also just made a fogger from an ultrasonic humidifier, needs more plants and some more time to make sure it's all correct before the frogs...here's pictures for now...3 red wag platys currently living in it, I'm gonna add 3 more of a different variety, the water volume is easily enough to support 6 platys and the babies they have will feed my cichlids well in my large aquarium...there's a submersible heater, a rio 400 in the tank pumping water out to a mini canister filter then back through the waterfall/stream setup...works very well, holding decent temp and humidity, gotta get the humidity up another 10% to be perfect...

[Wembily]

Wow, you made that into an art! My tank looks so pathetic comparred to the stuff you all do. Good job on that, your Darts will love it!

[sweetriden76]

thanks, It's really not that impressive compared to a lot of others I have seen but I'm happy with it for a first tank...and you would have had a great laugh if you saw the first waterfall I built from rock, what a piece of crap that was, so I made a big foam block from GS foam, then carved it and covered it with brown silicone, then used moss around it to seal up the gap...I wanted to avoid gluing anything to the tank so everything is removable but it'd be a mess to take it out, also a tip for around streams, I used large pebbles to line it over the LECA, then put dirt or aquarium gravel over that, which allowed any overflow or leaks to drain without making the soil to wet...hoping to put a current sundial light fixture over it along with the heat lamps I have now, then it should be ready for frogs...

[Ozymandias]

tank looks good but my one concern is that is you put a dart frog in there with the water area there is a vary high possibility it could drown.

[sweetriden76]

yeah that is also a concern of mine as well, the flat rock that sticks out into the water its low enough to provide a place to walk out of the water, do you think I should add a slightly submerged platform near it to provide and easier out, also there will be some driftwood and things in the water and more plants as well...any suggestions are welcome, but the fish area has to stay

[Grimm]

Yeah you are going to want to make the water area super easy to exit. I would try to add some larger plants near the shore line to prevent the frogs from getting trapped under the rocks. And before you get frogs, you should add a lot more plants, and leaf litter. Ive noticed that the more plant coverage and places to hide the frogs have, the more visible/comfortable they will be.

[sweetriden76]

yeah I definitely will be adding a lot more plants, and I'll line the back of the fish area with java ferns to keep them from getting under the rocks...this is basically a few plants I put in to see how they'd do and see what else I want to add after them, it's been quite a learning experience so far, I have a leopard gecko in a tank next to this one but that's an easy simple set up, and I have always had either an African Cichlid tank or a saltwater reef tank, so I'm new to vivs but used to up-keeping tanks

[frogfreak]

It looks great. I can't believe that's your first viv. Congrat's!

I agree, that you'll want more cover for the frog's and leaf litter. Did you seed it with Isopod's and springtail's? You can't have enough of them imo.

Can I ask, where you picked up the gauges to monitor your humidity and temps? They look nice and small. I've been looking for those for quite some time.

[sweetriden76]

they are all living things brand, some other company also makes gauges like that as well, I like the way the face looks and the metal rim on them, not that gauges are natural but they fit the look better then the exo-terra or other similar gauges...heres an updated pic, still needs more planting...

[noahwnw]

Hi sweet and everyone else. Great lookin tank. Are you gonna add a rain and mist system to it?