New to all of this, would this work?

[Ilminded]

Hello everyone,

I am a person used to making aquariums up for fish but this is my first time to attempt to make a vivarium. I live in a temperate area with lots of streams and wildlife in the area (even though it is a major city!) and for an experiment to do with my nephews, 4 and 9, I wanted to make a vivarium with local plants and early next year go look for tadpoles in the local stream and get a few and have them grow. My reason for this is that if the frogs get too big, I would just release them in the area I had gotten them. But my dilema is with trying to vegation. I was told by someone who made something similar that if you get soil or moss from outside that you would want to bake it so not to containment with other unintended weeds and bacteria. I aslo was going to make a stream going to a false bottom pool.

I currently have a 25gal aquarium that I will be using that I had from when I tried to see how long I could keep hermit crabs alive that I bought from a shore store. Any thoughts that this will work or if it is not a good idea?

[MartinM]

I think it's a fine idea; I've done similar things many times. Generally, unless you have very intense lighting, small plants from the forest understory will work best, and the false bottom is a good idea to assure adequate drainage (sopping wet soil will kill most plants except those native to swampy, boggy, or marshy environments (most of which require high light levels).

Look for some small ferns. Even if they are young individuals of a species that grows large, they will do so only slowly in a terrarium.

I see no need to sterilize the soil. You're going to be using native species who are used to what is in the soil, and besides, you'll get some interesting critters in the soil that you mightn't find any other way.

I hope you and the nephews have a lot of fun and learn a lot. If possible, take them into the field with you when you do the collecting, and have a few field guides along to identify the species you find.

Martin

[Ilminded]

Thanks, I wanted to make sure that it wouldn't be looked down on. However, are there any silcone adhesives or special egg crates that anyone might recommend?

[Mapkar]

I'm looking to start a vivarium of my own soon too. I'd love to see some pictures and progress reports on your project!

[Rainfrog]

Ive been away for some time but as far as silicone goes I always used GE Silicone II. it is non-toxic once it has cured. you want to make sure you read the label on any other silicone to see if it has chemicals that inhibit mold. Most of these chemicals hang around and are unsafe. Dap brand products have some nasty stuff in them as far as Vivs go.

For false bottoms I always preferred Hydroton (expanded clay pellets) and light diffuser panel. I was once able to get a 50lb bag of Hydroton from a hydroponic gardening shop for very cheap and found it was more than I really ever needed The light panels can be purchased at Home Depot or Lowe's (probably most hardware stores).

Yes Pictures! Pictures, pictures, and then some more pictures!

[MartinM]

With regard to silicon, I believe the "kitchen and bath" product has the mold inhibitors, whereas the "windows and doors" does not. Aquarium grade is always safe, but is harder to find and costs more. Whatever you get, squeeze out a dab and give it a twenty-four hour curing test. I and others have had defective silicone that would not cure and had to be laboriously and messily removed for a fresh start.

With regard to false bottoms, what good does the Hydroton do? If you have the egg-crate diffuser panel up on legs made of short lengths of PVC pipe and covered with fiberglass window screen to keep the soil from falling through, isn't that sufficient? This is the method used by people who want a water feature with a submerged pump. Was your recommendation, Rainfrog, for a simple terrarium without a water feature?

Martin