I'm looking to build a terrarium for some frogs I have a 40 gallon tank I had a turtle in. I need to know what I can and can't pit in the tank
I wanna do live plants with a waterfall and a pond type area.
I saw a post on some site where they used tile adhesive( Thinset I think) for a back ground/ hard scape and was wondering if I could use that for a water fall.
What should I use for the substrate?
What kinda frogs are out there that are cool that could live in a tank like this?
What kind of frogs have you thought about? Is it a standard 40b? I would consider a frog that would use the water like reed frogs or fire belly toads. I would do some reading on dendroboard for the actual construction of the waterfall and all that, so many options and they will steer you in the right direction. Good luck!
I just want a colorful frog that will do well with a water fall and a nice pond it is a set that I got for my birthday a while back it's for turtles so I think it's a standard 40b with a screen top
I think the firebelly toads would be perfect for what your looking for. They are very active and colorful little guys, and they do great in planted tanks. I think what your after is more of a paludarium type setup? I've seen some very cool vivs with water features but you have to be careful if you want a dry land portion. A waterfall will easily saturate any soil in the tank causing all kinds of issues. That's why I don't do water features in my dart frog tanks, to much work.. But if done right the results are awesome. The key is to choose plants that love the water (anubius, crypts, java fern, aquatic moss, philodendrons, bog plants, etc..) and plant them next to the water feature. Or you can elevate the soil using a false bottom ( eggcrate, gravel, expanded clay...) and create a ledge that keeps the land and water area separate for the most part. There are alot of options for construction and it all depends on what you want to do with it. IMO, building the tank is the funnest part. Just take your time and build it right. Good luck!
Yeah I was looking up the definition of the Viv and terarium and all that and I left more confused then when I went in haha not kidding.
I will have live plants. I want a waterfall and a pond I would like to have a dry area so they can get up on it but it dosent have to be completely dry
If it were me I would plan on about 15 gallons of water in that tank, maybe 40 percent land area and 60 water. I would then drill the back and incorporate the drainage into the water feature that goes to a sump, and then the water from the sump feeds the waterfall. That way your pump is easily accessible for repair or adjustment and you will have plenty of filtration and a place to put your heater. That will essentially keep all electronics out of the viv. I would look into building the waterfall and the land/water separation using driftwood or rock, and great stuff expanding foam. Then you can top the great stuff foam with either gorilla glue, titebondIII, or aquarium silicone and substrate mix. Just be creative Oh and it's crucial that you use non toxic materials for construction, all to often people will use mold resistant silicone and kill their viv...
Yeah that's what the majority of people seem to do. Either start with the spray foam or you can carve up and glue together the insulation foam from the hardware store. Here is a couple shots from one of my vivs during construction to give you some ideas.
Sprayed the great stuff foam after I siliconed the driftwood to the back.
I covered it with titebond III wood glue and zilla jungle mix substrate. That stuff grows moss like crazy on it. It's not nearly as hard as it sounds, I promise.
Great stuff will come off, but it takes alot of work. Some people will put silicone on their glass first as a base layer for the foam. I've never have great luck with that method, almost nothing will adhere to silicone including more silicone which will complicate the build a bit.
My first viv had a waterfall, It was the only viv that I've had with one. I had alot of problems getting anything to grow and man that pump got stuff in it all the time. It was very simple to clean because I just stacked some rocks on top of the pump, nothing was permanent. Frogs are messy and will drag all kinds of stuff in the water with them so be prepared for constantly dirty water. After thinking about it a bit, I bet you could plumb an intake into the bottom of your waterfall. Then run a small canister filter to feed your waterfall. That would give most of the benefits of the sump setup.
Yeah I think I'll just do the great stuff on the glass and just go from there and see how it turns out .
Iv got a friend with a 15 gal frog tank I asked if she would let me practice on hers before I did mine and I told her I would pay for everything so she was happy about it because she dosent make much money ad she has been wanting to do it for a while so we both win.
That's a good idea to use the canister filter I will do that to help with the water and I'll just have to hide the intake and exit witch won't be hard I could probably make them look like vines pretty easy
Thanks for all the help.
I will be going out tomorrow after class to get all the stuff I need I have the eco earth and forest earth to do the texture on the great stuff and a few other little things for looks
I Want to do a waterfall in my friends tank but I have very small space so I have to figure something out
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