my first vivarium
 

ok, so i decided to set up a vivarium in a 60g tank that used to house my nice colony of chocolate shrimp and malawa shrimp until my wife freaked out and sprayed the crap out of a bug she saw in the kitchen (right above all my tanks). it is going to be home for 4 dendrobates leucomelas after it grows in. i wanted to do something different and have a majority of the plants in it aquatics. besides, i had to do something with all the plants i had lying around. but enough of my jibber jabber, here's the current pics i took today. the tank has been up and running since friday night.
http://i1134.photobucket.com/albums/...816_171600.jpg
http://i1134.photobucket.com/albums/...814_195751.jpg
http://i1134.photobucket.com/albums/...816_171533.jpg
http://i1134.photobucket.com/albums/...816_171550.jpg
http://i1134.photobucket.com/albums/...816_171607.jpg
and yes, i am aware that 99% of the plants are not from the leucomelas native habitat. i didn't set it up to be a biotope, just something that i will enjoy lookinig at and the frogs will be happy in. i will be adding other terrestrial plants as i go along.

Looks great! I had a similar one in a 55gal.
Home to some poison dart frogs.

thanks......thought about turning my wife's 55 into a viv, but decided to go big and turn my 125 into a paludarium. it's the perfect project to keep me away from this one and allow the plants to grow in for now. :)

added a couple terrestrials and an ultrasonic fogger. i still need to add moss and leaf litter, but there's no rush since i won't be getting the froggies until after the new year.
http://i1134.photobucket.com/albums/...818_171119.jpghttp://i1134.photobucket.com/albums/...818_171129.jpghttp://i1134.photobucket.com/albums/...818_171144.jpghttp://i1134.photobucket.com/albums/...818_161600.jpg

Hi Bill, your tank looks fantastic and very natural looking! Do you have a drip wall or is moist spot from misters?

hey duff, thanks :) the left side is a drip wall. in fact, my mister took a crap on me last week and i added in an ultrasonic fogger yesterday. also rearranged a few things as well as added a floor of forest moss. this is what it looks like today
http://i1134.photobucket.com/albums/...819_151051.jpg
the water feature
http://i1134.photobucket.com/albums/...819_151101.jpg

now i just have to wait for all the crypts to grow in, and add a few broms, ferns and air plants and i can seed with springtails.

Oh No, what mist system do (did) you have? I like the fogger, is it off the shelf or did you make it?

By the time you add frogs, the growth should be amazing. I like the look with the forest floor moss looks just a tad more established. You must be excited about the 125 paludarium in your future! I am about half way through a 37g palu and just got up the nerve to drill it this weekend for plumbing. Nerve racking to say the least but boy was it easy. I'm ready to drill every tank I have!! I love vivs but I just can't stay away from the water! I'm excited for you on the 125.

i had the rs400. even though i had it on cycle, it would switch itself to constant on. the second time it did it, it burned up the pump. i'm gonna look into doing a diy mister. either that or a low pressure rain system.

the fogger is an e-t ultrasonic fogger. i heard bad things about the reptifogger, so i grabbed one of these instead. i plan on using a modified humidifier on the 125.

and i'm the same way. this viv was fun, but i really want to do one that is both. hence the 125. should be cool. i'm going to start on it next weekend i think, i still have some engineering to figure out.

I love the new water feature! And the fogger, holy crap! Never even thought about doing a fogger.

Are frogs a lot of maintenance, have to use live feed? Anyway to establish a colony of crickets in here?

this is going to be my first time keeping frogs. always wanted to, so i did a buttload of research before i built this tank for them. from everyone i spoke with, they are no more maintenance than a fish tank. and yes, they eat live foods. either flightless fruit flies or crickets. some of the larger frogs will even go so far as to eating pinkies and baby mice. unfortunately, you can't just let a colony of crickets grow inside their enclosure for a few reasons first being is that they need to be fed supplements that they pass on to the frogs and that is only good for about a day. second, the frogs would probably eat themselves to death without having their food portioned. and lastly, the crickets can actually bite and kill some of the smaller thumbnail species of dart frogs. ok, so maybe they are a bit more complex than first expected....lol

looking good so far....can't wait to see more pics as it grows in...

thanks :-) i'm placing a plant order this weekend, so next week it sbould have a refreshed look. i also swapped some anubias last night. i have like 20 spare anubias in a growout tank, and just kept swapping them around until i found a couple that looked "more right". lol

ok, so after giving it much thought, i decided that this viv should be for a species of frog that is indigenous of the same area that my plants are from and since 90% of the plants in this tank are from s.e. asia, i decided that the dart frogs would be content in it, but not happy. and nobody wants an unhappy frog...lol so today after work, i stopped by the local petco (which i hate btw) and got some new tenants for this vivarium. the dart frogs will go into the 125g paludarium. it will be easier to set that up as a biotope. so, without further ado, my new friends, 3 white's tree frogs :
http://i1134.photobucket.com/albums/...824_182224.jpg
http://i1134.photobucket.com/albums/...824_182204.jpg
yes, i know, they are from austrailia and new guinea/new zealand. but they also pop up from time to time in indonesia, so close enough for me...lol
here's their home as of yesterday:
http://i1134.photobucket.com/albums/...819_151043.jpg

Your tank looks great! Are you going to put any orchids in there?