My Madagascar Inspired Mantella Paludarium

[tendertouche401]

Bill,

What a beautiful set up. I am impress....I can't wait to have you come over and set up a tank or me. LOL.

I did read the entire thread...and can't wait until the next go round of pics.

I am going to PM you...in a bit.

P-

[Fishies_in_Philly]

Originally Posted by crazydaz

This thing is just so damn cool.

I don't understand the need for the tank below the main, Bill. Would you mind explaining that a little better? It doesn't look like a true "sump"......is it for the rain/fogger system?

Sweet frogs man!!

It's an algae tank. Kind of same principal as a sump, but independent. That way i have fresh clean purified water for frog's water bowls and such. Since they absorb moisture through their skin, they are very sensitive to water quality. This just assures pristine water for them. It also allows me to fill this tank with the same temp water, instead of cold water. I have a 30 gallon barrel for my fish tanks, but i wanted something filtered for the frog tanks. Hope that makes sense.

[Learner]

Bill this has become a true masterpiece in deed. the frogs are simply gorgeous and will look amazing in the tank. Cant wait for those pics! the sump is a great idea for pristine water......only the best my friend, well done.

JD

[Wy Renegade]

Looks good, although I'm still confused on the algae tank. It appears you are running a powerhead, so is the eggcrate just to provide a spot for algae to grow and then you pull the water out by dipping? If so, wouldn't more spots for algae to attach be more beneficial - say more like an algae turf scrubber?

[Fishies_in_Philly]

Jake, thanks pal, i take that as the highest compliment coming from you

Randy, yes, there are much more suitable media to use, i just happened to have egg crate....lol the powerhead is just for circulation. I may revise it a bit down the road, but for now, it's science experiment. You of all people i think can appreciate that.....lol

[Wy Renegade]

Originally Posted by Fishies_in_Philly

Jake, thanks pal, i take that as the highest compliment coming from you

Randy, yes, there are much more suitable media to use, i just happened to have egg crate....lol the powerhead is just for circulation. I may revise it a bit down the road, but for now, it's science experiment. You of all people i think can appreciate that.....lol

Absolutely, I was just trying to fully understand what you had going on. I'm not sure if you're familiar with the turf scrubbers, but basically if you added a plastic mesh over your eggcrate and ziptied that mesh to the eggcrate you would be there. It just gives your algae more surface area to grow on. Some people like to rough the screen or mesh up a little, but I've found that it does fine just as it is.

[schoolzoo]

Looks great - I just read your thread all the way through. I like how you did the rain/mist system. I will have to save that idea to try later. Now the ideas start rolling about what to do with my empty tank.

[Fishies_in_Philly]

Randy, i am going to do just that this weekend.

School, first off kudos to you for sitting through pages of my drivel....lol second, thanks for the kind word. It would be gratifying to me if it were to inspire you to bigger and better

[Fishies_in_Philly]

due to circumstances beyond my control (long story, rather not discuss), i had the move the mantellas in ahead of schedule. not that this is a bad thing, it was just earlier than i had planned. i wanted more growth from some of my plants before i brought in the frogs. but anyway, i figured some pictures were in order, so here they are:

[Wy Renegade]

Frogs look nice in there Bill. Hopefully they won't be too hard on the plants.

[Fishies_in_Philly]

Thank you Randy i'm not worried. They are only about an inch long and may weight about 2 grams. I think the rain puts more stress on the plants.....lol

[Fishies_in_Philly]

ok, i finally got my orchids in. on the left is Aerangis citrata 'Ching Hua x self' and on the right is Aerangis luteo alba var. rhodosticta

[crazydaz]

Great job, Bill!! How many frogs did you end up putting in there? Arre you seeing faster plant growth now? What's that "white tube" looking thing in the top left in the bottom picture?

I think that when in starts filling in and those orchids putout some flowers, this will be awe-inspiring my friend!! Looks great right now!

[Fishies_in_Philly]

Thanks Don! I have a few more ferns to bring it to it. But it's close i have four of the little buggers in there. They love their home!! And yes, not that everything has acclimated, plant growth is speeding up. A couple months from now, the vines i added will cover the background

Sorry, the white tube is a reflection from either my 75g planted tank or my 30g planted shrimp tank on the other side of the room. I forgot to turn thr lights off. I was too excited about the orchids....lol

[Wy Renegade]

Very nice! I'll look forward to hearing how those particular varieties do.