Terrarium setup

[Meade Hamilton Lewis]

I have a 10 gallon terrarium with LOTs of bells and whistles that I purchased for it! I could not be happier with the set up. I hope this post may help someone who is looking for some upgrade systems or how to make their enclosure more autonomous and self sustaining.

I started out with a package of substrate for the base and I put moss over top of that. All of the plants in my terrarium are alive and I would recommend live plants over fake ones any day! Two of the plants are on the ground of the terrarium while I suspended one from the top using twist ties. My red-eyed tree frog loves to cling to the leaves of the suspended plant and she actually sleeps there at night. I have a small, green, ceramic water bowl that I bought at petco. I also sanitized a few rocks from my old rock collection to put in to the tank. They are not any special type of rock, but more of a limestone type mineral. What I am most proud of is how autonomous the terrarium is! Due to my profession, I have to leave for days at a time so constant humidification of the tank was impossible and lighting was impossible. I have a standard ZooMed lamp with a 60 watt daylight bulb. I needed a way for this to turn off at night and on during the day. The only solution I was able to find was the ZooMed Repticare Day/Night timer. It has a clock that you set to the correct time. Then you push a series of buttons down for when you want it to be day time in the terrarium. The gaget also gives you the option to put in a night setting that will control what comes on at night. For the humidity control, I looked at NUMEROUS options and finally bought a Reptifogger from ZooMed. It was pricey, but VERY effective and worth it! The fogger keeps the humidity at at least 70% (but is completely adjustable) and creates a cool white fog. Also it does not flood the area with a spray. I couldn't be more happy with this piece!

This is where I break the rules... Due to the fact that I wanted both the fogger and the lamp on during the day (the humidity stays around 80% at night), I needed to plug both the lamp and the fogger into the "Day" setting on the timer. I used a multitap outlet which is against the instructions on the timer, but it had to be done.

In the future, I am going to look into getting a second lamp for nighttime viewing in which I will put a red bulb or a similar bulb that would be invisible to my frog. I will plug this fixture into the night setting on the timer and BAM! The terrarium will be next to perfect!

One question I have is due to the high humidity the Red-eyed tree frog requires, what can I do about drainage? Should I put a large stone layer at the bottom, then substrate, then moss?

Also, How often will I need to clean this terrarium?

[tankogradets]

I don't have a fogger, but I keep the terrarium very humid. I found that, to keep it the most clean, I need to clean mine every three to four weeks. La Frog likes it clean.

[deranged chipmunk]

you should have some sort of drainage layer under the substrate to allow the substrate to drain. unless of course you are keeping some sort of aquatic plant in an emersed state, such as a cryptocoryne species, which love a nice wet soil. to drain it, you can run a piece of aquarium airline tubing to the bottom and just siphon off as needed. one note of caution, keeping a fogger on all day creates a ridiculous amount of humidity at the bottom of the tank. i ran an ultrasonic fogger in my white's tank all day and after a week or so, it started to rot my terrestrial plants. my crypts LOVED it, but my pilea's and fittonia's just started to rot away. needless to say, i no longer run it all day and i have had no problems. plants now grow well. crypts a bit slower, but that's ok, i have been growing those plants for years, so i learned to be patient...lol you can always get a cheapie timer from lowe's that allows numerous on/off cycles per 24hr period. that way you can run the fogger for say 30 minutes, then off for a few hours, then on again for 30 minutes ect. it might save the plants you have planted in your substrate.

[Meade Hamilton Lewis]

I am going to get some LECA (Lightweight Expanded Clay Aggregate LECA (Lightweight Expanded Clay Aggregate) (Fired Clay Pebble) Hydroponic Media Products at Home Harvest® Garden Supply) that was suggested in another post. The one problem I could see with this is that the stones seem to be 8mm-16mm (.31 inches - .63 inches) in diameter and therefore the substrate could wash out past the stones. What would you suggest for this? Will it be a problem?

[Sunshine]

Usually weed block is used to separate the drainage layer from the substrate. I had a hard time finding any this time of the year so I used window screen instead.

[Meade Hamilton Lewis]

So landscaping paper?

[Sunshine]

Not the paper kind. It is a fabric, usually black. >I can never find it here this time of year though so I use window screen.

[Meade Hamilton Lewis]

Not the paper kind. It is a fabric, usually black. >I can never find it here this time of year though so I use window screen.

Thank you so much! I will check it out at Lowes today. I feel like they would still have some as it has not started snowing yet in my area.

[deranged chipmunk]

They carry it year round, you just gotta know where to look for it

[Meade Hamilton Lewis]

thats what I thought. Especially in my area where landscaping is huge. I will check it out when I am driving around today.

[Meade Hamilton Lewis]

So I went to BOTH Lowes and Home Depot and neither of which had LECA. Disappointment...

I guess I will have to buy it online as well as the landscaping fabric. Thank you all so much!

[deranged chipmunk]

well, neither lowes nor home depot sell leca. you need to go to petsmart or petco and buy hydroballs, or a hydroponics shop and ask for hydroton. both chain stores keep their landscaping fabric outside in the garden center once the cooler temps come in.

[Meade Hamilton Lewis]

I went to Petco earlier today and they didn't have anything like what I was asking for. Perhaps because I did not specifically ask for Hydroballs. After glancing through there reptile/amphibian isle, I was unable to see anything either so I do not believe they have it in stock. I will check again tomorrow, but if I am unable to find it, I am ordering online.

I have old screen that my girlfriend and I used on a project last year so I will probably use that rather than purchase landscaping fabric that I wont use 90% of.

One more thing I am thinking about getting is the Aquarium airline for syphoning the water out from the bottom as well. What would I use to syphon it out with because I want to avoid using my mouth? Blech!

Thank you all so much for your help!!

[deranged chipmunk]

If you install the airline into the water reservoir and run it so it hangs lower than the bottom of the tank, you can out a simple aquarium shut off valve at the end. You will only have to siphon it once. Any time afterwards, you just need to open the valve, drain off as much as you need to, then close the valve. As long as no air gets in the siphon will stay unbroken.

[Meade Hamilton Lewis]

I will ponder how I will do this because I do not think my terrarium has any openings for any lines what so ever. I have the Fogger duct taped in place on the top of the screen. Should I cut holes in to the screen? I hate the idea of that but it seems like it is the only option for the syphon system to work. My type of terrarium is the Naturalistic Terrarium from ZooMed ( Naturalistic Terrarium ).

[deranged chipmunk]

No need to cut the screen. Just use a pen, pencil, bamboo skewer, something with i decent point to it. Stick it in one of the holes in the screen and slowly work it round and round until the hole is just smaller than the airline. Cut the airline at a sharp angle and feed it into the hole you made. Making the hole slightly smaller allows the airline to seal the hole by expanding into it. Also, don't forget to add a small piece of sponge at the viv side of the line to prevent it from clogging.

[Meade Hamilton Lewis]

I just found that my terrarium has airlines built into it. I just need to buy the airline, valve, and wait for the Hydroballs and mesh to arrive. I am excited for the project and the upgrade!

[boaman]

sounds like you have a nice setup in the works...after your shipment is in and its up and running your posting pics right??

[Meade Hamilton Lewis]

I am planning on redoing the entire construction once I get the Hydroballs and posting pictures at every step. The general idea will remain the same; I will still be using all of the gagets that I have in the current set up, same plants, same frog, but just a better drainage system. I expect to get the shipment on sometime between now and thursday. I am excited for sure! I will keep you all updated.

[sajane]

im surprised that a 60 watt bulb is not too hot for a 10 gal. be sure and put a temp probe in the hotest spot right under. i have a 10 gal exo tank that i just use as a terrarium as i could not find a frog or gecko that was happy in that size. maybe i ll try the red eye. the 26 watt uvb bulb in the exo hood makes the temp 100 degrees right under the hood .