Is water circulation really necessary

[phran]

hey guys, I'm Fran from South Africa, and I'm new to frogs.
So I'm getting some pdf's in a few month's time, and thought it's best to start building some vivariums , I'll be using 29gallon(110L for us metric system users) aquariums converted to vivs. Anyway the question I would like to ask, Is it important to have a pump or filter circulating water in the vivarium? I'll be using false bottoms ,with PVC access tubes hidden in the background for maintenance (water changes), and then just hand mist. If I establish the plant life way I advance of adding frogs, would that aid in preventing the water from becoming stagnant? To me a pump just seem nosy and kinda unnecessary, it makes sense to me that simple systems have less things that can go wrong down the line?

Apologies if this topic has already been discussed in another thread, but I could not seem to get any definitive info on the topic.

Thanks guys

[Mentat]

Hello and welcome to FF! You do not need a pump or filter in a vivarium; although a filter is a good idea, if there is a large built in water feature. Otherwise will need to do daily water changes of around 25 to 50% depending on the ammonia and nitrite levels. If frog's water is in a dish you can clean daily; then there is no need for either pump or filter .

[phran]

Ah, but pumps and filters do seem to make life a lot easier. thank you for the advice. It seems like the best option for me is to go the external canister filter route it should reduce noise levels within the vivarium, and if I choose is capable of housing an aquarium heater it should also help with keeping temps stable (her in the Highveld, South Africa we have a pretty wide daily, and seasonal temperature gradient), so if my water volume is enough, the water should ensure better temperature stability.

Thanks again for the help I'm really enjoying this forum

[Happy Frog]

No. A water feature is not necessary although there are some species of dart frogs that are found close to running water, like E. anthonyi, which could benefit from one. A water feature has to be done right or you will end up with a real mess.

For your first vivarium you should try and create a simple set-up and this way you can concentrate on observing the frogs and plants and get acquainted with their environment, including temperature and humidity. It took me a very long time, over a year, to fully understand how a vivarium's substrate is constructed. Josh's Frogs has a section that shows the way to create this. This is way I've been doing it for all of my enclosures.

Josh's Frogs How-To Guides Substrates » Josh's Frogs How-To Guides

Good luck!

[phran]

so I was looking at some canister filters available, and noticed that most pump water at an alarming rate(especially the ones that can house an aquarium heater), so I though about it a bit, and decided that external canister filters are overkill. aaaaand since putting a pump in for circulation seems to be a labour friendly addition, I came up with an idea to sort out both the circulation and temperature issues. I attached a quick sketch to show you guys what I came up with, and any imput will widely be appreciated (bear in mind I am not an engineer or architect). The pump fills the second chamber housing the thermostatically controlled aquarium heater, and the overflow system of chamber 3 ensures that the heater remains submerged even if the pump should stop for whatever reason. Idealy I would like to have a false bottom, about half an inch over at he 1 inch deep circulating water layer covering the entire base of the viv, this layer will act as a liquid heating pad, keeping the viv temperatures stable, and within the thermal range for the frogs. The whole heating filtration unit is designed to be small and easily hidden hind a background. Since this unit extends all the way to the top of the viv, maintenance n pumps and heaters should be as easy a lifting the lid, yet prevent the frogs from entering the unit.

So that's the idea, obviously I want to start of with the best possible plan for the vivarium, to prevent issues further down the line, so any ideas/suggestions are most welcome.

Thanks guys

the sketch is just of the 'vascular' system the tank.

[FrogRN]

I am of the thought that the simpler, the better. You're frogs will not spend a lot of time in the water feature you have. As a result, bacteria growing inside the water will metabolize any waste or ammonia into something that is not very toxic (nitrate). So, you do not need to change the water but you can once a month or so. The way i have my tanks set up, I just drain the water that seeps down into the gravel layer (below substrate). Since I constantly mist the tanks, no filtration or water changes necessary. The only thing you may need filtration for is other organisms you want to add to the feature like fish. I definitely think a cannister filter for a terrarium is overkill. Your idea for a thermostat is very cool, but again, overkill. All you need to do is maintain ambient temps in your house and the frogs will do fine. What kind of frogs are you hoping to house?

[Mentat]

Your "reverse overflow" idea is interesting. However; unless this vivariums is huge, your actual water volume will be small. Since the heater has to be matched to the actual water volume, a malfunctioning overpowered heater could literally boil the water if the thermostat get's stuck in the on cycle. So if you decide on the heater, please make sure it's matched to the actual water volume and if possible, connected to a GFI type outlet .

[phran]

Thanks for the help guys. After an excessive amount of reading, I've decided to go the simpler route. I'll only be getting my frogs end of Mei (D.leuomellas, D.'azreus'' and D. auratus), but have already started putting together the vivs. this way I can see if hey work out before putting the frogs in them. I'll be posting pics of the build soon.

Again thanks for the imput guys, really appreciate it