Dart Frog/Crested Gecko Room

[thercman]

Hey all... I figured I should share my upcoming project. Currently I have 4 pairs of darts, D. auratus, D.leucomelus, D. tinctorias, and D.azureus. I have been keeping them for only a few years now and have decided to start the breeding process. With that said I am looking for two other species to add to the collection one being P. terribilis and the other Oophaga pumilio (bluejeans). A local breeder got hers to breed and I am in line for the offspring. Anyway, my current frogs are in 10 gallon tanks and one pair in a 18x18x18 terrarium. This upcoming weekend the local pet store is having their $1 per gallon sale on tanks. So the plan is to get six 15 gallon tanks, set them up similarly to the 10's but with petri dishes etc for breeding purposes. I also have a MistKing system that I will be using to promote breeding (rainy season) and connecting flexwatt heat tape on all the tanks controlled with rheostats (ie light switch dimmers). Attached is a pic of the room I just finished painting. Oh, I will be adding another shelf and an incubator soon. I have two really nice power strips attached to the rear shelves, one is always on and the other is timed and controls the lights. The Lights are going to get a quick coat of semigloss black to help give it a more professional appearance. Since the shelves are go to be for display the new tanks will sit side by side. The 15 gallon tanks will fill the shelves width and as mentioned there will be six tanks to make three shelves total. The bottom will be for the currently active fly cultures and other accessories. Another thing I am planning to do with the shelves is add a 1/4" piece of painted plywood just to add a bit of support since the wire bends a bit. Hope this will give you an idea of where I am going with this. If anyone has any suggestions please throw them out there... Thanks for reading..

Just for giggles the second pic is a 75 gallon tank turned on its side. It has a false bottom and is intended for two pairs of darts for display purposes. Currently there is a seep in the front so I haven't added any frogs yet.

[bshmerlie]

Wow looks like you're going to be doing a lot of tank builds. Why don't you post some pics of how you do them. We would love to see what you do.

[thercman]

Yes I sure am.... Planning to get the tanks in the morning. If all goes well I should be able to get the egg crate for the false bottoms cut and start zip tying them together before I head to work. I'll take pictures as I go.

[clownonfire]

Good luck with the breeding and I'm looking forward to reading how it's going. And the process of your new tanks too.

And your room looks great! Congrats.

Eric

[bshmerlie]

Yes I sure am.... Planning to get the tanks in the morning. If all goes well I should be able to get the egg crate for the false bottoms cut and start zip tying them together before I head to work. I'll take pictures as I go.

Check out our Most Informative Thread contest in the vivarium section. I would love for you to participate.

[thercman]

Hey Everyone...

Made some progress today on the tanks and the shelving unit. I am working on a build thread but for now I thought I should let you see what I am up to....

[thercman]

Here are some more pics... Just a brief description.

Shelfs needed support, cut 3/8" ply to fit, painted for looks.

Cut egg crate to fit.

Cut pvc piping to raise egg crate 1 1/8"

Laid screen on egg crate.

Put small aquarium stones on screen to prevent coco fiber from falling through.

Placed in some rock and other stones to make a small shallow pond...

The last layer will be all coco fiber.... the frogs do not like the "forest floor" stuff but I believe it acts as a good mulch..

Oh, tomorrow I will take the painted wood and install it on the shelves and adjust everything into position. I also need to go buy more coco fiber and stone....

[bshmerlie]

Wow...I hope you got them at the dollar sale. Im definately looking forward to this project. Keep us posted.

[thercman]

Yes I actually did. $20 a piece... I cleaned them out but I need two more. I am going to steal the one my crested gecko is on and give him the wood colored twenty high and go buy one more at full price.... $39.99

On Wednesday the glass tops should be ready for pick up. I had six cut out of 1/4" glass and the edges polished. I need to get a 1/2" glass bit so I can drill them for misting nozzles.

[bshmerlie]

Yes I actually did. $20 a piece... I cleaned them out but I need two more. I am going to steal the one my crested gecko is on and give him the wood colored twenty high and go buy one more at full price.... $39.99

On Wednesday the glass tops should be ready for pick up. I had six cut out of 1/4" glass and the edges polished. I need to get a 1/2" glass bit so I can drill them for misting nozzles.

Sounds like a lot of fun. You've obviously been into frogs for awhile where have you been hiding yourself? its great to have you here and thanks for sharing with us.

[thercman]

Only been into the frog thing three years.... However, I have been into saltwater aquariums for about 10 and even built my own 375 gallon acrylic tank. So I have been building stuff like this a while now. As you can see in the photos I decided to keep the side of the egg crate visible. Although it doesn't look as nice as creating and egg crate border with screen and filling it on with aquarium gravel it saves lots of time and makes the tank about 10lbs lighter. That was one of my compromises for these tanks...




Edit: wow I made a bunch of typos... Time for bed

[bshmerlie]

The exposed egg crate is not too big a deal. Some people use black contact paper at the bottom to clean up the look. If you get a chance post a picture of your salt tank. I would love to see it. I too did the reef thing for years before I got into frogs. Its amazing how similar of a hobby they are.

[thercman]

Okay guys more progress = more pics... Still a lot of work to do but I am getting there. Enjoy.

[thercman]

Hello everyone!

The glass shop called today and the tops for my tanks are cut. I picked them up along with two glass cutting bits, plumbers putty and handles for the tops. This weekend I will drill each panel with a 1/2" hole in the center for a misting nozzle and one hole for the handle. Hopefully I will get all the misting lines set up and a 5 gallon reservoir for the supply. Next week Ill start acquiring flora for them..... Here is a quick pic of the supplies.

[thercman]

Borrowed a cordless drill today and just started to drill the tops. I am not going to lie I was a bit nervous that the panel might break. However I managed to get through the first one without incident. The holes could have been cleaner but they work. Just 10 more to go.. Haaaa...

[thercman]

Well I have been taking my time working on the tanks for the last few days. However today I drilled a couple more tops so I have three drilled and have three to go. After a quick trip to Lowes I brought home a few plants just get things going. The bromeliad was one I had planted in a pot that had been neglected for a while so I figured the humid environment should help it out. I do need to go get some coconut shells maybe some mopani wood and a few orchids.

As you will see in the photos below, the tanks are coming along. Since there was a last minute change from 15 gallon tanks to 20 highs I had to change the shelf layout. In so doing I left myself almost no access to the tanks without having to shift them around on the shelf. Currently I am considering getting another shelf, two more 20 highs for a total of eight and using the bottom shelves for 10 gallon tanks turned on end. That will allow for 4 each shelf or 8 in all. The 10's will house the juveniles.

I hope you guys are enjoying the pics. If you have any suggestions please put them out there.

[thercman]

Well, the tanks are finally planted. The plants that are in there are not ideal but they will provide a green environment for the frogs while I slowly replace them with species better suited for the terrariums. Since I needed to move up in size from 15 gallons to the 20 gallons that considerable reduced my access to the tanks. The plan now is to space the shelves out a bit and only have four 20 gallon tanks instead of six. The bottom shelf with now have 4 ten gallon tanks turned with the short side out. They will be used to house the juveniles of the parents in the tanks above it. That means I will be adding another shelf and two more tanks for a total of 8. So a mirror image of the one below.... Enjoy.

[daziladi]

Impressive! It'll be great to hear how the breeding goes. Since you know how to create your own tanks the possibilities would be endless.

[thercman]

Thanks Robin! I was just playing with the misting system. I primed the lines and fired it up. Way cool! I needed to find out how many nozzles for a 20 gallon tank and after watching one in action I am going to say 2 for those tanks. Now I need to order the nozzles and fittings. I'll post more pictures tomorrow of the reservoir I am using etc.