EMCookjb

John you sir are asking all the right questions and I can tell you it is a breath of fresh air for us to see someone so invested in making the tank right the first time. Bill taught me much of what I know about tanks and is a great person and a great tool to use to help guide you in making good choices.

On my 40b vertical tank (it houses 4 Azureus) we use a standard aquarium top on it. No ventilation what so ever. Keeping the humidity around 90% isn't as hard as it seems. It does generate a lot of excess water that will make it into your drainage layer or false bottom. If you are going to siphon excess water out of the tank I would recommend drawing a "max water line" on the outside of the tank with a sharpie. You can do it somewhere that isn't super visible to people but somewhere where you can see it and tell when you need to siphon. Water has thie funny trick where it is low and looks good then it suddenly is touching your substrate and causing you all sorts of issues.

Drilling for drainage just adds another level of auto pilot to the tank. When the water level reaches the bulkhead installed in the tank all the excess water drains off automagically. I have done it both way (drilling and siphoning) and really don't have a preference either way. They each work only as good as you want them too. Remember if you drill for drainage you have to remember to check the bucket the excess water goes into or you will have a whole other water problem on your hands lol.

Unless you plan to do an aquatic section with some plants a pond really is hard to make look pretty. The added work of water changes was just to much for me so I spent a bunch of money and time converting all of my tanks to drainage layer tanks. I may do another False Bottom Paludarium (Paludarium is a vivarium with a water section that can support life) down the road but right now I love just enjoying my tanks and stalking my frogs

Lids - I do not silicone my down. I am not overly concerned about fruit flies escaping. The frogs are very efficient at easting them and the few that do manage to escape either die shortly after or become spider food... and die all the same lol.

lights - Lighting will be the next thing that can make or break a tank. I highly recommend Aquatraders - Guaranteed Best Prices on Aquarium Lightings + Free Shipping!. They have some of the best priced, and best quality LED lights around. You will want lights that are 6500k for good plant growth. You will also want to make sure you have enough light that it can make it the 24" to the substrate as well. The 1watt 3 row LED lights are wicked bright and will do the trick for you.

I could keep going lol. Fruit flies are key.. As well as Springtails. You will want to breed both. It is just plain cheaper to breed them on your own than it is to keep buying more cultures weekly.

If you need help with the feeder aspect let us know. I'm sorry if you knew the stuff I mentioned, but I always error on the side of over sharing than making people dig it out of me