My 45 Gallon Viv!

[erini]

This set up is for two Wallace Flying Frogs, Rhacophorus nigropalmatus:

Creating the false bottom with LECA Hydroton balls and mesh. Once I finished the layer of LECA the remaining mesh was folded over the LECA in order to create a barrier to prevent the substrate from draining through the LECA. It's open in the front to leave room for the water feature.



Sphagnum moss over the mess for an extra layer between the LECA and substrate. And my ghostwood that will act as an additional barrier between the substrate and water feature. Had fun with a hacksaw here.



The substrate I created using Coco fiber, unfertilzed succulent soil, and perlite to create a very porous and well draining soil so that the succulents won't rot.



Adding the substrate to the tank:



More fun with a hacksaw so I could get my driftwood to fit nicely. I added my springtails at this point too. My DH couldn't get over the fact that I ordered live bugs and had them shipped to me and they won't even be eaten by the frog



Plants and moss added!



And last but not least, the river stones as the bottom of the water feature. I haven't added water yet. Waiting till the boys get home so I can put it back up on the stand before making it even heavier with water.



My Uncarina Peltata and Cephalopentandra Ecirrhosa are still seedlings, so you can't really see them in this photo, but the Uncarina is in the back and the Ceph is along the right side in front of the Aeonium Cyclops.



And BOOYA! We are DONE! Now to let the plants settle in and root for the next week, then Willy and Billy will move right on in!


I'll try to get better shots tomorrow too It's a bit hard to get good shots when it's so dark. And no my house isn't a disaster area now at all. LOL I'm just thankful the DH and roommate are out of town!!!

[erini]

And for those who are curious, these are the plants that are in the Viv:

This is the one I'm most excited about! You can easily propagate it by cutting a rosette off the top and planting it, which will stunt its height as well. This is the guy hanging out in the back. Presenting Aeonium Decorum CV Sunburst Crested:



For some height and a perch - Aeonium Arboreum Schwartzkopf. There are three of these on the left side of the driftwood. They're a little hard to see in the photo since they're dark and the background is black:



And I also got an Aeonium Cyclops. But I'll probably eventually have to remove this guy and turn him into a houseplant as the rosette gets to a foot in diameter! I couldn't resist though.



The Sedum Spathulifolium for ground cover in addition to moss.
(Capo Blanco)

(Carnea)



Cotyledon Sinus Alexander for ground cover as well, this is the flowering plant in the lefthand corner:



I'm going to try and turn this into an epiphyte, Senecio Jacobensii, I'm hoping it takes. Obviously this guy is on the driftwood.



Now to for more height and foilage, these are still all seedlings so it'll take about a year before we get some decent height and foiliage out of them:
Cephalopentandra Ecirrhosa (front right, in front of the Aeonium Cyclops, you can't see it in the pics because it's the tiniest of them all right now.)



Uncarina Peltata - Can't really see this guy yet as well as he's behind the driftwood and just started to leaf out:



And lastly Sesamothamnus Benguellensis. This one is the itty bitty leafy thing front and center in front of the driftwood.



And there's the little tillandsia hanging out towards the bottom and two additional succulents that I've propagate from the terrariums I make as a hobby. No idea what type they are, but I thought they added a nice touch.

[John]

Wow Erini. This is awesome. I like the way you executed this, especially considering the unusual shape of the terrarium. I'm sure people will get plenty of inspiration from it. Thanks!

[DonLisk]

Really nicely done. Love the choice of plants. Gonna be some happy frogs in that build :-)

[erini]

Thanks John and Don! This is my first Viv so I take that as a huge compliment!

I started working on creating the lid for the top last night as well as covering up the filter and water heater holes. Those are tacks on there right now, I gotta get more staples for the staple gun. But I used gutter netting as the overall cover. The inner frame is wrapped in landscape mesh and is under the gutter netting to prevent any little toesies from getting caught. The mesh and the 1/2" height is also nice, because it filters and raises the light from being directly on the cage so the frogs won't be able to burn themselves on it. I have a similar set up on the two smaller holes, except that there's no wood, and they're siliconed down instead since I don't need to remove those. These aren't quite done yet, I'm waiting for my strips of magnets to get here, then I will fasten the strips to both the wood and the top of the tank so that the frogs can't move the lid. The magnetic pull with be about 10 lbs with both magnets together, so we should be good to go!

[erini]

Some better pictures, I took it outside to get some decent lighting

[Heatheranne]

Beautiful viv!

[Frog Mom]

I love it. The plants are beautiful, and I love how the dark background really makes everything pop. Nice!

[caverboy]

Very nice, they will love it. What, if anything, are you going to do with regard to light and heat ???

Thanks

[erini]

Thanks!

Caver - the lamp sits on top of the lid I created. The inner frame of the lid is removable, so if the vivarium gets too hot with the lamp, I can put in the mesh frame. Also if I want filtered light at night I can insert the mesh screen. I can also insert/remove it as needed as a vent for humidity. The gutter netting of the screen sits 1/2" above the vivarium. Originally I was going to staple the netting to the outer frame, but I've discovered that with the tacks, I can sit the lamp another 1/2" above the screen, to decrease the chances of a frog getting burned. I've been watching the temperature and it sits at a comfortable 74-78 during the day and 70-74 at night. I'll add a heat pad to the side during the winter if the temperature looks like it will drop lower.

[caverboy]

Can you be a little more specific about the type and wattage of the lights? Do you use a colored light at night? If so, what? Thanks for your help.