Hexagon Vivarium Journal/ Advice?

[Badger]

Hello, I am soon to be starting my first serious vivarium build. Low budget though . Oh well, I'll make it work. I have a 35 gallon hex tank that be used, my materials list is as follows:

Great Stuff big gap filler
GE silicone II in Black
Eco Earth (2 Bricks)
Gravel/ or false bottom, have yet to decide.
Calathea "Medallion" from Black Jungle (Calathea 'Medallion")
Creeping Fig form Black Jungle (Creeping Fig - Ficus pumila)
Numerous fake plants I had lying around (Fern, Another Calathea and some random leafy plant)


Inhabitants: 2 baby whites tree frogs, 1 Northern Leopard frog, and 1 Wood Frog.

I will be posting pictures and updating this thread after every day I do something, Any advice/feedback/ help is greatly appreciated!

[Badger]

Alright, Finally Got the first layer of the first wall of great stuff down. I took the pictures right after it was applied so it hasn't expanded yet. Sorry for the bad quality, forgot to turn flash off so the great stuff is like its a white blob. D:< I built the great stuff up where I'm gonna carve ledges/ caves and such.

Pictures: How's it look so far? Any opinions/questions/comments/advice is hugely appreciated!

[eloyhouse]

hello, Ive just saw your post, well the overall idea is very good, just wondering how are you doing with your project??
maybe you can post some pictures of the vivarium so we can give you some advice on what you allready have.
one sugestion don`t mix species you can transmit dissease and parasites and the frogs can get very streesed
hope it helps regards

[Badger]

I am waiting overnight for the GS to fully cure, I poked some holes to help it cure faster. About the mixing species thing: I think I may just put the white's in after all, I already have the tank for the terrestrial frogs done, so they can stay in there. tomorrow I will be carving, adding more great stuff to the other 2 walls, and possibly buying the eco-earth. I think. This is fun

The pictures are displaying correctly right? they're attached to the second post.

[eloyhouse]

good idea on separating the frogs, and yes the pictures are displaying correctly, I can suggest you to add a lot of plants with big leaves and branches so your Litoreas will have a lot of hiding places and feel more secure.

keep updating regards

[Badger]

Will do, and will do, I posted a wanted ad for plant clippings in the classifieds, I'm oon a low budget and only have $20 for plants, so anything that you may have extra of would be hugely appreciated! thanks for the comments, I'll update tomorrow.

[Heatheranne]

Oh no! Thank goodness! I hope everything's okay.

[Heatheranne]

Badger, what are you laying over your false bottom and screen? What kind of rocks, substrate, etc?

[Badger]

I will be using eco earth over the screen, with various plants on the floor and on the background, along with river rocks running down the waterfall making tiny white water rapids lol.

Update: just cut the egg-crate and had to put an extra 2 PVC supports, currently waiting for the silicone to dry a bit so I can put the egg-crate over it. Pics:

[Heatheranne]

Sounds great!

[Badger]

Hehe, thanks! and nope, nothing serious, but the walk in wasn't open lol.

Update: CHANGE OF PLANS! Alright, so I had a hell of a time trying to do my waterfall the way I originally planned. The way I thought I would do it is run the tubing up the pre cut channel, and have a small piece of 1 inch pvc as like a nozzle of sorts, but this didn't work because the tube hates me and didn't wanna stay straight and the PVC didn't wanna stay put, so I said screw it, and ran a second conduit up the channel, with a hole cut out, which the tubing sticks out of, basically doing the same thing but easier. Anyways it worked, I great stuffed all over the tube and refilled the plant pots so I can redo em. Camera is charging right now, So I'll be posting pics in like 5 minutes.


Off topic: How did I do making my new signature?

[Badger]

Alright, heres the pics:

The foam already expanded more than I expected, I'm afraid to wake up and look at it lol. Wish me luck.

[roynard]

hey new to the forum, i am also looking to build a terrarium for my white's tree frog.
this is looking really good! I just was wondering how do you make the great stuff foam
safe for frogs? or do you just cover it with coco fiber?
I am thinking of just buying a 10 gallon and doing something like this as a vertical tank.
but then i wonder how fast he'll outgrow a 10 gallon even if it's vertical :-o
anyway, just wanted to say it looked great and you're inspiring me to make my own with all of the
pictures.

[Badger]

The great stuff is already safe for em, but to make it look natural you smear silicone all over it, then pour Eco Earth (Coco Fiber) all over it. let sit for 48 hours. maybe a little bit more.

About the 10 gallon. The 10 gallon would be fine for a froglet/ juv but he would outgrow it in a couple months. 1 adult white's should have a minimum 29 gallon, but you could fit 2 in there comfortably. Thanks for the comments too Viv building is probably one of the most fun parts of the hobby. Lemme know if you have any more questions.

[Heatheranne]

Looking great!

[Badger]

Thanks!

[Badger]

Just carved the pond and added a couple rocks....Whatchya think?

Pics:

[Heatheranne]

Very nice. How bout a front view?

[Badger]

Will do as soon as I get back to my mom's house (where the tank is). I forgot to take a front view, sorry

[Heatheranne]

Lol! I used the caulking gun to glue my waterfall foam together. I understand your frustrations, lol!