RETF vivarium almost done :)

[Heatheranne]

It's for my red eyed tree frogs ....

Well, it's nearly done. Just need to finish the waterfall.

Any suggestions on keeping my plants healthy? I have the GE 6500 day lights. I mist 2-3x/day with distilled water. Should I also water the plants and how often? I have been gently watering 2x per week just enough to remoisten the substrate. I do not want any mold but want the plants to stay healthy and living . I'm good with critters, not so much with plants.

The viv has a false bottom, then layered with aquarium gravel, sphagnum peat moss, then Eco earth substrate. I did not keep the plants in their pots. They were planted in the substrate after all roots were cleaned and rinsed thoroughly, until only the roots were visible.

I'd love any suggestions .

My photo upload from my phone is misbehaving, so I'll load some pictures when I get home. Oops!

[Poly]

Can't wait to see the photos! The plants should grow great under the 6500K lights!

~Royce

[Poly]

In my coming Tomato Frof Vivarium, for misting/watering of the plants, I hooked up a small 2" round mist sprinkler head to a 12V 1/8" line water pump, and it works great, leave it on for 5 seconds to lightly mist their vivarium, and leave it on for 15 seconds to simulate rain, then pump the water back out of the false bottom once it's drained through the substrate.

~Royce

[DonLisk]

When I mist the RTFs, twice daily, I usually mist enough to dampen the top of the soil and wet the plant's leaves. This should be plenty for keeping the plants. I also wet down the leaf liter too.

[Heatheranne]

Thanks!



The waterfall will go into the space on the right. Not all of the lights are on it yet. Some are over my terrarium.

Think my retf's will like it?

[ViperJr]

Yes, definatly a huge improvment. Nice work. What dimensions are the vivarium?

[Badger]

Awesome! They are gonna love it!

[SNAKE]

Your tank isn't Good at All !
For TREE frogs you need a High and fairly long terrarium. The dimensions Must be of 60x50x80 (cm) (Lxlxh) for this specie.
What didn't you do a back round ou of xaxim with ficus pumilia growing on It. Just that would make It Look much better !
What are your températures In the tank ?

Snake.

[Badger]

Your tank isn't Good at All !
For TREE frogs you need a High and fairly long terrarium. The dimensions Must be of 60x50x80 (cm) (Lxlxh) for this specie.
What didn't you do a back round ou of xaxim with ficus pumilia growing on It. Just that would make It Look much better !
What are your températures In the tank ?

Snake.

Wrong.

As Martin previously stated, they need a high-er tank, but hers looks at least 18 inches, which is fine.

She's been keeping Red eyeds for a while, I'm pretty sure she has a good hold on what she's doing. As for the background, what suits your taste may not suit hers, custom backgrounds take a lot more time than a normal one. I'm not gonna flame you for, well, flaming, but please keep in mind that we like to be as friendly and helpful here as possible, while keeping the person's feelings in mind.

[SNAKE]

I do not consider m'y messages like mean. I just ask questions and expose my point of vue. 18" inches make 40vm approximately, no ?
Well, for europeeans, these dimensions are not at All "reglementary". Not even for a terrestrial specie.
With the substrate, 30 cm are Left ! Thats ridiculously small !!
I Hope at leat that the tank is situated at at least 5 or 6 feet High from the ground .

[ViperJr]

Snake, this is not true. Yes, they need a high tank, but that does not mean it needs to be taller than wider. With your logic, a 100*40*40 is way better than a 90*100*100, which is a strange logic (this example is based on that you actually don't know the dimensions, just that it's wider than taller). Also, I wouldn't say that 80cm is minimum in terms of height.
However, I'm also curious on the dimensions, which I ask about earlier.

[SNAKE]

What ?
I mean that his tank, wich does not Look tall at All, isn't adapted. I agréé With you, a 80x80x100 is MUCH better then Ã* 120x60x50. I'm sorry that I Did not expose my thaughts clearely.

Snake.

[butcher]

rude!!

[Heatheranne]

Hi guys!

No worries in the comments. I am looking for good opinions as to what is best for my babies along with the style I like.

No one has hurt my feelings . It seems to be more frustrating for you guys, than myself.

The frogs, 2 adult, 1 juvenile, are not in the viv yet. I am waiting to try and perfect it before they move in .

The dimensions are 48 inches long, 13 inches wide, 20 inches high. It is a 55 gallon tank.

I can add more vine to the top if needed. The plants are fairly snug together, so prefer not to add more unless you think best.

I started to make a foam background with pots for plants to hang down. It looked cluttered. I may be able to run a strip along the top back and do so. Yet, I was hoping to not. I think I'd prefer running more vine and adding more crawling plants.

Again, no worries. I have not been offended. I was looking for guidance. This is my first live vivarium.

Although, I think it has turned out pretty good so far.

Oh ... and I could not currently purchase the 125 gallon I previously wanted. Maybe another time. I make good money, but financially I have put over $500 into the tank, stand, cover, light, etc. My husb would shoot me if I came home with a $1000+ set-up for my frogs .

Thanks again!

Waiting to hear some advice .....

[Badger]

Oh, 55 gallon, woohoo. Awesome looking so far! What kinda plants are you using?

[flybyferns]

Ahhhhhhhhhh!
Does anyone really think that 2 WELL CARED FOR for Red Eyes are going to fail to thrive in this really , really great enclosure ?

Heather -- it's very nicely done.

[ViperJr]

I can add more vine to the top if needed. The plants are fairly snug together, so prefer not to add more unless you think best.

If you can, you should, if you ask me. The more the better with these frogs, basically. Perhaps more plants to connect the to sides together as well, as you have plants to the left and right, but not so much in the middle.

[Heatheranne]

The right sided hole will hold a waterfall. This is what it looked like before I added more plants. The waterfall is not complete yet.

I'll sketch out the adding of more plants. See what I can come up with. Thanks Viper!

[flybyferns]

Heather,

It looks really great !
Getting the plants to stretch across the top is a tough one. Does the lid have any plastic seams or little ledges that you could drill a little hole into??

ie I attached 2 long pothos branches w / a shower hook:






Could you create a ie 4 inch pot holder at the top of the water falls? so a trailing type plant could eventually be stretch along the top.



My art work is terrible ! Sorry.


check these out :

Planter Ledge - Earth - Small

Lynn

[ViperJr]

The right sided hole will hold a waterfall. This is what it looked like before I added more plants. The waterfall is not complete yet.

I'll sketch out the adding of more plants. See what I can come up with. Thanks Viper!

Hmm, I really can't tell what's in that picture, it's incredibly small. Could you try get a picture with higher resolution?

Also, I really recommend a fogger or mister. It's totally fine to just mist twice as you do, but a fogger or mister saves so much trouble and time. You can also go away a weekend without having to get a personal mist-person! They're not expensive, and I can imagine they're even cheaper in the US.

If you do want to get more plants "in the middle", pothos should work like a charm, but there are of course other options as well.