How-to question about terrarium ponds

[ZOIVII3IE]

I have been trying to figure out how to make a pond for my tree frogs, but keep coming up with problems. I'm thinking something like this...

My questions are... how does he keep the water from being stagnant? He mentioned something in his post about putting in a filter, but I don't know where or how or what he used to make that work..
Second, how do you keep the water from expanding throughout the entire bottom of the tank?

[Tropicok]

Zoo-med has a new under substrate waterfall kit with small pump, tubing, instructions etc. for about $30 -$40 and I am going to try it in a couple of months. Have to save up, don't we all?

[1beataway]

It was weird to see my pic up.

I'm a she though.

The setup was something Saurian had on display at a reptile expo. Under the moss and dirt is a white pad, and under that is hydroballs, and the pump is in the layer of hydroballs near the back, with a tube leading to the pool area. The water is across the whole bottom, reaching only to the top of the hydroball layer.

I have to work out a few kinks though. One of my frogs is so acrobatic, he's destructive.

[SludgeMunkey]

A sweet looking set up like the one pictured can use a huge combination of different items to keep the water moving. If it was mine, I would use a small fountain pump with a length of tubing on the outlet run behind that awesome faux rock background. Then I would let the water trickle down the front of the background.

However, the best way to keep water from getting stagnant, pump or not, is to do regular water changes.

Over at Caudata Culture, we have a page of various vivaria builds you may find helpful. While they are built with caudates in mind, many would be suitable for anura too. If anything, you may get some interesting ideas!

[ZOIVII3IE]

I went and bought a waterfall system, and just layered rocks along the entire bottom of the cage. Its going to be a hassle until I get something like you were saying though, seeing as how I'd have to replace the dirt and upper layers and clean the rocks off quite frequently- until I get the other setup, how often do you guys think I should clean the rocks off? The waterfall keeps the water in the pond area moving but I don't think it really makes a difference to the water around the rocks under the rest of the cage. Here's a photo (Its pretty bad because I used a camera phone but you get the idea):

How do you guys do water changes in a setup like this? I've always just had a water dish, could I use the pump to get the water out to clean the rocks??
My frogs do seem a lot happier, they've actually been swimming and playing in the water a lot. In the back the water is very shallow and they love to sit and soak there.
Also, I'm really wondering about something weird that happened this morning, take a look at my question in the tree frog section if you feel inclined:
http://www.frogforum.net/tree-frogs/...ree-frogs.html

[1beataway]

A sweet looking set up like the one pictured can use a huge combination of different items to keep the water moving. If it was mine, I would use a small fountain pump with a length of tubing on the outlet run behind that awesome faux rock background. Then I would let the water trickle down the front of the background.

However, the best way to keep water from getting stagnant, pump or not, is to do regular water changes.

Over at Caudata Culture, we have a page of various vivaria builds you may find helpful. While they are built with caudates in mind, many would be suitable for anura too. If anything, you may get some interesting ideas!

Hey Johnny, I thought about it after I put together my vivarium, but I would love a waterfall. There's a chance that I may have to redo this setup sometime, because I didn't do the substrate in the best way (really, I should have bought double the hydroballs and double the rocks). Would you be up for helping me figure out how to do so using what I have?

[SludgeMunkey]

Hey Johnny, I thought about it after I put together my vivarium, but I would love a waterfall. There's a chance that I may have to redo this setup sometime, because I didn't do the substrate in the best way (really, I should have bought double the hydroballs and double the rocks). Would you be up for helping me figure out how to do so using what I have?

Anytime. I am a troubleshooter by trade. No engineering task is to great! (I don't have the clearance to do weapons systems anymore though...)

[1beataway]

Anytime. I am a troubleshooter by trade. No engineering task is to great! (I don't have the clearance to do weapons systems anymore though...)

I was going to add weapons to my vivarium. The building was going to be in the corner, next to the frogs' favourite hiding spot behind the tall plant.

But cool. I'll start thinking of questions to ask you.

[1beataway]

In a setup like mine (very first pic), how would the tubing work if I wanted to do a waterfall? How am I going to be sure there's enough force to get the water through the tube, without it going all over the place? If there is a crevice in the faux rock background that leads to the bottom, can I use that, or do I need to use something else to direct the flow?

I had wanted this "waterfall" to flow into a little stream that flows into the pond area...but Luigi is actually pretty good about moving those rocks in my vivarium, and I'm sure he would do the same for the rocks I would use for the stream. Do you have any other ideas, Johnny?

[SludgeMunkey]

All fountain and pond pumps are sold with the NPSH listed on the packaging. NPSH is Net Positive Suction Head which is a ratio describing (rough description) the rate at which water is pumped to a certain height. If you carefully read the packaging, or better yet research pumps on line, you will find one that has a flow rate that meets the height requirements you need.

Given the laws of physics (specifically fluid dynamics), you want to chose a pump in the 20-50 GPM flow rate for a lift of one foot. Again, this is a rough estimate. As silly as it sounds your elevation above sea level makes a big difference in the pump size you would need. (For instance, folks in Denver need a bigger pump to do the job, folks in New Orleans can get by with a smaller one...)

The other big factor is the diameter of tubing you install on the out put of the pump. Small diameters have a lower volume but a higher flow rate and vice versa for large diameters. (I use 1/2 inch or 3/8 tubing generally speaking. Most fountain pumps have a 3/8 outlet, pond pumps significantly larger.)

[1beataway]

I saw the word physics and I saw numbers, and I thought, "I just woke up. It's way too early for things that require my brain."

At the very least, it'll be a few weeks before I do this, so I have time to reread and to find the information I need.