Designing a tank for white's tree frogs

[frogged]

I am finally getting down in two weeks time to design a 30 gallon vivarium for the two juvenile whites, which both finally seem to be healthy, eating and pooping consistently.

The tank will be of a largely opaque, plastic material, largely because my pockets are very thin. My spatially gifted neighbour will be constructing the entire tank, which will consist of all parts but the front(screen) made of plastic.

My essential problems are as follows:

1. I am virtually clueless about plants. I like the look of plants that appear similar to the larger philodendrons, and through some prior googling, I find Aglaonema and Calathea suited to my tastes. Will these plants outgrow the vivarium? What measures are there to keep them in place? What other suggestions are there as to choice of plants? Will these plants take the weight of full grown whites?

2. How do I keep any hanging plants, for instance pothos or bird nest ferns alive whilst suspended in the backdrop? For that matter, how should such a backdrop be constructed?

3. I will be using a false bottom and eco earth as substrate. How does the water trapped beneath the false bottom get removed? I am of the view that using a separate water source will be wiser.

4. Are there any functional features which more experienced individuals may find important to keeping whites in a vivarium?

Thanks for the help!

[HerpDerp]

My essential problems are as follows:

1. I am virtually clueless about plants. I like the look of plants that appear similar to the larger philodendrons, and through some prior googling, I find Aglaonema and Calathea suited to my tastes. Will these plants outgrow the vivarium? What measures are there to keep them in place? What other suggestions are there as to choice of plants? Will these plants take the weight of full grown whites?

I can't answer all of your questions about these plants specifically but some plants that I enjoy are dracaena, pothos and bromeliad. The bromeliad will definitely hold a full grown white's, as will something like a snake plant. For fast growing plants like pothos I suggest you just prune it back as needed. The clippings root very easily so you could make smaller plants to then add to your terrarium or just keep as house plants.

2. How do I keep any hanging plants, for instance pothos or bird nest ferns alive whilst suspended in the backdrop? For that matter, how should such a backdrop be constructed?

For this I really think you should check out the vivarium discussion board. There are very knowledgeable people there with detailed posts on how they've constructed realistic backgrounds. They would be TONs of help.

3. I will be using a false bottom and eco earth as substrate. How does the water trapped beneath the false bottom get removed? I am of the view that using a separate water source will be wiser.

For my false bottom I used a small fish tank airline hose. It was just long enough to go from the bottom of the tank to about two inches above the surface and I then used a connector piece so I can attach another piece of airline tube to siphon the water out. All these materials can be found at your local petstore or walmart. Some people use pumps to make a water feature with the water, but this is just a simple, cheap way I did it.

4. Are there any functional features which more experienced individuals may find important to keeping whites in a vivarium?

I'm not particularly experienced with this sort of thing to be honest. The only thing I can think of is to think smartly when you're constructing the whole thing. Make sure that you have easy access to everything you need access to and make sure maintenance wont be too much of a headache. Other than that, good luck and post pictures!