RETF vivarium needs plant ideas!

[Heatheranne]

Bill is your man for the plants. Donlisk too.

Pothos are easy and do not require much light. Even I don't kill them, which says a lot, lol! No green thumb here .

Bill? What are these?

I've used them before. They seem to like the moisture and have nice heavy, broad leaves.

I also use dracaena and snake plants. I keep the snake plants in the areas that drain well. Broms are nice too.

I have some nice plants waiting patiently for their big tank .

[deranged chipmunk]

Heather, that looks like a Aglaonema Commutatum. i am probably wrong....lol it also looks a bit like some species of spathipyhyllum. i think someone posted a thread about that same plant a week or so ago. they said they id'd it, but never said what it is.

[deranged chipmunk]

oh yeah, i forgot, and thanks Heather for adding it. Broms are great starters. easy to grow, but slow growers. and then there are tillandsia (air plants). for the life of me, i cannot grow those stupid things. personally, i think broms and tilly's are used way too much. but they do look nice

[tinkgirl77]

Awesome! I think I'm going to drag the hubby to Lowe's to get some stuff to start making a false bottom and get some starter plants too! I'm so freaking excited, I don't think my hubby had any idea how much I was going to get into this! Ok Heather, Lynne, Bill... from the bottom of the vivarium to the top layer... using a false bottom (probably eggcrate) what do you use or you recommend?

[deranged chipmunk]

first, i recommend you get wider pvc pipe than you would think you need for your support struts under the egg crate. so that gives us now the egg crate false bottom. is this tank going to have a water feature? how far from the false bottom is the water going to be? the reason i ask is the "wicking factor". if your water level is too close to the egg crate, it will wick up moisture from below and you will have a bog, instead of a well drained tank. a few ways to combat that are to keep the water level at least an inch below the egg crate, or add hydroton (clay pellets) as a drainage layer on top of the egg crate before adding soil. a lot of people will tell you that that is not necessary, but if you are keeping a close tolerance with water levels, then i think it is necessary to avoid having soggy substrate. remember, soggy substrates grow nasty bacteria, which could affect the health of the frogs. RETF's are sensitive enough without adding another complication.

as far as substrate materials goes, you have a whole lot of options there. your best bet is start building the false bottom. take one step at a time. don't rush anything. keep in mind, this is not an instant gratification hobby. i like to call building vivs "the long con".

[tinkgirl77]

LOL Bill you are definetly right. I'm open to whatever... I'm working with an Exo Terra 18x18x24. .

I'm thinking of doing a little false bottom like this... but much, much simpler.

[tinkgirl77]

The little open part I was going to fill with large river rock pebbles (larger than the little RETF can eat). and put a filter in the corner. The pond area would give me an area to siphon the water from when needed. Do you think I need a water feature? or should I just use the filter like an exo terra repti-clear to keep it clean?

[deranged chipmunk]

i'd stay away from a water feature on your first build. they can be major headaches. what kind of filter did you plan to put in the corner? you would have to lay the repticlear on it's side, otherwise, it stands 9" or so. here's the problem, only you know what you want your tank to look like, so until you have some sort of structure built, i can only give you general ideas. the easy way out would be to get one of those rock waterfalls that holds the filter in it and utilize it flowing into your pond area. don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with going the easy route on your first build.

did you read over my mantella tank build yet? i think alot of your questions may be answered in it. i wrote it as a step by step detailed tutorial. and it incorporates a lot of the features it sound like you are looking for. i normally don't direct people to my build threads, but i think in this case, it might be helpful

[arielgasca420]

oh yeah, i forgot, and thanks Heather for adding it. Broms are great starters. easy to grow, but slow growers. and then there are tillandsia (air plants). for the life of me, i cannot grow those stupid things. personally, i think broms and tilly's are used way too much. but they do look nice

I have a few Tillandsia that grow very slow but I found this Tillandsia bulbosa at my local nursery that looks so awesome. I put it on the base of the orchid pot and it looks like long aerial roots. you should check it out if you havent seen it yet

[deranged chipmunk]

I have a few Tillandsia that grow very slow but I found this Tillandsia bulbosa at my local nursery that looks so awesome. I put it on the base of the orchid pot and it looks like long aerial roots. you should check it out if you havent seen it yet

i've seen the bulbosa. my plant shop has them on a regular basis. the source from RFI, so they carry quite a bit that you guys get out there. i just am not a big fan of them. as my mother, who has been a florist for 50 some years said to me, "you're the type of person who could grow an orchid in a dark, dry room, but give you a plant that needs little water and light and you kill it every time"....LOL

[arielgasca420]

i've seen the bulbosa. my plant shop has them on a regular basis. the source from RFI, so they carry quite a bit that you guys get out there. i just am not a big fan of them. as my mother, who has been a florist for 50 some years said to me, "you're the type of person who could grow an orchid in a dark, dry room, but give you a plant that needs little water and light and you kill it every time"....LOL

haha thats funny. I was always digging through my moms dump pile to retrieve plants she gave up on. I would bring them back to life and sell them in the flower shop I worked at.
i am still learning how to grow orchids right now without using fertilizer. send me a PM if you have any tips or suggestions

[arielgasca420]

Bill is your man for the plants. Donlisk too.

Pothos are easy and do not require much light. Even I don't kill them, which says a lot, lol! No green thumb here .

Bill? What are these?

I've used them before. They seem to like the moisture and have nice heavy, broad leaves.

I also use dracaena and snake plants. I keep the snake plants in the areas that drain well. Broms are nice too.

I have some nice plants waiting patiently for their big tank .

This first picture is so hard to tell. I dont think its Aglonema commutatum but there may be some soil deficiency going on that makes the marginal veins that white color. I think it looks more like a marbled Dieffenbachia just because of the leaf shape and size. These kind of plants ID questions are like a treasure hunt for me! keep them comming

[deranged chipmunk]

This first picture is so hard to tell. I dont think its Aglonema commutatum but there may be some soil deficiency going on that makes the marginal veins that white color. I think it looks more like a marbled Dieffenbachia just because of the leaf shape and size. These kind of plants ID questions are like a treasure hunt for me! keep them comming

see, i originally though Diff. sp., but the white stems are throwing me off. a majority of the diff. sp. have green stems. i also thought the leaves, while similar shape to a diff. are a bit shorter? that may just be a perception issue though due to it being a pic.