Opinions on 120g or 125g?

[mpmistr]

So I've been looking for a new and improved home for my three clawed frogs. They're in a 40 gallon breeder 36x18x17 right now but I feel this is kind of small and they're always so active I would like to move them to a larger home (and I'd like to have a project to work on this summer lol).

Anywho I've been trolling craigslist for tanks and I've found some 125 gallon 72x18x24 inch tanks but I also found a 120 gallon which had rather neat dimensions of 48x24x24 inches.

I am kind of thinking the 120 gallon would be of better dimensions since it has more depth and I would REALLY like to do a 'paludarium' style aquarium.



Here's an example of what I'd like to do, except I would like a water depth of 16" and less land mass. Do you guys think an african clawed frog would like that style of aquarium? I figure with 24 inches of height and depth I'd have some room to play with and I could grow some colorful terrestrial plants and still provide a more than adequate volume of water for my frogs to live in.

I think if I were to get a 125 gallon standard tank I would do a fully aquatic set up since 72" would be difficult and there's just not enough depth to that type of tank for it.

Any suggestions/comments?

[Bombina Bob]

Hi there
More room is always great! with a 120 gallon you can fit in six ACFs but i dont know
or think you would want any more, the ACFs rarely come out of the water and usually
if it's a drought. The Palidarium style seems great! but i would suggest much more water
than land. if your planning to do a 120 gallon setup with trhe paludarium, you can silicon
egg crate to the top where the land is and use PVC pipes to support that, then when
finished, a foam backround covering all plastics used can be covered, i dont know if
this will be an option since you want less land but if this dosent work, you could
always have pieces of land floating, notlike plain corkbark but maybe something
larger with a few plants.

Good luck with your build!

[mpmistr]

Hi there
More room is always great! with a 120 gallon you can fit in six ACFs but i dont know
or think you would want any more, the ACFs rarely come out of the water and usually
if it's a drought. The Palidarium style seems great! but i would suggest much more water
than land. if your planning to do a 120 gallon setup with trhe paludarium, you can silicon
egg crate to the top where the land is and use PVC pipes to support that, then when
finished, a foam backround covering all plastics used can be covered, i dont know if
this will be an option since you want less land but if this dosent work, you could
always have pieces of land floating, notlike plain corkbark but maybe something
larger with a few plants.

Good luck with your build!

The reason I'd like to try the paludarium is because I do like plants and I would love a nicely 'scaped lush tank. Quite frankly terrestrial plants are just cheaper and all the CO2 you need is in the air.. water has much less CO2 obviously. I'm YouTubin' all the methods for these tanks, it seems involved so I don't know if I will have this project done in the near future lol..

I do like the style though, I am not a risk taker and having an 'awesome' planted tank requires CO2, fertilizers, and strong lights. I don't want to blast my frogs with lights and poison them with fertilizers and CO2 gas.. I would obviously have more of a 75% water 25% land paludarium vs the 50/50 or 75/25 land/water ones I've seen. I will add aquatic plants but I'll just keep the kind that suck up nitrates, not for show.

I fully do not expect the frogs to care for any land. They simply do not leave the water unless in dire straits, this is true. They may enjoy being able to rest near the land though, they do hunt terrestrial insects in this way in nature. I thought it may be a more natural set up, and look rather awesome too.

I may add more frogs. I am not sure yet, to add frogs I need a 'grow out' tank because I can't find any frogs sold in stores large enough to coexist with my current group. I would just be effectively feeding the frogs to add any store bought frog at this time. I am pretty sure I have three female frogs at this point though, I kind of like the idea that I won't have to deal with mating, eggs, tadpoles, cannibalism....ect..

[rodsboys]

I personally like the footprint of the 120, but the 125 has more surface area. 9 square feet vs 8 square feet on the 120. The 125 also has a longer run for nonstop swimming. You can still do your palidarium since the height is the same.
If you are interested in adult frogs I will keep my eyes open. I just passed on several. I will be in you general area in July for a couple of days.

[mpmistr]

I personally like the footprint of the 120, but the 125 has more surface area. 9 square feet vs 8 square feet on the 120. The 125 also has a longer run for nonstop swimming. You can still do your palidarium since the height is the same.
If you are interested in adult frogs I will keep my eyes open. I just passed on several. I will be in you general area in July for a couple of days.

That's awesome man let me know.

I agree about the 125 gallon having a bit more swimming room (though the depth on the 120g is nice). If you watch these frogs closely (mine are in my living room so I see a lot of them!) they absolutely do dart around the tank randomly at lightning speed. My frogs also like to jump for food.. I have to admit they get excited for food and I've seen them do a vertical jump right into the glass lid (no damage luckily), some times they lunge at me when I have the lid open when I am doing feedings or water changes and almost jump out of the tank. They get a little too excited about food.......... Having more space to go full throttle would be nice.

Another reason I do like the 120 gallon though is it's a little easier to fit in my home. I rent a townhouse and I have..... too much stuff.

[Mentat]

The 125 has an extra square foot of surface area; but when it comes to decorating it, the 120 will beat it hands down. That extra 6 in. front to back provides greater sense of depth and also allow you to freely decorate tank without your dry area creeping frontwards. If buying used, try and find the tank date of manufacture sticker (ussually attached to bottom). Would stay away from anything older than 10 years or any tanks where silicon appears damaged, dry, brittle or harder than in a new one. Tanks can be resealed; but it's a time consuming job. You would have to completely remove all the old silicone before resealing and dealing with bad fumes. Good luck!

[deranged chipmunk]

having an 'awesome' planted tank requires CO2, fertilizers, and strong lights. I don't want to blast my frogs with lights and poison them with fertilizers and CO2 gas.. I would obviously have more of a 75% water 25% land paludarium vs the 50/50 or 75/25 land/water ones I've seen. I will add aquatic plants but I'll just keep the kind that suck up nitrates, not for show.

that is absolutely untrue. i have built many "awesome" tanks that used standard shop lights for lighting, no co2 or co2 supplements, and no ferts whatsoever.

while the extra 6" of depth is nice, it's really not as much as you would think when you start building. you can definitely have a nice, 6ft layout and still have a sense of depth. it all depends on how you lay it out. here is my 125 before i needed to take it down.

and here is another of my paludariums which is 18" deep, but has a sense of depth to it. it's a 40b


ultimately, it comes down to what you can fit though. and just a suggestion, have you considered building a riparium, vs a paludarium? the frog would probably love it. here's an example of a riparium that a friend of mine built.
Duff's 2nd Riparium - Page 4

hope that helps

[mpmistr]

Oh you certainly can do nice low tech tanks, though mine has been struggling for some reason (my water sprite just doesn't want to live anymore..). I've considered a riparium as well, and all these tanks do look fantastic. My only fear with a riparium is having an open tank to me is scary, my frogs have already shown great skill at escaping so I would need a glass lid.. Do you have any more pictures of your 40B tank? I really like it, how did you do the backgrounds.

[Bombina Bob]

wow! those are good paludariums!

[deranged chipmunk]

Oh you certainly can do nice low tech tanks, though mine has been struggling for some reason (my water sprite just doesn't want to live anymore..). I've considered a riparium as well, and all these tanks do look fantastic. My only fear with a riparium is having an open tank to me is scary, my frogs have already shown great skill at escaping so I would need a glass lid.. Do you have any more pictures of your 40B tank? I really like it, how did you do the backgrounds.

this should cover any questions you may have.
http://www.frogforum.net/vivarium-te...aludarium.html
the tank and frogs are currently being take care of by a friend of mine until my my wife and i can find a new house. i'm planning on getting over to his place at the end of the month and i plan on taking updated pics then.

[deranged chipmunk]

wow! those are good paludariums!

thanks Ryan. i am very proud of that 40

[mpmistr]

What type of wood are you using in that set up good sir?

[deranged chipmunk]

the 40 has a combination of manzanita and oak in it. the 125 had manzanita and mopani

[mpmistr]

Looks like I may be getting a 120 gallon that's 48x24x24 for 300 with stand lid and other accessories. It will be quite the home for my three frogs. =P

[deranged chipmunk]

good deal. if i could bave found one of those when i got my 125, i would have. but i couldn't beat the deal i got on mine.