New 20 tall aquarium, what to do next

[fish4all]

I am throwing around different ideas for this time around. My first setup is a simple 10 gallon with Hydroton under window screen for drainage. Coconut coir mixed with worm castings for substrate for plants and a small Pyrex dish for a water feature. New tank is a 20 tall, 24x12x16. The larger size is really nice and the height will allow me to let the peperomia to grow taller before I have to trim them.

I just can't decide how to setup this tank.
Hydroton again or simple egg crate instead. The purpose is drainage right so why would I use Hydroton?
Water feature, is it better to have a removable deep dish that will fit in there or to make a permanent type feature by siliconing a piece of glass in the tank?
For a top, should I use the same screen type or custom make my own glass top? I am thinking of one that opens 3 ways would give me plenty of access to everything and keep humidity a little higher so I don't have to spray the plants so often. That ad the coconut coir is really sticky when it dried out even the slightest.
For lighting I am planning on using a T8 or maybe a dome with a full spectrum 6500K compact fluorescent. The T8 gives more light where the dome allows me to direct the light over the plants and give the frogs the rest of the tank to get away from the light if they want to.

I want to work on something that will allow me to cover the substrate so the frogs don't have to deal with it. Moss is the most likely choice obviously but I don't know which one to consider. I know this makes feeding crickets a little bit more difficult but I am fairly certain the frogs will eat from a dish, at least eat crickets anyway. Are there other options for a ground cover or is moss the best choice? I am pretty sure it shouldn't hinder plant growth, am I correct there? It will be mainly peperomia and maybe a pathos or other vine eventually.

Eventually I do plan on setting up a 40-55 gallon aquarium for frogs. Until then I want to make this one as good as I can with the possibility of having enough water that they may decide to lay eggs one day.

[DartEd]

Drainage layers are builders choice really. They both do the job. Hydroton is heavier. If you plan on Ming the tank around go wit egg crate.

Peperomia caperata oly grows 8" tall and peperomia verscheffeltii grows about 6 " tall. Both thicken out and widen so they should thrive in that size enclosure so long as the soil drains well and light reaches them. Which brings me to lighting. 6500Kelvin is great color spectrum and you'll need about 1200-1500 lumens to penetrate 20 inches to the bottom although you can get away with a little less if you don't mind plants not coloring to their full potential. The T8 you're planning on is more than adequate. I found full spectrum t5 grow light with fixture and reflector for 30 bucks on eBay. Shop around.

3 way opening lid sounds impressive. I'm assuming front opening, tilt slide and lift out? Screen versus glass will depend on humidity retention and requirements. As for water feature, I think removable is easier to clean, but less natural looking. And vice versa. You don't need to glue glass in place. Some use a pump hidden by cork. There's tons of ways.

What type of frog are you housing?

And finally, don't forget to take lots of progress pictures. It's fun and rewarding. When someone says how'd you do it, just show them. .

[fish4all]

Not front opening, top opening. 2/3 will open front and back and one third will open to the side. I am not ready to try a front opening terrarium yet. I want the floor space for plants and the water feature.

The frogs are Pacific Chorus frogs, nothing fancy but they are fun to watch and the color variations are awesome. Only 2 of them have colors even close to the other and that is from the exact same drying up ditch.

And what is Ming?

[DartEd]

Hahaha. Ming is the iPads version of moving. Lol. Sry. If you plan on moving the tank. Omg. So many ipad spasms.

[deranged chipmunk]

way to upgrade Chris the one advantage to using a false bottom is that with the reservoir that is created, you can utilize mechanical filtration for a water feature, if you so choose to build one. one of those little zoomed 501 external canisters for turtles work really well in that situation due to the fact that they are designed to work with low water levels.

lighting, i agree with Ed 100%. you just cannot beat t5 lighting. you can actually get a decent priced 24" model at aquatraders.com. i have several of their odyssea units and they are very reliable.

sheet moss will work well for covering the substrate. no need to worry about planting space, just position the plants and then cut the sheet moss to cover any bare spots. easy as pie

[deranged chipmunk]

So many ipad spasms.

that's because apple is the devil's corporation ed!!!LOL

[fish4all]

My compact fluorescent bulbs are 70 watt equivalent, 6500K and 1165 lumens. jut wanted to share the info of what I have found. I imagine one of them light a good sized tank plenty bright for most plant.

I was curious after reading your post Ed about penetration being an issue. I know it will diffuse a little but the lumens lost shouldn't be significant. I know for aquariums one has a lot of lost light that low growing plants can't use but through glass and air I wasn't aware that there was that much difference in the first 2 feet of lighting. Good reflector and quality lighting being used of course.

If I don't add a water feature like a waterfall or other running water type and only put in a pond section how high should I make the false bottom?

[deranged chipmunk]

you are correct that light doesn't lose as much through air as it does through water. the par values decrease less than 1% through air.

if you are just doing a small pond, i would go with a hydroton base. why waste critical air space if it's not necessary?

[fish4all]

That is what the basic idea is that I have. I don't know about wasted air space but I definitely want something under the plant substrate to prevent bogging.

Pond will likely be as large as I can make it or as large a container as I can put in there. Hoping to find a deep glass dish that will fit right in there so less need to fill in gaps and stuff to keep both food and frogs out. Will be less than half though, more likely 1/3 to 1/4 of the length and full depth of the tank. I don't want to silicone a piece of glass in but I may just do it to make it simpler. Can always take it out if I want to change things another day.

[DartEd]

that's because apple is the devil's corporation ed!!!LOL

Hahaha. I say the same but it was a birfdee gift from my wife and it sure is kinda neat. Steve Jobs' spirit has possessed me. I was a die hard android and pc guy but the iPad is nice. I would never buy the devils phone though. Android phones for life!

[deranged chipmunk]

oh yeah....i am 100% android. mainly because my android can spell birthday.....rotf!!!

[DartEd]

TOUCHÉ Monsieur *****cat

Edit. The forum just censored a Tom and Jerry line?? Ok weird.

[deranged chipmunk]

that's because you used a "george carlin" word.....lol and sorry bud, i couldn't resist....lol next time try mixing tom and jerry with some tweety bird.....puddytat....lol