The Build

[Meefloaf]

okay, had a bit of a nightmare with this recently, the rockoflex and plastidip caused mass problems which lead to me doing and cutting out two lots of expanding foam due to it not curing argh. anyways i ended up gorilla gluing the area i needed sorting out (will use titebond for the background of my next terra Bill)

anyways here's where i'm at now and the different lighting, added another branch, stood on its on after only 30mins and a dab of GG. as for the led lighting, thought i;d show where the light will be focused when it is on at night

[deranged chipmunk]

looks great buddy!! love the night time shots is that light colored section at the bottom the section we discussed?

[Meefloaf]

Yeah that's the part Filled in to stop the water getting at the background

[deranged chipmunk]

looks good. does it function the way you wanted it to?

[Meefloaf]

? I've not put any water he just yet but I've managed to cover all the gaps so shouldn't be a problem. Didn't realise how hard gorilla glue dries aha!

Going to the garden centre today to look for peat and charcoal for my substrate. Probably going to order my springtails, woodlice and worms tonight, once I know I've got soil lol

[DiggenEm]

Looks good to me. Have you decided on what frogs you want yet?

[Meefloaf]

Milk frogs, they had them at the place I went yesterday, no more than 2cm, sooooo cute. Had to resist temptation to say 'well, if I buy another tank and use that as a quarantine tank whilst my main tank grows in, that'll be fine, that'll be okay wont it? Surely' lol

[deranged chipmunk]

of course that would be ok. in fact, i would actually recommend putting them in a quarantine tank for at least 30 days before adding them to their new home. it gives you time to tweak the viv and also to evaluate the frogs health. i quarantine mine for a month before adding them. i know lynn does and heck, heather has had her darts in quarantine since october since she never built them a home yet.....lol

[Meefloaf]

i know Bill, thats why i was so tempted, i'm going to get my plants and custodians ordered this week, may have to pop over to the shop next week and get them, want to get plants done before thinking of quarantine

going to have to get em some fruit flies sorted too as they are soooo tiny, i cannot say how cute they were

[Meefloaf]

took a deep breath and splashed the cash on dartfrog, got some springtails and woodlice on their way (seira spring mega pack, didnt have the others so will order when in and got two different types of woodlice) and these plants

Guzmania theresae



Neoregelia fireball striped pot



Platycerium ellisi



Dracaena deremensis compacta



Asplenium antiquum



Neoregelia marginata offset



Epiprenum pictus argyraeus cutting

[DartfrogDan]

i've just been down to the dartfrog shop today to pick my frogs up,really nice bloke

[Heatheranne]

of course that would be ok. In fact, i would actually recommend putting them in a quarantine tank for at least 30 days before adding them to their new home. It gives you time to tweak the viv and also to evaluate the frogs health. I quarantine mine for a month before adding them. I know lynn does and heck, heather has had her darts in quarantine since october since she never built them a home yet.....lol

(lol! )

[Meefloaf]

Any tips for planting and trimming? Cheers Bill, fell in love with the Guzmania

[deranged chipmunk]

the guzmania and neos are epiphytes and can just be tied to a branch or attached to the background. so is the staghorn. the bird' nest, i would remove as many OUTER leaves as possible if you receive it in a larger form. then plant it in a pot. the dracaena is the same just plant it. the pothos, you can either plant the cut end, place the cut end n your water feature (if you have one) and let it grow out, or just lay it where you want it to grow from. pothos and philodendrons are amazing plants and can even be planted under water, and they will eventually gro themselves out of the water. you may also want to consider a small vining plant as well, such as a ficus pumilia (creeping fig) or a rhaphidophora species.

[Heatheranne]

Looking great!

[deranged chipmunk]

looking good! i like the way you have it planted. you could save yourself a pot for another plant by just tying the staghorn to branch or attaching it to some of the cork. it flourishes when it is grown as an epiphyte.

[Meefloaf]

Bill, not getting anything over 20c heat wise, hot a heat mat to fit the space of empty glass on the side, would a bigger mat be a problem? I'd lose a chunk of it behind the background, but at the same time get more heat hopefully

[deranged chipmunk]

a bigger mat shouldn't be an issue. just be careful having too much of the mat exposed to bare glass on the inside. if one of your milkies decides to hang out on the glass where that mat is and it turns on, the glass may get too hot for your frog. of course, you would also hope the frog would not stay in a spot that got too hot. do you have any room on the top for a ceramic emitter?

[Meefloaf]

yeah, but i got warned away from them regarding frogs, also dont have the halogens in the middle of my dual canopy

[deranged chipmunk]

gotcha. i don't like the emitters personally. that's why i build all my tanks with false bottoms so i can use aquarium heaters. i would try the heating pad if i were in your situation.