Starting my very first Dart frog tank.

[chellabella]

Hello everyone. So this has been a long time coming and I am beyond excited. I have always wanted to build a vivarium for dart frogs and my opportunity is finally here. I have now bought all my supplies and so now I am at that point of nervousness to actually begin. My tank is 30" L, 12" w and 18" tall. I will be building the background out of foam and right now that is the biggest thing that is making me nervous.. I would love some impute on the best way to go about doing this part. Is it hard to control? Does it stay where you want it to go? (I am using gaps and cracks by the way) Will it at all stick to the glass or will it be easy to remove to put the substrate all over it?

Well I will start with that for now. I am sure I will have lots more questions along the way however..

Thanks for everyone's help,
Rachelle

[Mentat]

Hello and welcome to FF Rachelle ! If you go through this section thread list, will find a few topics with build type discussions. Have not used that product before; but would make sure it has no toxic compounds in it. I have used one meant for outdoor ponds before: GREAT STUFF. Similar products are available in garden, pond, or even in hardware stores: Home Depot & Lowes. Good luck !

[chellabella]

The gaps and cracks stuff is something suggested off of this forum actually. I have been reading on here a lot and have read some things on here about using foam but still feeling nervous for some reason.

[chellabella]

the gaps and cracks is the type by the way, it is made by Great Stuff.

[deranged chipmunk]

the gaps and cracks will work well. i actually prefer the new foam by ge. i find that it cures with smaller air bubbes, but c&g will suffice. as far as control, there is very little. it will expand as it wants to. and the c&g will expand more than the others. get yourself a few cheap, dollar store steak knives for carving, they work well. although i prefer a combo of steak knives and various exacto knives and wood rasps.

[DartEd]

I would recommend rubbing a thn layer on the glass before applying the GS. Let the silicone cure, then apply the GS foam. GS wasn't intended for bonding to glass so it can separate without the silicone. Lay the tank with the background facing up. Spray a bit of foam at a time until you get the feel for it. If you want to layer the foam up, let it cure for a day and then add more or it takes FOREVER to cure or it will fall over becoming frustrating. The spray foam is fun to work with.

Let the foam cure. The foam expands a lot and then shrinks a bit. That's why I silicone first. When it shrinks, it stays attached to the glass.

Once the foam has completely cured( about 36-48 hrs), carve it to your liking and sand it down to eliminate the tiny cracks and crevicesformed by spraying it in. The foam dries smooth making silicone a bit tough to spread. If you rough up the smooth spots with sand paper, the silicone holds better and is easier to apply.

Apply the silicone in small sections. I recommend mentally sectioning off the tank into thirds. Silicone, coco or peat. Silicone then coco or peat. Until everything is covered. If you can, use brown or black silicone. This way if you miss a spot, no big deal, it's brown.

SUPER IMPORTANT

WEAR GLOVES AND SKIN PROTECTION.
great stuff is not great on skin. It does NOT come off skin except for peeling off while taking skin with it.

Good luck, take pictures and let us know how you're doing.

[chellabella]

[jossh27]

That looks great!! Good job! 2 years later and holding up awesome

[chellabella]

So I just got a cobalt dart frog and he won't come out of the cave I have in my tank however it's only been 2 days I am more just wondering how long it usually takes them to come out and explore?

[deranged chipmunk]

Just like humans, every frog is different. When it feels comfortable, it will venture out


Education is the most powerful weapon we can use to change the world ~ Nelson Mandela

[DigitalPunk]

Agree with Bill. Frogs take time to adjust to a new tank and get over the stress of being shipped/transported to your house. If your temps are in the mid 70s and you humidity is up around 80-90% he will be fine. Keep an eye on him and make sure he is eating some. Try to stay out of the tank as much as possible while he adjusts and settles in.