Starting my First terrarium :)

[whiteroses91]

29 Gallon tank (I purchased it for $15, thinking it was a 20. But I got one heck of a deal.)


I have a pretty good idea of what I want it to look like, but seeing as this is my first attempt, I have a few questions.

- How would I go about keeping the dirt out of a false bottom full of water?
- To put rocks under dirt or not to put rocks under the dirt, that is the question?. lol
-What kind of pump to I need for a reptile waterfall? The pump is missing.

[whiteroses91]

By the way, I want the terrarium set up for a little while, before I get my frogs.

[whiteroses91]

Anyone have any suggestions on a pump/filter?
The water needs to be cleaned and needs to be pushed up the water intake of the waterfall. I have found a few, but don't know what is the best.

[McLaura]

I have a pretty similar set-up, and we did the false bottom out of egg crate and covered it with a fine mesh screen to keep the dirt from falling in. We just put the dirt right on top of the screen, which is the Atlanta Botanical Garden mix, so it's does have some coarser components in it, like charcoal and bark, not straight dirt.

I don't remember exactly what kind of pump we used (my boyfriend did most of the actual work), but I'm pretty sure we bought it at Petco in the aquarium section. I'm sure others here will be able to give you more specific details.

[whiteroses91]

Thanks!

[whiteroses91]

Does anyone use the ZOO MED micropump 104? What I understand, from the research I have done about it, it is a filter and a pump, correct?(Good for fountains...so would probably work for my waterfall)

[whiteroses91]

I spent the morning, working on my terrarium. It's almost completely finished. I only need a few more rocks, to fill the cracks.

[John]

It's hard to see much detail in that photo but it looks like you're carrying out your plan well.

[whiteroses91]

Yea they aren't very good pictures. I'm going to break out the good digital camera today and. It didn't end up just how I planned, but it's better that I imagined.
Oh and without a lid, the humidity is 85%! I think it helps that it is in the fish room. And the temp has been sticking around 75.

[whiteroses91]

I wanted to give a little update on my frog tank...

First off...still no frogs. It has been up and running for several months now and nothing but gnats have been living in it.

Secondly...I took out all the pop cans, afraid I would cause a mold fungus, algee problem and put gravel in, in it's place. Because I fiddled with things, the waterfall got rearanged a little bit.

Thirdly...I should hopefully have a frog soon. My birthday is coming up and I will get myself one (perferably two), if I my boyfriend doesn't find me one first.


The waterfall has actually been going this whole time and the plants have grown out of control. I also added some more depth to my pond and added a few aquatic plants (ferns, java moss, ect.)

I'll add a new picture, when I know how to use my blackberry a little better. I can't seem to use the cable to upload pictures. I just need to sit down and read the manual.

[John]

What temperatures are you getting in the terrarium? By the way, the private message I just sent you should be very helpful.

[bshmerlie]

If your pictures are on your blackberry you should just be able to send them to your email address and you can get the pictures on your computer that way. And then just save them to a file.