I did decide on plants. I ordered them earlier this week and I already have them planted. I may have gotten ahead of myself because being so close to the end was so exciting. I know you recommended pothos/philodendron/ivies/radiphophoras/cissus but I definitely didn't end up with many of those. I actually think I only have one philodendron planted in the tank (I have another one growing in a small pot separately). Everything I ordered was from Josh's Frogs because I was comfortable getting plants from a herp supply store like them. They didn't have any of the other varieties that you mentioned, or at least I couldn't find them. I think it was around Thursday when I discovered Black Jungle; they had a lot more of the variety like you mentioned. In the end, I just read through plant descriptions until I found a description (light/water requirements, growing style) that matched each place I had on the hardscape and then a several plants for the ground floor. My grand total was 20 plants, all different. Here's a list:
Columnea 'Early Bird' - Goldfish Plant
Callisia repens 'Wandering Jew Bolivian'
Peperomia glabella
Pellonia 'Watermelon'
Begonia 'Hatachoia'
Columnea 'Bonfire' - Goldfish Plant
Begonia 'Little Darling'
Columnea 'Broget Stavanger'- Goldfish Plant
Streptocarpella sp.
Pilea microphylla 'Artillery'
Platycerium bifurcatum - Staghorn Fern
Phymatosorus diversifolius 'Kangaroo Fern'
Nephrolepis obliterata 'Emerald Queen' - Australian Sword Fern
Neoregelia 'Fireball'
Catopsis morreniana
Neoregelia 'Black Beauty' (Neo. ampullacea x Neo. ampullacea 'Tigrina')
Cryptanthus 'Black Mystic'
Selaginella viridissima 'Green Spikemoss'
Philodendron ("moonlight" I think? I've had it for a while and I must not have had that purchase tied to my account)
I wanted a variety of plants so that I could see what they looked like. Until seeing some of the other naturalistic builds I was never very interested in plants so I know almost nothing about them. And now that I've rambled enough...
Just some notes on the picture:
1) There is some green tree shag moss scattered about. I know it looks goofy. Not sure what to do about it.
2) There is a water bowl in the bottom left corner. I just used that for reference for when I actually move Thor in. I figured I'd give the plants (and springtails!) some time to settle first.
3) The other big empty space in the front is for where the cricket/food bowl will go. I just got a nice Pyrex one that the crickets can't escape.
4) I think some plants (the top row) may easily outgrow their spot. We shall see.
5) Since I got such a random assortment and skewed from Bill's suggestion I'm afraid I've got too many smaller structure/leaf plants that may not suit Thor. I think this will have to be trial and error for me. I'm hoping there are enough branches/climbing space to offset plants that may not necessarily support him. Hopefully they will grow in and provide visual cover/hiding spots. If I have to, I'll displace some of the less performing plants for some more sturdy species.
6) I am fairly happy with the way the bottom half turned out. That section of the background has a fair amount of randomness and creates an interesting dynamic on the ground floor. The top section seems almost too open and symmetric, but it doesn't look too bad.
I do not claim to be a professional or even moderately knowledgeable in my vivarium construction/frog care capabilities. Since I became a frog caretake a few months ago I have learned a lot and I am learning new things all the time. I'm just trying to do my best to provide both a safe/secure/appropriate/healthy habitat for my frog while also creating something that is beautiful to look at. Having said that, here is a list of things that I learned during this build that may be helpful to future builders. This list is by no means exhaustive; its just what I've been thinking about as the tank progressed.
1) Planning is everything. Get this done for everything before construction. I could go on and on about this now, but basically, I'm happy with the portions that I spent time planning and I'm less satisfied with the sections that I didn't. This includes frog species/quantity/tank size/plants/theme/water feature/wiring/plumbing/lighting/heating/tank stand/timers/misters/access/maintenance.
2) Be patient. Changing things later is a lot harder than doing it correctly the first time.
3) If you are using large sections of cork (or any other piece of wood) find a configuration so that it all flows together so you don't have some pieces going left/right and others up/down.
4) If doing the titebond III /eco earth texture, use a plastic disposable bowl and a plastic knife. Fill the bowl partially up with glue and then add the dirt until the desired consistency is reached. Personally, I felt that you wanted to add dirt until it the mixture just barely settles into the bowl when perturbed. Also, its much easier to plan on scraping excess glue off the glass than it is to try and tape of the glass like you would while painting your house.
5) Drinking straws don't blend in well with brown background. Be mindful of their positioning.
6) Substrate: I ordered 3 of the "8 quart/2 gallon ABG" mixes thinking it was overkill. I used it all and could probably use more.
7) Leaves: I ordered two each of the 1 gallon live oak and magnolia. I used roughly half a gallon of each.
8) If you want bromeliads or other epiphytes, it will probably be easier to build cracks/crevices for them during the construction phase than during the planting phase.
9) It doesn't hurt to have easy access to spare branches/wood/logs in the event that the final outcome isn't quite what you expected.
Well, those are the biggest lessons learned I can think of right now. I'm sure there are plenty more that I just can't think of right now. I'm too busy planning the path forward! I'll definitely post more pictures once the plants grow in a bit and again once I move Thor over. Here's one last list of my todo list.
1) Stare at new plants.
2) Eventually move current frog over and make sure he likes it
3) Reorganize and better prepare my WTF hospital/quarantine tank(s)
4) Find Thor some friends (probably 2 more WTF, but maybe just 1).
5) Convert my current frog tank (1975 30 gallon wide) into an experimental build tank, probably a small paludarium with a waterfall/ultrasonic fogger/simple fish setup/carnivorous plant just for fun. This will be another learning experience, but definitely will be lots of planning/testing/experimenting.
6) Do a small PDF/thumbnail setup (I really like R. imitator at the moment, but my the time I get to this who knows).
Thank you all for all the help!






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