10 gallon vertical dartfrog terrarium construction

[Tom Highum]

Thanks John, also could you try to describe the clay method here or on another thread if possible, im afraid i do not clearly understand it.

[John]

Put simply, you use sodium bentonite or calcium bentonite (the former is sold as many brands of absorbant cat litter) in water, mixed with something else, such as red earth clay, milled sphagnum moss, peat moss, etc. You use a minimum of about 30% of the bentonite to the other ingredients, making sure if you use sodium bentonite that you soak it for a day or so first, to make sure it becomes saturated with water. You make your wet mix and spread it on the glass of the terrarium. Give it an hour or two and it is good enough to stand upright and you can plant straight into it.

This thread has some more insight into the process with a slightly different recipe: http://www.frogforum.net/gallery-dar...mantellas.html

[Tom Highum]

Thanks, lol im on that thread, i just forgot. And is that all? will it keep well/ maintenance free if you keep it moist?

[mark one]

very nice tanks.... im starting with frogs next year, going to do up a corner aquarium tand thats 2 foot high 3 feet across and 2 foot deep, would this be suitable for frogs i will be using an external filter with spray bar coming back in to tank as for a rain system and water fall also with moss and some ferns please comferm that all is ok to use again nice tanks

[John]

You could use the same principle for almost any tropical frog, just keep in mind that larger frogs may be able to swallow some of the substrate components, so don't keep a pacman in there.

[daggekko]

The small glass panel is siliconed into place at the bottom and left for a few days, then a layer of LECA is added for drainage, then some fibre glass mesh, over which is placed coconut husk and then Atlanta Botanical Garden's soil recipe. This is then covered with Live Oak leaves ("Live Oak" is a species of tree in the US), springtails are added, and then the terrarium is planted. It will take a few months for the terrarium to "grow in".

question for you about the springtails. do you still feed your frogs on a regular basis or do you let the springtails provide all the food? also, do you think the springtails help out in keeping the vivarium healthy?

[John]

I feed my frogs every 1-3 days (usually every 2 days) with fruit flies. I think of the springtails as primarily detritivores, not as food. They can be useful food for very tiny froglets but that's about it - they make an occasional snack for adult thumbnails.

[onedge30]

Lights? What type of fluorescent bulbs are best for this type of set up?

And additional heat supply? Under the tank heat pad or tape?

I would think that this idea enlarged for tree frogs would be incredible?! But more open screen for better vent.

John, it is a great how to!! Thanks!!

[Froggiestyle]

mate look stunning man good work

[dtfleming]

Nice builds, on the No see Um. You can find it at Lowes in the US.

[minitrev125]

Great work John im definitly using this idea on my next tank.

[globug]

This is so fricken amazing.

My one question, which is more functional then anything else, is how do you clean the water regularly when you have build such an amazing structure?

[roxngal]

Hi John, simply excellent work on the environments!

How and to what are the film canisters attached please?

Kind regards,

Peter

[optimum]

clever mod!

[nagol]

Hey all,
Planning on doing my first build with GS foam soon and was wondering how soil/coco husk siliconed to GS foam stand up over time in high humidity/wet environments? My concern is with it going bad, rotting, etc, but have not read anything to confirm or deny that.
Thanks,
-ry

[FrogFarm]

I want to turn my 30 gallon rimless into a vertical Terrarium for Green Anoles. How hard is this going to be?

[J Teezy]

John, when you attach the acrylic to your vent part, doest the glass sit ontop of the acrylic or the acrylic on the glass? If the Acrylic is sitting on the glass, how do you get the door open since the acrylic is screwed to the vent hence it would be holding the glass in place.

[bigwilliestyles]

Hello John, my first post on here

I have a vivarium that I set up for some Litoria chloris (aussie red eyed tree frogs), anyway, after a year or so on there are little bits of soil flaking off the silicon and the plants havent really done very well. I have decided to strip it back and give the enclosure another go. I am curious about how you are able to remove the excess moisture that gathers at the bottom under your LECA? Is it because its not in contact with the soil it doesnt pose a risk?

[Kellbri]

John, I want to do a conversion for my white tree frog, do you know of any threads with pictures that have done this for the tree frogs cause i wouldn't put the water in the bottom for a dumpy like you did for the dart would I? Or can i just do the background like you did and then put the coco fiber or dirt substrate on the bottom? also i was wondering what do you do for the heat in the tanks? I was told that i have to keep the temp. up for the whites and with the upright tank like this you can't set the heat lamp on the glass. I got my convertion kit from junglebox for my 20 long and i had my white in it with the light hanging above the tank, not touching but it still got to hot and cracked. So, now i am going to get another 20 long and do the background and try it again. I just don't want to crack another tank. Do you have any ideas? Jenni

[FriedrichsFrogs]

Hi, John. i know this is a 2 year old post but im in new here so im just browsin the first things i see (incredible tanks man). Out of curiosity, with those type of vivarium setups how/when do you clean those things? i mean they look failry involved, to say the least, and appear pretty perminant so i imagine you would want to disassemble them as least as possible so how can you thoroughly clean them without destroying most of the vivarium entirely??