10 gallon vertical dartfrog terrarium construction

[John]

I'm not sure it would be good for a White's Tree Frog because those frogs require significant ventilation - the conversion I've shown here is geared towards dart frogs because they don't require much (actually, almost no) ventilation.

[JimO]

That is great John. Thanks for sharing it. I'm getting ready to put a 20-gal vert together for my new pair of pumilio cristobals (my first pums - I'm so excited). I've used Gorilla glue rather than silicon to attached the fiber material to the backing. Is there a reason you prefer silicon? Most of my vivs have fern panel backing so I'm new with the great stuff method. The Gorilla glue expanded a little so I had to press more fiber into it before it fully cured, but it seemed to do the job.

[byrdviper]

Those look great. The construction seems like it goes fairly quickly also.Is the ventilation screen made from a standard screen framing material or something else?

[John]

Is there a reason you prefer silicon?

That's an interesting question. I'm actually trying to get away from the expanding foam + silicone method. It takes a long time for the foam to cure and there's controversy over whether or not GE Silicone II is safe or not. The anecdotal evidence and my own experience is that yes it is safe. However, my next background is going to be clay (yep, the kitty litter method). I've already got pure sodium bentonite kitty litter for it. It's cheap and very quick. You just can't let it dry out completely or it will crack.

Those look great. The construction seems like it goes fairly quickly also.Is the ventilation screen made from a standard screen framing material or something else?

If you mean the actual mesh, that's not standard screen - it's no-see-um mesh sold by camping stores. Nothing can get through it.

[JimO]

That's an interesting question. I'm actually trying to get away from the expanding foam + silicone method. It takes a long time for the foam to cure and there's controversy over whether or not GE Silicone II is safe or not. The anecdotal evidence and my own experience is that yes it is safe. However, my next background is going to be clay (yep, the kitty litter method). I've already got pure sodium bentonite kitty litter for it. It's cheap and very quick. You just can't let it dry out completely or it will crack.

I'm actually considering foam for the upper half and clay for the lower half where it will stay moist. I don't have a misting system and I just know that I'll forget and let it dry out up near the lights.

[Deku]

Awe..... If only my hands didnt mess up what I touch. D; Id make my own. Chances are ID somehow get it wrong. :P I got a question for you john or any vertical tank keepers or any plant keepers in fact

1)How do you feed the plants in a vertical tank if the plants are on the walls covered with cocofiber linen???? I saw a set up like this a while ago and Iam very curious how one feeds a plant that is on a wall.

Also whats that black thing you were putting on?
As well if you wanted to make a nice rim job. Like I went to dendroboards for a sec to look at their terrariums and one person had this terrarium that won a prize. It had wooden rims and it looked like how the exo terras make theirs in that sort of sense. How do you do something like that? Because wood gets damaged easily by water or pretty much alot of things. Also if I wanted to paint the rims green would that look bad? Or like if I wanted to paint little designs on the rim?
I got some vertical tank ideas but somewhat afraid to do them so my question is.... How hard is it to do one ? And how stable are they?

[John]

1)How do you feed the plants in a vertical tank if the plants are on the walls covered with cocofiber linen????

You usually don't feed them. Most of the plants suitable for these positions are epiphytic - they live off the ground and get their nutrients from the air and water that gets onto them. They can also get nutrients from things like frog poop breaking down.

Also whats that black thing you were putting on?

Read the post again.

It had wooden rims and it looked like how the exo terras make theirs in that sort of sense. How do you do something like that?

I'm not sure what you're talking about but it sounds like some kind of DIY woodwork - not my area of expertise.

Because wood gets damaged easily by water or pretty much alot of things. Also if I wanted to paint the rims green would that look bad? Or like if I wanted to paint little designs on the rim?

As long as you use non-toxic paints.

I got some vertical tank ideas but somewhat afraid to do them so my question is.... How hard is it to do one ? And how stable are they?

I feel like your post was a direct stream of thought post. How hard is it? It's not hard, but what might be hard to you may be easier for me. Just try it.