A new chipmunk build.....

[CJ PELCHER]

Bill,

Can you educate me (and others) on the importance of that. Never heard of titebond ...let alone used in that manner, and wood glue!?!?! Heck it doesnt even sound Amphibian Safe....haha. Im sure it is since YOUR using it though! In the past I have only used silicone and ecoearth and good to go...However overtime...the ecoearth WILL fall off the silicone and then I will eventually have a shiny (from silicone) greatstuff wall and need to redo it. Might learn a thing or two here.... Fire away! Also what pump and PSI do you use? Mine dies after 6 months

[deranged chipmunk]

I want some LED goodness too, they are so pricey, my money tree doesn't grow as fast as id like.

Gary, it's all about where you shop. I got an 18" led strip with built in moonlights for $50 here:
Aquatraders.com

[maxQ]

Gary, it's all about where you shop. I got an 18" led strip with built in moonlights for $50 here:
Aquatraders.com

Awesome, im going there now, I saw one at my local store for almost $400

[CJ PELCHER]

Awesome, im going there now, I saw one at my local store for almost $400

EWW!!! What a discusting price! FOR JUST 18" ICK!

I bought jungle madness's LED system for $300.00 and it had all the timer settings..lighting ...dawn..dusk..moonlight. clouds that pass over the sun setting..all that included.

[deranged chipmunk]

Bill,

Can you educate me (and others) on the importance of that. Never heard of titebond ...let alone used in that manner, and wood glue!?!?! In the past I have only used silicone and ecoearth and good to go...However overtime...the ecoearth WILL fall off the silicone and then I will eventually have a shiny (from silicone) greatstuff wall and need to redo it. Might learn a thing or two here.... Fire away!

Sure, titebond 3 wood glue (green bottle) is animal safe and 100% waterproof. For one, there's no smell, second, no need for gloves. If you get some on you, it peels off, just like we used to do with Elmer's glue as kids. You just make up a nice slurry of glue and your background material of choice and paint it on with a brush of some sort. It holds up to water well, even running water. When I get home from work, I will take a pic of a section of my mantella tank that had had water running over it since 12/2. There is no wear or erosion like you get with silicone and coco fiber. Also, you don't need to have your coco fiber 100% dry to utilize this method. It helps, but not necessary. The one true downside is it takes about 3 days or so to completely dry and cure. But once it does, it's bullet proof!! For good measure, I normally do 2 or 3 coats. Oh yeah, there's another advantage, if you have bare spots, you can cover them up with another coat. On my last coat, I like to sprinkle some dry fiber or peat to give it that "fluffy" texture. And I add peat moss to the coco fiber to give my background a darker appearance.

[CJ PELCHER]

Sure, titebond 3 wood glue (green bottle) is animal safe and 100% waterproof. For one, there's no smell, second, no need for gloves. If you get some on you, it peels off, just like we used to do with Elmer's glue as kids. You just make up a nice slurry of glue and your background material of choice and paint it on with a brush of some sort. It holds up to water well, even running water. When I get home from work, I will take a pic of a section of my mantella tank that had had water running over it since 12/2. There is no wear or erosion like you get with silicone and coco fiber. Also, you don't need to have your coco fiber 100% dry to utilize this method. It helps, but not necessary. The one true downside is it takes about 3 days or so to completely dry and cure. But once it does, it's bullet proof!! For good measure, I normally do 2 or 3 coats. Oh yeah, there's another advantage, if you have bare spots, you can cover them up with another coat. On my last coat, I like to sprinkle some dry fiber or peat to give it that "fluffy" texture. And I add peat moss to the coco fiber to give my background a darker appearance.

Bill,

I think your my saving grace when it comes to my only problem I was having with my Dendro tanks! What a treat I happened to bump into this thread!! What size titebond bottle should I get for an 18x18x24 Viv?

Amazon.com: titebond 3

[deranged chipmunk]

I buy it in a gallon jug for about $25 at lowe's. Home Depot only carries the small bottles. I'm rarely patient enough to order stuff online lol

[CJ PELCHER]

I buy it in a gallon jug for about $25 at lowe's. Home Depot only carries the small bottles. I'm rarely patient enough to order stuff online lol

Noted! I just use amazon as a quick reference guide to pricing! I general stick to my other Local small business stores to help the local economy..however Home Depot /Lowes you can never go wrong. Especially with my 10% military discount =P

[deranged chipmunk]

I'm not so much a "support local business" kind if guy so much as I like to be able to touch and feel what I am purchasing. I'm a label reader and I always get brilliant ideas walking around a shop where I can catch stuff out of the corner of my eye. Lol

[CJ PELCHER]

I'm not so much a "support local business" kind if guy so much as I like to be able to touch and feel what I am purchasing. I'm a label reader and I always get brilliant ideas walking around a shop where I can catch stuff out of the corner of my eye. Lol

Man... despite being a very well knoledgeable man to builds...you certainly are a deranged chipmunk! hehe...just playing bill! I can just picture you in Lowes or home depot with a VERY BAD case of ADD like a child in the candy isle!

[tinkgirl77]

Yayyy a chipmunk build! Super excited welcome back Bill!

[deranged chipmunk]

Man... despite being a very well knoledgeable man to builds...you certainly are a deranged chipmunk! hehe...just playing bill! I can just picture you in Lowes or home depot with a VERY BAD case of ADD like a child in the candy isle!

That is exactly how I am!!! Lol

[deranged chipmunk]

Yayyy a chipmunk build! Super excited welcome back Bill!

Thanks Lisa!!!

[deranged chipmunk]

Lights came in today. 18" of 6500k led goodness, $50 shipped

[CJ PELCHER]

Lights came in today. 18" of 6500k led goodness, $50 shipped

Hey Bill Im still weak on lighting as far as supporting plant life AND being benifitial for my frogs.
For my 10 Gallon longs I use Aquion T8 18" Bulbs. They make my pothos and vine plants in the dart frog tanks BOOM!!
Not sure if its any benefitial to my frogs though.

In my tree frog tanks (red eyes / green tree frog / woods pine frog / amazon milk) I just have the common dome lamps with ExoTerras Jungle Glow 60W

For my whites...they get special treatment with a LED 5 lamp dimbness setting on/off timer that cost me a wopping $300.00.
However I do not have any LIVE plants or substrate in that tank since i lost one of my babies to Impaction from green frog moss. (VERY UPSET STILL)!!! I noticed its far more easier to clean now. I was thinking about switching over to ecoearth cocohust blocks though.

What should I be looking for on EXACT specs to support plant life AND my frogs combined or does it even matter!?

[deranged chipmunk]

It's simple really Corey. The frogs don't require uv lighting, so as long as your color temp is in the 6500-6700k range, you're golden. That's the optimum color temp for foliage plants. Actinics for marine tanks are too high (10,000k +), and those cheapie "plant bulbs" are too low (normally in the 3000k range). I know a few planted tank guys who run all three, but they have huge tanks and a LOT of extras to help support life. The bulb style doesn't really matter (cfl, t8, t5ho, led) as long as the color temp is right. The frogs you have won't be affected by even intense light because it will never be as bright at the sun is. As long as they have places to hide and a day/night cycle, they are good.

[Heatheranne]

Lights came in today. 18" of 6500k led goodness, $50 shipped

Woo hoo!!! Happy plants .

[deranged chipmunk]

Yeah baby!!!! Those orchids are going to be very pleased

[Heatheranne]

Yeah baby!!!! Those orchids are going to be very pleased

Can't wait to see .

[deranged chipmunk]

Even though I am still covering the background, I was being impatient and had to throw the light on to see how not looked last night