Amphibian Racking System Build (Photo Heavy)

[MantellaGuy]

Hi all,

I thought I would kick start my build thread for my New Racking system that I am building. The equipment and tanks I will be using will be housing only 9 out of the all the species I have in my collection, So I will be having to make another Racking after I have made this one (However might not have to do the second one for a while as this single rack will be freeing up a lot of space!).

Here is a Picture of the Drawing I made on paint (Can't seem to convert the Auto-Cad file to a JPEG)


It will contain 9 Brand New Terrariums in total which include;

• x2 - 800 x 400 x 400mm (80 x 40 x 40cm) Tylototriton species exhibits with Water Area Partition.
• x1 - 800 x 400 x 400mm (80 x 40 x 40cm) Mantella aurantiaca exhibit with False Bottom.
• x3 - 400 x 400 x 400mm (40 x 40 x 40cm) Assorted Terrariums with False Bottoms - Will exhibit 3 of the 9 Mantella species.
• x3 - 400 x 400 x 400mm (40 x 40 x 40cm) Assorted Terrariums with No False Bottoms - Will exhibit various burrowing species I own.

How I am going to lay this First racking out shall be as follows;

• Top Row - Burrowing species.
• Middle Row - Madagascan Mantella species.
• Bottom - Tylototriton Asiatic Exhibits.

Obviously I will muck around with who will go where but that is the basic lay out! lol

Instead of using the Aluminum Profiles and Connectors that most people tend to use (Really wanted to use this method aswell but it's not cheap!! lol) I am using this really nice MFC (Melamine Faced Chipboard) also known as Chocolate Oak Board which is incredibly sturdy, strong and will most definitely take the weight of the Terrariums.




There are 3 Main pieces that will stand horizontally (measuring roughly just over 6ft 4 inches - This allows a bit of space between each row for the Lighting System and also a bit of space between the Floor and the underside of the Bottom shelf for storage) and 8 pieces that will go vertically for each shelf and 12 elongated supports.

I shall get the exact measurements later on and upload them when I put it together


Some of the 12 pieces of Wooden Supports I would need to support each shelf.


Photo showing how thick each piece of the MFC is.

Anyway, I am currently sorting out getting the E.N.T Terrariums now from DMS Vivaria, just have to wait a little while! I did look into making my own, I asked several Glass Merchants all of which refused to attempt it due to previous failures with other people, one of the Glass Merchants was so rude that he cut my off halfway through my sentence and basically asked me to leave :/

I hopefully will begin this build in the next few weeks, so the rest of my posts may take until then to show more of my build but anyway I would appreciate any help or advice!!

[Mentat]

Sounds like a very interesting project. Do make sure you seal up the edges of the boards; compressed wood soaks water like a sponge. Good luck and looking forward to seeing the finished product .

[MantellaGuy]

Should I need to do that then? :/

[tylototriton]

That should be great!

I would definitely seal the boards. If you accidentally spill on the boards or even have small leak, they'll be basically wrecked. If water only sat for a short time you'd be fine, but if it starts to absorb the boards will swell and bubble. It may just be worth polyurethane coating the tops so they don't absorb water.

Cheers,
Alex

[MantellaGuy]

Oh I now see what you mean, apologies Carlos! lol

The edges will be covered don't worry, It would look awful without it being covered up and that so it will be sealed I will more than likely use Fibre Glass to coat it then place stripes of Oak Board to stop it looking so harsh lol

Thanks

[MantellaGuy]

It's kind of still under consideration as to what would be in each terrarium and where a bouts it would be placed in it. Here is my collection;

Anura (Frogs & Toads):
1.1.20 Golden Mantella (Mantella aurantiaca)
2.2.7 Brown Leaf Mantella (Mantella betsileo)
1.3.0 Guibes Mantella (Mantella nigricans)
1.1.10 Blue-Legged Mantella (Mantella expectata)
1.2.0 Madagascan Mantella (Mantella madagascarensis)
1.2.0 Yellow Mantella (Mantella crocea)
1.2.5 Green Mantella (Mantella viridis)
1.1.0 Arboreal Mantella (Mantella laevigata)
0.0.3 Cowan's Mantella (Mantella cowanii)
0.0.3 Black Eared Mantella (Mantella milotympanum)
0.0.2 Malagasy Rainbow Burrowing Frogs (Scaphiophryne gottlebei)
1.1.0 Malagasy Green Marbled Burrowing Frogs (Scaphiophryne marmorata)
0.0.1 Sambava Tomato Frog (Dyscophus guineti)
1.1.0 Asian Painted Bullfrogs (Kaloula pulchra)
1.2.0 Phantasmal Poison Frogs (Epipedobates tricolor) "Zarayunga" locality variant
0.0.1 Bumblebee Poison Frog (Dendrobates leucomelas)
1.1.10 Taylor's Bug Eyed Frogs (Theloderma stellatum)
1.1.0 Bird Poop Mossy Frogs (Theloderma asperum)

Caudata (Newts & Salamanders):
0.0.2 Ryukyu Spiny Newt (Echinotriton andersoni)
1.1.2 Tiannan Crocodile Newts (Tylototriton yangi)
0.0.6 Wen Xian Knobby Newts (Tylototriton wenxianensis)
0.0.2 Mandarin Crocodile Newts (Tylototriton shanjing)
0.0.4 Ta Liang Red Eared Crocodile Newts (Tylototriton taliangensis)
0.0.6 Black Knobby Newts (Tylototriton asperrimus)
0.0.2 Ziegler's crocodile newt (Tylototriton ziegleri)
0.0.2 Lizhenchang's Crocodile Newt (Tylototriton lizhenchangi)
1.2.0 Tokyo Salamanders (Hynobius tokyoensis)
0.1.0 Okinawa Sword Tail Newt (Cynops ensicauda popei)
1.0.0 Eastern Tiger Salamander (Ambystoma tigrinum)
0.1.0 Marbled Salamander (Ambystoma opacum)
0.0.1 Marbled Newt (Triturus marmoratus)

So if anyone want's to place a request then go ahead :P lol

Anyway, I have received the 9 Starter Terrariums all to my specifications by DMS Vivaria and I must admit I pretty much fell in love with them.

I ordered 9 terrariums in total which included;

3 - 400mm x 400mm x 400mm False Bottom Terrariums.
3 - 400mm x 400mm x 400mm Burrowing Terrariums.
2 - 800mm x 400mm x 400mm Glass Partition Water Area Terrariums.
1 - 800mm x 400mm x 400mm False Bottom Terrarium

Anyway, here are some photographs of some of them (I will upload photos of all of them lol);


4 of the 6 - 400mm x 400mm x 400mm Terrariums From DMS.

4 of the 6 - 400mm x 400mm x 400mm Terrariums From DMS.


A 400mm x 400mm x 400mm Terrarium for a Burrowing species, probably going to house a Dyscophus guineti or Scaphiophyrne species.


Good quality Terrariums! Highly recommend DMS Vivaria

Anyway, I shall upload more photos shortly as I will be building the racking soon so I can actually stored them safely without worrying! lol

[Mentat]

Those terrariums look great; like that they already come with glass partitions for false bottom or wet/dry set-ups .

[MantellaGuy]

Hi all,

Time for a update I think! I have been playing around with a few of my 400x400x400mm False Bottom Terrariums so I could house some of my Mantella species in brand new enclosures. So now, without further ado here they are, not happy with one of them but shall replant it when I get my new Plants delivered;


^ ^ - 2 out 9 species have been made brand new enclosures! Left exhibit will house 1 of my 4 bloodlines of Mantella viridis and Right exhibit will house 1 of my 2 bloodlines of Mantella betsileo.


^ ^ - 1.1.0 Mantella betsileo exhibit, I have made it more crowded with many places to hide as they are, due to be less Aposematic, less bold than some of the genus.


^ ^ - Close up of the 1.1.0 Mantella betsileo exhibit.


^ ^ - 1.2.0 Mantella viridis exhibit, I am not that happy with this and kind of had to make do with some of the spare plants I had from previous builds. More open than the M.betsileo exhibit as I found the species to be very bold, nearly as bold as Mantella aurantiaca. Will be refurnishing this with more Fittonia species and like all my Terrariums, I will be painting on Moss Spores when I receive them.


^ ^ - Close up of the 1.2.0 Mantella viridis exhibit. The Peperomia clusiifolia I doubt will be able to stay in there but as a temporary thing I am sure it will be fine, it will go into my Scaphiophyrne gottlebei exhibit though as I know it prefers drier substrates.

Anyway, hope you like the Terrariums but they will need a lot of work, I will be putting the individuals in the Terrariums on Christmas eve/day though, the Aquarium Grade Sealant would have stopped smelling by then (I know that it is Solvent free but no harm leaving it the last couple of days! lol).

Merry Christmas,

Josh

[Truffs1178]

Your collection is insane and the set ups are very impressive.

[MantellaGuy]

Your collection is insane and the set ups are very impressive.

Thank you very much!

[MantellaGuy]

Update - Shall be making a Mantella laevigata Bamboo Forest enclosure, I have large species of Bamboo growing where I am (This is true species of Bamboo) so it is entirely possible to do

[MantellaGuy]

Hi everyone,

Been a few weeks since I updated on the builds so thought I should start again with my Mantella aurantiaca terrarium

First of all, here is a selection of plants that i have either taken cuttings and grown them on or ones I have been buying (Not all of them are photographed but I have about 30 in total!):-

Earth Starfish Plant (Cryptanthus bivittatus)
"Red Rosso" Radiator Plant (Peperomia caperata)
Aluminum Plant (Pilea cadierei)
White Butterfly Plant (Syngonium podophyllum)
"Red Skeleton" Snake Skin Plant (Fittonia verschaffeltii)
Green Ivy (Hedera helix)
Jade Plant (Crassula ovata)
Moon Valley Plant (Pilae involucrater)
Malagasy Dragon Plant (Dracaena marginata)
Colombian Creeping Fig (Ficus sp)
Asian Creeping Fig (Ficus pumila)
Heartleaf Plant (Philodendron scandens)
Inch Plant (Tradescantia fluminensis)
Heart Fern (Hemionitis artolia)
Spider plant (Chlorophytum laxum)














































So, a little info is needed I think! This is a DMS Terrarium with a False Bottom that will accommadate my Golden Mantella (Mantella aurantiaca) individuals which I plan to increase the bloodlines for. It is 800 x 400 x 400mm (Long x High x Deep) and will be fully planted.

I have started it only today with the Expanding Foam background, which will be a mixture of the old fashioned Silicone Sealant with Coir Compost and possibly some Cement and liquid Fibre-glass techniques I am just leaving it to set at the moment over night and tomorrow i will be carving at it....










My next step is to carve away at the Foam and see what interesting shapes I can make! (You can alreadysee that i am making a cliff/slope through the middle of the background.)

Thanks for looking and wait for more updates!!

Josh

[Mentat]

Hello Josh! Great update with excellent photos of plants and build progress. Love the Golden Mantellas, so I'm looking forward to them being in there. What is name and source of the coir panels on post no. 8? Thank you !

[DigitalPunk]

Wow very jealous of your options to buy custom built terrariums. Wish I had something close like that

Looking great so far!

[MantellaGuy]

Hi everyone,

Many apologies from not posting my update sooner but I have been incredibly busy!! lol So without further ado, here is my latest up date

So, I allowed the expanding foam to set after 28 hours and began to see certain shapes and things that i could carve out, especially the slope/ramp along the middle, which gave me this;



As you might have noticed, I decided to add the tree truck in separately so it sticks out more than the background. I used off cuts of the background to give it support.











I have done much more work since I started making the tree but i have yet to photograph the progress, but here is some photos of it about 2 weeks ago!



Anyway, look out for the latest update!!

Thanks for reading,

Josh

P.S Carlos, It was Lucky Reptile Coco-husk background

[deranged chipmunk]

Looks great josh! Can't wait to see more progress!

[MantellaGuy]

Looks great josh! Can't wait to see more progress!

Thanks buddy! Yeah I am hoping it will end up looking good as I need to add more roots to the bottom of the truck to make it look real but I am half way done with the background now!

[MantellaGuy]

Hi all,

Another update from me, continuing the build for my Mantella aurantiaca individuals!

So here was the finishing (the white parts were covered again after I took the photograph) product of the Silicone/Coir Compost background!

It really doesn't look like much in all honesty... Until the plants went in with the rocks (forgot to mention the rocks...)












Still work to be done with the water section and other things!!!

[deranged chipmunk]

Looks great!! Question, next to last pic, what's the tall aroid on the right?

[Mentat]

Looking good !