First frog tank ever. Probably need help

[Colorblizzle]

I am going to setup soon a 10g FBT tank for my son. He talked me into getting a frog the other day (which wasn't hard to do) so we went to Petco and bought a 10g Zola reptile tropical kit. It came with a lot of random things

-tank w/ screen lid
-5.5" dome light with 25UVB daylight blue bulb
-green carpet thing (gave to kids as a toy)
-thermometer/hygrometer
-under tank heat pad (not sure if need)

I know I need about half water but how deep can I go? I'm planning on buying a tetra fauna reptofilter which seems like it may be overkill (less than 4g of water with a. Filter that does 90gph)

I'm going to use exoteric plantation soil, I'm going to plant the tank eventually but not to begin with. And I want to add a 20" t8 strip. What the best bulb to buy?

I'm going to get flickers orange cube cricket food is that good enough or will I still need to dust them? I plan on making the land section if the tank roughly 3" up but what can I out under the land? I work with plastics so I already made a few False bottoms to play around with but what goes under them? I thought about just a lot of gravel but I'm pretty sure nasty stuff would get trapped under there and never make it to the filter. Then I thought large rocks. Also thought maybe styrofoam. What really is the best and most used option? If I did a dirt tank the water would permanently be black

Also I've heard of people smearing silicone on the back and sides and sticking bunched up miss to it to create a wall to help the frogs feel safer. Will that work?

I have many more questions and concerns but I figure I'll let people respond to these to get me started in some research maybe. Any and all questions or Simmental are welcome. Just keep in mind in a complete newb. I kept a created gecko years ago and didn't really know how to care for him. And I currently and for the last 4 years have been keeping and breeding fish. So the aquatic part of the tank I've got covered lol

[rainvenezia]

Fire bellies do well in temps about 72-75. no heat source is needed really, in fact to breed it is suggested to put in fridge for some time before hand
Lighting is regular bulb. not too much heat coming off
I use pond rocks rather then gravel. gravel can be accidentally eaten
I have 50/50 land and water. my water levels change from shallow to deep by piling rocks. they stay in the shallow most of the time
Fire bellies like to hid so be sure to provide a covered area.
I use moss on land to keep humidity in tank and spray it daily. use water conditioner on tap water before putting frog in tank.
I only use calcium dust about once every 4th feeding but I use the orange cubes which helps gut load and calcium isn't a must.

[Colorblizzle]

Great info. Thank you! I'm planning in getting a regular t8 bulb. Possible something in the 6700k spectrum just to help with the floating and terrestrial plants.

Pond stones? How large are they? I want something hat I won't be able to see the glass underneath. Thought about sand but idk.

My house stays 70-78 year round so that's good. Is it good to have a hot spot for them tho? And I want to do live plants what are good species that stay small and I can plant in coconut fiber?

[Louis Charles Bruckner]

Welcome to the Forum!

I have never kept fire bellies before but I can offer this,
PM deranged chipmunk
He is the king of setting up viviarums.
He can save you a lot of time and headaches.

[Colorblizzle]

Awesome ill message him as soon as I get a chance

[rainvenezia]

It is not recommended because of parasites, but I use vines, they thrive in water and on land and do great under almost any light source. I also buy terrarium plants from pet smart in the aquarium section, they will state wither they are full submersible or half submersible. ferns are good also but can be complicated. My tank doesn't have a green thumb.
I bought a bag of rocks from home depot that you would use as flowerbed covering. I have a large range of sizes in my tank. I cant see the bottom. the land side I use small gravel so my plants have room to root but I cover it with moss.
I have a small watt bulb on one side and a florescent on the other to help with plant growth.
I've posted some pics on my profile of my 10 gallon for ideas. I've googled images of fire belly setups and there are some really good ideas, there are some bad ones as well. I fully agree with a pond environment not land.

[Colorblizzle]

Alright thanks. I will look at your 10g as soon as I get a chance. I didn't contact deranged chipmunk yet but I did however look at his posts. Amazing, but way too skilled for me to try to replicate, at least at this point. And what shouldn't i do because of parasites?

Also I have a little bit of a green thumb and I keep planted fishtanks so as far as fully aquatic plans I got that covered. I would LOVE some small ferns, but what at so complicated about them?

[rainvenezia]

The vines are not recommended because of parasites, I cut mine down outside off trees and such. However I've never had a problem in the past doing this. I make sure the vine that I choose isn't touching the ground and is a freshly grown vine.
There are some really advanced tanks that I cant duplicate either. Would love to have a dozen different setups but I just don't have the room
I killed my ferns probably because I messed with them too much. I tried them on both wet and dry areas and they just died off.

[deranged chipmunk]

I am at work with a dead phone battery. But when I get home this evening, I will try to answer your questions best that I can

[Colorblizzle]

Rain, If I do vines I'll probably do the fake "reptovines" my local pet store carries. And the types of rocks your using in your aquatic areas is what I was thnkng of using UNDER my land area. I hope I can find and use small ferns.

Chipmunk, after looking at some of your posts and all of your pictures I am looking forward to your input....I just hope I can follow along lol

[Colorblizzle]

Also rainvenezia, the lighting...is the yellower bulb on the right a heat lamp?

[deranged chipmunk]

I am going to setup soon a 10g FBT tank for my son. He talked me into getting a frog the other day (which wasn't hard to do) so we went to Petco and bought a 10g Zola reptile tropical kit. It came with a lot of random things

-tank w/ screen lid
-5.5" dome light with 25UVB daylight blue bulb
-green carpet thing (gave to kids as a toy)
-thermometer/hygrometer
-under tank heat pad (not sure if need)

I know I need about half water but how deep can I go? I'm planning on buying a tetra fauna reptofilter which seems like it may be overkill (less than 4g of water with a. Filter that does 90gph)

I'm going to use exoteric plantation soil, I'm going to plant the tank eventually but not to begin with. And I want to add a 20" t8 strip. What the best bulb to buy?

I'm going to get flickers orange cube cricket food is that good enough or will I still need to dust them? I plan on making the land section if the tank roughly 3" up but what can I out under the land? I work with plastics so I already made a few False bottoms to play around with but what goes under them? I thought about just a lot of gravel but I'm pretty sure nasty stuff would get trapped under there and never make it to the filter. Then I thought large rocks. Also thought maybe styrofoam. What really is the best and most used option? If I did a dirt tank the water would permanently be black

Also I've heard of people smearing silicone on the back and sides and sticking bunched up miss to it to create a wall to help the frogs feel safer. Will that work?

I have many more questions and concerns but I figure I'll let people respond to these to get me started in some research maybe. Any and all questions or Simmental are welcome. Just keep in mind in a complete newb. I kept a created gecko years ago and didn't really know how to care for him. And I currently and for the last 4 years have been keeping and breeding fish. So the aquatic part of the tank I've got covered lol

in answer to the question about what goes under the false bottom, nothing, hence the reason it is called a false BOTTOM a 3 inch false bottom does not leave much room for water. i'll break the math down easy. if you cut your supports at 3 inches, this is what you have left: assuming you have a minimum of an inch of substrate in your aquatic section, you are now down to 2" of water. now, if you fill the water all the way to the bottom of the false bottom, water will be wicked up into your terrestrial sunbstrate, creating a bog. in order to avoid this, it's best to keep your water level about an inch below the false bottom. that will leave you with an inch of water, which is cool if you want to keep it very shallow, but, if you want to add anything else in there, like fish, it's just not going to happen.

soil under the water does not turn the water black. all my tanks, whether they be a paludarium or a planted tank, ALWAYS have soil in them. i won't grow plants where water is concerned without it. "black water" comes from the tannins in wood, not in soil. ocofiber doesn't have any tanning in it, so there's no concern of that causing black water. personally, i love black water tanks and have built several black water tetra tanks in my past.

most people silicone the sides of the tank to either black out the tank so you can't see the inner workings of the background. it also gives spray foam a little more bite to adhere to the sides. yes, covering 3 sides of the tank makes a frog feel more secure, but it is not mandatory. personally, to cover up the foam and stuff, i use black shelf paper on the outside of the tank. it's easily removed, silicone is not.

hope that gets you started.any questions, feel free to ask.

[Colorblizzle]

So from the top of the false bottoms to the bottom of the tank is empty I can see how that works now but what do I use as walls? To actually seperate the aquatic portion with the under the false bottoms portion?

And as far as soil not causing black water I am aware of this. I keep fish that's my main hobby. I have about 150+ fish right now. My son however wants a frog. So I'm trying to branch out a little. And if I learned anything when starting fish keeping it's do as much research as you can before you start, and even then your still wrong lol. I am in the middle of starting a soil substrate tank actually so I know how it clouds the water but doesn't stain it.

Keeping with the soil topic are you saying it's better to use soil on the land section rather than coconut fiber stuff?

Someday if I like how this goes I may get bigger with a 40 breeder and see where that takes me. If I do I'll definitely do a larger water section and add fish or at least snails and shrimp. But in a 10g I'm gonna just stick with 2-3 FBT's.

Now in my fish hobby other than great deals on Craigslist or good sales I have found it usually costs around $10 per gallon to set a tank up. (Sometimes more...my 55g cost $850) but what can expect in this hobby? I was only cleared to do this project by my boss (the woman glaring at me on the couch as I type this lol) if I could do the whole thing for under $100. Frogs not included. I already spent $40 on the above listed materials. Can the rest be done for $60??

Also lastly I'm planning on he smallest size of tetra fauna reptofilter. It's rated at 90gph which in my eyes means realistically after media considers MAYBE it does 75gph. But with a gallon if water or less isn't that complete overkill? Do I even need a filter? Stupid question to me, of course I need a filter Butnidk if hey make anything that does say 25gph or less.

Still so much to look into

[deranged chipmunk]

So from the top of the false bottoms to the bottom of the tank is empty I can see how that works now but what do I use as walls? To actually seperate the aquatic portion with the under the false bottoms portion?

And as far as soil not causing black water I am aware of this. I keep fish that's my main hobby. I have about 150+ fish right now. My son however wants a frog. So I'm trying to branch out a little. And if I learned anything when starting fish keeping it's do as much research as you can before you start, and even then your still wrong lol. I am in the middle of starting a soil substrate tank actually so I know how it clouds the water but doesn't stain it.

Keeping with the soil topic are you saying it's better to use soil on the land section rather than coconut fiber stuff?

Someday if I like how this goes I may get bigger with a 40 breeder and see where that takes me. If I do I'll definitely do a larger water section and add fish or at least snails and shrimp. But in a 10g I'm gonna just stick with 2-3 FBT's.

Now in my fish hobby other than great deals on Craigslist or good sales I have found it usually costs around $10 per gallon to set a tank up. (Sometimes more...my 55g cost $850) but what can expect in this hobby? I was only cleared to do this project by my boss (the woman glaring at me on the couch as I type this lol) if I could do the whole thing for under $100. Frogs not included. I already spent $40 on the above listed materials. Can the rest be done for $60??

Also lastly I'm planning on he smallest size of tetra fauna reptofilter. It's rated at 90gph which in my eyes means realistically after media considers MAYBE it does 75gph. But with a gallon if water or less isn't that complete overkill? Do I even need a filter? Stupid question to me, of course I need a filter Butnidk if hey make anything that does say 25gph or less.

Still so much to look into

to separate aquatic from terrestrial portions, you can just use egg crate attached vertically. the cover it in screen or landscape fabric.

$10/gallon? HAHAHA!! i got an honest chuckle out of that one. sorry, not making fun, but i can honestly say that not one of my planted tanks even came close to $10/gallon. my 75 had close to $1000 in plants alone. mostly rare crypts. add a fluval fx5 to that, co2 bottle, regulator, t5ho lighting and i was probably closer to $2000. money well spent in my opinion, but not the bed bully's lol this was it after a serious trim, right before i had to break it down before i moved.


i won't even tell you what i had into my 125 before that was turned into a paludarium. lol

i can't really say how much it will cost. depends on what you have left, if you run into any problems,ect. as far as the filter goes, you keep aquatics, so you know there is never a such thing as overkill when it comes to filtration. i tell everyone, when it comes to life support (filters, heaters, ect) don't skimp. my newest tank will be running an eheim 2213 and will probably only hold about 6 gallons of water or so. sure, it may be considered "overkill", but frogs need clean water and the more it runs through the filter, the better, in my opinion. of course, i only run bio materials in my filters, so the extra volume can only help. keep in mind also, smaller volumes of water are more difficult to keep parameters stable. you could also go with something like a fluval nano filter. i ran one of those under the false bottom of my mantella tank and my water was crystal clear.

[Colorblizzle]

Well $10 per gallon is hardware cost. And I don't run co2. This is also Not including any fish or plants lol. I have an eheim 2217 running on my 62g planted right now and it works great.

Overkill in filtration yeah I understand but still...in my 55g I run a total filtration of 1000gph (as the manufacturers would have you believe) but still at least 850. Which after rocks and everything is considered would still be a turnover rate of around 20x. But 90gph in 1g of water (90x) seems crazy to me but if you've done it and say it is just fine I'll trust it.

I've looked at the fluval nano I honk, has a built in spray bar comes of the top to the side right? Would you prefer that to a reptofilter? I also only use biomedia for te most part. A sponge as well but I consider that more bio than mechanical in my tanks as religious as I am with my water changes.

I don't want to use a heater in this tank but could I potential use the heating pad under the aquatic section? Or is that unnecessary and the pad would serve better use maybe under the cricket tank?

I have some leftover egg rate laying around here somewhere I'll put gat to good use. But what is his landscape fabric you speak of. I'm not familiar with it at all. Seen it in your mantella build but was confused by what exactly it is.

And when I said using silicone on the sides and back fort the background I meant to stick miss to directly to create a background. I'm not planning in using any spray foam. Although I do have drylok Laying around from my background build in my 55g...

And I always black out my tanks. I already have the back painted, just not the sides yet because my iance hates when I do hat. She wants more rehab one viewing angle lol

[deranged chipmunk]

the reptofilter is not bad. gives a nice waterfall action some frogs seem to like. it all depends on your design really. i prefer using pumps to move water, but i have used the reptofilter (well a whisper 10i, about $5 cheaper, same filter) in a 20L fbt tank i built for my kid. i got my fluval nano with an ebi kit my wife bought me for christmas one year when i was breeding shrimp, and have loved it from day one. the down side being is that it would be under the false bottom, so routine maintenance needs to be taken into account when designing the tank.

under no circumstances should you ever put a hot heating element under a tank with water in it. cool water, hot element could equal cracked tank and a mess on your floor.

landscaping fabric is what they use to keep sunlight from reaching the ground under mulch, rocks, ect. it is sometimes called weed blocker.

if you want to do something different and have multiple viewing angles, you could always build an island tank. built the tank so that it is perpendicular to the wall instead of running lengthwise, like a normal tank. then you will have 3 viewing angles to choose from. i have seen many dart frog tanks built that way.

[deranged chipmunk]

oh, and i gotta warn you, in case no one has yet, frogs, are addictive!! worse than aquatics! i kept all kinds of aquaria for over 30 years. fresh, marine, did planted tanks for a decade, and then i got into paludariums, then frogs, and i haven't kept a fish tank since!!LOL i don't know how it happens, we just become assimilated..lol

[Colorblizzle]

I like your idea of the island tank idea. More a peninsula but something to run with. :-) I'll look into the "weed blocker" stuff.

The filter under the false bottom sounds good to me out of sight out of mind BUT how to get it out to clean it without destroying everything I built every week. Idk lol.

[deranged chipmunk]

I like your idea of the island tank idea. More a peninsula but something to run with. :-) I'll look into the "weed blocker" stuff.

The filter under the false bottom sounds good to me out of sight out of mind BUT how to get it out to clean it without destroying everything I built every week. Idk lol.

i build a maintenance tunnel into every tank i build so i can access equipment for maintenance or failure. some people design in trap doors for this.

why would you clean your filter every week??

[Colorblizzle]

Well I plan on getting a fish room when I get a house. I enjoy the trial and error of getting my fish to breed then raising the fry. I currently only have 5 tanks totaling 152g's but I'm also in an upstairs apartment lol. I can believe its addictive. I once only wanted a fishtank now I want and feel I need at least 30 LMAO. I would like to do a 2' deep 6' tank and do it a paludarium with frogs and geckos etc. But also have a huge "pond" in there for my cichlids. At least 50g worth :-) African cichlids....there's African frogs right? Lol