First build- few questions (drainage)

[deranged chipmunk]

Hi everyone! I'm completely new to terrarium building but it looks like a lot of fun so I took the plunge and bought a 20h Tetra tank from Petco today. Ultimately, I'd like to house two Dendrobates tinctorius (Cobalts if possible) in a living terrarium.

I'm going to start work on a false bottom for the tank, probably going with the egg crate option. I'd like to have one or two holes to drain the terrarium when water levels get too high (I was planning on putting the holes approx. 1 inch above the bottom of the tank ie. there would be up to 1 inch of standing water in the bottom). Therefore, the holes would be on the back of the tank. Is the 20h Tetra safe to drill on the back or is it tempered glass? Is this too much standing water, or not enough?

I do not plan to have any standing water or waterfalls as a feature in my terrarium, besides a water dish for the frogs. But I still assume I need a way to drain excess water out of the bottom of the tank from misting.

I'll have plenty more questions when I really get going on this, but the drainage would be a good place to start.

Cheers and thanks!
Dave

It's safe to drill the back. Normally, only the larger tanks have tempered glass and only on the bottom.

The amount of standing water is up to you. You can drain it directly out if you so choose and have no standing water. Many people do that.

If you don't want to drill the tank, a simple airline running to the bottom of the tank will suffice to siphon water out of the bottom as well.

[buggerdtp]

Thanks for the info! If I completely drain the tank and have no standing water in the bottom, won't it be hard to keep humidity levels up? I know I could use a humidifier, and I'll be misting twice a day or so.

Thanks again for the info! Can't wait to start this. I'm going to pick up supplies for the bottom today.

[DigitalPunk]

Buggerdtp,

Your substrate can help with the humidity as well. PDF don't require ventilation (the air circulation from opening the enclosure to feed or mist the terrarium will be enough) so your top should be all glass. This will greatly help to keep the humidity up. Also if you include some moss in your substrate. I like to use the ABG mix for the middle layer of my substrate and then I top that with about 1 inch of Sphagnum Moss. The moss holds in quite a bit of water and will help keep the humidity up. It will also help keep the frogs from having ABG mix stuck to them. I then cover the moss in a layer of Leaf liter. I prefer Magnolia leaves, but that is just personal preference.

If you do use Sphagnum moss, when you are putting it in the tank soak it in dechlorinated water and the ring it out so it is damp but not dripping wet.

The misting + the Damp moss will keep the humidity quite high. The false bottom is simply to collect execs water and keep it from swamping out the substrate. If you would like the water to help with humidity you could look at adding some Leca or Hydraballs (expanded clay) to the false bottom area. The Leca will absorb some water and then when you drain the False bottom will begin to dry out and release humidity.

Hope this helps some.