tadpoles and sandy bottom terrariums

[reptilia5]

What is the opinion of my fellow herpers on tadpoles and sandy bottom terrariums? I'm getting a jump on setting up for spring tads and am in the process of revamping my old 15 gal. semi-aquatic terrarium. The sand I'm using is river sand,boiled for 30 min then baked at 450 degrees for one hour. I am allowing the tank to "age" for 4-5 months before introducing the tads (2 max). I will be using a goldfish to jump start the natural bio-filter and an air-pump and air-stone will provide oxygen. Depending on the species of tads I plan to keep any species that are not bull or green frogs. Any suggestions or caveats about raising tads in a sandy bottom environment? Thanks in advance for any feed-back.

1 Dumeril's boa
1 Lithobates palustris
"home-schooling rocks"!

[Mentat]

Fine river sand should be OK if a substrate is desired. Do not need to boil; rinsing in tap water followed by drying in sun and baking for 1 hour at 250F (let cool in oven overnight) will sterilize it.

A tank will cycle in a month even without inoculating it with bacteria; a 4 month wait is unneeded. Cycling with a goldfish is the worse you could due due to their usual parasite load. You can get a bottle of Seachem's Stability or similar product and cycle tank in a couple weeks with the tadpoles in it as long as you do not overfeed or overcrowd the tank. Good luck !

[MatthewM1]

You can do a fishless cycle to get the filter going.

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums...ng-148283.html

If you do a Google search you'll find alot of other info on the process, this is just one of the first ones that popped up.

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[reptilia5]

Thanks for the link. The fishless cycle will be the way I will go.

[reptilia5]

Thanks for the advice. Advice like that is exactly why I posted this thread.The area where I get the tads is a grab-bag of different species,but they will not be available until the end of May. This gives me more than enough time to get the tank up and running,establish a strong bio-filter,tweek the land side,give the plants and micro-fauna time to get established, etc. I like to plan and establish even small tanks in advance if possible. I am just a stickler for detail. It took me over three months to finally get my Dumeril's boa because I spent time in reading and researching Madagascar boas,choosing the right tank,shopping around for the best prices for different types of heating,etc.

[deranged chipmunk]

Keep in mind that the bio filter only builds up to whatever the current load is and can easily be overloaded, leaving you with a brown, hairy "algae". It's not really algae at all, but diatoms. Add livestock to it slowly and give it time to handle the load you add to it.

[reptilia5]

Thanks for that advice. I will only have two tads. The water area is 7 1/2 gallons and 6 in deep.It also is planted with 5 live plants for both cleaning and aesthetic purposes. I am also keeping in mind the amount of food being fed that may not be consumed. With an established natural bio-filter,an air pump, and only two tads how often should I do a partial water change? Also how much water should I change? 20%? 25%? 50%? Thanks to everyone who has posted advice and who will take the time to advise me on this project. My son and I are enjoying learning more about this and looking forward to our spring tads and a possible new frog "pet".

[Fire Salamander]

What if the tadpole food falls onto the sand, and then the tadpoles try to eat their food but end up eating sand too.

[reptilia5]

I'm sure the sand would be passed out of the body. I doubt they could consume enough sand to the point that it would be detrimental to their health. You do, however, bring up a viable concern and one that I did not think of.