New to dart frogs. Some questions

[Mjk412]

I plan on getting some beginner species of dart frogs over the next few months. I'm not sure what species. I have a few questions. How many can I keep in an 24x18x18 tank? I plan on making the tank a terrarium with a small stream and pond. I also have a 75gal tank that's empty. Is this too large of a tank? I wanted to make this a terrarium as well. My major concern is heat. The tank will be in my basement. During the cold winter months my basement is between 50-60 degrees. How can I keep dart frogs in a successful terrarium with those basement temps? My basement is too larger for a space heater. Thanks for your help.

[Mjk412]

Does anyone feel like responding here?

[KLHreptiles]

i dont know much with darts but a what are the inchs in the 75 gallon what darts are u planing to get

[Mentat]

If planning to keep in a cold basement, will need to use heat sources for enclosures capable of bringing them 20F warmer; and keep them at mid to low 70's. They can withstand night temps in the 60's; but constant 50 to 60F is too cold . Depending on enclosure size you can do that with thermostatically controlled heat tape applied to enclosure sides.

With screen vented enclosures, you could also use heat lamps. However; Darts need very high humidity levels and that is not an option, since you will be closing off the screened area with glass plates. Stand by for a higher electrical bill; specially if you try to warm up a 75G tank to 70F in a 50F room .

[deranged chipmunk]

Haha! A large build! This is my specialty! A 75 isn't as difficult to heat as one might think, you just need to be creative. The key to heating a 4 foot tank is a false bottom with a pair of aquarium heaters. Now, I don't mean those cheapo tetra ones. You need a high quality, adjustable heater like fluval or eheim. Of course, you will also need filtration and a glass top that is nearly sealed to make this project successful.

The premise is simple, heat the water, heat the air, and create humidity. If you decide to use an external canister filter (I would), you can even use an inline heater so you have external control over the temp of the water.

You don't even need to have a water feature in the tank, if you don't want one, you'll just be using the reservoir as a heat source. I could go on and on and on on this one.

[FrogRN]

I have to advise you DO NOT use submerged heaters. Even the highest quality ones have thermostats that tend to break. As a result, they can and will stay "on" and cause the water temps to skyrocket to something that is dangerous for your frogs. There is the possibility that you get a good heater that works for years, but do you really want to risk the lives of your frogs on that? If you can't bring up ambient temps, you might be able to use an extra large undertank heater (without a false bottom) to maintain temps at night. A drop to 65-68 is ok. During the day, compact flourescents can keep temps inside at a good level. You will need to get creative and play around with it before adding frogs.