1000+ questions :)

[DigitalPunk]

Lija,

You want it to be fairly bright down at the soil. It sounds like you have the Same LED system I do. It works and things grown, but t seems a bit Dim (I have mine on an 18x18x24). I am going to give LED another go on my next tank, but the last 2 tanks I bought T5HO lighting and the plants are going crazy. I have already had to trim the Mantella tank once in less than 2 months! Though that could also be because I have started to spray fertilizer on the plants every 3 weeks.

[Lija]

Got it thanks! Ill try go exchange it first for bigger led, just to try, cos i like the LED idea, the next size up was 30". If that's too dim too, ill go with the one you suggested
or may be i leave that one for nasuta tank. Are you saying plants are gonna grow under these lights? I have right now regular light saving lamp and uvb, by replacing that lamp with LED and leaving UVB, it will be still dim, but that is how nasuta like it.


Update on the tank - plants are all replanted and it seemed survived my abuse with bleach and washing them, well i dont see any dead ones....not yet anyway!

[deranged chipmunk]

Up to you


Education is the most powerful weapon we can use to change the world ~ Nelson Mandela

[Lija]

Helpful lol. All right, im replanting them, going to go and crush some charcoal now!

[deranged chipmunk]

Hahahaha!!!


Education is the most powerful weapon we can use to change the world ~ Nelson Mandela

[DigitalPunk]

LoL

Lija you are doing the right things first which will make you build amazing. If you ask 1000 questions along the way it will keep us from saying things like "umm you should of done it this way. Now you may need to tear it all apart to fix it" lol. Love that you are asking and learning along the way!

[Lija]

Yay Paul, i blushing here big time, i am so awesome!!! You know you can say it anytime! I wont mind

no pressure, where is Lynn with queen lyrics when i need her. Lol

okay new question - plant preparation, i know, i know i should read more in plant section, i got quite a few threads done, but....

you all know how paranoid i am in terms of quarantine and it got much worse after i had M. marinum in waxies last year. The only possible way to that nastiness to get into there was with pothos plant. With my luck whatever go wrong will go wrong, but im hoping a bomb wont explode in the exact same place twice.

Washing roots, washing plant itself, dip into mild bleach, replant. Is there anything else that can be done, or it is ok? I dont think any plant will survive 99% alcohol or burning to the ground lol
im really itching to autoclave all ingredients for the soil, but i guess not a good idea. Lol

[Lija]

it will keep us from saying things like "umm you should of done it this way. Now you may need to tear it all apart to fix it" !

you know you wanted to say it, you better just admit it, it would be so much fun! I think i wont disappoint you and you will still get a chance of doing so i think i should just post a pic of the my nasutas tank and hide under the bed for a week after. Lol

[Lija]

Happy? lol but this was my first ever and i totally sucked. So many things gonna do differently now.
by the way what is really weird - isopods and springtails can manage to completely dispose of their poop, who'd think, we are talking big big poop lol.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[deranged chipmunk]

Lol no, plants won't survive a 99% alcohol dip lol. Wash the plants and roots under running cold water, a mild bleach dip is fine.

I know you had it rough with the m. Marinum, so I can understand being cautious. Obviously, autoclaving your soils would be bad, but, you can sit them out in the sun and allow everything to dry and then bake in the sun for 30 days or so and you won't lose many nutrients. In fact, in the planted tank game, we use mineralized top soil. It actually increases the nutrient levels in the soil, and may be a choice for you. It's a long drawn out process of moistening and drying and repeating the drying prices though.

Do we have informational overload yet? Lol


Education is the most powerful weapon we can use to change the world ~ Nelson Mandela

[Lija]

Mineralized top soil? I think.... I think..... I need a drink lol or two lol

ok wash, mild bleach, if something go wrong, blame Bill got it!

[deranged chipmunk]

Happy? lol but this was my first ever and i totally sucked. So many things gonna do differently now.
by the way what is really weird - isopods and springtails can manage to completely dispose of their poop, who'd think, we are talking big big poop lol.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I always liked this tank. Perfect for the nasuta. The plants go well together. But most important, it had everything the frog needs


Education is the most powerful weapon we can use to change the world ~ Nelson Mandela

[DigitalPunk]

Here is the plant processing guide I follow with all my plants. It is all pretty standard stuff, but this is the place I found it all neatly put together for me to read through and pour over lol.

New England Herpetoculture LLC - Plant Processing Procedure

Processing is actually easier than you would think and it well worth it. I have not had any plants die due to processing them and they are all doing very nicely!

I thought the thread http://www.frogforum.net/general-dis...now-share.html was an excellent idea, but maybe should be moved to the terrarium section. I feel it is important for all new comers to see that even people building seemingly advanced tanks all started out as noobs at some point. (Even if all the evidence to this has been lost or destroyed BILL lol). I think sharing our knowledge, failures, and break throughs are paramount in helping others learn and grow with us . Posting failures sucks and is embarrassing, but the learning experience it has to offer is invaluable.


The best thing anyone can do on this forum is take pictures, loads of pictures, and as a TON of questions. Show that you are interested in learning, do some research, and ask for advice. Everyone here (sometimes even noobs like myself) will chime in and offer some tips or advice that we got from someone else on our build or from a mistake we made.

Can't wait for your tank to arrive so you can get to the build phase!!!

[Lija]

I always liked this tank. Perfect for the nasuta. The plants go well together. But most important, it had everything the frog needs


Education is the most powerful weapon we can use to change the world ~ Nelson Mandela

really? Have i ever posted pics? Hm.... Getting old and all lol I must say that is a very polite way of saying, woman that is really bad lol
substrate is exo earth, hanging plants are potted i think in exo earth too and drying out once in a while, that fancy structure called water fall sucks with water going everywhere..... Shall i continue lol oh and i have tubes going in and out of exo terra turtle filter. how exactly plants are still alive is a mystery...

and i should probably blame you for Chernobyl too, you know when you think about it, it completely makes sense!

Paul asking questions no problem, but would you believe if i say once upon a time i came here asking totally unique question - help! my pacman is not eating lol oh those days

[deranged chipmunk]

i thought you posted pics a while back. i could be confused though. i have looked at hundreds of enclosures on this site, hard to keep track. lol

Paul, she did!! i remember!! we joined about the same time and i kept thinking to myself, such a noob!! not really, because i was a noob too!! we were just noobs in different disciplines. lol

[Mentat]

Hi Lija, just found your new thread. Did you ordered the custom tank yet? Is it cheaper that way than just buying an ExoTerra Large Medium (36x18x24 in tall)? You could place a 36x18 in. piece of 3/4 in. marine plywood on your stand to hold it with a 3/4 in. trim glued to edges so it's nice.

In regards to your question on pond or filter; suggest you look at the Supreme Danner Ovation internal filters. They are nice units that output to a tube that could be connected to hoses, same as a pump. They go from linked unit (1000 and largest) then to 700 and 210 models.

If replacing tree fern with coco coir, recommend using the chunk coco; not the shredded one. Good luck !

[Lija]

Carloooooossssssssssss! You are confusing meeeeeeeeeee

yes i did order 150$ for 34x16x24with sliding doors exo terras of 24x18x24 are around 200, next size up is close to 300-350 and very hard to find.

I thought we established, pump + shrimp thing for the bottom of the pond would do. Pls confirm smbody i saw in one of the threads your recommended filter and couldn't find it here. 8-12 weeks shipping time from states...... To wait so long to start the thing.... Noooooooooo lol

coconut chunk, what do you mean? Background?

Oh and i do need some leaf litter right?

[deranged chipmunk]

Mineralized top soil? I think.... I think..... I need a drink lol or two lol

ok wash, mild bleach, if something go wrong, blame Bill got it!

You can blame me. I have no problem there. I'm used to it. My wife blames me for everything. She still blames me for Chernobyl, not sure how that works out lol


Education is the most powerful weapon we can use to change the world ~ Nelson Mandela

[deranged chipmunk]

Lija, Carlos is talking about coco husk. Basically, orchid bark. Same stuff, different terminology don't fret your pretty little head over it lol


Education is the most powerful weapon we can use to change the world ~ Nelson Mandela

[Mentat]

So Coco husk and Orchid bark are the same... !