My "build"

[DigitalPunk]

The excess water will drain off. I am not sure you can keep Moss tooooo wet

[awelcome]

isopods... do I need those AND springtails? I am still looking to get springtails, but I see people mention isopods as well.

[DigitalPunk]

No you don't "Need" Isopods. They do the same thing as Springs. In your size tank I am not sure they both would do good in their together.

[flybyferns]

You really can never have too many of either of these.
They will be perfectly happy together.

Having-said that- having JUST springs is fine as well.

[awelcome]

thanks. glad to hear I don't have to hunt those down now too lol. Just out of curiosity... does anyone use bugs from their yard? Like potato bugs, or rolly pollies as some call them? Or is there a chance for contamination from using bugs from your soil?

[jarteta97]

No, unfortunately wild-caught bugs can carry parasites and other diseases that can be transferred to your frog, so the rule of thumb is either culture your own or get captive-raised ones.

[DigitalPunk]

Technically you can collect some wild insects and then breed them. After a couple generation have come and gone in your culture it should be safe to add to a tank

[awelcome]

thanks, I will keep that in mind for future. We have SO many of those things in our yard. We actually had a pet one for a while because my son's school helped them make habitats for them and homework was to catch one and keep it lol.

[deranged chipmunk]

Wait, am I reading this correctly? You had a pet pillbug?


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

[awelcome]

lol yep... not my choice. Boys thought it was great though. Kept it in a tupperware, and he even decorated it's wall with a picture of a rolly polly lol. Once they forgot about it I threw it out.

[deranged chipmunk]

Lol


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

[awelcome]

Ok, so ordered the springtail kit, some more containers, medium, and excelsior for FF culturing, mite paper, and a digital hygrometer from NEHERP.... and still I think it was less than getting the springtail kit with shipping from Josh's Frogs... and actually MUCH less if I had to choose 2 day shipping from them lol. It's a great site and all, but yikes that shipping! Anyway, I emailed NEHERP and they said I should for sure do the express, and they'd guarantee live arrival that way. So in a couple days I should have my stuff.

Once I get the springtails I will put some in the tank, and start the culture with the rest. How many should I put in the tank, and what is the best way since it's already set up and it's kind of hard to dig around in there much with tight space. Can I put them right on top and let them work their way down, or should I at least try to lift the leaf litter so she doesn't immediately eat them?

[DigitalPunk]

Putting them on top is all you need to do

Love me some NeHerp!

[awelcome]

I gotta say.... the stress of worrying about whether or not I am killing the plants is not my fave..... I know basically nothing about plants and wouldn't know if they were looking healthy or not. There is a reason my house has a couple of fake plants and that's it. I am misting usually once or twice a day (I use a spray bottle and spray each plant, the wood, the ground, and the background to get the humidity up to what I have been able to max out so far which according to my hygro is only around 88%). The plants all have some water drops on them, and sometimes I also make a point to spray the base a bit more to wet the dirt more around them..... I just don't know how much is too much or too little. Also, because of crowding issues in my smaller tank I wonder if they are all going to have enough space/light to grow or if they will die from that......

I am probably paranoid at this point, but I hate to think of what a hassle it will be to have to get new plants and move the frog yet again to plant them (it's hard to do even minor changes with her in there because I have to wait for her to be hiding in corner or she'll have a good chance of getting out.)

[DigitalPunk]

nature always finds a way

With the drainage layer you have it removes the worry of over watering your plants. As long as you keep an eye on the water level in the drainage layer and keep it from touching the substrate layer you will be fine

When I mist I don't sock the ground so much as I drench the leaves in water. The leaves are designed to allow water to funnel off and get the soil wet for the roots. I also spray the glass of the tank just to get some more water in the air.

[awelcome]

My drainage layer is still pretty low.... like only a little from the bottom because I wanted to see how things went for a bit and see how fast it might rise with whatever I do daily. I REALLY didn't want to have things swamp out and have to redo for both the hassle and cost factors so soon after doing it. I will gradually get more comfortable and raise it I am sure. I spray some of the back glass, but I like to leave the front a little less covered so I can see in there.... not much point in having a cool viv and pet if you can't ever see them lol. When I have to turn a/c on the whole thing fogs way up and I can't see in there much at all lol.

[awelcome]

looking at drainage layer... it does seem lower than the day I set it up and dumped that water in..... does it evaporate that much? Maybe I should add more.... I was more concerned about it catching up to the top, less about it evaporating away lol.

[awelcome]

added some more... it still looks low in some places but closer to half in others, the way it sits around the drainage stuff so I think I will leave it at that. Anyway, I also found another large semi-firm poop, so that's good. With how much she eats I am always worried I will find runny poops which I read on a lot of the threads about parasites. Hopefully my springtails arrive today and I can get a cleaning crew going for the poops I don't see.

[DigitalPunk]

Yeah it will evaporate pretty quickly. I don't spray the front glass just the back and sides. I soak my tanks pretty good. I mist mine 2 sometimes 3 times a day depending on my mood and what the tanks need at the time.

[awelcome]

I like being able to spray that exo terra background as much as I want and not having to worry about cleaning glass back there lol... and so far I haven't seen a fly issue but not many make it into other parts of the tank right now lol. Today a few did scatter so maybe one or two will find their way back, but that's no biggie. It's pretty sealed up though, and the only part where I got a little too much off the side I stuffed moss into.