Well, here we go...100 gallons. Walk me through it?!

[deranged chipmunk]

That background can be whatever you choose it to be


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

[BCollie]

That background can be whatever you choose it to be


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

A 3-D background would be nice but I'm afraid it would look bad, because I'm not artsy in that sense.

[DigitalPunk]

A 3-D background would be nice but I'm afraid it would look bad, because I'm not artsy in that sense.

You don't need to be artsy to do a foam background you do need to poses a rare ability in the world these days called "being Patient" Each layer or application of foam should be kept roughly 1" thick or so. Then let that layer dry for 24 hours before adding more. Once you have a shape you like then you can do to town with Silicon and pressing peat moss, coco fiber, or anything really that will hold up to high humidity and is non toxic to amphibians.

Instead of silicon you can use Titebond 3 wood glue in place of the silicone (it absolutely must be the 3 version). You can use acrylic paint to tint the glue or leave it the default color. All of this is covered in the Vivarium 101 thread and I also have some videos on my you tube channel. that show how I apply foam and then appling the Titebond glue.

Speaking of plants - what do they entail in terms of care? Do they need to be watered even though they're in a high humidity aquarium with what I assume will be damp soil?

All plants are different, but the very basics of Vivarium plants is that the misting that is done to keep the humidity up also keeps the plants happy. Your soil should be setting on top of a drainage layer (covered in the Vivarium 101 thread) or on top of a false bottom (also covered in the Vivarium 101 thread). This will allow the excess water to drain away from the soil and keep you from having a nasty swampy boggy mess that will kill your plants, breed bacteria, and possibly make your frogs sick. Prune the plants as desired and enjoy

[BCollie]

I did read the Vivarium 101 thread yesterday...at least, I read the first post. I need to finish reading it!
So the plants don't generally have to be watered, just misted?

[jarteta97]

I have an adjustable hand mister, and about once every 1-2 weeks I'll directly water the soil around the plants. But mostly, yeah, misting will do it all for you.

[deranged chipmunk]

re: plant care. a lot really depends on the genus/species of the plant really. some require more maintenance than others. part is also dependent on plant placement and conditions. some plants will thrive in one area of the tank, yet will die off in another part of the same tank, no matter what you do. a good rule of thumb, provided you are working with good soil, is mist daily, water once/week. manual misting with a large tank, as you know, can be trying at best at times. i use a pump handled garden sprayer for my 125g. the big ones that hold about 3 gallons of water and has a spray wand on a hose. makes life so much easier because i can just crack the lid and stick the wand in and get everywhere i need to.

the only other thing you need is good lighting, which, since you are growing aquatics, i assume you have a minimum of t5ho's with 6700k bulbs, which are perfect. one thing to keep in mind, since you came from planted tanks, like i did, and this is the hardest part for most aquascapers. the growth of terrestrial plants is much slower than that of aquatics, by about 3:1. about 10:1 when running high light, EI Dosing and co2 supplementation.