So decided to work on glueing the glass in place in the sump... found out the hard way that the home depot window replacement glass is pretty sharp.. Duely noted and glass was sanded after the incident (btw 24 hours later I managed to rip open the wound when I had it un-bandaged to air out and de-prune my skin.. yay...). Had to ask the hubby to do the silicone work since I couldn't be too precise with the new cut. I zip tied foam and a cut portion of the under gravel filter plate to the pump to help keep I upright and from getting clogged/help reduce flow. Also I stupidly left the sharpie marks on the tank.. now I'm not sure I can get them off >.< going to try windex... At least this is my first tank and very calcium stain heavy so its not like I'd want to use it as a display anyways...



Need to razor off the excess and silicone the opposite sides (where blue tape is in photo).


I settled on doing the emersed aquatic plant setup with this tank after much mulling over.. mostly because of my lack of knowledge with orchids and other epiphytic plants I'd used for the branch setup.
I cut egg crate until my palm was killing me.. ended up changing the rotation of the wood after finally getting it to fit (doh >.<). Decided the new way make it easier to just gravity feed the trickle waterfall where I want it. SO now I get to make a bunch of ramps. Going to wait until pvc piping is cut (husband is custom cutting for me) to make the side walls and ramps so they'll fit properly. and I don't have to do any extra cutting later. I really like the look of the arch this way though ^^






And as a slight tangent.. I grabbed an unknown sp. of mini orchid at Giant to try just for kicks and giggles.. after a bit of reading online I learned they really need drainage (hole(s) in the planter/cup).. the one it was sold in had none so i decided to try a lazy epiphytic setup for it.. basically just pulled it out of the container and left it in its original substrate (which appears to be sphagnum moss) and used fishing line to lightly wrap it to a scrap of manzanita branch. I put it on the 20g long riparium for now, its not touching water but I'm hoping that having it near the water helps it humidity-wise. If it does well I'll consider planing more for a future branch setup. Fingers crossed I don't kill is instantly (btw this was one of those bs "just add ice (cube)" to water kind.. ugh.. great way to kill a plant..)
Any ideas on sp.? Also happy take take any pointers/tips on care.




The skinny white roots you see below the orchid is actually a clove of garlic I stuck in my riparium... its 27" long from roots end to leaf tip.



Quote Originally Posted by deranged chipmunk View Post
welcome to the forum. this is an adventurous first build. it's really had to comment on anything since you have yet to decide which route you are going with the tank, but i will say this: coming from a planted tank background, i admire the thought of doing a sump, however, i can tell you from experience of making the transition from planted aquariums to frogs, it's over kill. just not needed and is a waste of time, money, and space IMHO. i'm a big fan of sumps. i prefer a sump over any other filtration in planted aquariums any day, but you really don't need it.

a question about fans. you wrote "Quiet fans for vents on lid (husmand ahs some leftover fans we need to look through and select a few out)" are you planning on having the move air through the vents? because this would totally negate anything you do to try to regulate humidity.

as far as Azureus and Auratus go. it all depends on whether or not you want to see your frogs. lol Azureus are a bolder frog, being in the tinc species and all, while auratus are a more shy, secretive frog.

hope that helps
Thank you for the input.
I don't feel like having to consume more tank space to make access points to reach/remove heater and pump if there were issues (and I refuse to seal them in so I can never get them back out without destroying the setup) so I'm gonna try the sump as it makes maintenance/access much easier. I can also use it as a grow out tank for more aquatic plant if I slap a light over it.
For fans I was thinking I may very infrequently turn on a fan just to push a little air through so its not to stagnant (maybe a few seconds of use before the humidifier kicks in).. I may be over thinking it... but I don't have my layout for venting yet.. so dunno.
I'd read Auratus are more bold when given plenty of places to hide and a good high humidity which was why I considered them as this will be a high humidity tank for the emersed aquatic plants.