New to the site, to frogs and vivariums, so I got some questions!

[deranged chipmunk]

Hey Chris,

i'll see if i can answer you questions for ya.

False bottom:

1. no, there is no minimum requirement. but keep in mind, that just like in large construction, the higher you go, the wider your support columns need to be. when i build false bottoms, i try to use the same diameter pipe as the height i am going with. i.e. 2" false bottom=2" pvc, 3" false bottom=3" pvc, ect. i would, however stop at 4" pvc. it gets crowded real fast under there, especially if you want to add any equipment, such as pumps or heaters.

2. the consistency and texture of the water under the false bottom is liquid water. screening on top of the false bottom keeps substrate from falling through. sure, SOME will fall through, but normally not that much.

3. 'easily' is a relative term. lol since you mentioned you hate drilling tanks (wuss lol), aquarium air tubing will work just fine. i recommend putting a piece of sponge on the submerged end, and a valve on the siphon exit. the sponge keeps any debris that may fall through (see above) from clogging your hose. i use a piece of pond filter sponge, since i have it lying around, as i am sure you do as well. the valve is so you don't lose the siphon. start the siphon, and when you have the amount drained, just close the valve. next time use need to drain, just open the valve. it will stay that way until the siphon is broken in the usual ways. you can run the air line however your design suits. inside the foam, through a pvc pipe, whatever your mind can dream up. and make sure the exit point for the tubing is SEALED. darts are EXPERT ESCAPE ARTISTS! i lost my favorite pair or R. imitator 'veradero' to a 1/8" gap at the top of a tank in a spot where 'i didn't think they could get to'

Silicone:

1. yeah, probably, but it won't hurt. overkill is my trademark. have you seen the monster log in my 125 gallon? LOL
-No (you get a hyphen because i don't know how to do the dot lol)
-No. once silicone cures, it adheres to almost everything then we use in vivaria EXCEPT previously cured silicone. go figure, it just won't bond to itself. it may for a little while, but eventually, water works it's way in between the layers and the top one fails. this is why most divided tanks (ones with glass dividers between water/land portions) fail. the glass is siliconed in, but the bottom two corners are being bonded to the silicone tank seams, then you can figure out the rest.

one thing i will mention about coating the glass with silicone first, then foaming: it is a (insert 5 minute rant of expletives) to get off when you eventually break the tank down!! i am not kidding you. i cannot tell you how bad it sucks!! i had to do it on my 125 and it took me weeks.the madagascar tank took about a week. i ended up using a chisel (gasp!) and hammer (GASP!) to get the background clean. just throw the tank away when you are done with it. seriously, i'm not kidding. lol

Titebond:

1. i have played with different materials and titebond. adding some peat moss to the mix will darken it. you can also add materials while the coats are drying, much like pressing coco fiber into silicone. on my Madagascar tank, i laid a peat/coco fiber, sand and something else i have since forgotten onto the last coat of titebond, which is what gave it the different texture it had. some people also tint the titebond with acrylic paint. that can also help darken it. and no need for sealing, since the paint is mixed into the glue

you can also use an acrylic type paint, like Drylok, to cover the foam. it fills the holes of carved foam pretty well, and you don't need to seal it afterwards. once it dries, it's ready to go and it doesn't leech anything toxic.

Sprayfoam:

1. eek! no. i've never even considered it. i'm not 100% sure i would recommend it either. i guess it 'could' be used , provided you were able to get 100% of it out of the tank and foam. at least with aquariums, if you're like me, you do about 50 water changes before you even consider adding live stock. that's plenty of time for anything nasty to work it's way out that may have been missed. but with vivariums, if there's anything that would harm the frogs, it's in the tank, it's got nowhere to go. and since frogs absorb everything through their skin, it could be ugly. but then again, it may be 100% safe. i have no idea. that was just me typing a few extra words of bull lol

ahhhhh, another reason i got off the silicone bandwagon. i have no brain cells to spare anymore......lol

[DerpyDartFrog]

Hey Bill,

Thanks for digging through my rambling.

False Bottoms:

1. Thanks for the advice on the diameter = height. The 40g tank has limited space so I may try to double up the supports, but reduce the diameter. My big worry with this is the weight and pressure directed on the smaller diameter piping. Too heavy, and the possibility of cracks rises. Will have to weigh my choices.
2. Glad to hear that the consistency of the water is mainly liquid. I would imagine siphoning out a smoothie would be rather problematic.
3. I hate drilling tanks because they still hold a special place in my heart...and I've got breeding pairs of SA dwarf crenicichla that get super nasty when they spawn. Extra tanks are gold when mean fish get meaner!

Silicone:

1. I have seen your 125g, and its $%&!ing beautiful! Would like to do something similar with my 125g when I switch the fish into the new 180g.
   
   • Glad to hear the silicone doesn't have to be perfect.
   • Not so glad to hear that the silicone wont adhere to silicone...cause that means I'll need to scrape clean at least half of one side of this tank.

Titebond:

1. That's awesome that acrylic paints can be added to tint the glue. I thought I read somewhere that it needed to be sealed, but if the glue acts as the sealer, then it should work just fine. I can break out my paints again and start researching material that can improve texture! Wondering if Spanish Moss would look good as a textured pattern on a background.
2. Drylok and grout are some of my favorite materials to work with when designing rocky backgrounds, however because of the inability to soak these backgrounds I'm worried that the grout might release toxics which will harm the frogs.
3. Any experience using grout for background texture?

Sprayfoam:

1. I'll take that as a no, and stick to carving and sanding my backgrounds. Normally décor is covered with epoxy, and soaked for a week with several WC's before its ever added to a tank...so the nonstick spray residue is long gone.

Thanks again for your help. I know I'll have ten times the questions once I get the silicone issue straightened out.

Will try to start a build thread, but I suck at keeping them updated.

Cheers,
Chris