An update. I've been keeping it part filled with water with partial changes every few days and keeping the bits above water misted to aid in the curing. I've only been testing the pH every 2 or 3 weeks, so it may have actually been done awhile ago. Anyways, the last test showed it the same as my tapwater (~7.2), so it was time to plant.



The area on the right is filled with ~2.5" of hyrdoton, covered with landscape fabric, then another ~2.5" of substrate. This keeps the substrate at or just above the water line to prevent it from getting too soggy. It has a bit of Frosty fern on the right, Selaginella krausianna variegatus, that should do some spreading, some kind of boston ivy at the back that will definitely spread and get decent sized leaves for cover, and some sheet moss around the edges. There's room for a Dracaena deremensis "Warneckii", which I'm attempting to propagate and will stuff in later (if that fails I'll pick up another one) which will give some good hiding spots under its leaves. I've smeared some ground up moss and buttermilk pancake mix into the cracks on the back wall. It will take awhile but hopefully will fill in nicely. The moss has to be misted a couple times a day for the first month or so to help get established. I've also tossed in a few magnolia leaves from a viv with an established springtail colony as a clean up crew.

In the water are a few kinds of plants from the goldfish tank. Some kind of duckweed, which should spread without the fish to eat it, Canadian pondweed, Elodea canadensis, also spready without the fish to eat it, and something else I don't recall the name of. I'm pretty ok if the duckweed takes over the water part, I like how it looks and I know native frogs here love hiding in it. I also plan on a stick or two of "lucky bamboo" jammed in the rocks at the bottom (which I need more of). The water plants are a bookended by pothos which has always grown well for me in a jar of water, so it should spread nicely for more cover. I cut a couple 1" pieces of 3/8" flexible tubing and siliconed it in for a place to ram the pothos stems into so they don't go wandering.

The waterfall is running nicely and only creates turbulence in the front left corner as planned. I hear they like calm water, but I've often seen them in petstores sitting in flowing features, so mine will have a choice. There's room under the waterfall for a bag of charcoal if I decide I need it for filtration and the water runs through mechanical filtration (a scouring pad) before it hits the pump. The hydroton area is connected to the main water area and will be a biological filter- I've added water from my established goldfish tank to add in good bacteria.

So a bit more planting to do and much growing to do before I get frogs, but I think it's coming along well