56G Tank Progress

[1beataway]

I really wanted to wait till the tank was completed before I made a log of my progress, but Lesley begged and begged and said she wanted to see the work of a genius, so I agreed.

It's a 56 gallon tank. I wanted a water feature but I hate the look of the egg crate and pvc pipe of false bottoms, so I spent time coming up with a take on a false bottom that I think will look more natural.

From my calculations, there will be about 10 or 12 gallons of water in the false bottom area. About 3/4 of the top will be soil, and the rest will be rocks and water. There will be an acrylic wall to separate. The rock tower in the back will mostly hide the Whisper Filter that will act as a waterfall and the pipe of the canister filter and some of the airline tubing for the airstones (which I included for movement in the far corner). The pond will have more rocks, since the frog can't swim and I want to make sure he'll have no problems. The rock walls in the pond area do not go all the way, so the water can circulate, but the frog won't be able to get into the water below the floor. Obviously, there'll be lots of live plants, and I've made some pots to glue to the back and side.

[lnaminneci]

LOL......I wouldn't say "begged"! Well, maybe a little....

Lookin' good girl! I like how you added rocks to the columns to make it look natural! Good job!

Keep the pictures coming as you progress! I'll keep harrassing you, I'm good at that....

~Lesley

[1beataway]

Thanks Lesley.

I shouldn't have posted tank pics though.

[Kevin1]

Looks very nice!

[1beataway]

I just wanted to post some more pictures. I think it's starting to look really nice. There is still so much work though. I think in a few days I can start putting soil and water into it.

[Ebony]

Wow!!..looking real good Elaine .

[Leefrogs]

What a big project. Thanks for posting picts of process, helps any1 who wantsa custom set-up. BTW, what species are you putting in there, I missed that part. And if they can't swim are u building a bank, what are your plans that way? Maybe a close up of that part if it's odvious and I missed that. Can't wait to see it finished

[1beataway]

Thank you!

This tank is for my Malaysian Leaf Frog (Megophrys Nasuta). Some people believe I should add some more in there, but I want to hear more info from others on how well they do together before I try it.

The pond in the front right is the only water he'll have access to. I plan on putting quite a few more large rocks in there, and am going to attempt to stack rocks in such a way that he can get out easily. I'll definitely post close up pics when that is done.

[Leefrogs]

Cool. 56 gives allot of room for attitude!!! LOL. Keep us posted.

[bshmerlie]

That's awesome Elaine. Thanks for posting your progress it always cool to see how it comes along. I don't know a whole lot about those frogs...I take it they like to swim? What else can you tell us about them? Im curious.

[1beataway]

He's a terrestrial frog, so he doesn't swim, but they like to be near riverbanks and such. And my frog loves spending some time in the water. He also loves making messes in his water, so hopefully the very expensive canister filter will help with that.

Even though they like water, they spend a lot of their time hiding. Obviously, they look like a leaf to blend in. It seems he also prefers being in the shade of plants. And they can spend hours in the same spot waiting for prey to come to them (which is a nice contrast to the White's who immediately pounce on crickets in a clumsy manner). They're also very fast when they snag their food; if you blink you miss it.

They have at least a couple different types of croak. The first, which I've posted in a thread, sounds like the beep of a smoke detector whose battery is dying. It's very high-pitched and in your ear, even if you're a room away. Sometimes, I'll hear one single "beep" a week. But if it storms, he'll go crazy and I'll hear several an hour. From what I've read, I believe that for mating, they need a barometric drop, so that might have something to do with it. The second croak is one I heard for the first time a few weeks ago, when we discovered the bowl was leaking and the soil was soaked. It sounds like that sound from the "This is a weekly test" commercials of local channels, but it has a rhythm to it too.

Males get 4 inches long, and females get 7. Most that are available are wild-caught because there's been some trouble breeding them in capitivity, though I believe it has been done. Males are a lot less expensive because they're smaller, but also because they're easier to find. They follow the croaks, and females don't croak. And, of course, they are pretty great at hiding.

Is that the kind of info you wanted? :P

[smashtoad]

This is my 56 column. Truly beautiful, naturalistic vivs are not that tough, it just takes research. This tank contains a bed of gravel covered in a few inches of sphagnum moss, which two years later is a solid bed of live moss.

All the space under the false bottoms is wasted. It could be used as a natural filter bed, exactly as undergravel filters are used in aquariums. Is there any moving water in your tank? How will you clean the water area? A vacuum cleaner? Throw a pump in there...moving water is the key to vivarium health.

One thing though: using my method for a species as big as M. nasuta would require something along the lines of a 75 gallon tank for a pair.

[1beataway]

This is my 56 column. Truly beautiful, naturalistic vivs are not that tough, it just takes research. This tank contains a bed of gravel covered in a few inches of sphagnum moss, which two years later is a solid bed of live moss.

All the space under the false bottoms is wasted. It could be used as a natural filter bed, exactly as undergravel filters are used in aquariums. Is there any moving water in your tank? How will you clean the water area? A vacuum cleaner? Throw a pump in there...moving water is the key to vivarium health.

One thing though: using my method for a species as big as M. nasuta would require something along the lines of a 75 gallon tank for a pair.

Your tank is very nice, and if you have already, you should create a thread about it.

It is not my intention to have stagnet water, nor do I consider the false bottom a waste. It will allow for 10-12 gallons of flowing, filtered water. I have a Whisper filter merely to act as a waterfall, but it does contain carbon. On top of that, I have an expensive, very nice canister filter. This frog can be as dirty as a turtle in water. Furthermore, I have an air pump and a few air stones under the land side of the tank to help move the water farthest away from the filters. The pond area that the frog will have access to will have water pouring into it.

[smashtoad]

Thanks for the compliment on my tank...

I went back and re-read the OP...

Is that solid glass or plexi you've used as your false bottom? The whole purpose of a false bottom (and the reason people use egg crate and screen) is so that water can drain through the substrate and the entire floor into the resevoir. You simply paint the front and sides black up to that level to hide it. Using a solid floor completely defeats the purpose, and you'd have to keep the tank absolutely level, or you are going to get dead spots where the fouled water pools.

Whether or not the space under a false bottom is wasted isn't a matter of opinion...it either is or it isn't. Why have a resevoir of flowing, highly oxygenated water when you could have the same space filled with bioballs or ceramic bio-media to culture nitrifying bacteria?

Also, requiring your filters to fight gravity and draw water up several inches and over the back of the tank will guarantee them a short life. The canister might do it for a few years, but the Whisper won't...they aren't made for that.

[1beataway]

The Whisper filter will not be fighting gravity and drawing the water over several inches and down the back; more than half of it will be under water, and there will only be 2-3 inches above the water. Plus, I'm not counting on the Whisper filter lasting a lifetime; it's a cheaper brand. But it will make a waterfall.

You are not the first to instruct me that I should do nothingmore than a traditional false-bottom and use hydroballs. I used hydroballs for a year. I hated it. I kept having problems and having to redo the whole thing and it's hard to pick up all the pieces. Plus, my frogs seemed to find a way to dig up the hydroballs and I was afraid of them swallowing the hydroballs. Kurt constantly preaches to me, but I've had so many problems with them that I never wish to use them again.

I do have a plan for drainage in the soil part of the tank.

Your tank is great. It is, without a doubt, one of the best looking tanks I've seen. I spent a lot of time coming up with an idea, and then a lot of time and money on my idea, as I'm sure you did when you first started putting your tank together. Had I known, though, that I would be told that I am wasting space and doing my tank the wrong way (and, in a sense, that I need to go back and do it the correct way), I would not have shared the progress of my tank. I can take constructive criticism, but it does not come off that way when you ask a question, and then immediately, without a reply, tell me why what I did was wrong. Perhaps, at the very least, I should have posted pics after the whole thing was done, because no one else knows every detail of my idea as I have thought it out, and so even if I have a drainage plan in place, I get criticized for how I could possibly not have considered it.

[smashtoad]

I apologize for coming off as a jerk.

The bottom line is this: Tons of young herpers are venturing into the world of natural vivs these days...why? Because it is easy to do and they are beautiful. When you mentioned in the OP that someone referred to you as a genius, my ears perked up. It is important to me that kids get good info right out of the gate.

I didn't come up with my idea...I was setting up a 56 column and it was important to me that it be right the first time. So I researched terrarium design at websites and then altered the design aspects I liked best...mainly the simple ones.

I don't know what you meant about your frogs eating bio balls...the frogs should never have access to the bio-balls.

Anyway...sorry. Hope it works out for you.

[1beataway]

I apologize for coming off as a jerk.

The bottom line is this: Tons of young herpers are venturing into the world of natural vivs these days...why? Because it is easy to do and they are beautiful. When you mentioned in the OP that someone referred to you as a genius, my ears perked up. It is important to me that kids get good info right out of the gate.

I didn't come up with my idea...I was setting up a 56 column and it was important to me that it be right the first time. So I researched terrarium design at websites and then altered the design aspects I liked best...mainly the simple ones.

I don't know what you meant about your frogs eating bio balls...the frogs should never have access to the bio-balls.

Anyway...sorry. Hope it works out for you.

I was mostly kidding when I said I was a genius (though, I do think Lesley thinks I am). I am not exactly new to frogs or vivs, but I am definitely not as experienced as others.I've had frogs for a few years, and currently have five species of frogs, and I started getting into natural vivs a couple years ago. Since then, I've had to redo them and change things. Each one is better as I learn. My very first one was a copy of one I had seen, but since then, I have tried to use my own ideas. I don't think it's a bad way to go.

The situation with the hydroballs happened just once. I'm not sure how it happened, but obviously I had a weak spot that my White's got to (White's being like 2-year old infants,of course they found it). I woke up one morning to find bioballs in the pond. I freaked out. But nothing bad happened, and I learned.

I do think you should post a thread about building your tank. I'm gonna have an empty tank soon, and I would be interested in trying it.

[1beataway]

This tank is taking me longer than I thought. School keeps me busy. But here are some new pics. It's not completely done yet, but it should be in just a few days. I know these aren't the best pics, but I misplaced my camera, so I had to settle for my cell phone.

[froghobbiest]

looks good...u did the same thing i did in my tank with the divider lol hers a pic of my cage...it doesnt have frogs in it anymore it has red clawed crabs and guppies right now

[tjtreefrog]

This tank is taking me longer than I thought. School keeps me busy. But here are some new pics. It's not completely done yet, but it should be in just a few days. I know these aren't the best pics, but I misplaced my camera, so I had to settle for my cell phone.

That is awesome, Elaine!