Terrarium question

[treefrogsrules]

i want to upgrade my white's tree frog's tank to a zoo med 18x18x24 with pebbles in the bottom with water in the bottom(with a filter) and have a ramp that hangs over the water with plant and a background of some sort...............is this a good terrarium idea

[DonLisk]

Hi Payton,

Basically your describing most of the vivariums out there with a water feature.
Whites love to soak and a nice water area is always cool.
My whites would have it trashed in a night since they poop in the water and love to drag in as much substrate as they can,

I'll just toss some random thoughts at you since you can create a great viv with some pre-planning and a good knowledge of how your plan will be serviceable in the future.

I think you would need to determine where the water for the waterfall is going to be fed from. A false bottom using egg-crate would probably be easier for changing water and adding makeup water as the water evaporates.

You can separate a water area by using plastic dividers and silicone in place to seal off a section for water and then having a stone or clay bottom in the non water feeding area.

Your pump needs to also be accessible in case of problems later in the vivs life.

I would look at some vivs that have water features in members photo albums and over some searches on the web for some ideas as to a how to add in and separate your water feature.

[MikeM670]

Don is right on planning out the water feature. I just finished my 18x18x24 with a waterfall feature that spills into a small pond with a return pvc pipe to the reservoir hidden behind the rear rock feature. I tested the water feature for a few days with no signs of leakage so went ahead and put in the substrate and finished things off with planting..ect. Well now the water feature seems to need to be refilled every few days and the substrate area now seems to fill up way to fast. I suspect one of two things has happen. Either the water feature itself developed a leak or after observing the water feature I noticed that in one location the water seems to be seeping over a ledge and into the planted area. In either case it has made for a very disappointing build due to higher maintenance then I wanted. I had the water feature separated from the false bottom to keep only clear water in the pond. There is really nothing wrong with mixing the false bottom water in a water feature as the water is only discolored due to tannins which occur naturally in the wild.

In my current build using a 55 Gallon tank I will have a water feature that utilizes the false bottom water and marshy area so the discolored water won’t be distracting.

[bshmerlie]

In my current build using a 55 Gallon tank I will have a water feature that utilizes the false bottom water and marshy area so the discolored water won’t be distracting.

Mike are you going to do a build thread for us on your 55 gallon? We would love to see it in progress.

[MikeM670]

If I remember to take the pictures while I work.