20 long D. leucomelas journal

[Voltage]

Hello. I'm new here. I'm in a rush right now but really wanted to get this started. So i'm in the process of building a 20 gallon long dendrobate luecmelas vivarium. This being my first vivarium, i'm really excited. I've been keeping/breeding tree frogs but have never made a nice vivarium with a background or even live plants. After doing research, I will NOT have a water feature, I WILL house 2 luecs, I WILL have a background, I WILL have a false bottom (Hydroton), I WILL have MANY live plants, I AM welcome to feedback, and I WILL work hard on this. I already have many plants in a grow out tank (Many plants, will not name all, but heres a few: 3 bromeliads (1 zoe, 2 midgets), ficus pumila oak leaf, golden pothos, red wandering jew, rabbit foot fern, 1 orchid (not sure on exact name), and about 10 more I don't have the names on the tip of my tounge. The background is great stuff expanding foam/silicone (ACE black silicone, clearly mentions Mold Inhibitor, BUT it has much less than GE silicone II, which many people use)/peat moss. I'm hoping the peat moss will grow green over time (peatmoss is spagnum moss) and I hope all the plants do well. Here is the start of the journal (HINT: always do foam in LAYERS, very thin layers, not all at once)

Shot at 2011-08-08


Shot at 2011-08-08


Shot at 2011-08-08


Shot at 2011-08-08


Shot at 2011-08-08


Shot at 2011-08-08

I ripped the roots out after they've expanded, I didn't like em.

Shot at 2011-08-08

Lighting- 1 17w T8 bulb (also will add 1-20w T5 bulb)

Shot at 2011-08-08

Just after peatmoss/silicone

Shot at 2011-08-08

After silicone peat touchups, sitting in green house to air out for a few days (fumes!)

Shot at 2011-08-08

FTS in greenhouse

Shot at 2011-08-08

Next is planting and I will get my frogs August 13, which is the herp show here. I plan on getting either a 2.0, 1.1, or 2.1 of luecs.

[nos187]

Nice looking tank! Cant wait to see it planted =)

Did you end up doing a false bottom?

-Kevin

[bshmerlie]

It looks like it is coming along great. Can't wait to see it finished.

[Voltage]

Oh no On the far right side of the tank the backside of the expanding foam appears to of shrunk and come off the glass. Why is this happening? UGH!

[DonLisk]

It sounds like to did apply the foam correctly from the start so I have no idea why it would shrink up.
Did you clean the glass with anything before applying the foam? I use Wipe-out since I know it doesn't leave a residue behind. Virginia would also work.

One thought here would be to see if you can inject some silicone in behind the piece coming off to secure it. Maybe prop it into place with something while the silicone dries.

[Kisa]

Great looking tank so far, I can't wait to see the finished product. Sorry you're having trouble though, I hope it gets resolved. D:

[Voltage]

Actually no, I didn't want to take a 2 hour drive to get eggcrate or hydroton, so I just put the substrate in. For substrate It is kind of like ABG mix, and here it is. 1 part charcoal, 1 part Peat moss, and 2 parts tree fern fiber, and 1 part semi dried aspen leaves from backyard. I actually lightly planted it a few hours ago but am still waiting for the silicone to cure. I don't really need to let the silicone air out because it's acid base, and after 24 hours there will be almost no smell. I stil need more ficus pumila (walmart has baskets of about 100 feet total of ficus pumila for 10 bucks) and a few other plants i'll have to add too. It looks like a forest floor! I have tons of small plants in the bottom of the tank with a little of leaf litter, and that greatly represents the forest floor. I also have tons of broms on the background