Can I use my 90 gallon drilled as a vivarium for Dart Frogs?

[DonLisk]

The vivarium you build is going to be more of what you want for a viv. The drainage area is a place to allow for water to filter down through the substrate and collect below that substrate. If not there, the substrate would eventually become saturated and rot requiring replacement over time. Also, many plant's root systems would have issue with no drainage unless they were plants that thrive on wet soil conditions such as aquatic plants.

There is no need for a pond with dart frogs, but some individuals love the idea of the water feature. Some darts will actually stand in the pond area but its recommended to not have the water level deeper than what the frog can stand in.
The water, especially water with movement such as a drip system or waterfall, will help with humidity, but a sealed up tank with plenty of live plants, a misting system or fogger, will keep your humidity high enough.
I've seen pond areas with no filter system, but you would need to siphon out the water routinely and replace the water.
Since the overflow is already there, looking at Mikes build, you wouldn't have to create an area to access the pump and run hoses since your overflow is already there to hide a pump and hoses.


I think the main thing to determine when designing your build is whether you want a water feature or not.

[BG]

Well said Don thats why you make the big bucks .lol

[DonLisk]

Well said Don thats why you make the big bucks .lol

hahaha

[BG]

That over flow box is a great idea . Its like having a divider wall. You need to separate the pump or drainage away from your substrate. Also its easier to clean back there.

[Cody]

So I'd be able to kind of....hide the overflow box by growing plants off of it and then having a water feature there? As in, not literally "growing the plants off of the box" but I think you get what I mean...

[DonLisk]

Read through some of the construction journals and you should get some ideas as to how you want to build it.
There are many build journals located in this section of the forum: Vivarium, Terrarium & Enclosure Discussion

[Cody]

I think with how big this tank is and the access with the overflow I HAVE to do a water feature... If I'm gonna do this tank I might as well do it beautifully, right? Chances are I'm only gonna setup a vivarium once, and with a tank this huge at that. So should I follow John's guide on the drainage layer? I know some others use the PVC and egg crate method or something? And I think I understand how to do the background...the foam and moss...I have another question just relating to plants in general. How do you "plant" them for vivariums? Just in the foam/moss?

Edit: Also, temperature... I used to have two bearded dragons until one decided to be a cannibal :[ but I may still have the ceramic lamps I used for their tank...can I use them for a dart vivarium? I would guess not since they probably don't provide enough heat. But how can I provide heat besides using T5 lighting of some sort maybe? I don't wanna spend a fortune on lights but I'll have some money if I sell my aquarium supplies. (Don't know if that'll happen) My house is probably 65° F -70° F all the time..so I dunno what to do.

[BG]

There is plenty of info on this site on vivs. Its up to you which way you want to go. I'm in the same place as you when it comes to vivs. I have three tanks to transform,or should i start small, since this is my first viv. I like the idea of the water draining tho.

[DonLisk]

You can always waste foam foam on some cardboard and learn to use the foam, how much it expands and carving it to create features.

The false bottom with egg create works great as does hydroballs. The eggcrage method would be less expensive to do on such a large tank than filling the bottom with hydroballs to have a 1 1/2 to 2 inch layer.

You could have a nice pond features in multiple locations by just having the eggcrate cut away in areas and have stone for the pond. Then you could always siphon off water from there and replace when needed.

As for heat, your lighting is probably going to keep it warm enough and dropping to 68 - 70 should be fine at night if it did drop that low.


You tank has a lot of potential but you might want to try some ideas on a small tank first and then rip it apart and try again until you have some practice and ideas of what you want to do.

[Cody]

So I would use the egg crate method..then cover it with.....what? I talked to someone at a LFS (Local Fish Store obviously..they sell frogs, other amphibians/reptiles, fish, small animals, etc.) And she said that she used the PVC with egg crate, then large filter pads, gravel, and then moss...but what would you guys recommend?

Edit: And I don't necessarily have a smaller tank to try it on, this is all I have. I came to this forum looking for some help as I did to TONMO for help with an octopus setup, you know?