# Lighting in dart frog viv ?????



## toonboymc71 (Dec 15, 2014)

My new talk has been up and running for a couple of weeks been informed I need a uv light to help the plants grow is this true as some of the plants are dying off
Cheers 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Cornish-J (Sep 4, 2011)

no, you don't NEED UV for the plants or the darts. 

If plants are dying then it will be down to the conditions, either too much light, not enough, too wet, too dry etc.

Pictures will help.


----------



## Arcadiajohn (Jan 30, 2011)

yes, plants need a certain set of parameters to thrive, light being one of them. They do need access to light of the correct PAR and wavelengths to be able to really get going.

UV lamps can in some cases burn plants, which is why a twin set of plant grow linear lamps alongside the UV for the animals is a better option.

so depending on what you intend to keep you may need to provide a lamp for the animals core biological processes and one for the plants.

Factor in effective drainage and hydration, airflow and feeding and you should be able to grow any species of plant.

john,


----------



## toonboymc71 (Dec 15, 2014)

It's a 2 foot fish tank with hydroballs Mesh And substrate with oak leaves and springtails in plus moss I have put a few plants on bottom which seem ok but the 3 on the back ground seem to be dying off but were cuttings I'm after bromeliads the bulb at the moment is a 46cm 15w. T8 if this helps

































Fao arcadiajohn

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Meefloaf (Mar 24, 2013)

theres going to be a massive lack of airflow in a fish tanki think some people put fans going in opposite directions at each end of the viv so one end air comes in adn t'other, air gets sucked out


----------



## toonboymc71 (Dec 15, 2014)

Meefloaf said:


> theres going to be a massive lack of airflow in a fish tanki think some people put fans going in opposite directions at each end of the viv so one end air comes in adn t'other, air gets sucked out



Done abit research but never seen airflo mentioned to be honest 
Can I ask what the airflo does and why it is needed cheers for your reply 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Meefloaf (Mar 24, 2013)

im no plant expert. most of us here use either exo terra or ent style vivs, which have vents at the front and mesh on the top to help air flow, or at least, give some airflow. The yanks tend to be a bit shit hot on the ol airflow stuff and tend to house them inside the viv (too much palarva for me). 

Some plants really do need airflow to survive, one of the main reasons folk struggle with selaginella is often attributed to poor airflow, same goes for certain ferns and i do believe orchids. 

most people seem to get by with the exo/ent route and have a decent level of success with plants. Sometimes it can be the luck of the draw and also other factors, how long was your tank sat for before you put plants in ? 

i've had my own fair share of trouble with plants that i've bought, and it is gutting when you think about collective cost (eurgh) but it does happen


----------



## toonboymc71 (Dec 15, 2014)

Meefloaf said:


> im no plant expert. most of us here use either exo terra or ent style vivs, which have vents at the front and mesh on the top to help air flow, or at least, give some airflow. The yanks tend to be a bit shit hot on the ol airflow stuff and tend to house them inside the viv (too much palarva for me).
> 
> Some plants really do need airflow to survive, one of the main reasons folk struggle with selaginella is often attributed to poor airflow, same goes for certain ferns and i do believe orchids.
> 
> ...



Tank was left about a week but the 3 that are dying were cuttings the bottom plants on the ground are looking good to me lol but were bought going to buy some off eBay from a company terra world tropicals


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Papa Mcknight (Feb 3, 2014)

Having a fan inside circulating air around the tank helps many plants as Meetloaf said as they like high humidity but not to be saturated. It also means the conditions inside won't be as stagnant. 

Putting a fan on top of a tank drawing air in or out is a no-no really as you are replacing good humid air with dry air which will ruin humidity levels in the tank.

The plant thats wilting looks like devil ivy, which would appreciate some airflow. Just remember when setting up vivariums that plants may die off after set up until it adjusts and springs back into life.


----------



## soundstounite (Sep 6, 2009)

Toon is it pete? Please forgive mate. I have a gut feeling light or air flow isn't the issue. It's the cutting that are failing,right,how much root did they have compared to leaf,did they at any time dry out? It looks to me like one or t'other is cause. Buddy a cutting has to put enough roots out to cope with the loss of water from transpiration or it will fail. If a cutting dries out,it's more than likey screwed too. Without knowing the history is a real difficult call,plus I could really do with better pics and seeing the roots. Mate it is common pratice to reduce the leaf area by cutting these back when taking a cutting,so reducing waterloss so giving the plant more time to actually make roots before things come critical.

Oh bro a side note on air flow,with regards to the frogs and a bit on plants . If one has a completely sealed viv,then one has no airflow,so there can be no evaporation once 100% humidity is reached. Ok that's simple enough,when water evaporates it causes a drop in temperature of the surface it is evaporating from ,simple enough right,just like we sweat and as the sweat evaps,we cool. Same effect for da froshe me old mate. Water evaps from the frogs skin and cools it not sweat persay but similar concept. My own primary reason for never using a sealed viv is just this bro no evaporative cooling for me froshe in the height of summer: I'd guess on a blinding hot summers day in blighty(yeah what the hell is that) this simple factor for some frogs will be a matter of life or death.

For plants: one wants reduced air flow ,say via a propagator,for most cuttings,while they get going. In our dart vivs with reduced airflow,most plants need to dry out before getting wet again. If they don't then what happens is fungal spore tend to get going and the plant rots off. This is actually applicable to seedlings as well they rot off too. In a viv that will surely take out broms as well as some other plants that can't cope with constantly being wet

good luck kiddo,hope this provides something if nowt more than food for thought

Stu


----------



## frogman955 (Feb 7, 2010)

Remember this viv ?
130 gallon, completely sealed (no air flow), constant 30 - 32C daytime temps, humidity 100%.
Plants growing nicely and one group of breeding Leucs.


Mike


----------



## Meefloaf (Mar 24, 2013)

i was going to mention yours, but didnt know what your lid was like fella, also size, yours is 4ft isnt it mike ?


----------



## frogman955 (Feb 7, 2010)

Hi Joe.
Yes it`s 4 1/2 feet x 2 x2.
For anyone familiar with aquariums it`s an Eheim Smaragd 130, so the lid is sealed and the lights are built into the hood.
I do actually have a pair of fans which I built into the hood for air circulation, but I never use them as they kill the humidity.
The only purpose they serve for me is to clear the glass so I can see in lol.
Anyway it`s the same tank I`ve used to start my "Frogroom" thread.
I`m just waiting for it to grow in now before I add some more Leucs.
I think I`m going to end up with a group of maybe 10 in there.


Mike


----------



## toonboymc71 (Dec 15, 2014)

soundstounite said:


> Toon is it pete? Please forgive mate. I have a gut feeling light or air flow isn't the issue. It's the cutting that are failing,right,how much root did they have compared to leaf,did they at any time dry out? It looks to me like one or t'other is cause. Buddy a cutting has to put enough roots out to cope with the loss of water from transpiration or it will fail. If a cutting dries out,it's more than likey screwed too. Without knowing the history is a real difficult call,plus I could really do with better pics and seeing the roots. Mate it is common pratice to reduce the leaf area by cutting these back when taking a cutting,so reducing waterloss so giving the plant more time to actually make roots before things come critical.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Thanks for all the advice now I'm completely goosed in what to do now lol 
My tank lid has a built in light which has a 18 inch glo-sun t8 tube the lid has 2 sealed holes about 2 x 2 inches and a larger hole which is about 4 x 2 inch which is open at the moment 
So would I be better of putting a small mesh panel over this would this help a bit of air flow 
So is the tank suitable for a couple of dart frogs as I don't want to harm them 
Cheers Michael aka pete lol


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------

