# My very slow Dart Frog viv build



## plasma234 (Feb 27, 2013)

H all, 

I am currently in the process of setting up my dart frog viv, 

The size is a major stumbling block so far, at 4ft x 16" x 16" so this causes things to cost more, quite a bit more so far. Even though the tank, canister filter and hood only cost me £15 from the local tip. 










So that is where i am at them moment. 

Leca, hydrofleece, coco background, and tubes for canister filter. Very basic stuff. as you can see i have some locally collected wood, the flat looking piece is oak and the other piece is unknown, so i will most likely throw it out, or cover is in clear silicone and then wrap it in moss. It is collected from the new forest, so i have no fear of pesticide use. 












This is my pile of substrate mix, and charcoal is out of shot. I really miscalculated how much i would be needing, but you can never have too much substrate  I have two other empty tanks which i have plans for mantellas and the other bumble bee walking toads, so it will come in handy later. 











this is my various other bits, an epiweb branch and some mopani. Depending on what happens with the unknown wood, this maybe used. 










This is a shot with the hood on, for a tip bought tank, i am surprised it works, too bad i won't be using it. I will be replacing it with LED flood lights that hang from the ceiling in a housing. 


Ventilation will be achieved with 4 of these BPF - Round Cable Port Holes and Desk Grommets - Buy Online I like the idea of being able to vary the amount of ventilation, maybe to coincide this with seasons for the frogs. internal circulation will be achieved with Lepa LP70D12R Multi Speed 120mm Fan [LP70D12R] They are rather large, and i bought them on bit of a whim. they are made to work at 5v though, so i will be wiring them into separate phone chargers. They're large size allows for a high CFM at very low speeds and 0 noise. and oiless bearings? I think this means they can be placed at any angle and withstand a higher humidity. They will be in each corner at a 45 degree angle aiming at the front glass, i will make a housing of coco panel and hopefully grow moss on it. 

So that is where i am at the moment, my plan is to have this tank "frog ready" for my birthday in September, which hopefully fits in with the BAKS show  


My shopping list so far includes but is not limited to:


-2 part glass lid with roughly 8 holes drilled, of 3 different sizes
-2 30w led flood lights, and to construct a housing to hang from the ceiling
-Misting system, from another user on here 
-Timers
-Multiplug with surge protection 
-Media for filter
-Plants plants plants
-Leaf litter
-Coco huts
-Much much more

For the feeders, 


To swing this with the parents they will have to live in the shed. it is a brick and mortar shed but has ZERO insulation, so i will be insulating the shelves with polystyrene sheets and then heating with heat wire attached to a stat. The shelves will have mite paper on them. Hopefully this will keep them at a good temp, but i will have this nailed before i get frogs. 

Feeders will include Springs (3 types) Isos (2 maybe 3 types) Fruitflys (3 types) and Bean and Grain Weavles. IF... 

I get the leucs that i want, but i am scared there is a lack of height for them. I also love terribs, but i am not too keen on keeping crickets. Especially as this doesn't help with my ambition of Mantellas and Bumble Bee walking toads. 


Please feel free to chime in, and ask any questions. 

Calz


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## fatlad69 (Oct 22, 2009)

Looking good but I think you will struggle with temperatures in the shed.


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## plasma234 (Feb 27, 2013)

I am worried about that quite badly. I might add mylar onto the polystyrene if I start to struggle. It is attached to the house and has a refrigerator in there that kicks out a little heat. 
If all else fails, I will have to put them in my room, but hey ho, take the rough with the smooth. 

Would you recommend leucs for this tank?


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## Liam Yule (Feb 16, 2012)

plasma234 said:


> I am worried about that quite badly. I might add mylar onto the polystyrene if I start to struggle. It is attached to the house and has a refrigerator in there that kicks out a little heat.
> If all else fails, I will have to put them in my room, but hey ho, take the rough with the smooth.
> 
> Would you recommend leucs for this tank?


Im glad i persuaded you to make this thread  it will make it easier to see what your actually up to now too 

I agree with Adam though.. As im struggling to get my temps right in the house The heating in our house wasnt on enough during the day... now i think it may be too much.... Currently got the viv sitting at around 24/25 degrees during the day... and the sensor sits at around 20 degrees when I wake up before i put the light on and give it a light misting! seems ok tbh!

Trial and error though you have plenty of time before September.

Apart from that It seems like you have everything sorted out 

I Did buy fans for my viv too but got told not to bother... Not sure about yours with the size of your viv for air circulation so i cant give any info on that. I bought mine on a whim too... Seems as its quite the thing to do on Dendroboard and I got most of my info from people on there before I spoke to the people/friends I have made on here...


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## plasma234 (Feb 27, 2013)

I am glad you did too, it helps me get some specific advise to my build :d


I am hoping with enough insulation and the correct heating and stat I can stable temps. They stay pretty consistent year round so let's hope. The frogs are in my room btw, only the feeders will be housed in the shed.

with such a large aquarium conversion I would say fans are necessary, there is no front vent built in and I am adding relatively small top vents. I would also think these are vital for plant growth in aquarium conversions. They won't be much work to build a housing and wire them in tbh, they will be on a timer, I will just have to work out the timings when its all built. I should have mentioned I purchased 2 fans. There isn't going to be a full force hurricane in there 


I am worried about the temps in my bedroom more than anything, it has a floor to ceiling wwindow and only the top 30 cm opens, causing temperatures to shoot up and stay up. So that could be fun to try and tackle, but I with fans, ventilation and led lighting, I should be gravy......I hope.


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## Muggs (Feb 9, 2011)

All my frogs are outside in my shed. The issue I find is not keeping them warm in the winter, that is easy (if not a bit costly) its keeping them cool in the summer!


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## plasma234 (Feb 27, 2013)

Does your shed have windows?

Mine lacks windows and acts as a larder during the summer (well it's where i keep the bulmers  ) I havent ever had a reason to monitor the temps in there though, it could fluctuate like mad. 

How do you heat/cool your shed? 


One thing to add to the shopping list, infrared thermometer. this hobby seems to have a pretty high initial cost, but i can see the day to day running being cheap.


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## plasma234 (Feb 27, 2013)

An update, I apologize for my lack of step by step photos and instructions. My camera is awful and i get lost in my world when i get started and forget. 

The first thing I did was make a housing for the fans, i could have just placed them in the tank and protected the blades, but i thought that would look a bit odd, especially as i bought 120 mm fans, which look a lot bigger in a viv than in a PC case 
All i did was cut some coco panels to the correct side and hot glued (add that to the shopping list) them to the fan. Then the back of the housing has mosquito netting attached, and the front, the netting is screwed in at all four corners, to give tension, and then the edges are glued. The finished product reminded me of this 









The fans are running at 5v, powered by a phone charger. according to the specs sheet, it should be pumping out 38.83 CFM, at 900RPM. It is absolutely silent if you put your ear up to it all you hear is wind noise. At this speed the air in the tank should be circulated 9 times every minute. 

They where then mounted in each corner of the tank, one blows across the tank and one blows at the front glass. 



















I wouldn't say there was a whirlwind in the tank, just a gentle breeze 


The next thing i did was mix my ABG. 

2 parts orchid bark
2 parts tree fern
2 parts charcoal
1 part sphagnum
1 part eco earth

My god was it dull to do. Smashing up charcoal, mixing it by hand, shredding sphagnum moss. i also made too much, but without anywhere for it to go, so i donated it to the parents to use in their hanging baskets. the most expensive dirt in the south. :bash:

Even in the tank its very deep. 










I think I put too much in, i just didn't want to waste it :whistling2:


So the ABG mix was complete, the fans where mounted. Now i needed stuff to make the small pool in the corner. It is only going to be a tiny pool, probably a half inch deep. but i needed something to go in the base of it, and then a way to keep the substrate out of it. So *another* trip to my local reptile/aquarium store to buy pebbles and sand. (adding to my ever growing shopping list) 

*This store btw, has a good range of reptile bits. it is a very disappointing site though to see golden mantella and azureus in the same tank. the azureus have been there for about 3 months, and i fear they will be there much longer, as they are priced at £85. They where originally in the same tank as Leucs, i would not be surprised if some has walked away with 1 leuc and 1 azureus. *

I digress, 

So the pool section is a bit thin layer of sand, then pebbles as a bank. 











Very basic, but i feel it is effective enough. 

Whilst i was shopping for pebbles and sand, i had a look at the viv decor and just *had* to get 2 coco huts, small exo terra vine and a real large vine. 

The exo terra vine was broken in 2 places, but it didn't matter as i was going to cut it up any way. I also ditched the large unknown wood that i had, but kept the oak. 










At the moment, the tank is very brown, but it is starting to take some kind of shape at least. 

Please ignore the shite photos. Camera phones are the worst things in the world. and also please ignore the amateur hot glue gunning. I know its not an aesthetic build, but that is down to my complete lack of 

A) Craftsmanship
B) Artistic ability

My shopping list is still vast, i hope to get the glass lid and lights next pay packet, which is another 3 weeks . Once these are in place, i can start thinking about planting and seeding with micro fauna. After that it will be prepping the shelves in the shed. 



I have a question to ask. 


Does the pool need to be filtered? I already have a canister filter tubes plumbed in, but in my stupidity the tubes wont reach the filter unit :bash: . 

Thanks for looking.


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## Martin88 (Aug 9, 2009)

If i recall correctly darts are poor swimmers, So it wouldnt have been deep enough for an external filter anyway? The main concern is not letting it turn into stagnant water.

How about using a small power head in the pool and make a waterfall. This will keep the water moving and stop it going bad so quickly.


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## plasma234 (Feb 27, 2013)

Hi,

The water will be 1 inch deep in the drainage layer, the actual pool will only be 1/2 inch roughly deep. I am hoping 1 inch of water is enough to keep a canister filter running. The water volume is not confined to that corner. if i were to put java moss in the pool, will that keep the water oxygenated enough?


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## Wolfenrook (Jul 2, 2010)

I can actually see a problem that nobody seems to have noticed.

Your hydrofleece is going to be in contact with the water, the stuff wicks like a beast and is gonna turn your substrate into a boggy mess if you leave it like that. Hydrofleece and weed membrane both wick horribly, which is why I switched to using nylong insect netting which doesn't wick at all.

Hope this helps you to avoid a messy mistake.

Ade


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## plasma234 (Feb 27, 2013)

Hmm, 

I fully appreciate the input. I will now have to try and source some nylon netting, remove all of the substrate. cut and then put the substrate back in again. Which is not going to be fun  

can you give me a point in the right direction with the nylon netting?


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## Liam Yule (Feb 16, 2012)

plasma234 said:


> Hmm,
> 
> I fully appreciate the input. I will now have to try and source some nylon netting, remove all of the substrate. cut and then put the substrate back in again. Which is not going to be fun
> 
> can you give me a point in the right direction with the nylon netting?


Maybe I should just leave it for Ade to answer as i have never used it... But I found this?

Enviromesh : Two Wests and Elliott

Maybe Ade could confirm!:2thumb:


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## plasma234 (Feb 27, 2013)

Is the exo terra bio drain okay? i can pick that up from my local store, saving on delivery. 

Exo Terra : Bio Drain Mesh / Terrarium Draining Mesh


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## Wolfenrook (Jul 2, 2010)

I just buy it off the roll in my local garden centre. Much much much cheaper.

No need to do the whole viv though, just the area around your water area. Hydrofleece is fine so long as it's not touching the actual water.

Ade


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## plasma234 (Feb 27, 2013)

Wolfenrook said:


> I just buy it off the roll in my local garden centre. Hydrofleece is fine so long as it's not touching the actual water.



I might be okay, the hydrofleece doesn't actually go all the way into the corner. i have cut a the corner out in a semi circle. I will double check to see how high the water will go, in comparison where the fleece ends. 

Thanks for your help.



EDIT: 

I've had a look and the fleece won't hit the water. I did try running water through a cut off of this stuff and it didn't seem to flow freely. I will take this as another learning. 

This tank probably wont be set up for the longer period of times others have theirs up for, a year or two max. That is down to the way it looks and i would really like to get a purpose built viv, but they cost too much (for the size i would like) for me to make balls ups like these.


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## Wolfenrook (Jul 2, 2010)

Yeah, I used hydrofleece in my first ever dart viv, an expensive mistake to be sure.  It's still in there. lol

Have a look at the price of ENT vivs on Dartfrog, they're a bit cheaper than Exos, and don't need all the modifications that cost even more money...

Ade


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## plasma234 (Feb 27, 2013)

I have couple of questions, 

Will the small pond need filtering, and will 1 - 1 1/2 inches be enough for a canister filter to work? If not, can I chuck in some java moss to oxygenate?

Will leucs be happy with roughly 15" of height? I was hoping for a group of 4/5. If leucs are not suitable, how many terribs would be comfortable? 3/4? 

Thanks for your input, I'm glad to see its not just me who makes mistakes


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## Wolfenrook (Jul 2, 2010)

I've made tons of mistakes bud.  I've learned from them though and try to help other people to avoid the same mistakes. 

15 inches high should be fine for leucs. Sure they love to climb, but they should still be able to climb enough in that. Some might not agree, but heh. lol

Oh and no, no need to filter the small pond. Just use it to drain excess water from your drainage layer which will effectively act like a water change, so don't be afraid to drain it until you only have a tiny bit of water left.

Ade


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## plasma234 (Feb 27, 2013)

That's fantastic news on both fronts, it means I can remove the pipe work for the pump, saving money, energy and probably a lot of hassle. Thank you for clearing it up about the leucs, I just wanted to ensure they would be happy. 

thanks a bunch :2thumb:


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## fatlad69 (Oct 22, 2009)

Ade your right about the hydro fleece. I completely forgot the hassle I had with a soggy substrate when using this stuff. I got my insect netting off eBay for just a couple of quid delivered.

Adam


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## plasma234 (Feb 27, 2013)

quick update 

I have placed green long fibre sphagnum around the viv for 2 reasons. Firstly and most importantly is to help keep the humidity up. secondly, because i was bored of going into my room and seeing a brown box with some fans. This will either come out of the viv or if it is beneficial (looking for advice here) i will leave it in. 

I also purchased 2 plants from dart frog, which was a bit of an impulse buy, spurred on by again looking at a brown box now with moss in it :lol2: I purchased Guatemala Macgravia and Ficus Pumilia, both fast growing creepers. I want that background covered asap :whistling2: Both plants purchased from dartfrog.co.uk and i was very happy to see i received a pot of 2 grown on ficus. :2thumb: how these plants will grow is actually a mystery. The lighting is 2 x aqua glo T8's so they might not even be the correct spectrum at all, or bright enough. 
Flicking through the reptile corner of just air plants, i saw snake plant was being sold. i googled how to make a snake plant cutting and took a cutting from a house plant, if it doesn't do well then, hey, it was free. 

To try and boost the brightness of the hood, i put aluminum tape behind the bulbs and on other points in the hood to try to act as a reflector. 

Picture time 

Full tank shot










Ficus pumillia at "frog level" looking at right hand side









Left hand side









Centre









The long viney plant is the macgravia. 

The temps in the tank are hitting 25oC which i think is getting to the top end of acceptable, but the lights are basically _in_ the viv so i am not too worried. I have also put in a 1 cm level of water in the false bottom to hopefully help humidity as well. 

I really need to get this seeded, as there is a patch of mold growing, but i am completely out of money for the next 2-3 weeks now (thank god for an overdraft :whistling2 but next pay silp will see a tax rebate :2thumb: Dart frog have the brown woodlice in atm, and i really want to get some, lets hope they don't sell out before i get there. 


Thanks for looking, and as usual, any input is greatly appreciated.


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## plasma234 (Feb 27, 2013)

I'm hoping no news is good news. :lol2:

I am already planning this tanks replacement, as it has a few flaws and its not what I had hoped it to look like. This could change after it has grown in but ultimately there are flaws that limit the longevity of the tank such as the Hydrofleece and a coco fibre background that makes contact with the substrate so that will rot quite quickly. Even with the reading I did, I still managed to overlook these. Things that only experience will teach you. 

I am still looking to make the best if this one for now though, so I would appreciate any advice still.


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## soundstounite (Sep 6, 2009)

Callum this viv will change remarkably as the plants grow in,don't be too down about anything yet mate.Callum I don't care for the coco fibre backing panels,but I have a mate whose kept darts for something like 30yrs.He uses them he knows they rot. Once a climber like ficus gets its roots in to them ,it will eventually root on to the glass,so sure over time the coco fibre will degrade,but the climbers will still hold in place and be there for a good long while. Buddy I spent nearly 2 years on research before we got our first frogs,plus maybe 7 years of keeping as a kid,but not darts.The subject is to complex to get everything right first time. I /WE are about 2 years in now,i'm still honing some things and still learning completely new stuff all the time.I still think of us as being nowt other than beginners.Simply put the more one researches the less mistakes one makes,but rest assured they are still out there to be made and I/we make em. "The man that never made a mistake never done nuffin" apllies here very well.
Oh mate ficus pumilla is quick growing,personally I'd go for something less vigorous,but the choices are yours. i'ts amazing to me just how fast all these plant grow,once settled in viv ,so I always go for slightly slower varieties,the really fast plants,tradescantia straight pumilla pothos Ficus sagitta are awesome to have about,great as throwaways for say a QT tub or kids growing on tubs.

Stu


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## FelixM (Jun 26, 2012)

how many frogs do you intend to house in there?


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## plasma234 (Feb 27, 2013)

Depends, 5 or 6 leucs or 4 terribs lol


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## plasma234 (Feb 27, 2013)

Update.



Pay day today!! So i made some purchases.

My Guatemala Macgravia has bounced back and is budding two leaves, so i managed to rescue it from my over watering . 

From ebay terraworld tropicals i ordered, 

_Cryptanthus_ 'Ruby Star' 
_Pilea depressa_ 'Sao Paulo' 
_Nephrolepis exaltata_ 'Mini Boston Fern'
_Selaginella martensii_ 'Pin Cushion'
_Tradescantia zebrina_ 'Purple Wandering Dew'
_Asplenium antiquum_ 'Tongue Fern'
_Peperomia caperata_ 'Ripple Plant'

No broms, as they didn't have any this time when i looked and i dont think my lighting will be up to it. 

On the topic of lighting, i have ordered some t8 tubes that are not marine blue. I will be buying a proper hood for it soon enough. 

and then some custodians from dart frog

Seira Mega pack
Tropical grey woodlice mega pack 
Tropical white woodlice starter

They won't be sending any orders out until next Friday though :gasp: that gives me time to make the culture pots for the tropicals, the springs and tropical greys i will just dump into the tank and let them populate in there, i will buy more in the future for culturing.

from pollywog i purchased 

Jungle Leaves (5 pack)
Coco Leaves (Medium x5)	
Giant Bamboo Leaves (10 pack)
Coconut Bowl (Long - Medium)	
Para Nut Pod

I also purchased a tyvek suit, this will be chopped up and will be used to cover the vents in all of my cultures in the future. 

I didnt get my tax rebate this month :censor: It will come next month, but then it is the missus' birthday so i wont have money to spend here until 12th July, maybe sooner if i am good with my money (doubt it) 


I will show pictures of the planting and the decor going in as/when it arrives


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## Ron Magpie (Oct 11, 2009)

A couple of points that may or may not help (and may be too late, anyway!:lol2

I use bog-standard nylon net curtain to separate my soil and drainage layer; it's cheap (especially if you buy off-cuts) but does the job. Java moss is not a great oxygenator, but you don't need one for frogs in any case. In wet situations it grows like crazy (I'm constantly throwing the stuff away); on the other hand, it does remove frog waste from tanks. Sphagnum is considered a hazard by some keepers worried about impaction- I've never had a problem with it, but if you are worried, chop the moss into smaller, more easily passed lengths. 

Hope some of that helps.


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## plasma234 (Feb 27, 2013)

Cheers for the reply

The hydro fleece is in now, there shouldnt be a wicking issue as it doesn't make contact with the water. I haven't bought java moss, I don't intend to now after what you say  and the sphagnum will come out when the glass lid goes in, atm it is solely there to keep the humidity up. with your advice concerning impaction it will not be staying. 

Net curtains are a fantastic idea, I will use that in my next build :2thumb:

Thanks for the help


I know I have purchased 2 fast growing plants in wandering dew and creeping fig, I am hoping to go with a living floor covering rather than leaf litter. After hearing from Ade and seeing this done at marwell I think this will be a good idea. Obviously I will have leave litter until it grows over.


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## plasma234 (Feb 27, 2013)

Plants, lights and decor all arrived on the same day, which was nice seeing as they were from 3 different sources, using 3 different delivery methods :2thumb:











Plant list:
_Ficus Pumilia_ 
_Macgravia ?_ Guatemala 
_Cryptanthus_ 'Ruby Star' 
_Pilea depressa _'Sao Paulo' 
_Nephrolepis exaltata_ 'Mini Boston Fern'
_Selaginella martensii_ 'Pin Cushion'
_Tradescantia zebrina_ 'Purple Wandering Dew'
_Asplenium antiquum_ 'Tongue Fern'
_Peperomia caperata_ 'Ripple Plant


Some of the decor didnt fit in the coconut bowl and a few of the banana leaves. Oh well, these might have to be used for another build :whistling2:

Lighting is just 2 standard T8s, one 5700k and the other 4500k they are alot brighter than the old aquarium hood, hopefully they will do an okay job at growth. 

Because i ditched the hood, the top is covered with clingfilm, a bit ghetto but seems to work.


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## Ron Magpie (Oct 11, 2009)

[email protected] 'a bit ghetto' :lol2:


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## Wolfenrook (Jul 2, 2010)

I'm going to limit my comments to this one. You need to put some form of guard on your fans. Otherwise you are risking frog jam been splattered across your tank. Anybody who has ever accidentally poked their finger into a PC fan can tell you they don't stop and it hurts like heck (yes, I have done it once, I became a whole lot more careful after that)! I once accidentally dropped a metal rod into one, it smashed the blades clean off rather than stopping, and the blades flew everywhere.


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## plasma234 (Feb 27, 2013)

I have mentioned there is mosquito netting across both fans both front and back and it is so tight across that I can't poke my finger to bend it enough to even skim the blade. I really didn't want pdf chutney bud.



plasma234 said:


> The first thing I did was make a housing for the fans, i could have just placed them in the tank and protected the blades, but i thought that would look a bit odd, especially as i bought 120 mm fans, which look a lot bigger in a viv than in a PC case
> All i did was cut some coco panels to the correct side and hot glued (add that to the shopping list) them to the fan. Then the back of the housing has mosquito netting attached, and the front, the netting is screwed in at all four corners, to give tension, and then the edges are glued.


EDIT


Proof:


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## plasma234 (Feb 27, 2013)

UPDATE:

I gave the plants some time to adjust to the new lighting and they took off like a rocket, so i haven't bother replacing the bulbs with more expensive ones. 

I have added extra plants in over about 3 weeks, and here is the result. 


















































Plant list: 
_Biophytum sensitivum 
Philodendron scandens
Cryptanthus 
Pilea depressa
Nephrolepis exaltata
Selaginella martensii
Tradescantia zebrina 
Asplenium antiquum
Peperomia caperata
Chirita
Neoregelia Brazil
Nidularium fifi offset_
and 3 airplants that i have lost the labels for :lol2:

I've still got 
_Guzmania lingulata_ and _ Neoregelia carolinae X_to come. 


Ignore the CD case and cling film lid please. i do not trust the exo terra humidity gauge, as it says it is at 70%, it is 100% sealed and there is condensation on the glass 99% of the time lol. 

The spingtails and dwarf whites are thriving in there, and after my delivery of tropical greys where DOA. Marc from dartfrog sent me out a replacement pack when he got some better ones from HAMM. 


I am hopeful to getting the lid sorted out next month. 

As usual, any comments or feedback is appreciated.


ignore the fly trap as well, it is only there to try and control the freakin fungus gnat population!


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## fatlad69 (Oct 22, 2009)

Bin the gauges and use your instincts otherwise you will be stressing over nothing. Use your hand or face to feel the humidity, its far more accurate.

Looking good.

Adam


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## plasma234 (Feb 27, 2013)

I love that estimating with my hand or face is more accurate than the gauge. I wanted a gauge so I knew what proper humidity looks like, I guess it will be some trial and error instead :2thumb:

I forgot to add two plant species, 

_Ficus pumilia_ and _Macgravia_ Guetamala species.


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## Wolfenrook (Jul 2, 2010)

Sadly the guages are designed for use in a more arrid environment, they fail terribly in humid environments.

Ade


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## soundstounite (Sep 6, 2009)

From my point of view both Adam and Ade are spot on,these ruddy crap gauges are notoriously bad for darts.

Humidity messed with me for ages until I was given a good slap by a really knowledgeable keeper. You have no idea how many time all of us have written about this and how many times I've seen this type of post caused by products that no one tells you can't cope with dart vivs,when they are sold.

Stu


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## Meefloaf (Mar 24, 2013)

i learnt this one just this week


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## plasma234 (Feb 27, 2013)

little update for you to show plant growth. 

FTS with ghetto lighting. 





























Flowering Air Plant :2thumb:










Brom Starting to flower :2thumb:








































I am happy with growth so far, still need to sort out a lid. :whistling2:


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## Liam Yule (Feb 16, 2012)

Hi mate,

Looks good after some growth ... 

Love the blooming broms. Not sure but dont they only bloom once? Shame really!!

Liam


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## plasma234 (Feb 27, 2013)

I am a little shocked the brom and airplant came into bloom. My two crappy t8 bulbs are obviously what they needed lol. They both only flower once and then offshoot pups and the die, so hopefully I will get clusters.

There are some other cool bits of growth around the viv too, I have got some mosses that have taken and on the vine in the middle I have some cool fungi growing. I have also seen a small leafed plant starting to grow out of the soil, I have no idea what it is yet, but I hope it is cool :lol2:

I am glad I don't have any frogs in the viv, the temps where topping 30oC in this heat. I might have to rethink terribs, as they quite prone to heat stress.


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## plasma234 (Feb 27, 2013)

Finished and frogs in....almost


so the frogs went in 1 week ago, they have been settling in and doing fine, eating like pigs. 

pictures
































the tank is over grown, and they seem to love the massive terrestrial brom in the corner. it is far too big for the tank though. i was thinking about taking it out but they seem to love it so much it will probably stay. :lol2:


i love looking into the viv and i looking at the plants, but the actual viv is a horrid construction lol, the lid bows in the middle providing a small gap for fruit flies to escape, and the fans do an okay job of keeping the glass clear it is far from perfect. plus.. it is too SMALL for the shelving unit....



so with that.....
i have ordered viv, 150cm wide x 50 x 50 ent style. i am thinking either background less or a natural cork background with a center piece bog wood and it will be less heavily planted (i will transfer as many plants as possible but more spread out) this will hopefully be ready at early/mid jan for me to start decorating. 

cheers for looking


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## Meefloaf (Mar 24, 2013)

looks awesome Callum

the great thing about taller viv's you can give the frogs more landscape and layers to play around in, (plus have massive broms in there lol)

as for cork, love this build Dart Den • View topic - 120 gallon Ghostviv Red Galact build thinking of doing similar but using cork tube to create a rotten log to hide in and also using the arc as it joins the background to put some soil in and then plant up some wonderful climbers to go crazy, cover it and droop down over


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## plasma234 (Feb 27, 2013)

That viv is cool, I like that it is technically backgroundless. I need to leave a larger open space for them as they really dont climb. They sit on the higher leaves of that brom and that's about it. The bog wood would really be just for mounting broms and for looks. 

I really want this 
http://item.mobileweb.ebay.co.uk/viewitem?sbk=1&nav=SEARCH&itemId=121209994962


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## plasma234 (Feb 27, 2013)

bookmark

Epiphyte Branch in 90G Tank - Dendroboard


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## ronnyjodes (Apr 29, 2011)

Callum, that looks ace.
That is all.


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