# Amphibian Racking System Build (Photo Heavy)



## MantellaMan (Feb 3, 2012)

Hi all, 

I thought I would kick start my build thread for my New Racking system that I am building. The equipment and tanks I will be using will be housing only 9 out of the all the species I have in my collection, So I will be having to make another Racking after I have made this one (However might not have to do the second one for a while as this single rack will be freeing up a lot of space!).

Here is a Picture of the Drawing I made on paint (Can't seem to convert the Auto-Cad file to a JPEG)










It will contain 9 Brand New Terrariums in total which include; 



x2 - 800 x 400 x 400mm (80 x 40 x 40cm) _Tylototriton_ species exhibits with Water Area Partition.
x1 - 800 x 400 x 400mm (80 x 40 x 40cm) _Mantella aurantiaca _exhibit with False Bottom.
x3 - 400 x 400 x 400mm (40 x 40 x 40cm) Assorted Terrariums with False Bottoms - Will exhibit 3 of the 9 _Mantella_ species.
x3 - 400 x 400 x 400mm (40 x 40 x 40cm) Assorted Terrariums with No False Bottoms - Will exhibit various burrowing species I own.

How I am going to lay this First racking out shall be as follows; 



 Top Row - Burrowing species.
Middle Row - Madagascan Mantella species.
Bottom - Tylototriton Asiatic Exhibits.


Obviously I will muck around with who will go where but that is the basic lay out! lol 

Instead of using the Aluminum Profiles and Connectors that most people tend to use (Really wanted to use this method aswell but it's not cheap!! lol) I am using this really nice MFC (Melamine Faced Chipboard) also known as Chocolate Oak Board which is incredibly sturdy, strong and will most definitely take the weight of the Terrariums. 



















There are 3 Main pieces that will stand horizontally (measuring roughly just over 6ft 4 inches - This allows a bit of space between each row for the Lighting System and also a bit of space between the Floor and the underside of the Bottom shelf for storage) and 8 pieces that will go vertically for each shelf and 12 elongated supports. 

I shall get the exact measurements later on and upload them when I put it together









Some of the 12 pieces of Wooden Supports I would need to support each shelf. 









Photo showing how thick each piece of the MFC is. 

Anyway, I am currently sorting out getting the E.N.T Terrariums now from DMS Vivaria, just have to wait a little while! I did look into making my own, I asked several Glass Merchants all of which refused to attempt it due to previous failures with other people, one of the Glass Merchants was so rude that he cut my off halfway through my sentence and basically asked me to leave :/ 

I hopefully will begin this build in the next few weeks, so the rest of my posts may take until then to show more of my build but anyway I would appreciate any help or advice!! :2thumb:


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## MantellaMan (Feb 3, 2012)

Hi all,

It's kind of still under consideration as to what would be in each terrarium and where a bouts it would be placed in it. Here is my collection;

_Anura_ (Frogs & Toads):
1.1.20 Golden Mantella (_Mantella aurantiaca_)
2.2.7 Brown Leaf Mantella (_Mantella betsileo_)
1.3.0 Guibes Mantella (_Mantella nigricans_)
1.1.10 Blue-Legged Mantella (_Mantella expectata_)
1.2.0 Yellow Mantella (_Mantella crocea_)
1.2.5 Green Mantella (_Mantella viridis_)
1.1.0 Arboreal Mantella (_Mantella laevigata_)
0.0.2 Malagasy Rainbow Burrowing Frogs (_Scaphiophryne gottlebei_)
1.1.0 Malagasy Green Marbled Burrowing Frogs (_Scaphiophryne marmorata_)
0.0.1 Sambava Tomato Frog (_Dyscophus guineti_) 
1.1.0 Asian Painted Bullfrogs (_Kaloula pulchra_)
1.2.0 Phantasmal Poison Frogs (_Epipedobates tricolor_) "Zarayunga" locality variant 
0.0.1 Bumblebee Poison Frog (_Dendrobates leucomelas_)

_Caudata_ (Newts & Salamanders):
0.0.2 Ryukyu Spiny Newt (_Echinotriton andersoni_)
1.1.2 Tiannan Crocodile Newts (_Tylototriton yangi_)
0.0.6 Wen Xian Knobby Newts (_Tylototriton wenxianensis_)
0.0.2 Mandarin Crocodile Newts (_Tylototriton shanjing_)
0.0.4 Ta Liang Red Eared Crocodile Newts (_Tylototriton taliangensis_)
0.0.6 Black Knobby Newts (_Tylototriton asperrimus_)
0.0.2 Ziegler's crocodile newt (_Tylototriton ziegleri_)
0.0.2 Lizhenchang's Crocodile Newt (_Tylototriton lizhenchangi_)
1.2.0 Tokyo Salamanders (_Hynobius tokyoensis_)
0.1.0 Okinawa Sword Tail Newt (_Cynops ensicauda popei_)
1.0.0 Eastern Tiger Salamander (_Ambystoma tigrinum_)
0.1.0 Marbled Salamander (_Ambystoma opacum_)
0.0.1 Marbled Newt (_Triturus marmoratus_)

So if anyone want's to place a request then go ahead  lol 

Anyway, I have received the 9 Starter Terrariums all to my specifications by DMS Vivaria and I must admit I pretty much fell in love with them.

I ordered 9 terrariums in total which included; 

3 - 400mm x 400mm x 400mm False Bottom Terrariums. 
3 - 400mm x 400mm x 400mm Burrowing Terrariums. 
2 - 800mm x 400mm x 400mm Glass Partition Water Area Terrariums. 
1 - 800mm x 400mm x 400mm False Bottom Terrarium

Anyway, here are some photographs of some of them (I will upload photos of all of them lol);









_4 of the 6 - 400mm x 400mm x 400mm Terrariums From DMS.









__4 of the 6 - 400mm x 400mm x 400mm Terrariums From DMS.
_








_A 400mm x 400mm x 400mm Terrarium for a Burrowing species, probably going to house a Dyscophus guineti or Scaphiophyrne species.









__Good quality Terrariums! Highly recommend DMS Vivaria.

_Anyway, I shall upload more photos shortly as I will be building the racking soon so I can actually stored them safely without worrying! lol


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## MantellaMan (Feb 3, 2012)

Hi all, 

Time for a update I think!  I have been playing around with a few of my 400x400x400mm False Bottom Terrariums so I could house some of my _Mantella_ species in brand new enclosures. So now, without further ado here they are, not happy with one of them but shall replant it when I get my new Plants delivered;









^ ^ - 2 out 9 species have been made brand new enclosures!  Left exhibit will house 1 of my 4 bloodlines of _Mantella viridis_ and Right exhibit will house 1 of my 2 bloodlines of _Mantella betsileo._ (These are being redone as I wasn't happy with the back ground being flat)










_^ ^ - 1.1.0 Mantella betsileo _exhibit, I have made it more crowded with many places to hide as they are,_ due to be less Aposematic_, less bold than some of the genus.








_^ ^ - _Close up of the_ 1.1.0 Mantella betsileo _exhibit.









^ ^ - 1.2.0 _Mantella viridis_ exhibit, I am not that happy with this and kind of had to make do with some of the spare plants I had from previous builds. More open than the _M.betsileo_ exhibit as I found the species to be very bold, nearly as bold as _Mantella aurantiaca_. Will be refurnishing this with more _Fittonia _species and like all my Terrariums, I will be painting on Moss Spores when I receive them.









_^ ^ - _Close up of the_ 1.2.0 Mantella viridis _exhibit. The _Peperomia clusiifolia_ I doubt will be able to stay in there but as a temporary thing I am sure it will be fine, it will go into my _Scaphiophyrne gottlebei _exhibit though as I know it prefers drier substrates.


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## MantellaMan (Feb 3, 2012)

Hi everyone, 

First of all, here is a selection of plants that i have either taken cuttings and grown them on or ones I have been buying (Not all of them are photographed but I have about 30 in total!):- 



 Earth Starfish Plant (Cryptanthus bivittatus)
"Red Rosso" Radiator Plant (Peperomia caperata)
Aluminum Plant (Pilea cadierei)
White Butterfly Plant (Syngonium podophyllum)
"Red Skeleton" Snake Skin Plant (Fittonia verschaffeltii)
Green Ivy (Hedera helix)
Jade Plant (Crassula ovata)
Moon Valley Plant (Pilae involucrater)
Malagasy Dragon Plant (Dracaena marginata)
Colombian Creeping Fig (Ficus sp)
Asian Creeping Fig (Ficus pumila)
Heartleaf Plant (Philodendron scandens)
Inch Plant (Tradescantia fluminensis)
Heart Fern (Hemionitis artolia)
Spider plant (Chlorophytum laxum)
































































TBC >>>>>>


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## MantellaMan (Feb 3, 2012)

Plants continued:- 
































































TBC >>>>


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## MantellaMan (Feb 3, 2012)

Plants Continued:- 























































TBC >>>>


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## MantellaMan (Feb 3, 2012)

Plants continued:- 



























































































AND FINALLY FINISHED THE PHOTOS OF THE PLANTS. I tried uploading them all in one go but apparently it was too many photos :whistling2:


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## MantellaMan (Feb 3, 2012)

So, a little info is needed I think! This is a DMS Terrarium with a False Bottom that will accommodate my Golden Mantella (_Mantella aurantiaca_) individuals which I plan to increase the bloodlines for. It is 800 x 400 x 400mm (Long x High x Deep) and will be fully planted. 

I have started it only today with the Expanding Foam background, which will be a mixture of the old fashioned Silicone Sealant with Coir Compost and possibly some Cement and liquid Fibre-glass techniques I am just leaving it to set at the moment over night and tomorrow i will be carving at it....
































































My next step is to carve away at the Foam and see what interesting shapes I can make! (You can already see that I am making a cliff/slope through the middle of the background.)

Thanks for looking and wait for more updates!!


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## soundstounite (Sep 6, 2009)

Looks a bit of fun Josh:2thumb: You'll be enthusiastic as hell at the mo. bro so the old guy is gonna say slowly buddy:lol2:

On a huge level i'm looking forward to watching you work this up Josh great to see this,but where are all the pics:whistling2: I'm sorry mate, a bit of leg pulling and blind enthusiasm is what I do best

good luck with it all 

Stu


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## Meefloaf (Mar 24, 2013)

glad to see you transfer this over from frogforum fella


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## MantellaMan (Feb 3, 2012)

Hi everyone, 

So, I allowed the expanding foam to set after 28 hours and began to see certain shapes and things that I could carve out, especially the slope/ramp along the middle, which gave me this;










As you might have noticed, I decided to add the tree truck in separately so it sticks out more than the background. I used off cuts of the background to give it support.















































I have done much more work since I started making the tree but i have yet to photograph the progress, but here is some photos of it about 2 weeks ago!  










In this time, I also built the Racking which is fully secured onto the wall:- 





































Anyway, keep your eyes peeled for my next update!


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## MantellaMan (Feb 3, 2012)

Meefloaf said:


> glad to see you transfer this over from frogforum fella


Easier that way mate! :2thumb:

However, stuff that wasn't there before


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## Dark Valentino (Mar 15, 2013)

looking goood :2thumb:


bring on the next steps..


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## grizzlymonkyboy (Jan 15, 2011)

Nice one fella looking great amazed how fast u work dude ;-) 


Thanks 
Dane


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## MantellaMan (Feb 3, 2012)

grizzlymonkyboy said:


> Nice one fella looking great amazed how fast u work dude ;-)
> 
> 
> Thanks
> Dane


I know right I work pretty damn fast  haha nah I just thought I should have posted on here aswell, plus I wanted to see if I could post photos from elsewhere on here! lol


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## MantellaMan (Feb 3, 2012)

Hi all, 

I updated my build thread on FrogForum but completely forgot about RFUK! :/ So, here is yet another update from me, continuing the build for my _Mantella aurantiaca_ individuals!









So here was the finishing (the white parts were covered again after I took the photograph) product of the Silicone/Coir Compost background!








It really doesn't look like much in all honesty... Until the plants went in with the rocks (forgot to mention the rocks...)








So, with that, it was about time some foliage etc was placed within the exhibit. Obviously though, nothing else will go in with the plants for a few weeks (this is long past though as you will see with my final update  lol). 








White Butterfly Plant (_Syngonium podophyllum_), "Red Skeleton" Snake Skin Plant (_Fittonia verschaffeltii_) & Creeping Peperomia (_Peperomia rotundifolia_) were the first plants to enter the exhibit. 







Aluminum Plant (_Pilea cadierei_), Earth Starfish Plant (_Cryptanthus bivittatus_), Green Ivy (_Hedera helix_), Heartleaf Plant (_Philodendron scandens_), Asian Creeping Fig (_Ficus pumila_) "Snowflake" and a few other plants then went in. Here are a few close ups. 


















So that was about 3 weeks ago now! So now, is the final update... in the form of the next post... I am really bad at updating these things! lol 

Kind regards,

Joshua
*
*


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## MantellaMan (Feb 3, 2012)

So here is the next update which I stated less than a few minutes ago will be uploaded! lol 

Finally, at long last this one is nearly complete, it took such a long time but that is what happens with you prioritise things! lol 

Anyway, I had, technically, the final step to the build which I must admit, turned out a lot better than I thought it would! lol So, without further ado, here is the final out come (still need to sort out the front trench which will act as a seasonal pool.)














































So, the woodland moss is in there, which I somehow manage to grow quite nicely within Terrariums, don't ask me how I manage it... haha!  But anyway, there is Kyoto Moss Spores scattered across the Terrarium, so hopefully that will take eventually! Fingers crossed : victory:

Next for the final final update will be the Water Section! But shall be moving onto my next update, the re-doing of the _Mantella viridis_ exhibit 

Many thanks, 

Joshua


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## Dark Valentino (Mar 15, 2013)

Looks Awesome :2thumb:

Will be looking forward to seeing how it grows in.


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