# My first dart frog set up



## andie (Sep 23, 2007)

Firstly id like to thank chondro13
http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/amphibians/250705-how-build-dart-frog-viv.html#post3323093 for the inspiration

Ive looked at various ways of how to make a frog set up for my dart frogs and decided that i would use the false bottom method with a bottom drain drilled into the bottom to drain water away and into a sump tank below.
The idea being that the water would flow into the Viv via a waterfall, from a lift/recirculation pump in the sump tank. The sump would hold the filtration and aquarium heater to keep the temps in the mid 70's. Warm water would heat the air.Then the water would then be finally pumped back to the top again.
Another way would have been to use a canister filter but i liked the sump idea, being an ex marine aquarist.

I have an old 45x45x45 cm exo terra which i will be using. The first job is to drill a hole in the bottom of it to accommodate the drain. I bought a 21mm diamond drill from flea bay for about £2.50..










and a drain from Dartfrog.co.uk for a fiver.











Ive never drilled glass before and 
so i read a few articles on how to before i tried.

Firstly i made a template so when i started drilling the tank the drill wouldn't bounce 
about.











To drill glass or grind glass you need to constantly lubricate the drill. I made a small reservoir using Plasticine and my wife trickled water onto the bit as i slowly began to drill. 

You have to drill very slowly and every 20 seconds or so lift the drill up to clear the hole of debris. When the hole is nearly through you need to go even slower to stop the exit from chipping when it breaks through.
Surprisingly i found this very easy and felt confident enough to start drilling the main tank.




























With the hole cut i needed to begin making the false bottom, i used a sheet of egg crate 
which i bought from ebay for about £8. To support this from the bottom i cut 5 x 2" sections of guttering and cut to notches out of the bottom to allow water to flow through and drilled two holes in the top to fasten them to the egg crate using plastic ties.


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## andie (Sep 23, 2007)

I then placed the tank on its base and marked where the drain would go through and drilled a hole to suit and fitted the drain and placed the false bottom in and added some pressed cork tiles to two of the sides leaving a 10mm gap between the top of the false bottom and the tiles.






































On top of the false bottom i placed a layer of hanging basket felt and added 5 cm of hydroleca which is those little clay balls that allow drainage in plant pots, 










then another layer of hanging basket felt and then a layer of orchid bark or coconut bark or similar.I later changed the felt for weed control membrane as fluff was getting everywhere.










I had a small glass tank that i could use as the sump tank and an old eheim recirculation/lift pump to push the water back up to the top.










Next was Fruitfly proofing, i just plugged the holes with pieces of sponge and pushed a hole through the gauze for the water return then placed a sheet of glass on top to hold in the humidity.










Last was the landscaping, i just separated some pieces from some of our house plants that i had and cut some cork tube to make the water fall and river bed, a few pebbles from the beach and a piece of twisted
honeysuckle.










Only one mishap,,, the tank leaked like a sieve grrrrrrr,, thought it was the drain but it 
was the silicon seal around the tank base which i resealed,, so far so good









Also added 3 species of tropical moss so fingers crossed they grow


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## naja-naja (Aug 26, 2009)

absolutley fantastic looking cage mate:2thumb:


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## knighty (Feb 27, 2008)

looks realy good mate, well done


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## Morgan Freeman (Jan 14, 2009)

Looks great. What plants do you have in there?


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## andie (Sep 23, 2007)

Here's the plants i have
Scindapus Aueus
Prayer plant
Some kind of fern boston fern perhaps
Philodendron
Orchid

Mosses
Crystal wart
pillow moss
sheet moss

Heres my frogs, only the azures are in the tank above and i still have to make another for my dying frogs.

1 pair Dying dart frog (brazil) 











1 pair D. Azureus plus 3 tadpoles..


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## andie (Sep 23, 2007)

Just an update...

All seems to be working fine but my first mistake was to heat the water in the sump tank as this was causing too much condensation on the glass so im heating our landing instead which has cleared the problem some what. Humidity is between 80 - 88 at 23c but im getting a humidifier shortly which hopefully will get higher levels. The mosses are still alive but i cant say that ive noticed any growth but maybe early days yet..










Ive completed my 2nd viv, a sligtlly bigger 45 x 45 x 60 exo terra but the only difference is that ive used coco panel for two of the sides and that ive drilled an extra hole near the top for the water return rather than hanging the pipe over the top.

Yea i know,,the panels are pretty dry in this pic but not any more :whistling2:










1 of my 3 D. Azureus tadpoles, any advice please as what to do next with these and will they take D.Hydeii when they change to froglets?












Photo is about a week old and its legs have grown much bigger, looks like his arms are about to pop but no colouring as yet


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## chondro13 (Aug 18, 2008)

aww wow that looks amazing! and suuuuch pretty froggies! :2thumb:


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## andie (Sep 23, 2007)

Thanks, it was your thread that inspired me :2thumb:


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## FrogNick (Jul 2, 2009)

andie said:


> Just an update...
> 
> All seems to be working fine but my first mistake was to heat the water in the sump tank as this was causing too much condensation on the glass so im heating our landing instead which has cleared the problem some what. Humidity is between 80 - 88 at 23c but im getting a humidifier shortly which hopefully will get higher levels. The mosses are still alive but i cant say that ive noticed any growth but maybe early days yet..
> 
> ...


no hydeii is far too big, they will need spring tails or melanogaster (wingless is better)


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## jennlovesfrogs (Jan 22, 2009)

fantastic set ups! well done   it's great when you do a thorough job, as you feel so much more pride about it, I wanted to drag people of the street to come and see mine when I finished it! my mosses died after 3 mths though  there is a little bit of re-growth in one area, so hopefully it will come back.

as for the froglet food, I would recommend the melanogastar fruit flies or springtails.


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## andie (Sep 23, 2007)

FrogNick said:


> no hydeii is far too big, they will need spring tails or melanogaster (wingless is better)


Thx, i ordered a few pots of melanogaster from dartfrog in anticipation as i have millions of d. hydeii,,,guess what, they sent hydeii grrrrr...


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## FrogNick (Jul 2, 2009)

i used to have hydeii too, its easier to culture one type of fruit fly and tincs prefer smaller food anyway. Make sure they are wingless otherwise you will end up with flies that fly\glide eventually!


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## andie (Sep 23, 2007)

Yea, i breed mantids so i have pots of FF's just no melanogaster typical :bash:


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## ilovetoads2 (Oct 31, 2008)

jennlovesfrogs said:


> fantastic set ups! well done   it's great when you do a thorough job, *as you feel so much more pride about it, I wanted to drag people of the street to come and see* mine when I finished it! my mosses died after 3 mths though  there is a little bit of re-growth in one area, so hopefully it will come back.
> 
> as for the froglet food, I would recommend the melanogastar fruit flies or springtails.


 
:lol2::lol2::lol2::lol2::lol2:

I did that! I talk about frogs to everyone and have had lots of people in to see the tank...including my elderly neighbors (who were more interested in the plants) Sad or what?:whistling2:


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## Patmufc (Dec 10, 2008)

That looks mint mate! : victory:


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## andie (Sep 23, 2007)

Thx everyone , some kind folks are sending me some cultures so ill be prepared,,,pheww :2thumb:


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## Dave23 (Sep 2, 2008)

Dam drilling a exo i would be kacking my self drilling it and then expect a horid crack and o bugger lol.


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## andie (Sep 23, 2007)

Dave23 said:


> Dam drilling a exo i would be kacking my self drilling it and then expect a horid crack and o bugger lol.


Lol, i cant say i was looking forward to it as ive never done it before but i dont think the glass is tempered in exo terr' like fish tanks are, so not so tough. If you do give it a go it makes life so much easier for plumbing. The thing is, if i can do it then anyone can


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