# cheap as chips terrarium



## jamesfox (Apr 24, 2007)

ok fellas just a quick 18x18x18 exo terra I set up on the cheap I'm not sure which small frogs I am going to keep in here yet as I only kept horned and bullfrogs as a rule so maybe some suggestions they will have to be small dart frog size, ok I picked up this terrarium second hand which came with the exo light unit which I wanted to grow a few plants, bulbs inside 56000 lux which is fine for most Undemanding terrarium plants...


I work one day in a garden centre and the rest I build ponds streams that kind of thing so I always pick up bits and bobs that I think I can use at a l8ter date, first thing was a old filter casing that had been on a broken fish tank I silicone into the corner of the tank, this was going to house a small 200ltr pump attached 3/4 inch pipe and fed it to a few small rocks I had silicone at the top of the exo next I found a sheet of twin polycarbonate which is great for doing a false floor cut the sheet to size and cut a rill in the centre so the water drops though and runs to the front of the tank via the second wall of the poly ( keeping all water circulated no stagnant pockets of water )











next local Forest to me which has a load of different species of mosses and liverworts which I gorilla glued onto the back and side of the exo mixed some orchid bark ( good drainage ) with oak leaves then at the front some 2mm aquatic gravel sloping down to the front of the tank 











take a few more pictures in a months time to see it grown in so need to add a few shrimps but for all in the exo has cost me £20 everything else was free its not a bad little tank for my first go 


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## plasma234 (Feb 27, 2013)

great work on recycling and on the cheap! How did you sterilize everything?


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## Liam Yule (Feb 16, 2012)

Looks nice mate.:2thumb:


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## jamesfox (Apr 24, 2007)

just scrubbed everything down i could have microwaved the mosses ect but its not needed..cheers liam : victory:


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## ronnyjodes (Apr 29, 2011)

Just keep the mosses damp and with good lighting and you might get lucky. The native mosses I use in my tanks generally last about a year to 18months and then for some reason just go brown lol


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## Ron Magpie (Oct 11, 2009)

ronnyjodes said:


> Just keep the mosses damp and with good lighting and you might get lucky. The native mosses I use in my tanks generally last about a year to 18months and then for some reason just go brown lol


Yeah, I've never managed to keep them alive for long.


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## jamesfox (Apr 24, 2007)

i'm hoping the humidity off the stream will keep it going


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## ronnyjodes (Apr 29, 2011)

It's odd stuff native moss. I've had it thrive in some vivs and die pretty quickly in others. Good lighting is a must but too strong and you'll just cook the stuff. The best success I've had is when I've had plenty of water in my drainage layer, good light and some indirect sunlight but I don't know if that was a coincidence or not but similar set-ups in different part of the house have been less fruitful.


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## jamesfox (Apr 24, 2007)

been a month and all is grown well the moss has took hold shrimps are doing their job and keeping algae down and had cut back plants a bit, so ready for a few frogs and start a new project..will be a few things i will do different this time, i will use foam on walls to retain the water as i have to spray moss every other day


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## FelixM (Jun 26, 2012)

nice tank, is there a filter for the water at the bottom?


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## jamesfox (Apr 24, 2007)

gravel bed works as a filter very easy to look after....


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