# dart viv build early stages



## soundstounite (Sep 6, 2009)

ok so i am gonna try to show you the early stages of a couple of dart viv builds the first is totally made here 60 cm cube starting with bitsa old glass cut stuck and assembled by yours truely second is a refurb of a 40cm damaged cube which will be available if i need a spare for what ever reason(frogs fighting, young 'uns etc),......note wood is good ol english oak ,it will be added too with lonicera later,high clouds(bitsa polystyrene top and front) to provide frogs with dryer resting places,pots will be foamed in all to be provided with open bottoms to drain plants,absolutely no substrate visible from the front (i hated looking at a cross section of soil when i was a ten year old kid and i still hate looking at it now 36 years later!!! when i came back to this to fullfill a childhood ambition i thought that this would have gone but i still see it in most of the yank and english builds,don't hate me if you do it this way it just looks pants to me ...only my opinion: victory: then i found how the germans,well, peter nowark, design vivs, eureka:2thumb so this will follow his lead vented front glass so i don't have to wipe the glass before i can see me little angels,


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## rhys s (Mar 8, 2010)

that looks great !!!!!!


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## soundstounite (Sep 6, 2009)

cheers rhys,i haden't quite finished but when i get the shout for tea well......


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## soundstounite (Sep 6, 2009)

big tip here get a heat gun the type one uses for stripping paint blast the polystyrene(not the glass) it will form a hard surface for your next stage,(do outside toxic smelling fumes!!!!!)


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## soundstounite (Sep 6, 2009)

an hopefully the little one







note at each stage everything is left to cure hopefully no trapped fumes to bother frogs


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## whale_omelette (Jun 3, 2010)

what you going to cover it in?
silicone, pva etc?


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## soundstounite (Sep 6, 2009)

hiya mate it will be next covered in expanding foam...which will be shaped by hand just before hardening( gloves on to protect me mits ) then rockoflex to toughen up the surface and finally an epoxy resin ...,elastopur,to waterproof, into which will be embedded eocearth peat mix ent products got over here from dartfrog,these probably are related to the surfboard industry but i can't find out any details anywhere. Certainly no one i have spoke to on here or other forums in the uk, in the last year, seems to know anything about them. Even marc hasen't used both,they are expensive but i am gambling they will out last silicon which i know has a limited life span,unfortunately i have been unable to find anyone that has had a viv running for many years so am gonna find out the hard way. Knowing that these little frogs live for some considerable time and also knowing that this is not a "flash in the pan" for us ie we are not going to get frog and be selling a few weeks later it seems like the best option for us i will try to update at each stage of the process so our cockups and successes will be of use to others. I will be over the moon to get some of me plants out of the greenhouses and where they are meant to be (see other thread),ta for your interest,stu


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## deansie26 (Apr 28, 2009)

*interesting*

interesting, look forward to seeing how it goes : victory:


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## soundstounite (Sep 6, 2009)

cheers deano it will def. be interesting to see if it all goes to plan:whistling2:


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## whale_omelette (Jun 3, 2010)

soundstounite said:


> i am gambling they will out last silicon which i know has a limited life span


 i know! its rubbish and expensive if youre covring alot of area-
i used a bucket of evo waterproof pva with eco earth mixed in, its drying out good! doesnt look good in this pic at all!


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## soundstounite (Sep 6, 2009)

hi ms omlette, i too thought about pva but again, i just thought the epoxy might outlast it i am hugely inspired by the european vivs:blush: i am sure your viv will come out looking great:2thumb: after all once there are plants all over the place neither of us will be able to see much of the backgrounds anyway. Mate,have you looked at the gallerie on www.dutchrana site there are some awsome vivs on display thanks for the feedback....stu


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## soundstounite (Sep 6, 2009)

and here is another 40cm cube


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## soundstounite (Sep 6, 2009)

and our big homemade viv pre foam


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## Jezza84 (Dec 9, 2009)

looking good :2thumb:


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## soundstounite (Sep 6, 2009)

and post foam





















it all went abit pearshaped half way through when the gun decided to stick open:bash: i managed to cover shaz and the garage walls with the stuff:blush: but got it out of the viv pretty damn quick so all not lost. Will show how it should work on a ....foam thread later....which we did before attempting the viv have used foam on house builds for years never had a gun stick before....bugger


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## whale_omelette (Jun 3, 2010)

tis looking crackin- i might put some ledges in my tank- it needs another layer of pva and coco, plus siliconeing some bits. 

i have another tank im picking up at the end of the month so i can start all over again... woo.... *crys* but happy about it.


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## soundstounite (Sep 6, 2009)

did ya find the rana vivs?


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## whale_omelette (Jun 3, 2010)

yep! this one is fit!


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## soundstounite (Sep 6, 2009)

oh and the gun prob was caused by the internal bar being slightly bent, i hope.we will hopefully have time to find out tomorrow:gasp:


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## soundstounite (Sep 6, 2009)

its like beeing a kid in a sweetshop ther are just so many that are so good maybe after doing the spare room for frogs i'll nick the garage as well shaz didn't see that she's asleep bless:blush:


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## whale_omelette (Jun 3, 2010)

two tanks will do me! lots of money to do them.
mainly the wood!


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## soundstounite (Sep 6, 2009)

mate we are on an unbelievably tight budget, so i have to be hugely inventive to be able to do stuff,hence the reason for building our own vivs out of recycled glass etc etc this allows abit spare to spend on background products uv lights etc that i can't make,the wood in our vivs oak you have seen and lonicera for the vines has been found in woodland away from any fields where farmers are spraying,it might not be quite as nice as some of the stuff you can buy especially the vines but they don't look too bad do they? we always collect stuff that is up of the ground as the wind and sun will season it properly and there is very little chance of it coming into contact with our native phibs whom don't tend to climb too much all wood is already dead when we find it and free here some what do you think?.....


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## whale_omelette (Jun 3, 2010)

looks fab! id love to collect my own wood
where im based at the moment there is a distinct lack of trees- lots of fields though.
however im moving to surrey soon and ill be looking for wood there! its lovely and countrysidey
which woods are best for tanks?
x


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## soundstounite (Sep 6, 2009)

as above oak its the gear youve been looking at in the tanks hard as hell should last well lonicera is our native huisuckle i don't know how long it will last so am trying to think of a way of fixing it so it can be removed easily so will go in the last stages of the build collect it responsibly regards


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## RhianB87 (Oct 25, 2009)

soundstounite said:


> hiya mate it will be next covered in expanding foam...which will be shaped by hand just before hardening( gloves on to protect me mits ) then rockoflex to toughen up the surface and finally an epoxy resin *...,elastopur*,to waterproof, into which will be


 
Can this be used on grout??

Viv looks awesome as well!


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## soundstounite (Sep 6, 2009)

mate i don't know i can't find anyone who has used both these products even marc,(at dartfrog) so i am right out on a limb, ok devoid of my lack of knowledge of darts but as a dude that has made stuff for years evey thing from houses to a studio and know a little about building products,the epoxy has to bind into the grout or your waisting your time as your viv will fall to bits with the humidity, the rockoflex may well be grout (.absolutely without any fungicides etc) but i can't tell you whether it is,what i guess is that it is very similar only with some thing added to give a degree of flexibility against movement, but because i can't find the info to my satisfaction i have gone the way of(sorry lost my train of thought just been attacked by a wet duck!!!!!! ) the above ent products, eventhough i am sure there are cheeper options.....after all, i am gonna hopefully keep some stunning frogs that live in a tropical paradise, in there,( a glass box) maybe for ten years, i have to get it right, plus if the cost of things is important to you as it is with all of us, these frogs are not cheep whats ten or twenty quid on tried and tested products against little froggies that don't thrive:gasp: because the grout killed 'em Man its difficult when you don't know the answers......did that make sense?.


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## soundstounite (Sep 6, 2009)

sorry thanks for your kindness on the viv, i am not quite where i hoped i would be with it gonna have to attack it with somthing sharp i think:gasp: seeya


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## whale_omelette (Jun 3, 2010)

if i used anti mold silicone am i screwed?
iv used it to seal in edges- but iv gone over it with black aqarium silicone to seal the bad silicone in


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## soundstounite (Sep 6, 2009)

mate please remember i am a beginner too, i try to help others because of the kindness shown to me/us here in the past,simply put and don't hate me yes dude take it out and start over(SORRY:rant2 probably the reason why i have had my head in every dart book i can find for nearly a year and no frogs yet:blush: ......The theory as i understand it:many household silicons contain fungicides (to prevent unsightly mould from growing round your sink/bath/shower where the silicone is usually used to seal gaps.It is designed to release slowly over a long period of time,the problem for us,or i should say our frogs is that they have such sensitive skins which i beleive they partly breath through, so your slow release silicon could probably poison your frogs over a period of time,it is just not worth the risk(mate i am gutted for you) as this is such a bummer for you i would suggest you post for others to help give you advice,but i think you will find they say the same thing. As aside note remember we when we keep darts in captivity we take away their poison which is synthisised from their diet, so maybe this makes them evenmore vunerable.


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## whale_omelette (Jun 3, 2010)

fuuuuuuuuuucccc,
everything is sealed in and pva'd background!

i might just leave it and have an empty tank with no frogs- im not ripping it apart again
lol
im getting another tank in a couple of weeks so ill just do that one aquarium silicone


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## soundstounite (Sep 6, 2009)

but you didn't mate, you ripped it out in hours: victory:, hope next goes better what a 'mare had an easier day today using this grounding product its supposed to provide some stability and rigidity,to the foam/'sytene background,good stuff to use but slow you don't want to mix up too much at once, it took about 2 hours to get on this larger 60cube viv.very opaque covers really well. its called rockoflex







..


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## whale_omelette (Jun 3, 2010)

thats lookin' marv! cant wait to see this when its finished


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## soundstounite (Sep 6, 2009)

to do this viv cost £12,well very nearly,here are a couple of slightly differing angles,







this was applied with a couple of say 2 and 1" brushes and a small cooking spatula (plastic) maybe for the first time it looks like a viv not a pile of glass styrene and :censor: foam


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## soundstounite (Sep 6, 2009)

really quite impressed with this product, it has given all the foam etc. a hard surface,should stand up to a bit of ware and tear quite well,most vivs i see in the uk don't use anything to harden up the foam/polystyrene base, though i have seen tilegrout and even cement used(though the cement needs messing with to get the ph right).Next stage is the epoxy resin,not something i am relishing at all,have worked a little bit with fiberglass in the past bloody horrible stuff.Does anyone have any tips on using this stuff?


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## Jezza84 (Dec 9, 2009)

alright Shag viv starting to look real good, done a bit with fibre glass too, not somthing i would want to mess about with again horrible stuff good luck! lol


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## soundstounite (Sep 6, 2009)

'ello me old mate how ya doing (jeees ain't been called shag for years,always thought it was a drummer thang youknow being able to do 4 differing things at the same time and to do it for 3 hours,most blokes are just jealous :no1: but maybe its just corn.....ha )


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## soundstounite (Sep 6, 2009)

so back to the job in hand(no pun) heres the 2 little vivs with a bit of foam added(again swearing omitted)40cm cube numero uno.......







.....and maybe a slightly better pic.......







....oh don't ya just love foam...we had to apply this through a peice of hose as the gun doesn't fit in the viv...loadsa fun.Viv 40cube no.2......







........and a couple of other veiws maybe will make things clearer............







....so as always did that get there?


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## soundstounite (Sep 6, 2009)

so it sort of got to you all i will ask me lad if he can sort so its a bit more coherrent (spelling?) so c'mon people give us some feedback criticism welcome but say sommit rather than look and....... help us out guys


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## Ron Magpie (Oct 11, 2009)

Looking really good- one question: are all the hidey holes and caves accessible in an emergency? You may have to remove a sick frog or a vicious cricket at some point.


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## whale_omelette (Jun 3, 2010)

yeah i cant see any problems to be fair it looks marv lol!


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## soundstounite (Sep 6, 2009)

hey there ron how goes it oh wise one,good point buddy, yep everything covered there right down to the little gaps we cut out of the cork to make sure there was no gap at the top,all hidy holes are hand crafted to be accessable (dude i went in to work and once i was awake:blush: :bash: realised all my fingers are ribboned by the stanley blade i used to carve 'em out) ,we have marveled more than once at the amazingly tiny gaps these little guys can fit into.Shaz will have no crickets,they might bite mr froggy if we manage to grow the intended jungle in there,and either the frogs or us don't get them when they are tiny.We have read reports of crickets actually killing darts. We are on the food breeding already, though as you know we intend to suppliment heavily with other stuff....aphid etc which we already seem to produce for 12 months of the year, on all the organic grub we grow :blush::blush: but i want to distance us from the risks of bought in food asap.great shout ron keep it coming you'll probably spot something i or we won't cheers


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## soundstounite (Sep 6, 2009)

cheers ms whale tell us if you spot anything mate can we please have a mufffin ......NOW....she wants chocolate,....i'd just be grateful:lol2:


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## soundstounite (Sep 6, 2009)

So here we go again,while i am frantically reading everything i can find on epoxy resin and elastopur,anyone any advice? here are some pics of the two 40 cm cubes all dressed up in their rockoflex which we applied a couple of days ago :........







.............and a second veiw of the same........







.............................another picture taken from the other side.............


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## soundstounite (Sep 6, 2009)

sorry last pic is of course a different viv.... the other one we are making...................







,so you can swap those above(god i hate computers)..................more pics........


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## soundstounite (Sep 6, 2009)

so thats enough for now i am going to bury me head in some sand i just wish showing you this stuff was as easy for me as building the vivs,even with foam being such a 'mare still easier than getting a thread up with pics that actually you can read and makes sense:blush:....bugger........any feedback critique welcome what ya got guys.....stu


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## soundstounite (Sep 6, 2009)

so do ya want more or not i can show ya what happened with the epoxy, but it will take me ages to load from camera to comp to photobucket to forum, i thought that just a few of ya might find it interesting as nobody seems to have used this stuff,but there are no questions (well hardly any ron not you) no feedback not even DUDE why the hell didn't you do it this way,which is a shame because i don't want praise i want your advice and help and i only posted this as it might be of help to others as we are all on such a huge learning curve........hello what have you got people


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## Ron Magpie (Oct 11, 2009)

You seem to be doing all right so far!:2thumb:


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## Morgan Freeman (Jan 14, 2009)

I've used Epoxy, burnt my arm and blinded me for a day.

As you were......:2thumb:


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## hallnaomiuk (Jun 4, 2010)

ace :flrt:


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## soundstounite (Sep 6, 2009)

will try and get more up tonite,sorry about your eyes M. fortunately i must have industrial stregnth skin so it didn't burn me but its a sod to get off.Ron you all have done this so long sometimes i am just spinning there is so much to learn. Hiya helana we used to live just down your end in stday, nice to talk to a new face .....catch ya later


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## soundstounite (Sep 6, 2009)

Ok,Elastopur,this is a 2pack epoxyresin designed by that clever dude,Peter Nowark(understatement) at ENT it comes in a container of 2 sections you simplystab thru the top with something sharp so the hardner runs in to the gunk below add some colour and you have now got aprox 45mins to get it on the viv so you really need to be prepared and ready.Apply with a brush and work fast starting low and work up kinda in layers.Once you've covered a layer with no gaps push your substrate into it ,we used peat /ecoearth (bone dry).YOU MUST WARE GLOVES as this stuff is skin irratant and don't come off easily so ya don't want it on your hands/arms, or as i found out to my cost hair.This stuff is your waterproofing layer so NO gaps it sets like rock so hopefully will last....we'll see so here are loadsa pics to show the results ,sorry none while we were working tooooooo hectic,


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## soundstounite (Sep 6, 2009)

and more pics sorry about the above mutipic thats a new 'un







........................................................so now we have got to install the top including vent(welll we 've done it but we haven't chance to take the shots yet more soon) seeya


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## soundstounite (Sep 6, 2009)

HEY YA ALL,so we are closing down of the end of my EL CHEAPO first viv made here from mainly old crap glass (horticultural) with a few bits of new 4mm in HOPEFULLY the right places aprox costs:glass £15 difficult to be exact as our glazer can't convert cm to mm..............HELP runners about £10 silicone £10 mesh aprox £5 cork £3 a sheet (3x1) rockoflex £12 elastopur £25...............Time/fun wood free plants to come but are already here and multipling, we would be interested to hear of any thoughts you've got on planting you can see what we've got by looking at our plant thread come on guys give us some tips:whip::whip:.....OK so these are the pics of the viv minus 1 last bit of black angle which runs along the top which i just realised i've missed and we have put in the first of the vines(sorry lonicera) because i'd like to ask if you've any brill ideas for a way of fixing it so i can get it out later if we need to as it might not last as long as i need.So to the pics:wonder what will happen this time? Gonna post this as computer is giving me the:censor:,araaaaah


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## soundstounite (Sep 6, 2009)

IF at first you don't succeed then ...............







................................................................


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## soundstounite (Sep 6, 2009)

again will post more pics later when this :censor::gasp: computer lets me.....bugger...wanted to show a bit more of how the roof goes together .........we ain't done yet!!!


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## soundstounite (Sep 6, 2009)

and again, here are some pics of the lid of the viv,







.................................. we would greatly appreaciate your thoughts on planting







...............on which plants want the most light which can tollerate the wettest conditions,







...................so guys any ideas....this should give you the planting spaces any ideas?


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## Morgan Freeman (Jan 14, 2009)

Broms in the top two, maybe a fern and something else in the lower two. Then ficus pumilia to cover the back wall. SORTED.


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## soundstounite (Sep 6, 2009)

cheers morg,do ya think that the broms would be too close to the top,(the pots are only abouit 10cm down and most of our broms are bigger than that already in height) was thinking we could put the wire vine top right, to overhang the "cave" and the broms maybe mounted on sides and wood(there are actually 3 pots at the back) so to have one with the vine and totally with you on ficus 2 at the back do ya think it would be best if there were both the same species or would you go with different species on each side of the back.Mate thanks so much for your thoughts.PS i can breed and prop the fittonias but am not yet cirtain about how much light they need i don't feel we have got their conditions right yet, where would you put one in this viv?for sure these viv conditions will be different to how we grow 'em


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## lee79 (Apr 5, 2009)

Looks Great. I love watchin a dart frog build!


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## soundstounite (Sep 6, 2009)

thanks lee, all imput greatly appreciated,any thoughts on plants? or anything for that matter criticism/thought provoking/observation even ideas all welcome: victory:


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## Morgan Freeman (Jan 14, 2009)

soundstounite said:


> cheers morg,do ya think that the broms would be too close to the top,(the pots are only abouit 10cm down and most of our broms are bigger than that already in height) was thinking we could put the wire vine top right, to overhang the "cave" and the broms maybe mounted on sides and wood(there are actually 3 pots at the back) so to have one with the vine and totally with you on ficus 2 at the back do ya think it would be best if there were both the same species or would you go with different species on each side of the back.Mate thanks so much for your thoughts.PS i can breed and prop the fittonias but am not yet cirtain about how much light they need i don't feel we have got their conditions right yet, where would you put one in this viv?for sure these viv conditions will be different to how we grow 'em



Ah yeah stuff hanging down would be good. Not sure about the height for broms, mine have to be literally an inch or so from the light before they start to burn.

Fittonia? They dont need much light at all. 

Id use the same species of ficus, think it looks more natural. IMO anyway.


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## soundstounite (Sep 6, 2009)

some of our fittonie are a bit green, i thought it might be down to too little light, but then again, i also thought they liked low light,no knowedge untill they are under "viv" conditions, i suppose,as far as the broms i was more concearned about them being sat up against the top of the viv, mate, but i get what you are saying about the proximity to the lights. Mine only started to burn when the sun got to its zenith in june,but preceeding this the reds really came strong,quite amazing how the colours changed.wow


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## ilovetoads2 (Oct 31, 2008)

Morgan, was it you I gave that little cutting to in exchange for mushrooms??? If so, how is it getting on and although I know it is a ficus, do you know what kind? 

That would look fab in here just being allowed to wander up the vines...I can send you a cutting if you like cause mine is going mental!


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## soundstounite (Sep 6, 2009)

Hello ILT2,long time no speak,how are those day geckos doing? didn't you get a pr from marc?Mate am abit confused are you offering me a cutting blush:if your not but i can't thank you enough if you are),we are pretty much overstocked with them at the moment,we have ficus;pumilla,sonny quercifolia(spelling) one from panama one from chille and have been breeding them like rabbits:whistling2: we love em if you post us a pic we might know which you have.We have been working on loads of plants for our vivs so we can be sure all are safe for our darts when we get there.There are some pics on our dartyplants thread down there somewhere posted in an equally hotchpotch way (computers mess me up)..........mate good to see ya about again stu&shaz


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## soundstounite (Sep 6, 2009)

so, while we wait for the damn pics to get to photobucket here are some thoughts about epoxy as opposed to elastopur,the epoxy bought from marc,at dartfrog, (the high viscoscity one) when mixed at the required quantities(resin to hardener) is much thinner than the elastopur.Much easier to apply to the rockoflex background with a brush,easier to get complete coverage,which of course is esscential for waterproofing,but and here is the trade off ,and a big one methinks,because its is thinner it is much more difficult to get coverage with your peat/ecoearth mix i don't know whether the pics will show this. As a ballpark, to give you some idea, we managed to do the 2 40cm cubes with 1/2 of the quantity provided,with me painting the gloop on and shaz applying the peat mix. We worked hard and fast,and with in a couple of mins of completion the stuff had stated to set,so we just made it ,again be bloody well prepared. Now we will have to wait and see to give you any idea of how the one stands up against the other but hopefully you will see the initial results for your self soon if my :censor::censor::censor::censor:computer lets me regards all stu....................oh and we used the same brown pigment to colour the resin as the elastopur its £7.99 i think(and i would lay odds its cement colour but i can't confirm so had to buy this .....bugger but frogs before my dosh 'eh) anyone know more?


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## soundstounite (Sep 6, 2009)

so hopefully here are some pics of the first 40 cube cleaned up and ready for plants........nearly there,i will post pics of the other soon no light by the time i'd finished grafting.............................


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## soundstounite (Sep 6, 2009)




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## soundstounite (Sep 6, 2009)

sorry about the 3 posts but once again the computer said noooooooooooooo.


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## Jezza84 (Dec 9, 2009)

starting to look alot more viv like now :2thumb: when you gonna start planting?


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## ilovetoads2 (Oct 31, 2008)

soundstounite said:


> Hello ILT2,long time no speak,how are those day geckos doing? didn't you get a pr from marc?Mate am abit confused are you offering me a cutting blush:if your not but i can't thank you enough if you are),we are pretty much overstocked with them at the moment,we have ficus;pumilla,sonny quercifolia(spelling) one from panama one from chille and have been breeding them like rabbits:whistling2: we love em if you post us a pic we might know which you have.We have been working on loads of plants for our vivs so we can be sure all are safe for our darts when we get there.There are some pics on our dartyplants thread down there somewhere posted in an equally hotchpotch way (computers mess me up)..........mate good to see ya about again stu&shaz


Hey I am fine, been on holidays and kids off school, just busy busy! The geckos are doing great, thanks. Just had another egg laid yesterday. She is only laying one at a time because this is her first season, hopefully I will start getting two. They did come from Marc, and I am very happy with them. If you need a cutting you can have one, I love the stuff, it is beautiful and mine is growing like mad! I am going to put some in the red eye tank when it is next done. 

Should be on here a bit more now that the schools are going back so let me know if you want that cutting. :2thumb:


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## soundstounite (Sep 6, 2009)

Hey Jez how areya!!! mate to not be planting with the stuff we've been growing,for a year now is driving us NUTS:gasp::gasp::gasp:. Buti can't get the big viv inda house yet and its too big to go in the G.H. door,bugger so will . wait a little while for some air to get round everything,while i SORT stuff!! On the plus though racked up another 24 oakleaf today.........rock'n'roll


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## soundstounite (Sep 6, 2009)

Marianne i was not asking you for a cutting,but mate i bloody wanted to say THANKS if you were offering,we have been on the growing for ages here's some do you recognise your plant herewe hope my record with photobucket ain't good:lol2







ficus pumilla sunny,and some of the kids,


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## soundstounite (Sep 6, 2009)

told ya though one out of 3 is ok is it not


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## soundstounite (Sep 6, 2009)

ok now that is f.p.sunny we are also mouching around with this lot as well


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## Jezza84 (Dec 9, 2009)

hey shag, I'm good thanks mate. how things with you?
Picking up two 45 cube exo terras tomorrow:2thumb:
got some money coming end of the month so going to be dealing with dartfrog. liking the orange splahbacks he has at the moment. also the matecho but will have to wait and see what hes got at the end of the month. ive had to get the axe out to tackle the ficus pumila in my milk frog tank that stuff really grows like mad! have planted all the cuttings for future use. Also that fern like moss is still lovely and green with new growth coming through.


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## soundstounite (Sep 6, 2009)

am hoping to go up there next few days we are intregued by the machetos pic. we have seen them there before before but maybe these are slightly different will scope them for ya,yeh and the Og's when ya getting the brazils?


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## Jezza84 (Dec 9, 2009)

should be end of the month but mrs really wants me to get some Azzies so might change. just counting down the days to the money comes through. should be about 500 notes to spend on darts and bits. cant see that much lasting long lol. You getting any darts when you are up there?


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## soundstounite (Sep 6, 2009)

no not yet mate (ITS BLOODY DRIVING US NUTS),but i have tooooo much to do riping up our house. But need to keep inspired by seeing why i'm doing all this so try to go there often.:blush: Oh an shaz's favs are the azzies too ........they are stuuning aren't they.


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## soundstounite (Sep 6, 2009)

so back to the matter in hand,finally got to take a couple or three snaps of the 3rd viv resplendant in its epoxy/peat/ecoearth shell,oh hell waxing lyrical again:blush:...........







and as always a shot from the right







.......................................................and for all us southpaws a pic from the left


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## soundstounite (Sep 6, 2009)

so we are gonna plant up the 2 little 'uns in the greenhouse should be interesting:mf_dribble: gonna be great to finally get some plants in there after a year of growing stuff...................BRING IT ON...........3 down x to go:bash:


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## dannyj (Jan 23, 2007)

looking not good - but awsome buddy:2thumb:

the plant in the first pic there - the one with bits of pink on it - what is it? saw those at garden store


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## ilovetoads2 (Oct 31, 2008)

I dont mind sending you one...but by the looks of things, you have enough to buy us all a round!:gasp: 

Cant wait to see it all planted. 

By the way, mine is a larger leafed ficus vine, with darker leaves with silver splashes on them, grows great, but I am just getting a few long bits, no bushy bits...send me your address.


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## soundstounite (Sep 6, 2009)

Danny thanks again for you kindness,mate i think from the pics the plant you are looking at is a Fittonia(although there is a pink petunia in the pic). As far as i know the fittonias come in 3 colour forms,pink white and red.They are ground cover plants and root off the stem,they seem to cope well with high moisture and are very slow growing.I am still finding out about them as i am not yet growing in a viv,they seem to tolerate low light but some of mine are a bit green and we are not sure whether its down to too much light or not enough, ideal viv plant though,hope this helps....................ILT2 pm sent will swap ya:whistling2:, we didn't get to plant today Green house was toooooo hot and to much work manyana manyana


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## soundstounite (Sep 6, 2009)

Finally got some plants in the 2 smaller vivs,having waited so long and been growing so much it was really cool to finally start firing them in to where they should be,though when you've got 20 or so props full and a tent full its a bit like being a kid in a sweet shop and also a bit bewildering:whistling2: so these are inital attempts don't know if permanent we'll see how they do.







........................................................... we have used little pins with coloured balls on to anchor the broms







.................................the substrate is a mix of medium and fine orchid bark,xaxim,peat and ecoearth


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## soundstounite (Sep 6, 2009)

and here is the second one







we have also chuced in afew sprintails and some woodlouse (white tropical)







.....to start the ball rolling.Now we are fighting with the light level which of course are always changing in a green house







,lets hope everything doesn't get cooked:lol2:


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## FrogNick (Jul 2, 2009)

well done mate really like the style of you viv's. What type of frogs going in there?


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## ilovetoads2 (Oct 31, 2008)

Love it and love the little froggie figures! Save that bit at the front right...perfect spot...will get to post office tomorrow, hectic life today as schools started back! Great Job!


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## soundstounite (Sep 6, 2009)

hey nikki, how are ya mate, well its a bit of a tricky one that, as we WANT so much(differing morphs and species) and these are kinda stop gap,they were broken so i did me thang (i make stuff out of rubbish) so the're for kidds or if i need to isolalate a frog so i suppose going by the book its gotta be young leucs for one and me babe's azzies for the other.though when your in a long haul like this things change as one goes along.:mf_dribble:. Our intention is to keep the frogs in 60cm cubes once they are mature enough.we are hoping to keep groups of 5 auratus/leucs/galacs and we'll see about the tincs,girls are bitches but we'll try and talk 'em out of being so:bash:. It will be so cool to plant up the first experimental 60 cube though i won't be chill'in until its safe in its rack (massive gamble) though if it works, then i have enough glass here to build many more,and all the anciliaries are also in place.....MATE thanks for your kind words about the vivs, its great to have some life in 'em even though its only plants/springs and tropical woods.:blush:....Gotta speak to you about about F10


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## Jezza84 (Dec 9, 2009)

hey stu looking great bet your glad you got to plant em out, quick thought is that a boston fern in one of the vivs? i have used these before with little success the humidity seems to kill them off in my exp. looks great though mate cant wait to see what the 60 is gonna look like


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## soundstounite (Sep 6, 2009)

hey mariette,ha Oophaga plasticus lemannae:lol2:,these were given to us by my mate who kinda tricked us into this:gasp: he's got alot to answer for:whistling2:. Kiddo have ya thought what you could use from the managerie? THANKYOU for the kind words about the vivs its so cool trying to (sorry Phil) create a place (a bit of rainforrest) where these stunning frogs could have a good life. oh an i bet the spelling of your name's wrong,ha before i was calling you marianne,i can't cope with much more than 4 letters:gasp::lol2:........stu


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## soundstounite (Sep 6, 2009)

Hey Jez yes so cool to get plants out of the other places and to where they are meant to be. Its been rumoured that they are boston and i agree they probably might not cope with the damp,this is why they are right at the front ,when we are properly set up the misting system should miss the foliage,we did 2 years at batsford aboureatum,looking after the yes man you guessed, fern nursery,though most ferns like a low light and damp they can't stand being sodden,and will rott off if there is'nt adequate ventilation,will see if i've got it right or .........i am sure we have a plant that will like it there:2thumb:


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## ilovetoads2 (Oct 31, 2008)

soundstounite said:


> hey mariette,ha Oophaga plasticus lemannae:lol2:,these were given to us by my mate who kinda tricked us into this:gasp: he's got alot to answer for:whistling2:. Kiddo have ya thought what you could use from the managerie? THANKYOU for the kind words about the vivs its so cool trying to (sorry Phil) create a place (a bit of rainforrest) where these stunning frogs could have a good life. oh an i bet the spelling of your name's wrong,ha before i was calling you marianne,i can't cope with much more than 4 letters:gasp::lol2:........stu


Nope spot on...an that mumbo jumbo was....?....the latin name for the plant I was gonna send? Still want it or are you telling me you already have it? :lol2:

I agree...I was trying to explain it all to my mom who is still in the States and so has never seen my tanks....she doesnt get it...I said ''it is like peeking into their secret world, and when you know you have made a good home it is the best feeling ever'' she didnt understand. I sent her some pics and she loves the plants...which is a start I guess:gasp:


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## FrogNick (Jul 2, 2009)

soundstounite said:


> hey nikki, how are ya mate, well its a bit of a tricky one that, as we WANT so much(differing morphs and species) and these are kinda stop gap,they were broken so i did me thang (i make stuff out of rubbish) so the're for kidds or if i need to isolalate a frog so i suppose going by the book its gotta be young leucs for one and me babe's azzies for the other.though when your in a long haul like this things change as one goes along.:mf_dribble:. Our intention is to keep the frogs in 60cm cubes once they are mature enough.we are hoping to keep groups of 5 auratus/leucs/galacs and we'll see about the tincs,girls are bitches but we'll try and talk 'em out of being so:bash:. It will be so cool to plant up the first experimental 60 cube though i won't be chill'in until its safe in its rack (massive gamble) though if it works, then i have enough glass here to build many more,and all the anciliaries are also in place.....MATE thanks for your kind words about the vivs, its great to have some life in 'em even though its only plants/springs and tropical woods.:blush:....Gotta speak to you about about F10


yeah I use it with most things before I put it in the viv including frogs!

Get yourself some black film canister and pin them in the cork near the top the frogs will roost in them at night and lay eggs, my azures mostly lay eggs in them about midway up the viv.


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## soundstounite (Sep 6, 2009)

ILT2 the latin mumbo was refering to the plastic frogs:lol2: which we think are a take on Lehmann's frog,yes of course we would like a shot at the cutting, and you could do with a ?????


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## soundstounite (Sep 6, 2009)

Yes nick were on the case with the canasters,we've been collecting for ages:blush: have a couple of bags full we spent ages picking up is it savu? pods at marcs to get the perfect fit( geeks) i knew about the egg side mate BUT didn't realise they were used by the frogs for roosting, cheers mate keep it coming learning loads.


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## soundstounite (Sep 6, 2009)

Do you guys think we could cover the film canasters in epoxy/ecoearth ? would it stick? just don't want to look at da plastic in me rainforrest.


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