# My build for luecs...



## Heart4Darts (Oct 10, 2009)

So... I'm going to start a thread for my build, i have a 90x50x50 ENT style tank, which was my dads and setup with epiweb, wasn't used long enough for the moss to grow in, and was given to me,
I'm taking a different route with this 1 and going to leave the epi-web in, buy a big bag of epi-web moss mix and smother any area's i dont cover with wood.
so.... went out today and bought this BIG piece of driftwood, I've also made an order with dartfrog for 3 big peat bricks to create some higher levels within the setup, also 3 broms, 2 lots of ficus pumila and a big bag of moss mix.

Here is some pics of the setup so far.....



I plan to create different levels with the peat blocks over on the right side, plant the 3 broms into the big piece of driftwood, have the ficus growing up the back wall on both sides and then smother all area's in moss mix, then plan to leave for a few weeks for the moss to kick in and start growing, i'll also be removing some of the moss from my other tank to start on the big piece of wood.
I have also ordered 4 plant grow bulbs for the lighting above which are only 9w bulbs so temps should be good.


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## Heart4Darts (Oct 10, 2009)

got an e-mail today from dartfrog..... :devil:
Moss mix is out of stock,
Peat blocks are out of stock,
and the ficus i ordered will be ready in a few days.
:devil::devil::devil:
So i now have to wait until next week until they send me my order.


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## chezequerz (Mar 30, 2008)

On a totally unrelated note your username is great.


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## Heart4Darts (Oct 10, 2009)

Not much of an update as i've just spoke to dartfrog where i placed my order and i've been told the moss mix i ordered wont be in stock until at least next week :devil:
He said his only supplier is based in sweden and the bloke in sweden has told him he'll be sending it all over this week.
So, another a whole week to wait before i can get started :devil:


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## frogfreak (Jul 28, 2012)

Welcome to froggin...:bash:

It's such a niche hobby that delays are almost always expected. 

The good news is that it gives you more time to plan out your build! :2thumb:


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## Heart4Darts (Oct 10, 2009)

frogfreak said:


> Welcome to froggin...:bash:
> 
> It's such a niche hobby that delays are almost always expected.
> 
> The good news is that it gives you more time to plan out your build! :2thumb:


I've spent the last month planning it mate :lol2:
its going to be a long dragged out process so i'm in no rush to be honest, just would of been nice to receive all the peat blocks and broms and ficus so i could get it attached and growing.
oh well, i'll have to wait it out for now : victory:


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## Heart4Darts (Oct 10, 2009)

Got an e-mail from dartfrog today, telling me everything i had ordered 2 weeks ago is now in stock and its all been dispatched.
So hopefully it'll be here soon so i can get started.
on another note, since changing my bulbs and using the ones Ade advised me to, i have moss coming through everywhere in the epiweb. amazing how good lighting changes the speed growth so much.
plenty of pics will be up soon once i've sorted it all out.


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## Heart4Darts (Oct 10, 2009)

Dartfrog delivery came today so i got straight to work, cut up some the peat bricks and put them in place, tried to creat a few ledges for them to climb up onto (leucs).
here are some pics of the setup and also some of the plants i got today....























The blocks over on the right are peat blocks which i plan to cover in moss, the back wall and floor are epiweb but have just been smothered in moss mix, so that'll a few weeks to kick in, and the ficus on the back wall, i'm hoping that spreads straight across the back, I have new lighting as well which is spot on and should help everything grow nicely.


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## Heart4Darts (Oct 10, 2009)

Can anyone with experience with ficus tell me if i've attached them correctly or should i of attached them lower down?
also, the big brom i got today from dart frog, has curled leaves which i've read means its been starved of water, i've since planted it and filled its centre with water, but will these leaves recover and become straight again? or will they stay like this?


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## shrimppimp (Mar 4, 2013)

*ficus*

ive found with ficus once it gets established it will head in all directions anyway,so doesnt really matter.the build is looking good so far!:2thumb:


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## Heart4Darts (Oct 10, 2009)

shrimppimp said:


> ive found with ficus once it gets established it will head in all directions anyway,so doesnt really matter.the build is looking good so far!:2thumb:


Cheers mate, still a long way to go yet : victory:


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## fatlad69 (Oct 22, 2009)

Heart4Darts said:


> Can anyone with experience with ficus tell me if i've attached them correctly or should i of attached them lower down?
> also, the big brom i got today from dart frog, has curled leaves which i've read means its been starved of water, i've since planted it and filled its centre with water, but will these leaves recover and become straight again? or will they stay like this?


Filling the centre will help but its humidity that will revive the broms back to its former glory. 

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2


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## Heart4Darts (Oct 10, 2009)

fatlad69 said:


> Filling the centre will help but its humidity that will revive the broms back to its former glory.
> 
> Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2


Thanks mate, their now in the tank and humidity is constantly between 70-80 so im guessing they curls will un-curl :whistling2:


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## Heart4Darts (Oct 10, 2009)

Update of the build, its been a while since i did an update as i wanted to see the progress rather than just a few extra leafs growing, so here it is guys, let me know if anything don't look right or if i should change anything, I'm waiting on the epiweb to grow in alot more and also for the moss to start covering up area's. I also want to add a few more plants once its grown in some more.
This build is going to be for a group of leucs.

right side....


brom with a pup...


left side...


angled shot....


another angled shot...


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## Heart4Darts (Oct 10, 2009)

Until tonight, i had been misting the setup 3 times a day, but tonight i filled the tank with water, I'm using epiweb on bottom and back wall, so got that kicked in and now the moss should have a growth spurt.
I've also drilled a tiny hole in the top pole which feeds water down the back wall, so that i can have some kind of spraying water onto the big piece of wood in the tank, and i really like how it turned out. there is a very shallow bowl, inbetween the wood where the water runs down, so that'll be constantly filled by the fountain, its only about 1cm deep and then it overfills and sinks into the epiweb.
let me know what you think.....


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## Heart4Darts (Oct 10, 2009)

Few updates on the terrarium build,
1st of all, i made a few changes, The huge brom has been moved into a better position and leucs will get use of it.
2nd thing i did was cut down the peat plates and make them smaller so that the leucs can climb onto them.
3rd thing i did was remove the cork bark which had the brom attached to it and sent it to the other side of the setup which i think now looks better.
the moss on the back wall and the floor is starting to kick in as well, so i'm seeing more green coming through, which is good.

let me know what you think.....


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## Liam Yule (Feb 16, 2012)

Out of curiosity which light/bulb are you using?

Another thing. The moss mix is a bit of a :censor: to get started eh?
My LEDS got it to start growing in but I have decided to take the LED off that viv now as I think there was too much light for the terribs.

Something else bud... I had better luck making my own moss slurry which Ade helped me with. I used a mix of spagnum/java/xmas moss in the food blender added water just like the epiweb moss mix. It seemed to grow a lot quicker Im guessing becuase its so fresh. Different types of mosses in the mix will find it's own niche to where you have spread it. Grows on cork bark and all sorts. Probably a hell of a lot cheaper too. 

Looks good though mate.


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## Heart4Darts (Oct 10, 2009)

Liam Yule said:


> Out of curiosity which light/bulb are you using


these are the bulbs i'm using, i got 4 of them above the tank.

Sylvania Fast Start 23W E27 Daylight 865


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## BigBoots (Jan 17, 2014)

Was wondering if you have put the Leucs in yet and if so is there anything you would change. I've nearly finished mine just playing around with the water bit it is also for Luecs so was curious if I could learn anything new? : victory:


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## Heart4Darts (Oct 10, 2009)

BigBoots said:


> Was wondering if you have put the Leucs in yet and if so is there anything you would change. I've nearly finished mine just playing around with the water bit it is also for Luecs so was curious if I could learn anything new? : victory:


I've not been into darts as long as most on here, so my advice prob wont be as good as most.
I do know leucs like to climb and very bold, so some open space and climbing area is good for them, this tank was given to me with the epiweb already installed, so i went from there.
the little spraying fountain i did myself by piercing a small hole into the tube across the top which is used to feed water into the epiweb, the hole was made so small that water can pass the hole and still feed water to the epiweb, so the back wall is constantly damp, which is why its growing in so well.
the floor area has recently started to moss out which is another +, and i plan to have a big area at the back full of leave litter, but this area will be raised slightly so its not constantly damp. the trick is, to make 2 area's, 1 which is damp and 1 which is dry, this way the darts have options within the setup.
the huge piece of wood i have in the middle, some of it stays constantly wet and some of it stays dry, like where the huge brom is placed.
No i dont have any leucs in here yet, i plan to have some in around 8 weeks or so once the tank is more grown in, i still plan to cover 1 or maybe both sides of the glass, what im planning on using is what is mentioned in this thread.....
http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/forums/amphibians/1016143-would-work.html


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## Heart4Darts (Oct 10, 2009)

Also, i see you ask if there was anything i would change,
in truth, if i had a totally empty glass tank then i wouldnt of used the epiweb and i would of gone with a false bottom like the european style setups.
but this 1 came with the epiweb already installed and the moss had started to grow in, so i thought i'd make the most of it.


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## BigBoots (Jan 17, 2014)

Thanks mate opinions do vary in respect of Leucs. I'm just hoping I have got the ballance right with my build. Just playing around with the water section at moment pick frogs up Saturday so fingers crossed 

Dave BigBoots


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## Heart4Darts (Oct 10, 2009)

Little update of the growing setup and also want to know your opinions on what else i could add to this as it grows in. I want to add a few more plants, but these would need to be planted into the epiweb so i think i'm limited to what i can plant. any idea's would be great.
I plan to add a trio of Leucs within the next 8 weeks if the all the mosses grow enough by then.
but they seem to be growing in well so far.
here is a few pics to see the differences......


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## Heart4Darts (Oct 10, 2009)

Hi guys, not been on for a while now, been busy with work ect, the tank had a few changes made and has been left to grow in, im pretty pleased with how it is so far, still need to add a few more things, but im pretty pleased with the progress,
I've simply left the tank alone and just misted it every 2nd day.
and slowly added springs and woodlice. which it now seems to have plenty of.
I plan to add a group of 5-6 fine spotted leucs to this setup.
the big piece of wood in the middle has a constant run of water going through it which the frogs will be able to sit in and also drink if needed.
its fed via the epiweb system which also means the water is constantly running the down back walls, which is why the ficus has spread like mad.

let me know what you think.....


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## frogman955 (Feb 7, 2010)

The viv is looking nice now that it`s all growing in.

Mike


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## Heart4Darts (Oct 10, 2009)

frogman955 said:


> The viv is looking nice now that it`s all growing in.
> 
> Mike


Thanks,
I just want to give it another month, and add a few more things, then I think it'll be ready for some fine spotted leucs.
my humidity on average is 72% in the mornings and after a misting it goes up to 86%.
these readings are fine for leucs yeah?


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## frogman955 (Feb 7, 2010)

As long as there is moisture in there you`ll be fine.
Hygrometers are not reliable anyway so don`t go too much on what the readings are.
Don`t keep the substrate too wet while trying to push the humidity up, it`ll be more humid than you think.


Mike


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## Heart4Darts (Oct 10, 2009)

frogman955 said:


> As long as there is moisture in there you`ll be fine.
> Hygrometers are not reliable anyway so don`t go too much on what the readings are.
> Don`t keep the substrate too wet while trying to push the humidity up, it`ll be more humid than you think.
> 
> ...


I've never been 1 to pay much attention to the readings, but just gave me a rough idea of where I am at right now.
the setup is epiweb so I have constant moving water underneath the moss, which I can higher and lower when needed. I've been filling it up so the water just about touched the moss, and due to the heat recently in London, the water is going down pretty quick. but I have a constant waterfall which runs down the big piece of wood in the middle and at the bottom there is a small area of very shallow water which the leucs will be able to drink/bath in.


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