# Just finished Vivarium!!



## ilovetoads2 (Oct 31, 2008)

Hi I wanted to share my new vivarium picture. As you can see there are some bare patches of cork bark siliconed to the back...this is for a vigorous climber that is planted...The log is a cork round and the climber comes right out of the top. The pool will go where the stones are and is bigger than it appears here...the pump is under the flat stone at the front...There are also peat bricks to make up some of the ground will grow moss eventually. This will be ready in 4 weeks for tree frogs...do you like it??? :flrt:


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## ilovetoads2 (Oct 31, 2008)

anyone?:whistling2:


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## treacle82 (Aug 1, 2008)

it looks cool! well done :2thumb:


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## toxic (Jul 1, 2008)

Hi m8 nice looking tank what size is it and what tree frogs you going for becouse I would say you have set your viv up wrong. I only say this becouse tree frogs like to climb your setup looks like its setup more for Darts or similar type frogs


All so where did you get the small plants from as im looking but cant find


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## sean k (Dec 20, 2007)

*set-up*

nice set up m8


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## ilovetoads2 (Oct 31, 2008)

Hi. The plants are from dartfrog. There is a hanging plant growing from the top of the cork bark round that will double in size in the next month...This will make alot of places more like a tree. The plants at the bottom are more for visual effect. I am female and this is really important.

The size is 60 w 60 h and 45 deep...it is bigger than it looks but not as big as I would like.


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## ilovetoads2 (Oct 31, 2008)

I just went to measure the leaves of the hanging plant to give a better idea of the size...the smaller leaves are 4 inches and they grow as large as a hand! Huge! The brom on the right is 9 inches high and the one on the left (reddish) has a spread of 10.5 inches...The water hole is 12 inches by 7 inches but only a few inches deep. Once it all matures it will be perfect, I am not ordering the frogs for 6 weeks so by then they will basically have a tree! :lol2:


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## spend_day (Apr 10, 2008)

personally i would put in another branch or 2 for climbing otherwise looks good

what species u getting


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## Axel01 (Jun 14, 2008)

Bit more treeage please; for the frogs.

Elsewise nice to see someone taking interest in the planting. I think it make life more interesting for the wee beasties.

Probably called habitat enrichment or something


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## Janine00 (Sep 20, 2008)

This looks fantastic.... I will be happy if my little project looks a tenth as nice as this once completed :2thumb:


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## ilovetoads2 (Oct 31, 2008)

Axel01 said:


> Bit more treeage please; for the frogs.
> 
> Elsewise nice to see someone taking interest in the planting. I think it make life more interesting for the wee beasties.
> 
> Probably called habitat enrichment or something


Yeah, as I already said..the large leaved plant that is seen just at the top of the picture will at least double in size before any frogs are added...I may add another vine but the branches from which these leaves grow are sturdy and thick and will be controled by draping over a vine attached to the top which can be seen here...which in turn will provide more branches...eventually there will be a very thick canopy of leaves....far better than the rainforest setups that are being sold and often praised on this forum (for whites especially)!:bash:


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## goodwin1234 (Mar 23, 2008)

Looks awesome to me :2thumb:


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## ilovetoads2 (Oct 31, 2008)

You have good taste goodwin...:lol2:

Had to alter the water feature...sprung a leak! Dont know where...but have taken out all of the stones (which was a job because they were all siliconed in place) I thought the sealant would work out cheaper than loads of black silicone so I am not pleased I have to buy more anyway! I am going to try putting another layer on top of the epoxy stuff...this is so much more stress than I thought it would be...more for my hubby...it has become the most expensive Christmas pressie ever! Glad I did not rush into getting the frogs first though...and hope there will be some available when I do eventually get it finished!!! (AGAIN!):blush:


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## cubeykc (Aug 8, 2008)

nice.


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## toxic (Jul 1, 2008)

ilovetoads2 said:


> Glad I did not rush into getting the frogs first though...and hope there will be some available when I do eventually get it finished!!! (AGAIN!):blush:


 
Im sort of in the same boat all the wood in my viv went mouldy so had to remove it all and not test my Stream out yet


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## ilovetoads2 (Oct 31, 2008)

Aw. I have heard that the mould will subside when the stuff becomes custom to the tank temps. I had used a hampster hide in my common toad tank, it went mouldy, I took it out, let it dry, replaced it and the mould has never come back...maybe try that? I do have a little bit of white appearing on my peat plates...but I am going to leave it and see what happens...because I have time...I think that it will be fine, the peat plates and soil are meant to be wet and warm....TEST THE STREAM! I am so gutted that I have to do all this repair work...my own fault but this is my first one and I am learning fast! 

Good luck with it! What frogs are you getting?


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## toxic (Jul 1, 2008)

I have my frogs already but i was sold the wrong size tank for them thats why im trying to get my setup up and running asap.

My frogs although I now only have four as two passed away but the four are happy now:2thumb:









Sorry it wont let me resize the pic


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## ilovetoads2 (Oct 31, 2008)

They are cute...I quite like the look of the blue or purple dart frogs...have not done much research on them but am looking for a good book for my hubby as he wants to keep them. I was going to use my 2ftx1ft tank, but I like the exo terra tanks so much I think I would get a 60x45x45 one of them...but will definatly check, double check, and become obsessed with checking the stream or water pool!!!!! ha ha


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## rugbystar55 (Aug 11, 2008)

what are you doing with your life


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## DannyLeigh (Aug 4, 2008)

Aww those are cute!


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## ilovetoads2 (Oct 31, 2008)

rugbystar55 said:


> what are you doing with your life


At the moment I am spending my days trying to figure out the best way to waterproof a water pool for some frogs...:jump:


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## Jamie00 (Dec 9, 2008)

this looks real cool:2thumb: I want some frogs and I luv proper plants so am looking for ideas and yours looks great:flrt:


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## Sooz (Dec 9, 2008)

This looks fantastic and I love the real plants also, are they hard to keep?


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## toxic (Jul 1, 2008)

ilovetoads2 said:


> They are cute...I quite like the look of the blue or purple dart frogs...have not done much research on them but am looking for a good book for my hubby as he wants to keep them. I was going to use my 2ftx1ft tank, but I like the exo terra tanks so much I think I would get a 60x45x45 one of them...


Hi hun my frogs are not darts but do look a lot like them :2thumb: I will be getting darts after Xmas : victory:.


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## ilovetoads2 (Oct 31, 2008)

Toxic...did say I hadnt done research...h aha ha I dont even know the difference! Good thing I know about tree frogs.

Sooz and Jamie: So far I have not found real plants any work at all. I made sure I planted them in pots that were placed amungst the expanding foam though in case any needed to be replaced. The two broms on the cork bark are literally sitting in a hole drilled into the trunk...they need to be misted at least once a day. I have an orchid growing from a wedge cut out of the bottome of the trunk, and there is cork bark filling the hollow of the inside. I dont think it really belongs with the other plants naturally but I really like them and it wont do any harm if it survives the conditions...The leaves you can see at the very top are quite large and that is also growing out of a pot that has been nailed and siliconed into the top of the bark, then screen mesh was used so the frogs cant climb down inside...safety first...

I have ordered a couple of silcone tubes to sort out the pool and then will give it a few more weeks to settle and grow in before iordering my frogs...By the way..you would not believe how much bigger my canopy of leaves is at the top..I will have to post another pic once the pool is waterproof...and working...withough leaking!:whistling2:


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## ilovetoads2 (Oct 31, 2008)

Hey guys and gals. had some time this morning :whistling2:and so took a pic of the leaves now...I know there was a little concern about climbing space and after just 3 weeks this is how big it is! Imagine how much more there will be in January when I hopefully actually get the froggies!!! The second pic shows the size of the leaves...with my hand as a guide...:2thumb:It does show the size of the leaves but not the whole space...maybe it is the camera angle?...hope you approve...:lol2: yes, I like smilies....:blush:


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## toxic (Jul 1, 2008)

ilovetoads2 said:


> Toxic...did say I hadnt done research...h aha ha I dont even know the difference! Good thing I know about tree frogs.


Hay easy mistake to make as thay do look a lot like them



ilovetoads2 said:


> Hey guys and gals. had some time this morning :whistling2:and so took a pic of the leaves now...I know there was a little concern about climbing space and after just 3 weeks this is how big it is! Imagine how much more there will be in January when I hopefully actually get the froggies!!! The second pic shows the size of the leaves...with my hand as a guide...:2thumb:It does show the size of the leaves but not the whole space...maybe it is the camera angle?...hope you approve...:lol2: yes, I like smilies....:blush:


Thats looking nice now hun :2thumb:


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## ilovetoads2 (Oct 31, 2008)

*Lighting and Heating hep now please!!!*

Thanks toxic..

Right...now for lighting/heating. I have done lots of reading on this and have ended up confused.com...so

I thought about useing a uv light/glo light...teamed with digital thermometer hidden somewhere in the middle of the tank, which without anything at the moment is at around 19 degrees...however...I want to be able to control the temp without having to keep checking a thermo as I am not always here at weekends...so...would I be better with a heat mat that turns on and off, with a light for the plants rather than heat that would be on a timer...obviously not a bright light just one for the plants and one for at night? Advice please...


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## lewy (Nov 27, 2007)

you could us a low UVB florescent tube - this will help with the light for the plants and doesn't throw out too much heat, stick this on a timer like you said.

Use a heat mat teamed up with a on off mat stat (habistat mat stat are about £20) this should regulate your temps for you. Best to have a thermometer on both ends so you have a temp gradient so the frogs can move to where they like to get the required temps.

Great setup btw! Love the use of planting :no1:


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## ilovetoads2 (Oct 31, 2008)

Thanks...Looking at my setup...where would you hide the thermos? I thought about having one in the middle of the tank, hiding behind the leaves beside the trunk. But I guess I could have it higher up and hide the other in a bottom corner? GLad I am not too far off with my ideas..I would have placed the heat mat under the terrarium...would you find this acceptable...?


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## lewy (Nov 27, 2007)

You could place the stat sensor where your hand is in the last pic (maybe try and squeeze the wire down the side of the background to hide it) and the mat on the side of the viv in a similar place (you can get sticky rainforest heatmats that would be ideal) you could put it on the back to keep it hidden but it depends on how thick your background is - you may need to add something to refect the heat back in. You can always get a higher wattage heat mat, but be sure to use a stat as you could burn your frogs.

I don't know if under the tank it will get the temps up high enough for the frogs. Try it of course, as heat rises but you'll find they'll spend alot of the time on the leaves at the top anyway.


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## ilovetoads2 (Oct 31, 2008)

Right. I think I will go with that plan then. A low voltage uv light box and a night glo box...heat mat to back (that is just the background that came with the viv) and a stat in the middle...I will use a dig thermo in other sections at first to get a better idea of what the temps are all over. Getting this stuff at the weekend...again, want to make sure everything is perfect before I order my froggies...thanks for your advice. :2thumb:


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