# 100 gallon vivarium build named "The big frog tank"



## klawfran3 (Jun 26, 2017)

No one here probably remembers me and that's okay. I made an account here about three or four years ago and then stopped posting (and it's _totally_ not because I forgot I had an account/ forgot my log in info for the account.) Definitely not that.
Recently I have gotten a friend or two into the hobby and I realized I should probably get more involved in the community. So I went onto this site, entered my login info... and then promptly received a warning saying "if I enter my info in wrong 4 more times I'm locked out." Thankfully there was a good old "forgot password" button that fixed my problems for me. 
It was then that I also realized that I have never actually shown off the terrarium I built that I have been cultivating for the past 3-4 years. I lovingly call it "The big frog tank" since, well, that's what it is. 
*A bit about the tank:*
It is a 36x36x18 exo terra that I believe is about 100 gallons (as per google).
Custom background, more plants than I can count or even remember putting in, and were it not for the mistking nozzles visible you would think it was watered with the blood sweat and tears I put into it.
Currently it houses 3 _Dendrobates tinctorius_ "powder blues" that I bought last year. Before them I had a few _D. auratus_ that sadly did not survive the move between houses. I have no idea what happened or how they died, but when I was ready to introduce them back into the terrarium (less than a day after I took them out for the move) I saw they had all passed away. It was heartbreaking and I stopped keeping darts for a year or so because of it.
The powder blues I have now are all female and they get along perfectly. No jostling or fighting, no disagreements, they all sit together, eat together, and sleep together. That is probably due to the fact that there isn't a male with them, so there's no need to compete.
And yes, before you ask, I am a bit disgruntled about getting all females. I was planning on breeding them so I'm likely to sell the ones I have now and try again with a different species.

Without further ado, here is the photos of "the big frog tank!" as it sits now! I'll be uploading the construction of it and it's growth in further posts in the thread.


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## DPfarr (Nov 24, 2017)

I like it! Are any of your tinctorius visible in those pictures?


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## Socratic Monologue (Apr 7, 2018)

That is a beautiful viv!

There has been a movement around here lately toward emulating habitat elements that mirror those that the species are used to in wild environments. Your viv, while visually very attractive, doesn't fit that plan. Be ready for some comments about species-appropriateness.

Super pretty, and your broms really look nice.


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## klawfran3 (Jun 26, 2017)

DPfarr said:


> I like it! Are any of your tinctorius visible in those pictures?


No, but here's a photo of one of them from a couple months ago. They're fatter and happier now! I haven't done a photo shoot in a while of any of my frogs.












Socratic Monologue said:


> That is a beautiful viv!
> 
> There has been a movement around here lately toward emulating habitat elements that mirror those that the species are used to in wild environments. Your viv, while visually very attractive, doesn't fit that plan. Be ready for some comments about species-appropriateness.
> 
> Super pretty, and your broms really look nice.


I have been gone a while then haven't I lol. I forgot how this hobby can be so gatekeepy with some of that stuff. It looks nice, the frogs are happy, why worry? My darts are so comfortable in their home and me that they'll leap onto my hand and arms when I do tank maintenance (I assume it's because they are conditioned to think my hands=food and treats). If they were so miserable with not having some specific species of plant or whatever you'd think they'd be hiding constantly?

I understand a lot of the non mixing of lineages and keeping hybridization down for conservation purposes, but putting down other people for keeping them in a not perfectly exact biotope is a bit insane. No other hobby does that it seems. I mean, c'mon. 

Sure for the next one I make it sounds like a cool challenge to make a perfect biotope to be fair!


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## Socratic Monologue (Apr 7, 2018)

Nobody's putting you down -- and my comment was meant to just give a friendly heads-up, not be a criticism. It is a great viv, and your frogs look good. 

Maybe I didn't even need to mention it; reading the archives makes me realize that the level of heat around here fluctuates from time to time, but current conditions are not any hotter than many times in the past. For whatever reasons, froggers tend to be a pretty passionate group, it seems, and with those sorts of groups you have to take the bad with the good.


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## klawfran3 (Jun 26, 2017)

Socratic Monologue said:


> Nobody's putting you down -- and my comment was meant to just give a friendly heads-up, not be a criticism. It is a great viv, and your frogs look good.
> 
> Maybe I didn't even need to mention it; reading the archives makes me realize that the level of heat around here fluctuates from time to time, but current conditions are not any hotter than many times in the past. For whatever reasons, froggers tend to be a pretty passionate group, it seems, and with those sorts of groups you have to take the bad with the good.


No worries, I totally got you were just giving a heads up. It just reminded me that the passion that some people have can be a bit crazy at times.
I'm more than happy to discuss with other people biotopes and the like, and I would love to hear some of the arguments some have for a biotopic vivarium being more beneficial towards darts in human care over just a traditional viv.


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## Lucano (Aug 21, 2017)

*Re: 100 gallon vivarium build named &amp;amp;amp;quot;The big frog tank&amp;amp;amp;quot;*



klawfran3 said:


> No worries, I totally got you were just giving a heads up. It just reminded me that the passion that some people have can be a bit crazy at times.
> I'm more than happy to discuss with other people biotopes and the like, and I would love to hear some of the arguments some have for a biotopic vivarium being more beneficial towards darts in human care over just a traditional viv.


I get what Socratic wanted to warn you about, a couple of days ago a thread exploded on the subject. It was a nice discussion to read, all the people here on this board seem very passionate and 'professional' to me. 
I personally prefer semi realistic vivs, but honestly at the end of the day, I think we can all agree that if the frog's wellbeing is ensured, you can design their viv however you want. Being it realistic, practical, filled with plants you like, etc. (I didn't explain this very well in my last post in said discussion ) It would definitely be very interesting to know if it is a little more beneficial for frogs to be housed in a realistic simulation of their environment.

Back on topic, stunning frog. I'm looking forward to see your next biotopic build!


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## TeddytheFinger (May 8, 2019)

Wow what a tank!!! What is the schedule for the misting system?


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## klawfran3 (Jun 26, 2017)

Lucano said:


> I get what Socratic wanted to warn you about, a couple of days ago a thread exploded on the subject. It was a nice discussion to read, all the people here on this board seem very passionate and 'professional' to me.
> I personally prefer semi realistic vivs, but honestly at the end of the day, I think we can all agree that if the frog's wellbeing is ensured, you can design their viv however you want. Being it realistic, practical, filled with plants you like, etc. (I didn't explain this very well in my last post in said discussion ) It would definitely be very interesting to know if it is a little more beneficial for frogs to be housed in a realistic simulation of their environment.
> 
> Back on topic, stunning frog. I'm looking forward to see your next biotopic build!


It always amazes me with this hobby how so many people are not just hobbyists but actual professionals and even researchers on them. It can be a blessing and a curse, with tons of information and knowledge on it that you wouldn't get elsewhere, but also a "too many cooks in the kitchen" situation where everyone has a say in what goes on and what should/shouldn't be done.
Everyone here has such an awesome perspective on this hobby and the animals in it. The only issue is some can be confrontational or stubborn and create arguments where there should be none. We're all here to enjoy it and have fun, that's what it should be about.



TeddytheFinger said:


> Wow what a tank!!! What is the schedule for the misting system?


20 seconds in the morning, 20 at night with 6 mist king nozzles. Sometimes more or less depending if it seems overwatered or underwatered over the course of a few weeks/months.


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## bssknox (Apr 24, 2017)

What light are you using?


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## klawfran3 (Jun 26, 2017)

bssknox said:


> What light are you using?


I believe it's a 36" beamswork light. Got it off ebay for like $25 if I remember correctly.


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## klawfran3 (Jun 26, 2017)

The build part 1: Background.
So first thing's first, I started with the tank. Just a regular exoterra 36x18x18 (I did my math wrong, the tank is actually 50 gallons!) that I ordered off Amazon when they went on sale. A hole was drilled onto the bottom right side for me to attach a drainage bulkhead to. I believe the hole is 1". First time drilling glass, it actually went way better than I expected! 








Next was the wood. I used a bulk order of corkwood rounds and ghostwood that I got off of NE Herp's website. None of the cork rounds were branching or thin enough to use as a branch, so I instead broke the large flat rounds into panels. This is all the wood I used, you can also see the massive bag of sugar that helped sustain me during it haha.









The dry fit of wood on the black silicone I painted on the background:









If you notice, I changed the wood up a bit before I cemented it in place with the Great Stuff foam. I disliked the large cork tube that would inevitably create a visibility/ maintenance problem in the lower right corner. 









The fiber I used to cover the great stuff foam is a mix of Coco coir and peat, I feel it gives a way more natural look than just using only one of the two. 

The finished Background


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## Mmkco (Dec 3, 2018)

That is an INSANELY gorgeous tank! Such amazing work you did there! Thanks for sharing that build!


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## boardingfool (Sep 8, 2010)

Socratic Monologue said:


> That is a beautiful viv!
> 
> There has been a movement around here lately toward emulating habitat elements that mirror those that the species are used to in wild environments. Your viv, while visually very attractive, doesn't fit that plan. Be ready for some comments about species-appropriateness.
> 
> Super pretty, and your broms really look nice.


I dont mean to poke the bear here, but what is the issue with this viv? I think it looks amazing!


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## WRyno (Jul 4, 2012)

very nice beautiful set up!


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