# Oophaga tank (fixer upper)



## Tijl (Feb 28, 2019)

Hello!

I wanted to share this (old)tank I picked up on friday. Size is 75x50x50cm. The tank was copmletely wrecked and neglected over the years, I think it sitting in this guys basement for 10 years. After a lot of hard work over the last 2 days this is wat I turned it into so far : 





I still need to build a stand and lampcabinet for it. Also going to add some different marcgravia and som more moss. The tank will be used for Oophaga, probably a pair of my own offspring F1 O.P.Bastimentos RFB . If not the bastimentos it will be a pair of O.Escudo if I find a female. I would love to know your thoughts, comments, tips and advice! I don't build tanks often...

Greets,
Tijl


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## Tijl (Feb 28, 2019)

Found an old aquarium cabinet in the triftstore today, cost me the full €2! (+-2dollars)  I only needed to make a bigger shelf to put the tank on. This is what it looks like so far : 



 


Would love to get to feedback and some advice, mayebe change or add a plant? Missed a spot? Forgot something? Let me know!

Greets,
Tijl


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## wnateg (Aug 8, 2019)

What's that shelving in the background? Such a perfect fit. Very satisfying.


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## Tijl (Feb 28, 2019)

Yes, Im very happy with the cabinet and the conversion! I am glad you also like this.

If you mean the shelves on the first picture, they are containing some books,comics,deckboxes, rubix cubes, a big hypnotoad,catpole, a tattoo machine and some other very random stuff...  
This is (a part of) my living room... Behind the shelves you can find 4 tanks and 6 growout boxes for all juvenile frogs. And some aphids...


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## wnateg (Aug 8, 2019)

Tijl said:


> Yes, Im very happy with the cabinet and the conversion! I am glad you also like this.
> 
> If you mean the shelves on the first picture, they are containing some books,comics,deckboxes, rubix cubes, a big hypnotoad,catpole, a tattoo machine and some other very random stuff...
> This is (a part of) my living room... Behind the shelves you can find 4 tanks and 6 growout boxes for all juvenile frogs. And some aphids...


Sorry, I mean the ones in the back with all the tanks on them. Actually that may be just the tanks themselves stacked on each other. What tanks are those?


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## Tijl (Feb 28, 2019)

wnateg said:


> Sorry, I mean the ones in the back with all the tanks on them. Actually that may be just the tanks themselves stacked on each other. What tanks are those?


Haha, I missunderstood.  They are my breeder tanks : https://youtu.be/NSDO1tMKHpA


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## wnateg (Aug 8, 2019)

Tijl said:


> Haha, I missunderstood.  They are my breeder tanks : https://youtu.be/NSDO1tMKHpA


Unfortunately, it would be pretty hard for me to pick them up in the Netherlands!

But they look great.


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## Tijl (Feb 28, 2019)

Belgium, a country down the Netherlands. 🙂


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## Tijl (Feb 28, 2019)

But i am only selling offspring of my breeders


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## Tijl (Feb 28, 2019)

Mail day!









Result :


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## fishingguy12345 (Apr 7, 2019)

That was quite the haul in the mail! Terrarium looks great. What kinda of pods are you using?


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## Tijl (Feb 28, 2019)

I'm glad you like the build. 

In this tank I used ; Trumpet nut pods,Bakuli pods,Bell cups and Sororoca flowers.


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## Tijl (Feb 28, 2019)

I can't wait for this young F1 female and a similar looking male to move to this tank when it's ready. I think she is by far the most beautifull offspring I got from my breeders to this day. The white around the eyes is not common with my offspring. Absolutley love it!


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## fishingguy12345 (Apr 7, 2019)

She's gorgeous!


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## Tijl (Feb 28, 2019)

A few changes are made in the meanwhile and this is how the tank looks like today:



I will still let it grow for a while before the O.P.Bastimentos inhabit the tank.


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## jskinner097 (May 13, 2019)

I love the way the plants and the moss on the background have grown in. The seed pods are also a nice touch. Looks super natural and I'm sure the frogs will appreciate the dense cover and big ol' bromeliads once they're added.


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## Fullmoonwanderer (Nov 14, 2019)

Wow! That’s lookin amazing, I love the moss wall


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## Tijl (Feb 28, 2019)

Thanks for the compliments! Everything still had to grow a lot bigger and more vigorous.

Took a short clip of the tank :

https://youtu.be/lqxJHwmTyrY


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## klawfran3 (Jun 26, 2017)

That's a handsome tank! When are you planning on moving the frogs into it?


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## Tijl (Feb 28, 2019)

klawfran3 said:


> That's a handsome tank! When are you planning on moving the frogs into it?



Thanks!
After the new lamps and misting system are installed. Then a few more weeks to make sure the temperature and everything is on point.


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## Lucano (Aug 21, 2017)

Tijl said:


> Thanks for the compliments! Everything still had to grow a lot bigger and more vigorous.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Love how far those bromeliads reach. Are those splendens? 
Really liking it!


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## Tijl (Feb 28, 2019)

Yes me to! Thank you.

When the frogs are in the tank the bromeliads will look even bigger due to the frog's size! I think this will scale up everything perfect. (I hope) That is why I did not want to put in bigger Oophaga and/or smaller bromeliads.

They are 2 different vriesea, but I don't see much difference between them.
One should be a Vriesea fosteriana and the other one should be Splendens era.
But I doubt the last one, since the bromeliad got realy big and is still growing.


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## Lucano (Aug 21, 2017)

Tijl said:


> Yes me to! Thank you.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


For a moment I forgot how big the tank was and thought the bromeliads were smaller. The bigger the better! I especially really like the left one. I hope some day I can build a giant enclosure and put one or two of those. Do frogs actively use those pods on the bottom? Would be very interesting to see.
I'll take the opportunity to ask you one more thing, since you're a fellow European, I was wondering what water do you use to mist. I know (almost) all our fellow Americans have a RO system. Thank you!


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## Tijl (Feb 28, 2019)

Lucano said:


> For a moment I forgot how big the tank was and thought the bromeliads were smaller. The bigger the better! I especially really like the left one. I hope some day I can build a giant enclosure and put one or two of those. Do frogs actively use those pods on the bottom? Would be very interesting to see.
> I'll take the opportunity to ask you one more thing, since you're a fellow European, I was wondering what water do you use to mist. I know (almost) all our fellow Americans have a RO system. Thank you!


Yea the tank is bigger irl than it looks on photo  Yes, the frogs use the pods! I currently have a clutch of RFB eggs in one of the pods in the 100x50x50 RFB tank. All the Tinctorius use the trumpets nuts either to sleep in or for egg deposition. Recently I saw a picture of a fellow hobbyist that got a clutch in one of his lotuspetals from his salt creeks. Realy cool!

In other tanks I used some pods and filled them up with clay. They also get used, but for the claybath ofc. 

And last but not least, most of the bellcups are just crawling with springtails and isopods. So the frogs hunt in these pods.


I just use tapwater, the quality is very good here.


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## Tijl (Feb 28, 2019)

Why not post some pictures so you can see for yourself...

for the clay : 

Eggs in the left pod :

Tank of the RFB : 

Lotus salt creek eggs (photo is not mine):


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## Lucano (Aug 21, 2017)

Tijl said:


> Why not post some pictures so you can see for yourself...
> 
> 
> 
> ...


That's awesome! Thank you very much. I can only imagine them going out and about around those pods, it really has to be very fascinating to watch. 
By the way, I absolutely love that viv!


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## Beerbohm (Oct 6, 2019)

What a steal!!! Really liking the look of this tank.


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## Mmkco (Dec 3, 2018)

Really liking the way that looks! I love to find deals like that and fixer uppers! You do very nice work. To my eyes all that setup needs now is for that top light box to be painted a nice semi gloss black and maybe find some way to block the light that is coming out between the top of the tank and the "Lid." It would complete the setup and would let your eyes just focus the work you have put on the inside with zero distractions. Just a couple of finishing touch suggestions.  Looks really good!


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## Tijl (Feb 28, 2019)

That's realy nice to hear and I am glad you like the build. I think I posted somewhere on this topic that I already have a new lightbox made by a friend? If not, now you know. 😄 I am still waiting for my arcadia lamps to arrive, so I can install these in the new box. After this some minor adjustments probably and than the tank is as good as finished! Mistingsystem is also under construction.

I realy appreciate the suggestions! Keep em comming


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## Mmkco (Dec 3, 2018)

Ah! I missed that part! That is a great looking setup tho. I cant wait to see the finished product. I had as much fun designing my misting system as I did designing the rest of my tank. It's a fun/maddening challenge for the mind making everything fit and work correctly.


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## Tijl (Feb 28, 2019)

Added some more moss and 3 small bromeliads (N.Chiquita Linda) I got from a fiend. Grow, grow,grow... 

https://youtu.be/BjMozWhUzL8



I think I am going to cut back the moss a lot before I introduce the frogs to the tank. I don't want everything to be to moist, only the xaxim shoul be green of moss.


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## bosco500 (Sep 12, 2018)

Looks great especially with the clay cups


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## Tijl (Feb 28, 2019)

bosco500 said:


> Looks great especially with the clay cups


Do you mean the bell cups on the botom of the tank?
I have not put clay in these yet, I will though.


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## Tijl (Feb 28, 2019)

Yesterday I added 2 more N.Chiquita Linda in the upper part of the tank. Did some cutting and replanting, added a small Begonia Bowerae on the bottom of the tank and added dwarf Magnolia leaves for some more pop on the forestfloor! 

I hope to get some Marcgravia Sintenisii cutings for the purple circle part of the tank.


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## Tijl (Feb 28, 2019)

I was tired at looking at the ugly lightbox so I put the T8 in the new box. So still waiting for my LEDs to arrive...

But this is the result with the new box :


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## Tijl (Feb 28, 2019)

https://youtu.be/VTuNegOASd8


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## Lucano (Aug 21, 2017)

It's growing amazingly. By the way very nice house!


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## Tijl (Feb 28, 2019)

Thank you. The only room in the house that is "finished" is the livingroom... haha

Everything else is a mess and under construction!


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## Tijl (Feb 28, 2019)

Misting, cutting, trimming, topping, growing, adding,... Getting greener in the urban jungle! Still no frog has entered the tank. I am getting more patient over the years it seeems.


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## Tijl (Feb 28, 2019)

Tijl said:


> I can't wait for this young F1 female and a similar looking male to move to this tank when it's ready. I think she is by far the most beautifull offspring I got from my breeders to this day. The white around the eyes is not common with my offspring. Absolutley love it!


I realized I've never shown the male I selected to pair up with the female for this tank. Here he is  :


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## Lucano (Aug 21, 2017)

Tijl said:


> I realized I've never shown the male I selected to pair up with the female for this tank. Here he is  :


Absolutely stunning...


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## Roscoe09 (Dec 30, 2017)

Awesome tank!! And beautiful frogs!


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## Tijl (Feb 28, 2019)

Added some bamboo leaves to give the bottom of the tank some more "pop". I was not completely happy the way it looked, to me it looks much better now 

I did my best to take some detail shots of what is going on in the tank right now :


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## Tijl (Feb 28, 2019)

Today I went to Holland to visit Bram Naalden and see his beautifull rack system he build for his pumilio! What an amazing build!!! He was kind enough to give me some Marcgravia sintenisii cuttings and some others cuttings to complete my tank. I aslo changed the anthurium andreanum with some begonias since the anthurium's leaves got to big.

Me and Bram : 



Please visit Bram's Instagram page and give it some likes from me! His photo's and tanks are amazing! It is by far the most beautifull frogwall have ever seen! Such a nice guy.

https://www.instagram.com/the_frog_wall/



The updates :


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## Tijl (Feb 28, 2019)

Well, it finaly got to me and I decided to move the F1 O.P.Bastimentos to the tank! 

The male :






The female : 




For now, it is time for them to hide and explore the tank. I hope they won't stay to shy for all to long. Their colors just seem to radiate in this tank!


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## Tijl (Feb 28, 2019)

The male started calling like 10 minutes after I introduced them to their new home.



The size and colors of these frogs match so well with the size of plants and colors in the tank. I could not be more happy with the result.


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## amfshovelhead1 (Feb 15, 2020)

WOW beautiful


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## gladiatorsgi (Sep 26, 2011)

Tijl said:


> Mail day!
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Do you mind sharing where you get your pods? Thanks


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## Tijl (Feb 28, 2019)

gladiatorsgi said:


> Do you mind sharing where you get your pods? Thanks


Sure, I got the from a Dutch wholeseller. I live in Belgium so the shiping was not to expensive. 

You can get them from US wholeseller, ebay, amazon,...
I found this link : https://www.neherpetoculture.com/kitextras8x8x8

Hope this helps.


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## fishingguy12345 (Apr 7, 2019)

@Tijl the tank and frogs look amazing. You're making me want to start working on my next tank AND to find some Oophaga for it (not super easy to do here in Canada)


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## JesseVDH (Feb 1, 2020)

Which Netherlands site is it?


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## Tijl (Feb 28, 2019)

fishingguy12345 said:


> @Tijl the tank and frogs look amazing. You're making me want to start working on my next tank AND to find some Oophaga for it (not super easy to do here in Canada)


Go for it! I'm happy this build inspired you and I hope to see you making a topic for it.  I also hope you are able to find Oophagas.


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## Tijl (Feb 28, 2019)

JesseVDH said:


> Which Netherlands site is it?


I did not get them from an online shop.

If you want you can PM me, I have some stock left of most of the pods on the photo's.


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## Tijl (Feb 28, 2019)

So bold, exploring every inch of the tank and calling non stop.. Bastimentos are by far my favorite O.Pumilio! Wath morphs do you guys/gals prefer?


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## stevenacres (Jan 20, 2020)

Such a unique look. They're so squat! Love the geometric dots.

I think it's gonna love that tank. For the BG did you just silicone Xaxim panels to the walls and then add chunks of moss? Will you have to cycle back the misting now you've gotten frogs in there?


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## Tijl (Feb 28, 2019)

Thanks.

The panels were already in the tank, but yes. Just silicone and fernroot.

I have cut down on the misting now. I will try and keep the frontsides of the panels green by misting these by hand.


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## Tijl (Feb 28, 2019)

While the new contruction of the vivarium cabinet is on hold, I tought I add this detail on it's feet :


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## Tijl (Feb 28, 2019)

The male is calling in the upper part of the tank, while the female exploring on the bottom.


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## Tijl (Feb 28, 2019)

Female on a small Marcgravia cutting I got from Bram Naalden #The_frog_wall.  I need more Marcrgravia, what an amazing plant!


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## Tijl (Feb 28, 2019)

Only 3 weeks after I introduced them to their new home :




And YES! It is the MALE who is carrying a tadpoles


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## Tijl (Feb 28, 2019)

https://youtu.be/PuYXvpnhxzs


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## Tijl (Feb 28, 2019)

I think the male needed to show her how it's done. 
Caught her transporting 2 different tadpoles so far. I absolutely love the parental care with Oophaga.


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## Tijl (Feb 28, 2019)

Update on the tank :


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## fishingguy12345 (Apr 7, 2019)

Hi Tijl, did you install the Arcadia lights you had ordered? If so, what do you think of them?

I love the tank, so pleasant to look at


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## Tijl (Feb 28, 2019)

fishingguy12345 said:


> Hi Tijl, did you install the Arcadia lights you had ordered? If so, what do you think of them?
> 
> I love the tank, so pleasant to look at


Haha, unfortunatly no.. They delivered the wrong order first. I tested the Skyled leds on the tank, but I did not liked the color. Same for arcadia wich I later did receive and tested on my Histrionica tank.

I still use 2 x PL 24W 840 bulbs for this tank. 

I happy you also enjoy the build


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## Tijl (Feb 28, 2019)

While I am cleaning the tank's front panels.. the big boss is checking up on the frogs.


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## Tijl (Feb 28, 2019)

A friend came by today to take some shot for his portfolio. Ofcourse we kept the neccesary distance and other precautions for both our safety.




Can't wait to see the result!


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## fishingguy12345 (Apr 7, 2019)

Tijl said:


> A friend came by today to take some shot for his portfolio. Ofcourse we kept the neccesary distance and other precautions for both our safety.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


You have a beautiful house! Keep us posted with the shots your friend took.


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## Tijl (Feb 28, 2019)

Thanks! Will do.


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## Tijl (Feb 28, 2019)




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## Tijl (Feb 28, 2019)




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## Apoplast (Mar 17, 2020)

I like how structurally complex the vegetation is in that tank. Lots to explore. The frogs in there must be quite happy. That's aspirational!


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## Tijl (Feb 28, 2019)

Glad you like the vivarium! 

The male is calling every day and spends a big part of it overlooking everything from the upper parts of the tank. 
The female continues to visit her tadpoles and spends most time in or close to the the leaflitter. But they both are absolutley actively found all over the build.

I could not be more happy with how everything turned out and I'm now impatiently waiting for froglets popping out of the vrieseas. 🙂


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## Tijl (Feb 28, 2019)

A few weeks aggo Skylights reached out to me with the question if I was interested in helping to test some different leds and share the expercience with them. Ofcourse I said yes! Today I received this in the mail  : 







I'm still working on the positioning of the lamps in the two tanks, but the color on their new product (MID 30R) is amazing in both! I was also very surprised to see how deep the Tiny RV are able to shine! 
I'm very happy with the new lights, it is a big difference with the old PRO H leds I tried in the past, wich I was not very stocked on.

So a big thanks to : 
Start - SkyLight
!!!


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## Fahad (Aug 25, 2019)

Are they dimmable?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Tijl (Feb 28, 2019)

Nope, they are not.


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## Tijl (Feb 28, 2019)

I was wrong, apparrently they all are dimmable. Skylight just don't offer the dimmers themselves yet. But you can use the correct module for it.


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## Fahad (Aug 25, 2019)

Tijl said:


> I was wrong, apparrently they all are dimmable. Skylight just don't offer the dimmers themselves yet. But you can use the correct module for it.



Cool! Outside of bromeliads (which I don’t always use) most of the plants I use really look their best in surprisingly low light; dimmable lights are now one of the first things I look for. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Tijl (Feb 28, 2019)

Fahad said:


> Cool! Outside of bromeliads (which I don’t always use) most of the plants I use really look their best in surprisingly low light; dimmable lights are now one of the first things I look for.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


I agree! Aquascaping esthetic rules are at least 30% of an aquarium should be shaded. I feel the same for vivariums. 

Even if these leds would not be able to dim, the Tiny RV's are realy easy to position and create bright or shaded spots. I realy like these.


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## Fahad (Aug 25, 2019)

Tijl said:


> I agree! Aquascaping esthetic rules are at least 30% of an aquarium should be shaded. I feel the same for vivariums.
> 
> Even if these leds would not be able to dim, the Tiny RV's are realy easy to position and create bright or shaded spots. I realy like these.


I hadn't seen that before, but it makes sense. The environments the frogs come from have plenty of shade and dappling anyway, so I imagine they may feel more at home, too. I do see plenty of activity right after lights out, so they're obviously comfortable navigating a dim forest floor.

I currently use Fluval LEDs which have many adjustment options (wavelengths, dimming, dawn/dusk etc.) but at some point I'd like to try using smaller spot-light type lights, to mimic sunbeams.


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## Tijl (Feb 28, 2019)

2 months later update after just finished some heavy trimming :


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## jcross (Jul 26, 2020)

Absolutely amazing Tijl. As a newcomer to the hobby, this is great inspiration. What is that vining plant in the front-left with the purple veining?


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## Tijl (Feb 28, 2019)

Glad you like it! That is not realy a creeping plant, but I trained it into one.  It's a Paradrymonia Campostyla from Suriname.


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## whp (Feb 6, 2020)

Hoi Tijl
exactly my taste, perfect.
I think that Vriesea are the best bromeliads for Oophaga and they are also nice to look at.
Most of my Pumilio offspring grow up in Vrieseas, although many other bromeliads are available.
Which nozzles do you use, are they those from dutchrana.nl?
greeting hp


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## Tijl (Feb 28, 2019)

Thanks! Vriesea are my favorite bromeliads too use, slow growers as well. I recently made a vivarium with only Vriesea Erythrodactylon, my favorite of them all!

These are the Dutch Rana nozzles. Best nozzles on the market Imo.


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## gonzalez (Mar 28, 2018)

I wish I could find erythrodactylon. All I’ve been able to find available is racinea and some others that get too large. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Tijl (Feb 28, 2019)

V.Racinae is probably the bromeliad most of my Pumilio favore for tadpole deposition.
But like you say, these just keep on growing.

I hope you are able to find some, Erythrodactylon is very spectaculair and gives such a different look to a vivarium than any other bromeliad coulf!


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## whp (Feb 6, 2020)

Thanks Till, I'll order some then.
And yes the light - dark of V. erythrodactylon has something, I like that too. Catopsis morreniana and V.lubbersii are also often used by Pumilio for tadpoles.


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## koconnor04 (Aug 17, 2020)

Beautiful tank!! I'm jealous!


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## Tijl (Feb 28, 2019)

Thanks!

I'm sure you can also make something like this or even better, don't be jealous 😉


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## [email protected] (May 29, 2020)

This tank is amazing


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## koconnor04 (Aug 17, 2020)

Love this build! Might I ask where you got the seed pods and the frogs from?


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## Frogmanjared (Jul 17, 2020)

I’ve been staring at this for hours... jealous.


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## Tijl (Feb 28, 2019)

@koconnor04, if you read through the topic your questions will be aswered 😉


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## Oyapock (Jun 29, 2020)

Tijl said:


> I realized I've never shown the male I selected to pair up with the female for this tank. Here he is  :


What a handsome little guy! I love the belly picture!


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## Tijl (Feb 28, 2019)

I totaly love this little (noizy) guy aswel!


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## Paskui (May 23, 2020)

Tijl said:


> I totaly love this little (noizy) guy aswel!



Age? (The frog, not you..)


Enviado desde mi iPhone utilizando Tapatalk


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## Tijl (Feb 28, 2019)

1year and a few months.


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## Tijl (Feb 28, 2019)

The vivarium got a feauture in the september isssue of the DN magazine :


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## Gastrotheca (Sep 4, 2020)

Congrats!
May I ask what the long seed pods are called? They are the ones where you have your hand on the bag. I think they are also in your terribilis tank. Are they by any chance honey locust seed pods?


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## Tijl (Feb 28, 2019)

Thanks.

Your are correct, I have these in my Terribilis tank.

Those are acacia beans / pods. 🙂


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## fishingguy12345 (Apr 7, 2019)

Tijl said:


> The vivarium got a feauture in the september isssue of the DN magazine :


Congratulations!
Will it be translated into English, by chance? Or is the DN magazine no longer doing an English version?


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## Tijl (Feb 28, 2019)

I don't think DN will print their magazine in English again tbh.. Mayebe only a few magazines like they did before?

It is possible that I translate this article for herpetoculture magazine since they ask me if I would like to write something, but I'm not sure if the subject will be interesting enough for them..


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## Tijl (Feb 28, 2019)

It would be so helpfull if you fellow frog/vivarium enthousiast would give a like to our entry of the 2020 IVLC!!

You can find the entry (and many other wonderfull entries) on :









M-rainforest


M-rainforest. Отметки "Нравится": 18 125 · Обсуждают: 19. 非商业，生态造景展示平台




www.facebook.com







Thank you so much in advance! 

Feel free to share and spread the word!


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## Tijl (Feb 28, 2019)

One year has passed since the start of this topic and (re)build.
This is how the tank looks like today!


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## Leite02 (Jan 19, 2020)

OMG!


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## Esmi (Oct 28, 2017)

How did you "drill" the holes in the ventilation screen for your misting system?

and of course: OMG


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## Tijl (Feb 28, 2019)

I hope the 'OMG''s are a good thing? 😅

I use a small screwdriver and twist it in.


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## kthomas (Oct 12, 2019)

Amazing looking tank! Thanks for sharing.


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## Tijl (Feb 28, 2019)

Our vivarium won 特别印象奖 ('Special impression award') on the 2020 International Vivarium Lay-out Contest; 'IVLC' today!! Unbelieveable..


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## Leite02 (Jan 19, 2020)

Congratulations @Tijl ,you deserve it without a doubt!


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## Ron Beernink (Oct 12, 2019)

Congrats dude 👍🏻


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## RGilbers (Oct 2, 2020)

Congratulations man!! well deserved.


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## Fahad (Aug 25, 2019)

Nicely done!


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## Tijl (Feb 28, 2019)

Thanks everyone


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## Tinctorius96 (Dec 31, 2020)

So, I've read the post from the beginning, very nice looking tank-great job!!


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## Robru (Jan 1, 2021)

Well done Tijl, that's what you do it for. Congratulations on this well-deserved prize


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## Tijl (Feb 28, 2019)

Thanks again! 

I hope this topic can be insightfull or helpfull for other builds.


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## Tijl (Feb 28, 2019)




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## FroggerFrog (Jan 11, 2021)

Wow! I wish I had a tank like that.


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## Chris S (Apr 12, 2016)

What is great about it, is that is sticks to many of the core principles that Tijl often preaches too!...ie. it is possible to have a great looking tank, without sacrificing its suitability for the frogs.


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## Tijl (Feb 28, 2019)

Chris S said:


> What is great about it, is that is sticks to many of the core principles that Tijl often preaches too!...ie. it is possible to have a great looking tank, without sacrificing its suitability for the frogs.


Glad you notice! 

Exactly, the core principles always have to be correct. I also try to keep my tanks quite simple which in it's turn makes them bugdet friendly. The bromeliads for example are probably the cheapest you can find.. the only 'expensive' thing is this tank is the margavia, which I got as cutting from a friend and the new lights.. But these are not neccesary for the frogs by any means. 

I feel the tank could look a bit better again if I invested some more ✂ time in it 🤣


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## Pepepepe (Aug 30, 2020)

I just read the hole thread and really enjoyed it the tank looks great and the prize is very well deserved.

Its a great inspiration.

I’m going to take advantage to ask a few questions:
-How did you manage to get the macgravia sintenissi to grow “so quick” and what would you say would be the best place for a macgravia in a tank.

-How much ventilation do you have in the tank?

-What are the best times of broms for pumilio and Ranitomeya to reproduce, big leafs or small leafs, with or without “thorns”, does color do anything.


Thanks and great tank.


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## Tijl (Feb 28, 2019)

Pepepepe said:


> I’m going to take advantage to ask a few questions:
> -How did you manage to get the macgravia sintenissi to grow “so quick” and what would you say would be the best place for a macgravia in a tank.
> 
> -How much ventilation do you have in the tank?
> ...


Marcgravia love high humidity and light, but not to be soaked.

This tank only has passive ventilation. One strip in the bottom front, 2 on the top of the tank.

Pumilio and Ranitomeya like to 'reproduce' on a smooth surface. Leaves in the leaflitter or annything plastic is prefered by most dart frogs. 

Bromeliads with deep axils are prefered for tadpole deposition if that is your question. Color, spikes,.. does not mather. 

You are mistakes if you think all Ranitomeya look after their tadpoles. Only a handull of Ranitomeya morphs are facultative egg feeders.


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## Tijl (Feb 28, 2019)

Pepepepe said:


> I just read the hole thread and really enjoyed it the tank looks great and the prize is very well deserved.
> 
> Its a great inspiration.


Thanks!


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## Esmi (Oct 28, 2017)

Tijl said:


> I use a small screwdriver and twist it in.


How did it work? Is there a pressure problem on the long run? Does the mesh withstand?
Why are most people drilling glass, if this is also working?


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## Tijl (Feb 28, 2019)

Esmi said:


> How did it work? Is there a pressure problem on the long run? Does the mesh withstand?
> Why are most people drilling glass, if this is also working?


😅

Perfect, all my tanks are setup this way and my oldest tanks are already +10 years old. 

No, why would that be? 

Yes. If you think about it, glass is a lot more fragile and vunerable to vibrations. So in the long term I'd fear more for glas to crack than woven mesh to break.

Absolutey no idea.. I guess people tend to copy past the first thing they see? For me this is the same question as to why are most species of dart frogs are still kept in tanks with waterfeatures when this have been proven to be the least succesfull way of housing them? 

I hope it's buildtopics like the ones I make that can make people see there is an easier, better(?) and/or more budget friendly way for housing poison dart frogs.


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## Tijl (Feb 28, 2019)

An update on this tank was posted a while aggo on my 🄵🅁🄾🄶🅂 🄰🄽🄳 🅅🄸🅅🄰🅁🄸🅄🄼🅂 topic.



Tijl said:


> Had to rework my 2020 IVLC entry ( Oophaga tank (fixer upper) ) since the Vriesea's got too large.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


For me this topic can be closed if that is possible.
Feel free to ask any questions in DM or on the 🄵🅁🄾🄶🅂 🄰🄽🄳 🅅🄸🅅🄰🅁🄸🅄🄼🅂 thread.

Cheers!


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