# 12x12x18 exo FG amazonicus build



## mrfrogdude (Jun 26, 2011)

Hi all, I am starting up my second dart tank for my first thumbnail frog. I will be getting a probable pair from a local once this tank is done and grown in a bit. 

Here is the basic setup, I will start the carving this weekend hopefully. I plan on using a few broms and some kind of vining plant to fill in the background.

Any plant suggestions for this species would be greatly appreciated!

Mark
P.s.- if the photos don't show up I'm doing this from my phone.









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## mrfrogdude (Jun 26, 2011)

Whipped out the dremel tool and got the carving done tonight. 










Let me know what you think!
Mark

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## Dizzle21 (Aug 11, 2009)

Thats going to look rad! I cant wait to see the finished product!


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## Pumilo (Sep 4, 2010)

Looking good. Can I suggest you do something with the crisp, clean tops of the wood? Grab a pliers and nibble at the edges or carve them a little with the dremel tool. Try to make them look naturally broken instead of cut.


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## mrfrogdude (Jun 26, 2011)

Pumilo

Thanks, I was a little disappointed when I got the piece and it ended up being too short to cut flush with the glass at the top.

The "lightbulb" in my head turned on when I read your comment! Haha

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## mrfrogdude (Jun 26, 2011)

Here is a picture of the calling male that will be going into this once it's ready. Very pretty frogs, and I'm excited to enjoy my first thumbnails!










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## mrfrogdude (Jun 26, 2011)

I finished up the carving and applied the background to the gs. 

I also made the siphoning tube. It will get siliconed to the bottom of the tank tomorrow once it has cured 24 hours. 










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## mrfrogdude (Jun 26, 2011)

Siphoning tube in place along with the hydroton and screening.

Any suggestions or comments are welcome!










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## epiphytes etc. (Nov 22, 2010)

Lookin good!!


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## mrfrogdude (Jun 26, 2011)

Thanks! My order from joshs frogs should be here tomorrow, then I will be ready to order a few plants : ) After building my 29 gallon, this thing sure is quick to put together!

Also I think I might try an led bulb for this setup. It would sure cut down on the nasty heat we have in AZ!

Any thoughts on the setup anyone?

Thanks for looking!
Mark

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## bratyboy2 (Jan 29, 2010)

Personally im loving it. Subscribed


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## mrfrogdude (Jun 26, 2011)

Another update. 

Received the AGB mix and some live oak leaves. Prepped and arranged into tank.

I also installed the glass top along with a one inch vent at the front.

Also the front vent has been screened off so there are less fly escapees!

I believe it is ready for planting...now what to order....haha.









Let me know what you think!

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## eyeviper (May 23, 2006)

looks great, thats a nice piece of wood you found.


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## bratyboy2 (Jan 29, 2010)

I know this is probably a stupid question but what is agb?

And I think it looks great!


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## mrfrogdude (Jun 26, 2011)

Thanks, I just wish it was taller so it would've gone all the way to the top glass, but once it's packed with broms it probably won't be seen much anyway. : D

AGB is the soil mix, I believe the botanical gardens came up with it officially...? Basically it is a mix of charcoal, small twigs, tree fern fiber pieces, and sphagnum moss bits I believe. A long lasting, quick draining substrate!

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## froggzilla36 (Feb 4, 2012)

Looks great! What LED bulb are you considering? You'll have to let us know what you think of the LED lighting as well, i'm curious!


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## bratyboy2 (Jan 29, 2010)

Oh was wondering what I was to plant plants in...thought oh ill go with miricale grow organic...good thing I asked that question lol

Yah once the broms are in it will be fine...

Figured out which ones your going with? I think if you go with the smallest it will make the tank feel alot bigger...thats my plan with mine...


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## xm41907 (Nov 26, 2007)

Looking great!


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## mrfrogdude (Jun 26, 2011)

I plan on doing one brom that will get around six inches in diameter. And a few smaller varieties planted around the big one. I'm thinking "chaquita linda" and "small fry" for the small broms. 

I want to keep the varieties of plants really low, that way it will look more realistic.

I think I will order an 11watt or 13 watt led from lightyourreptiles.com 



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## mrfrogdude (Jun 26, 2011)

I just put my plant order in from Tropical Plantz.

*Neoregelia Wee Willy-1
*Neoregelia Chiquita Linda-2
*Neoregelia Punctatissima 'Joao Marcio'-2
*Dischidia Ruscifolia-2 cuttings

That should pretty much fill up the tank once grown in! I'll post when they arrive!

Thanks for looking,
Mark


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## froggzilla36 (Feb 4, 2012)

At the beginning of the build you applied silicone to the glass where the great stuff was going to be applied, right? I like how you did that to hide the great stuff, it is much cleaner than black contact paper on the outside.


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## mrfrogdude (Jun 26, 2011)

Yes I really despise the look of the yellow gs showing through, so applying the silicone first hides it nicely. don't be afraid to apply it thick and make sure you give it time to setup or else the gs can pull it off and show through. 

Plus it allows the gs to grab hold of the silicone (i heard of others gs coming off the glass sometimes).

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## Pumilo (Sep 4, 2010)

bratyboy2 said:


> I know this is probably a stupid question but what is agb?
> 
> And I think it looks great!


http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/parts-construction/63915-truth-about-abg-mix.html


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## mrfrogdude (Jun 26, 2011)

Well the plant order is on hold until they get more heat packs in to ship it out.

I just seeded the tank with tropical springtails and the small white isos.

Also my LED 11 watt bulb has shipped out and will be here shortly!

Mark


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## mrfrogdude (Jun 26, 2011)

The LED light came in from lrp. Since vendor feedback isn't allowed I will let the pictures do the talking!

26watt cfl









11watt jungle dawn led









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## mrfrogdude (Jun 26, 2011)

*LYR not LRP... whoops.

Mark


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## Hubla75 (Jan 17, 2012)

the tank looks awesome cant wait to see it with plants in it


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## mrfrogdude (Jun 26, 2011)

First set of plants made it into the tank tonight. 

Many more broms on their way : D










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## FrogNub (Aug 5, 2009)

The led really seems to make a difference. Is that 2 11w leds or just 1?


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## mrfrogdude (Jun 26, 2011)

Just a single 11 watt led in an exo hood.

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## MX83Drifter (Feb 13, 2012)

I've been noticing a lot more led's around. looks like they get the job done.


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## enfinite5 (Nov 23, 2011)

great work!


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## crested (May 15, 2011)

Looking good.

As for those Dischidia Ruscifolia cuttings, do they need to be planted in the soil and 'encouraged' to grow upward or can you simply start something like that pinned to the background??

Cheers


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## mrfrogdude (Jun 26, 2011)

I'm not totally sure. I put the tip of the cutting in the soil and then pinned it to the background.

Maybe someone else will come in though...

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## mrfrogdude (Jun 26, 2011)

Pre grow-in pics!

The plants arrived today and I was expecting the worst when I saw the box...









The box happened to be crushed right on top of the heat pack! No plants were harmed luckily.

Here are some pictures before I mounted the neo broms. I added some D. Ruscifolia cuttings and a Microgramma Reptans cutting.





































And here are the broms! These should make my pair happy huh?





































And the final setup before grow in. This is going to be a dense jungle for them once it is all grown in!














































Thanks for following along, and please comment or question!

Mark

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## bratyboy2 (Jan 29, 2010)

Love it!!!!!!


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## mrfrogdude (Jun 26, 2011)

Thank you! I'm going to go home today and stare at it for a while ; )

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## bratyboy2 (Jan 29, 2010)

That's the best part


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## Dizzle21 (Aug 11, 2009)

Wow looks good! great plant choices!


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## davidadelp (Sep 29, 2010)

Looks great, Cant wait to see it grown in. The broms are awesome!


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## ZookeeperDoug (Jun 5, 2011)

Fantastic job!


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## mrfrogdude (Jun 26, 2011)

Thanks for the replies everyone. I'm glad it turned out so nicely and I am very impressed with the coloration of the broms shipped. I will get a pic from my wifes DSLR soon and then a pic later down the road so we can compare how the "Jungle Dawn" LED light does 

I'll try to get a pic up tonight!
Mark


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## mrfrogdude (Jun 26, 2011)

Oh screw it, here are the pictures at a better quality  Why wait?!

They turned out a bit darker than the tank actually is, but you get the idea... she's the expert with the camera...haha

Mark


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## eos (Dec 6, 2008)

That looks hot man... nice job.


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## bratyboy2 (Jan 29, 2010)

It screams sexy! I can't wait to get my broms in


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## mrfrogdude (Jun 26, 2011)

Thanks guys : ) the plants are starting to shoot new roots now. Check out these tiny mushrooms that popped up on a leaf...



















Getting the FG Vents in one week!

Mark

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## Kevin D (Nov 6, 2011)

great job, the tank looks awesome


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## Shinosuke (Aug 10, 2011)

Cool shrooms! Thanks for sharing.


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## mrfrogdude (Jun 26, 2011)

The shrooms lasted one day white, and then turned brown and when I sprayed the tank the next day they puffed brown into the air when hit with water. haha, strange little fellers :roll eyes:

Mark


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## mrfrogdude (Jun 26, 2011)

I received the FG Vents today, here are some initial pictures!

In the picture of them in the deli cup the calling male is on the rim of the cup.

Thanks for looking!

Mark


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## eos (Dec 6, 2008)

Good looking frogs.... Get ready for a massive reproduction. lol


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## mrfrogdude (Jun 26, 2011)

Haha, cool sounds fun to me! And my Azureus are getting ready to hit maturity as well. Should be a fun summer coming up!

So far the FG Vents are very shy in their new home, but hopefully they will warm up to me soon. And I haven't heard the male calling in the new tank yet either, but I guess that can take time as well. 

Mark


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## mrfrogdude (Jun 26, 2011)

I caught the suspected female checking out a film canister, got a nice shot with my phone.










Mark

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## epiphytes etc. (Nov 22, 2010)

Remember to add some water to the canisters. They seem to like to lay below water level.


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## [email protected] (Mar 12, 2012)

looking good cant wait to see what it looks like when its done!


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## mrfrogdude (Jun 26, 2011)

Yep there is about an inch of water in there, just can't tell in the pic. Is there a time of day that vents seem to call more often? 

I'm hoping the vines start growing in to form a dense wall...

Mark

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## epiphytes etc. (Nov 22, 2010)

They seem to call on and off all day long. They start right after lights on, go again after misting. I come home for lunch, and they're at it again. When I come home again at the end of the day, they are calling, and start up again right before lights out.


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## mrfrogdude (Jun 26, 2011)

Ok cool I'll spend more time in the room listening : )

Thanks for the info!

Mark

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## mrfrogdude (Jun 26, 2011)

I heard the male calling today. Well, I saw his body quivering so I put my ear up against the vent and I heard him. The suspected female was an inch away and was going from the axle of the brom out to him and back. Lookin like a pair to me! 

Since i got them they have been within 3 inches of each other almost the entire time.

Mark


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## mrfrogdude (Jun 26, 2011)

Foolin around in the canister. Exactly one week since I got the frogs... 










Mark

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## eos (Dec 6, 2008)

Any day now...


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## ConFuCiuZ (Jul 13, 2011)

Great job on the tank. Nice size broms, they look right in your tank.. The broms are pretty big for my tank so it messes the scale of the tank. I have the same size tank with three varaderos. Seems like all three are female.


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## mrfrogdude (Jun 26, 2011)

Thanks!

I'll be getting back tomorrow from being out of town for a few days, so maybe I'll have some eggs...

Mark

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## mrfrogdude (Jun 26, 2011)

So I came home to these three eggs today. Should I leave them in the film canister until I see development? Can someone link a thread to raising vents?










Sorry if the pic is upside down...

Mark



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## mrfrogdude (Jun 26, 2011)

Nevermind, I just found a bunch of threads on raising vents. 

Thanks for looking!
Mark


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## mrfrogdude (Jun 26, 2011)

Here is a better picture of the first three eggs this pair has produced. Are they looking good so far? I think they are a couple days old...










I moved them to a 16 oz deli container.
Mark

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## mrfrogdude (Jun 26, 2011)

Just found four more eggs.....haha. I guess they do breed like rabbits! 

Mark


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## eos (Dec 6, 2008)

mrfrogdude said:


> Just found four more eggs.....haha. I guess they do breed like rabbits!
> 
> Mark


Lol. I took out all but one of my film cans thinking they would slow down, but they jus laid a clutch on top of an older one. Good Luck!


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## mrfrogdude (Jun 26, 2011)

Haha nice.

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## mrfrogdude (Jun 26, 2011)

The first three eggs are developing nicely! 










Poor of the second batch three are good as well.

Mark

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## poohmalley (Mar 19, 2012)

So cool to watch them grow. Kinda hard to find people in Arizona into the hobby... Yeah i think i stumbled onto the right thread thanks for the awesome updates.


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## yumyow (Apr 28, 2012)

Nice setup! Can't wait for my tank to mature a bit so i can finally get some frogs.


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## mrfrogdude (Jun 26, 2011)

Just found a froglet that was raised in the tank-no help from me at all!









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## eos (Dec 6, 2008)

mrfrogdude said:


> Just found a froglet that was raised in the tank-no help from me at all!
> 
> 
> 
> ...


That's awesome! How long did that take? I'm thinking of letting mine try and tank raise a tad or two.


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## mrfrogdude (Jun 26, 2011)

Around October i stopped pulling eggs from the tank and i removed the film cans. I haven't even noticed much breeding behavior recently. 

I saw them transporting a couple tads a couple months ago though...i just didn't think they would make it all the way to froglets. 

Here's another pic of the little guy.









Mark

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## eos (Dec 6, 2008)

That's cool... Hope you got lotsa springtails in the tank.


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## that Frog Guy (May 13, 2012)

Oh Cool.

I have 4 of the same Thumbnails.

I need to get those Film Canisters ASAP if they breed like crazy like you guys say.

In the meantime what do you recommend that I put into the terrarium for water for them to lay eggs?

How about a small reptile feeding dish?


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## mrfrogdude (Jun 26, 2011)

Yeah there should be plenty of springs in there for the little guy.

Do you have any broms in your tank? They will lay eggs in them as well as the film cans.

Mark

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## DragonSpirit1185 (Dec 6, 2010)

awesome viv and frogs 

I think I might have decided what kind of thumbnails I want now 

are you just using 1 single Jungle Dawn LED?


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## mrfrogdude (Jun 26, 2011)

Thanks!

Yeah they are a fun first thumbnail frog, and not too pricey either. Yeah I'm using a single 11 watt jungle dawn bulb.

Mark

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## DragonSpirit1185 (Dec 6, 2010)

mrfrogdude said:


> Thanks!
> 
> Yeah they are a fun first thumbnail frog, and not too pricey either. Yeah I'm using a single 11 watt jungle dawn bulb.
> 
> ...


thanks I think I'm gonna ditch my 2 CFLs and get me a single Jungle Dawn bulb


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