# Ramos' 18x18x18 Exo Terra



## ramos93352 (Apr 8, 2008)

I had a build thread started up for my 29 gallon, but I found this deal at petsmart and couldn't pass it up. I was planning my "venture into thumbs", And this tank was the perfect size for them. Long story short I got the whole habitat kit for $80. 

Anyways, I don't know what to do about the background. I have the supplies to make a DIY but I'm not sure if that's the direction I want to take. I could do a little lake at the front of the viv too with a false bottom, but still I'm not sure. :/

Here's what I have so far. I went to Home Depot fro some spiral bulbs and took a look at the plants. They had some decent broms so I found some nice ones and picked them up 2.99 a piece. I have some driftwood from my aquariums that I tore down, and I'm planning on using one or two of the medium pieces. I have the compact top for lighting, but I don't know if I'm going to use that (its more visually appealing) or what I currently have ( 3 fluorescent strip lights). Would it make a difference if I used those UV compact fluorescent spiral bulbs from exo terra or just normal 6500K daylights?


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## ramos93352 (Apr 8, 2008)

FTS:









My Favorite Brom:









Lights:









Lights from the side (compact top is not on) :


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## Julio (Oct 8, 2007)

nice broms, why are you using 3 strips of light?


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## nathan (Jul 24, 2009)

You can pick up a twin tube t-8 or t-12 fixture for cheap and It will look alot better. Ive noticed with the spiral exo bulbs you can loose some color on bright red brooms. My fireball is solid green in my pumilio viv. And it has a spiral bulb on it . . .


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## ramos93352 (Apr 8, 2008)

I just like the spectrum those three colors produce, and I figure more light isnt going to hurt; they're not very bright to begin with. I got some 26 watt 6500k spiral CF bulbs for the compact top anyway. They were cheap so I wont be too hesitant to replace them if I need to.

Do they typically sell broms like that at lowes? I've never seen them like that, only the big flowering ones. These look just like the broms I see all the time at the reptile expo in wheaton.


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## ramos93352 (Apr 8, 2008)

So II'm ordering a mysting system; The begginer one from mistking. I'm thinking about getting an extra nozzle, I feel like one might not be enough?

After I order this, some things I'd like/need:

18" CF or T5HO fixture
More plants, 1 more nice brom
Cork bark 
FF cultures and media
Supplements (Do I just need calcium? Or are there other supplements I should be aware of)


And finally, some frogs. [: These are gonna have to wait though. Need to make sure I get things right before I get my frogs this time.


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## D's Darts (Apr 8, 2009)

Your also going to need a mineral suppliment like Reptical Herptivite, multivitamins & make sure the cacium has D3, it helps them absorb the calcium.

Have fun, and Good Luck !


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## james67 (Jun 28, 2008)

D's Darts said:


> Your also going to need a mineral suppliment like Reptical Herptivite, multivitamins & make sure the cacium has D3, it helps them absorb the calcium.
> 
> Have fun, and Good Luck !


REP-CAL is different from "reptical"
ive seen a lot of this mix up recently

i would add repashy ICB as well (ive personally had great results)
james


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## ramos93352 (Apr 8, 2008)

MistKing website is down or something. :/

Should one nozzle be ok for this tank or should I get another one with it? Do these nozzles connect to the inside of the tank or will I have to make holes in the top?


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## ramos93352 (Apr 8, 2008)

So, stupid question, but how do I change the title of this thread? This exo terra is definately a 18x18x24. I hate being as absent minded as I am..


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## ramos93352 (Apr 8, 2008)

Ive been working on this slowly, but working nonetheless. I went to Scott Smith's all animal expo in wheaton and picked up some cork bark tubes/pieces and some fruit fly cultures. Got the back and ~1/2 of each side siliconed up, probably putting the great stuff on today.

I'm really stumped regarding planting the planting of this thing, and I'm not even sure if the riccia is going to grow with the height of the tank and the light. I want some of that ficus pumilia everybody seems to have, some tillisandias, and a plant or two that just grows straight up (or maybe a fern).

I'll put some pictures up in a bit.


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## ramos93352 (Apr 8, 2008)

I apologize for the photo quality. I'll start using the good camera once the tank is worthy of some decent photography ;]

The whole Tank w/the cork bark. When I GS the background, I'm planning on putting the pieces similar to how they are placed here.









Some other pieces of Manzanita I had left over from my planted tank.


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## ramos93352 (Apr 8, 2008)

Finished the background for the most part, might need to do some final touch ups. Gonna get some moss for the bottom or use the riccia, maybe a mixture of both. I really dont know what other kinds of plants to get. :/

I've decided what frogs I'm getting, I'm going with variabilis. I like the way they look a lot more than the standard imis and if i understand correctly, they can be kept communally. Is there any increased difficulty in breeding with these compared to the standard imis?


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## ramos93352 (Apr 8, 2008)

So this project is going a lot slower than I thought it would. I'm in Connecticut right now and I'm collecting a lot of different types of moss to use for this tank and future tanks. 

I also picked some up from the All Animal Expo in wheaton, along with some springtails which I seeded the tank with before I left for connecticut. I've been really tempted by all the different frogs there, including tree frogs, which I never thought I would be interested in. Sucks that they are nocturnal :/

I'd like some creeping fig and tillisandias, some upright growing plants and finally the frogs. All I NEED is the supplements before I can get them. 

I promise I'll get some pictures when I get back home. Hopefully the sitter has been misting it enough :/


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## ramos93352 (Apr 8, 2008)

Finaly a full, completed tank shot; any suggestions? I'm thinking maybe something in the right corner, and I'd like to find some creeping fig or something to cover some of the back. Pretty proud of my first viv from scratch.


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## D3monic (Feb 8, 2010)

Turned out pretty sweet. Love all the moss.


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## carola1155 (Sep 10, 2007)

Looks great, the background turned out really nice.

I would definitely get something for the foreground area or your frogs will end up just staying in the back of the tank all the time. It'll also help give the tank a little more depth.

Keep up the good work.


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## Ulisesfrb (Dec 8, 2008)

ramos93352 said:


> Finaly a full, completed tank shot; any suggestions? I'm thinking maybe something in the right corner, and I'd like to find some creeping fig or something to cover some of the back. Pretty proud of my first viv from scratch.


 It turned out really nice. You could probably plant something on the bottom to grow as a layer for the frogs to hide and some leaf litter. I know it will take some of the area of the moss, but will help the frogs a lot. Maybe the leafy plant could be on the left of the tank and a spot with leaf litter on the right and the moss in the middle. As far as frogs, I really recommend the R. Variabilis. They are bold (at least for me), the male has a nice call, and you can keep them in a group. A 1.2 Varaderos would also be nice.


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## ramos93352 (Apr 8, 2008)

Well depending on whethwer I want to deal with shipping or not, I'm going to be getting tarapotos or the variabilis. I'll be getting three of either.
Do you really think the leaf litter would make that much of a difference? I hate the way that looks compared to moss. I am still looking for some mid-ground plants though.


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## frogparty (Dec 27, 2007)

super nice! I really like it


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## frogfreak (Mar 4, 2009)

You did an excellent job for your first viv. It looks great. 

Leaf litter would be beneficial to your microfauna and frogs. You will also enjoy watching them poking around in it for food.


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## Ulisesfrb (Dec 8, 2008)

ramos93352 said:


> Well depending on whethwer I want to deal with shipping or not, I'm going to be getting tarapotos or the variabilis. I'll be getting three of either.
> Do you really think the leaf litter would make that much of a difference? I hate the way that looks compared to moss. I am still looking for some mid-ground plants though.


That's how I felt when I started too. I really liked the look of the moss, and to be honest I still like it more than the leaf litter even though it doesn't look like their natural habitat. My moss wasn't doing so great, so I decided to add some leaf litter. Not a lot, but some on the back so that they could hide if they wanted to. That's where they go when they wan't to hide now. That's also where I feed them, because the supplements, specially the calcium, will kill the moss. So I would recommend to put just a little bit all the way on the back and use it as your feeding station. This way you can prevent the calcium from falling on the moss. You can also put some plants on the substrate to add a layer of hiding spots.


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## ramos93352 (Apr 8, 2008)

So. What are some nice looking mid-ground plants that I could place here? I'd like one in that empty spot in front of the cork bark slab on the left side, and maybe the right in front of the bark tube. If I do that, I'll leave the area around it bare and put some leaves there.


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## dendro-dude (Jan 25, 2010)

pothos?

All I can think of... 

It looks great BTW!!!


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## ramos93352 (Apr 8, 2008)

I really appreciate all your guys' compliments. Like I said I'm really proud of this tank [:

So looks like things will be changing a bit with this tank, but not too much,. I want to add those few necessities while keeping the look I have.


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## Julio (Oct 8, 2007)

sweet viv Ramos, love the lush green moss


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## ramos93352 (Apr 8, 2008)

Thanks Julio. I'm curious why more people don't use moss as a foreground in their tanks.

I should be getting the frogs tomorow, three limbo line tarapoto imitators. Didn't end up going with the variabilis; These guys are local so it's a lot easier, and they are what I had actually originally planned for.


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## ramos93352 (Apr 8, 2008)

Got the frogs, 3 Limbo Line Tarapoto Imitators. Let me tell you, I'm more than impressed. I know its only been a few hours but they're out and about, and I'm almost always seeing all three of them. There is one especially that has some really nice color and is out all the time; I got some pretty nice pictures of him that I'll post in a bit.

A big thanks to member Auroteania on here. Thanks for all your help and for some great frogs.


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## ramos93352 (Apr 8, 2008)

Some pictures of my favorite little guy so far. Really nice blue legs with some brilliant yellow/orange coloring on the body. He's all around the place in my viv.


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## Devanny (Jul 11, 2008)

I'm jealouse!, that little guy looks great.


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## Ulisesfrb (Dec 8, 2008)

Congrats Ramos. Beautiful frog. I also stopped by Chris' today.


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## ramos93352 (Apr 8, 2008)

Man. I'm more impressed with these guys than I though I would be. I heard thumbs were skittish; these guys are always out. I woke up to find one on the front glass, one rummaging through the patch of leaf litter I added, and one hunting some FFs on the moss. I snapped some more pictures; I have a feeling I'll be taking waaaay too many pictures of these guys.

My dad likes them a lot more than he thought he would too. His original complaint with the thumbs was "You're spending so much money for these little things you'll never see!". They proved him wrong. haha


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## ramos93352 (Apr 8, 2008)

Just some new shots from this morning. These guys are really fun to photograph. Got some of the other two today as well; I had to edit one of the shots cause it was a bit dark, I apologize for the poorer quality.

Almost perfect pattern on this one, nice body shape too.









Belly shot









The 3rd frog









And I just really liked this picture. 









Enjoy [:


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## edwing206 (Apr 9, 2008)

Great looking frogs and tank!
He just looks so happy in that last pic, .


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## ramos93352 (Apr 8, 2008)

So I woke up the other day to find that frog that I have taken the majpority of pictures of dead, and another one in convulsions. Third one is still alive, eating very well and doing fine, but I'm returning him in his best interest and getting rid of the tank. Maybe I'll set one back up in a few months when I move, but as of right now I'm really turned off to the idea of keeping any more of these frogs. Which sucks, cause I really enjoyed them for the short amount of time I had them.


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## frogface (Feb 20, 2010)

Oh no! I'm so sorry to hear that


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## ramos93352 (Apr 8, 2008)

ther frog in the third photo from my last set of pictures is the one that is still alive.


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## Topete (Sep 27, 2009)

ramos93352 said:


> So I woke up the other day to find that frog that I have taken the majpority of pictures of dead, and another one in convulsions. Third one is still alive, eating very well and doing fine, but I'm returning him in his best interest and getting rid of the tank. Maybe I'll set one back up in a few months when I move, but as of right now I'm really turned off to the idea of keeping any more of these frogs. Which sucks, cause I really enjoyed them for the short amount of time I had them.


 That is a rel bummer when i first started, i was skeptical of buying thumbs because i figured they where more expensive and more difficult.. I started with 2 leucs and now i have over 20.. all doing fine. I did loose one of my InferAlanis and it was due to escape (light vent not sealed) by now i have been doing ok and learned from that particular mistake.

so don't be bummed out! they are in fact easier than most pets and i alwasy feed daily with calcium and vitamin.

i kept temps in the 70 to 72 throughout winter..i am still not as experienced as most but if you need tips, pm me!


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## Peter Keane (Jun 11, 2005)

Always sad to hear of this... Were your plants store bought?... Beautiful vivarium set up.. Peter Keane


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