# Buddyboy's First Vivarium Build Log



## buddyboy (Mar 22, 2013)

Decided I really wanted to own a pair of dart frogs recently and I have spent the past few weeks building my first vivarium. Learning a LOT along the way, the build process was really fun. I plan to start out with 2 Dendrobates azureus which I will hopefully be able to get at the Des Moines reptile show this weekend.

Here are some pictures of the progress.

Got a 40 gallon aquarium (18x24x36) from craigslist for $50. It wasn't in the best shape so I spent a good 4 hours removing hard water stains, all the old sand, etc...










Began to mock up a design for the Vivarium with egg crate.










Proceeded with the expanding foam method.










Began to make some cool vines for the background out of rope, 100% silicon, coco coir, and sphagnum moss.










Used Drylok with some colorant to seal up the foam after I shaped it a bit.










After a bit of painting on the drylok areas and a clay background made of Dr.Eilsey's cat litter, coco coir, sphagnum moss, and some live sheet moss, the vivarium is beginning to take shape.










After a few hours of work on the background, this is where I ended up. The substrate is coco coir with a bit of sphagnum moss, I feel like I should throw in a bit of unfertilized potting soil to add a little nutrition.


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## buddyboy (Mar 22, 2013)

Added a few plants to the vivarium. The cork bark branch in the middle is a waterfall feature. The area in the middle of the vivarium with nothing in it is going to be a very shallow pond (an inch of water maybe) with a little fogger at the bottom.

I am not entirely complete with the vivarium at this point, but I am unsure what else I should add too it. It certainly looks a bit sparse compared to some of the vivs I have seen on here. Any suggestions?


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## TheCoop (Oct 24, 2012)

Very cool and great job.. As far as soil I would only use ABG mix.. It won't breakdown and compact as fast as potting soil etc.. Great start!


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## RedEyeTroyFrog (Jan 25, 2008)

get that fogger out of there and your on your way to a great start


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## RedEyeTroyFrog (Jan 25, 2008)

Guess i should elaborate on my comment, . . .ultrasonic foggers are a bad idea IMO if the frogs can come in direct contact with the water that the USF is in or can come in contact with the USF itself, I think we as a hobby think that the ultrasonic humidifiers. . . are much more acceptable. . . there are many threads on how to build these. . . and cost only a tad bit more than the foggers. . . better results, and way safer. . . 

example:








GOOD!!








BAD!!!!!!


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## us13fox (Jan 12, 2013)

Your tank will look sparse for a while. It takes a while for it to grow out and fill in. I think you have planted it well, if you over plant you start running into continual maintenance on trimming them. Keep it up! 


Oh and welcome!


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## SDRiding (Jul 31, 2012)

Looks great, especially for a first build! Couple things I would add are some more hides like coco huts and lots of leaf litter. Your plants will start to grow in over time which will help fill it out. Some pieces of cork round can act as hides and you can put moss on top to give the fallen branch look. 

I'll echo what others have said, remove the fogger. If you need a reason why, put your finger over it while it's running.
Disclaimer: Not responsible for loss of life or limb.


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## EverettC (Mar 9, 2004)

SDRiding said:


> ...
> I'll echo what others have said, remove the fogger. If you need a reason why, put your finger over it while it's running.
> Disclaimer: Not responsible for loss of life or limb.


Totally agree except don't actually touch it . Looks great though!

Edit: I can't tell if you have the eggcrate divider that separates your water pool and the land mass covered or not. I highly recommend covering that, all you have to do is put some sort of mesh over it and you'll eliminate any potential problems that leaving it uncovered could cause.


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## buddyboy (Mar 22, 2013)

Thanks for all the comments!

I suppose I will take the USF out. Yes I will be throwing some mesh over the egg crate on the bottom there, just haven't gotten to it yet  

A few quick questions:

The clay seems a little sticky, is this going to be okay for the frogs?

I only have a single t8 fluorescent light over there right now, I think two t5's would be nice. Where do you get t5s for a reasonable price. I didn't see any at Lowes when I went. Do people normally have lights on 24/7 or 12 on 12 off kind of thing.


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## asunderco (Apr 4, 2011)

Is your T8 a 32W Daylight/Ecolux? I.e. a 6500k? The pictures look to me as if it is a 36" bulb. I say run with it. See how your plants do. Should be fine. Mist accordingly and observe. I would also stray from 24hr lighting for plant growth. And never run 24/7 with frogs in the tank. With only plants run a 18 hour on 6 hour off schedule to promote growth. Hopefully some senior members/members will chime back in with their experiences/expertise. Good luck! Take the advice given above. These guys know what they're talking about.


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## buddyboy (Mar 22, 2013)

Actually it is a 2ft 12watt 4200k T8.


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## buddyboy (Mar 22, 2013)

Added a rock feature on the left side of the vivarium, a few vines, a few real and fake rocks around the water area, some moss here and there on the clay background, and some oak leaf litter here and there. The water is a bit yellow from the oak leaves but I assume that is just a pigment thing and isn't harmful to anything. Also started to monitor temperatures and humidity, currently 93% humidity and 72 degrees. Pictures aren't the greatest, will hopefully be able to use a nicer camera some time soon. 

Might be able to tell I am doing a little work on one of the back walls.










Aerial


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## buddyboy (Mar 22, 2013)

Added a bromeliad and a moon valley Pilea. Also moved some of the ferns around as they weren't getting enough light.


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## buddyboy (Mar 22, 2013)

Made a quick light hood this weekend. Will be replacing the regular bulbs with some nice 6500k CFLs. My ferns are beggining to shrivel up, I hope it is only because they are not getting enough light (will be solved shortly). Otherwise, I would suspect it is a drainage issue. I will be adding some fir bark and charcoal to the substrate as the coco coir holds way too much moisture.


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## LordHollis (Nov 12, 2012)

Its looks amazing especially for a first try =)


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## buddyboy (Mar 22, 2013)

Replaced most of my purely coco coir substrate with Fir bark and horticulture charcoal. The purely coco coir substrate held way too much moisture. This should help a lot with the bromeliad and hopefully the ferns. I don't want things to start dying on me already.

Also got some real bulbs. LINK
These things are super bright, I hope my plants like them. I now have the lights on a timer, on at 8:30 am and off at 10:45 pm.

I am still looking for a good ultrasonic humidifier to use to fog the tank up once or twice a day. Looking to also throw a little fan somewhere at the canopy to provide a little air circulation/heat dissipation.

Spring tails and Fruit Flies will be here tomorrow!


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## Ellylove (Jan 18, 2011)

That looks fantastic, especially for a first build!!! Great job with the step by step pics too. If you don't have any critters in it yet, I highly recommend dosing the tank with CO2 (a little dry ice in a bowl of water set in the tank) to kill any bad buggies that hitch hiked on your plants and give the plants a nice boost. Good luck and looking forward to more pictures!


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## buddyboy (Mar 22, 2013)

Ellylove said:


> That looks fantastic, especially for a first build!!! Great job with the step by step pics too. If you don't have any critters in it yet, I highly recommend dosing the tank with CO2 (a little dry ice in a bowl of water set in the tank) to kill any bad buggies that hitch hiked on your plants and give the plants a nice boost. Good luck and looking forward to more pictures!


That is a great idea! Today I added some more background and vines to the right part of the vivarium. Got another bromeliad and some dry ice to gas the tank. 

Here are some pictures that are a bit better.






















































Gassing it was a pretty fun deal, makes me really want to get an ultrasonic humidifier setup going. 





































I will be uploading more photos on Tuesday when the frogs come!


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## buddyboy (Mar 22, 2013)

Well frogs came Yesterday! I got 4 Leucomelas, they are much prettier than I what I see online.

This is the first time I have had PDFs and I love them all already! Lots of fun watching them hope and climb around looking for fruit flies. 

Anyways, Here are a few pics I took. I am trying to leave them alone for the most part. I can imagine they have been through quite a bit of stress in the last day or so.

These were taken with a not so great camera. Will hopefully be able to use a nice one soon.


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## pdx (Apr 24, 2013)

I love the background! I was wondering if you could elaborate on the mixture you used to coat the eggcrate in the back and how you made it adherent?


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## cowboys22 (Mar 30, 2011)

Very nice build..my wife would kill me for using that kitchen table..but very nice..I can get my enclosure to look that good.. Guess I haven't got the knack yet


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## buddyboy (Mar 22, 2013)

pdx said:


> I love the background! I was wondering if you could elaborate on the mixture you used to coat the eggcrate in the back and how you made it adherent?


Thanks! the background is either great stuff foam that was covered with Drylok, painted, and siliconed coco fiber here and there. The majority of the background is Dr. Elsey's natural cat liter that was mix with coco fiber, sphagnum moss, and dried sheet moss. I just pushed the clay on there and it stuck very well. I put patches of coco fiber and live sheet moss randomly on the clay to make it look more natural. The only problem is that the clay is drying out a bit even though I water every day.


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## 1995sportster883 (Dec 16, 2012)

Very nice! It's very "one of a kind" it has a great look all its own!

Adam


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## buddyboy (Mar 22, 2013)

It has been a little while since I have posted an update so I figure I would do so. I recently built a new canopy for the tank which I really like. I will try to throw some new pictures up in the next couple of days. Plants and moss seem to be doing much better with the addition of the two fluorescent bulbs. All four frogs seem to be quite healthy and active, yet I have yet to begin powdering the fruit flies. I do however vary there diet with spring tails, which are now flourishing like crazy. It is fun to have built such an active and interesting ecosystem.

One have my frogs has started calling already. He was probably barely 5 months OOTW when he started calling and it sounded a little funny. His calls are sounding more pronounced now. Very beautiful and interesting animals, I love them.

A few pictures.


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## Halter (Jul 28, 2012)

Fantastic looking vivarium and frogs. Are the Leucs establishing well for you?


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