# Completely confused on tank setup..



## Guest (Mar 23, 2005)

Ok, I'm not even to the point of selecting a frog species because i'm so confused about the false bottom and waterfall. What is the falsebottom actually used for? After it set up, is the entire bottom just used for the drainage of excess water? I don't even know where to start with the waterfalls, can I just buy a premade one. Lol, one last question do I actually need a pond type setup or will just a prebuilt waterfall be sufficient? Sorry about all the questions, I think I am making this much more complicated then it is supposed to be..... :lol:


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## dmartin72 (Oct 27, 2004)

A water feature is not at all necessary and the false bottom allows the soil to drain.


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## Guest (Mar 23, 2005)

Thanks for the quick reply! So a false bottom is just used to hold excess water that drains down their right? Does the water just sit down their afterwards untill it evaporates?


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## Arklier (Mar 1, 2004)

Most people have a water feature to cycle the water through the substrate or change the water periodically by siphoning it out.


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## Guest (Mar 23, 2005)

not to take over the post but how often is the water usually changed under the false bottom?


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## elmoisfive (Dec 31, 2004)

Froogle,

You will find that you have a wide range of choices in setting up PDF vivs. Putting aside asthetics, the basics are maintenance of humidty and temperature (and proper lighting if you are using a planted vivarium). The false bottom keeps the substrate layer from becoming saturated and plays an important role in keeping the viv healthy. A waterfall is not necessary and I have found the pre made ones (i.e. Exo Terra waterfall) to be more trouble than they are worth (the frogs loved them but they leak water all over the place). So I've opted for simple water sources as shown below:

http://www.dendroboard.com/coppermine/d ... =330&pos=0

http://www.dendroboard.com/coppermine/d ... =335&pos=7

I've found that LECA works fine as the drainage layer. As Arklier mentions, you want to keep in mind that some means of exchanging water (rather than worry about filters, I use a turkey baster to suck out the water and replace with fresh :lol: low tech but it works fine) is something to keep in mind. I'm always impressed at the amount of frog poop....the plants love it but I try to make sure they aren't polluting the water... :roll: 

My advice is to start simple and make sure that you keep your frogs healthy and hopefully happy :wink: There are plenty of good people on this board who will answer your questions whether they are simple or complex.

Bill


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## Guest (Mar 23, 2005)

Thanks for all the help........ so is their any easy way of setting up a waterfall yourself? Eveything I saw was just looking a bit to complicated for me. Also what kind of bottom do you have on your tanks? just the leca balls and then some live moss on top?


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## Guest (Mar 23, 2005)

*Forgot....*

By the way I was thinking of starting with leucomelash (spelling) Is this a good choice as a begginer? Now on to tank size....... :shock:


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## Guest (Mar 23, 2005)

Yes luecs are active easy to care for darts.


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## Guest (Mar 24, 2005)

*thanks stitch*

Alright, I have decided to keep the leucomelas mainly because of their ease of care,their boldness, and that they seem to be able to be kept in groups. If any of this is wrong make sure to correct me  , I have a 55g tank stand at my house which is the old stand for my reef. So I was thinking....... is a 55g to big for a beginner like myself or can it be done? Also how many would I beable to potentially keep?


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## Guest (Mar 24, 2005)

You are correct about leucs. If that 55 was used for reeefs make sure you clean that thing out very well i dont think the salt build up would be good for frogs or plants.

In my opinion a 55 is fine as long as you can keep the humidity up. Make sure you setup the tank and let it run for a while (a few months). This will allow you the time to make sure everything is functioning correctly. This will also give you the time to learn how to culture fruit flys for the frogs.


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## Guest (Mar 24, 2005)

I started out with a 55 gallon about a year ago. I let it run for a month or so before actually putting frogs in it. I haven't had many problems with it so far. The environment w/in the tank seems to be very conducive to breeding (auratus). I agree that leucs are good for first dart frogs. You're likely to see them a lot more than you would auratus, although I'm really happy with mine.


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## Guest (Mar 28, 2005)

*tank change*

Would a 20x10x18 tank be ok for a pair, or is 10 in too narrow?


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## Dancing frogs (Feb 20, 2004)

That would be fine.


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## elmoisfive (Dec 31, 2004)

That would work fine for a pair.

Bill


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## Guest (Mar 28, 2005)

alright sounds good!....... Now how does this sound for substrate (bottom up) --- falsebottom, screen, LECA, (screen?), sphagnum (sp?) moss

Is soil a better choice? How will plants do with just this?


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## Guest (Apr 4, 2005)

I haven't found soil to be necessary. Most tropical plants come from areas that are very nutrient-poor. Because of this, most are very efficient at absorbing nutrients through their leaves and stems in addition to their roots. The most extreme examples of this are the various lithophytes, which are plants that live on rocks. In general, however, a substrate of LECA and sphagnum moss should provide all a tropical plant needs, which is an anchor for their roots and some moisture. 

If you do find that your plants are struggling, you can try potting them up with some soil in a small pot, then hide that pot behind another feature, like a rock or some driftwood. I have a Scaphosepalum breve orchid growing in this fashion, and moss has covered the pot so that you can't see it at all. The rest of my plants are either mounted on pieces of wood or stuck in the substrate. I use fir bark instead of LECA, but otherwise it's the same as what you have proposed. I don't put a layer of screen between the sphagnum moss and the fir bark, but I do have screen between the eggcrate and the bark.

Okay, this is probably more information than you ever wanted, but one more tip: If your plants are looking unhappy, try moving them around. Different species like different amounts of light, humidity, airflow, etc., and in a vivarium, sometimes a few inches' movement can make a big difference. Good luck.


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## Guest (Apr 5, 2005)

Tsulio: thanks for the reply.....very helpful.. Now I have a 29 gallon tank and its in the process of building. No substrate yet. I got the coco fiber that came in a brick (Rep something) Is this ok to mix with the jungle mix or is the jungle mix a bad idea?


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## Arklier (Mar 1, 2004)

Jungle Mix is a good substrate. Many people here use it, including me. I mix it with other things though, such as the coco fiber, orchid bark, and long fiber spaghnum moss.


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## Guest (Apr 5, 2005)

Arklier: is the fir bark like Repti-Bark safe to use? Also the coco fiber I have is bed a beast 

For my background, how does cork bark work?


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## Guest (Apr 9, 2005)

Alright, for the substrate...... I think I am going to use a fine layer of gravel or carbon (which one?) right on top of the screen and then do about a 2 inch layer of firbark, coco fiber, and jungle mix. Does this sound good? Will to inches be a good amount?


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## Guest (Apr 11, 2005)

That sounds like it should work just fine.


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