# Start of my 55gal rainforest



## Darts/Mantellas.by.P3RRY (Feb 1, 2011)

So as the title says Im starting construction on my 55gal I will be planting it with different frens and broms. and various vines and small plants oh yes and plenty of moss. Hopefully a good working water feature and false bottom. A solid t5 fish light. Not sure what im gonna put in it yet mantellas or darts????? hmmmmm


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## Darts/Mantellas.by.P3RRY (Feb 1, 2011)

Heres where im at so far, dont get much time to work on this so I have to rush it when i actually have the time....


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## gretchenellie (Aug 7, 2007)

mantella's would look awesome in there....


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## Darts/Mantellas.by.P3RRY (Feb 1, 2011)

I agree mantellas would look awsome but honestly I want to expand my collection i have been looking into some Mint terriblis or something more exotic I would like to get a group of 4 to 5 for breeding purposes. 

Also on a side note I wanna make sure the type of silcone Im using is ok its called 1-hour Shower ready with a 10 year mold resistence? Hopefully cause I already used it with soil to coat the background!


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## zBrinks (Jul 16, 2006)

I would not use any silicone that is advertised as 'mold resistant'. Many times, arsenic is added as a mold inhibitor. I've used GE Silicone II window/door for years without any issues.


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## Darts/Mantellas.by.P3RRY (Feb 1, 2011)

Ahhh shit man I already used it I figured if it was for a shower it should be ok? damn I cant really take it off now could I coat over it with another type of silicone like that GE cause I need to do spot touch up anyways...Stuff is really fumey like burnin my eyes and nostrils when I was applying it...


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## Darts/Mantellas.by.P3RRY (Feb 1, 2011)

Ok so I read the info on it doesnt contain arsnic but it does warn that it MAY CAUSE ADVERSE REPRODUCTIVE AND LIVER EFFECTS IN ANIMALS!!! Am I totally screwed or can I coat over it with another safer product like the GE silicone???? PLEASE ANY INFO IS GREATELY APPRECIATED!!


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## Darts/Mantellas.by.P3RRY (Feb 1, 2011)

Well due to the amount of overwhelming responses looks like Im gonna lay the GE silicone over it super thick and pray for the best...


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## Morgan Freeman (Feb 26, 2009)

Darts/Mantellas.by.P3RRY said:


> Well due to the amount of overwhelming responses looks like Im gonna lay the GE silicone over it super thick and pray for the best...


If you cover the old silicone fully this should be fine IMO.


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## Mitch (Jun 18, 2010)

I wouldn't risk it. If I were you I'd tear everything out and start over. This is why doing a lot of research on _everything_ is good to do _before_ starting the build.


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## heatfreakk3 (Oct 15, 2008)

That sucks... Yeah I'm sorry to say but if I were you I would also tear everything out and re-do it. You would be much more disappointed if you finished it and your animals died because of it.


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## Mitch (Jun 18, 2010)

heatfreakk3 said:


> That sucks... Yeah I'm sorry to say but if I were you I would also tear everything out and re-do it. You would be much more disappointed if you finished it and your animals died because of it.


Agreed, losing expensive frogs is worse then having to tear out some foam and silicone.


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## Darts/Mantellas.by.P3RRY (Feb 1, 2011)

Yea I know I shoulda made sure before I used this stuff but hell like I said I dont have the time to wait around for anwsers 95% of the time. Unfortuenly tearing it out is not an option, so Im going to buy 4 tubes of the GE silicone and just completely coat the living hell out of everything. Then It should be fine, I've talked to a few ppl they say as long as everything is fully coated the frogs should be fine.


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## highfyre (Feb 19, 2010)

Do it right the first time. You dont have frogs in there so removing it is the best option. My life experiences have taught me to never cover up a goof. Just my opinion. Good luck.


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## Darts/Mantellas.by.P3RRY (Feb 1, 2011)

OK F it man Im redoing everything, otherwise it'll be in the back of my head and slowley eat away at me well there goes half a days work.


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## highfyre (Feb 19, 2010)

Darts/Mantellas.by.P3RRY said:


> OK F it man Im redoing everything, otherwise it'll be in the back of my head and slowley eat away at me well there goes half a days work.


LOL. I understand your frustration. I had to tear out my false bottom because I biult it too low and the soil was touching the water level below the drain. My stomach turned when i noticed my error. But your doing the right thing. Plus....I honestly think biulding them is most of the fun! So look at it like you just extended the fun! GOOD LUCK!


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## heatfreakk3 (Oct 15, 2008)

Good choice. It's for the best.


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## Baltimore Bryan (Sep 6, 2006)

If you are stripping the silicone off, I've found soaking the tank in a bath of rubbing alcohol helps sometimes to make it easier for old silicone to come off. That's what I did when I had to re-silicone a reef tank. Sorry to start off the wrong way, I'm sure it will get better though!
Bryan


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## Darts/Mantellas.by.P3RRY (Feb 1, 2011)

Well looks like im shop vaccing out the tank and scraping the silicone off all night tonight. I want to honestly thank everyone fot there input I really do appreciate it. So before I start again just to double check I bought the GE brand clear silicone for windows/doors etc no mold resistance dosent have any warnings on it about animal harm so hopefully im in the clear now....


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## zBrinks (Jul 16, 2006)

I have used GE silicone II window/door for years, without any apparent issues. If you're using it to cover the background and push peat/coco into it, I would go with black or brown.


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## varanoid (Jan 21, 2011)

Just wanted to say what up from one san diegan to another. Their is a san diego frog group page on this website if you are interested.
Sorry you started off on the wrong foot. May have been able to get away with it but not worth it to kill your frogs or the stress and worry on you.


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## Darts/Mantellas.by.P3RRY (Feb 1, 2011)

Well guys Victory at last! Turns out peeling up the silicone wasnt all that bad only took me like 2.5hrs to get it all up. It also allowed me to do somethings I wanted to do before like drill holes in the pvc stands so stagnant water dosent build up in there. I also shaped the foam to look a little more like lava rock. Unfortunetly I could only find clear GE silicone Im just going to have to step it up and do a bad ass job with the coco fiber, and moss for the background....p.s. Id love to join a san diego frog group page as I look foward to meeting new people and possibly buying/trading species of dart or mantella locally.. once again thanks for the support and encouragement to "do it right the first time" everybody!


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## Darts/Mantellas.by.P3RRY (Feb 1, 2011)

Couldent wait to get off today since i spent last night preping the background so my first layer of silicone/coco fiber, needs lots of touch up mind you but starting to get there. I need to think of a stand for it now..


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## Darts/Mantellas.by.P3RRY (Feb 1, 2011)

*UPDATED: Start of my 55gal rainforest*

Well I got the false bottom in and background done. I'll be building my stand sometime today and probably start planting next week or so just letting the fumes die down...


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## Arpeggio (Jan 15, 2011)

Looking good


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## Darts/Mantellas.by.P3RRY (Feb 1, 2011)

Stand is looking good I'll be adding doors to the sides, I just got shorted a hinge and some hardware (which sucks)...next week is planting time I still want to make a screentrap for the pump so It dosent get clogged up with debris...


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## Darts/Mantellas.by.P3RRY (Feb 1, 2011)

Finished the stand got the doors hung, still waiting for those damn fumes to dissapate before I start planting.


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## Mitch (Jun 18, 2010)

Nice! Just as a suggestion... I see bare spots that weren't covered with silicone/coco fiber. Now is the only time you have a chance to cover up those spots. If I were you I'd go back and cover them up, it looks much nicer that way and you'll be thankful you did. Just my 2 cents...


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## Darts/Mantellas.by.P3RRY (Feb 1, 2011)

Yeah I prob will mitch. I still need to build a dabree trap for the water pump, and seal the top holes with screen/glass vents.


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## Arpeggio (Jan 15, 2011)

Excited to see it finished.


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## Darts/Mantellas.by.P3RRY (Feb 1, 2011)

So I got off early today and finished her up. Let me know what you all think...


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## Darts/Mantellas.by.P3RRY (Feb 1, 2011)

new inhabitants...


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## ryangreenway (Apr 30, 2010)

How much space is there between the substrate and the water? Might lower the water level if your soil starts to stay saturated, I've had that problem in one of my tanks.

And is this your first tank? It's very good!


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## frogface (Feb 20, 2010)

Nicely done! Grats!

I agree that the water might be better a little lower. Also that Ivy on the left might take over. I think that's the same stuff people have warned about. English Ivy or something like that? Roots of steel! Maybe to a quick search in the plant section to be sure. 

Looks great and nice little frog


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## ryangreenway (Apr 30, 2010)

From the looks of it I'm guessing the frog is M. madagascariensis? Or is it pulchra?


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## Darts/Mantellas.by.P3RRY (Feb 1, 2011)

Id say a solid 2 " of space between the substrate and water its decieving because the pond area is actually higher than the rest but if u shut the pump off it goes below the gravel its weird I just think the pump is powerful. Anyways Ryan you were right on your first guess and the mantellas are loving it I also moved my last pygmy into the enclosure so I guess this is going to be my Madagascar tank lol.


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## yoshi9 (Feb 15, 2011)

Hi I want a pond like yours how did you make it, what kind of pump did you use and how does the pond work?


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## every1lovesjojo (Jan 30, 2011)

That is a nice looking tank!


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## flapjax3000 (Jul 4, 2009)

The tank looks great but you left out one key part. You must have plenty of leaf litter in the tank. It provides food for microfauna, replenishes nutrients for your plants and it relieves stress by providing a place for your frogs to hide. These frogs in the wild spend most of their time hunting/hiding in leaf litter. It also creates a natural feel for your tank. I recommend Magnolia, Oak or Indian Almond leaves.


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## Darts/Mantellas.by.P3RRY (Feb 1, 2011)

Thanks all I have been meaning to get some leaf litter in there and some spring tail cultures going I need to get on joshes frogs and order up some stuff...Yoshi u need to search the False bottom building threads its really very easy to do...


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## yoshi9 (Feb 15, 2011)

Darts/Mantellas.by.P3RRY said:


> Thanks all I have been meaning to get some leaf litter in there and some spring tail cultures going I need to get on joshes frogs and order up some stuff...Yoshi u need to search the False bottom building threads its really very easy to do...


Alrighty  thanks


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## Darts/Mantellas.by.P3RRY (Feb 1, 2011)

So I got online and did some ordering from joshes Frogs which I would like to thank personally for the beautiful trio of Citronellas I got from him already eating and enjoying there cage. The shipment was perfectly on time I will honestly be doinga lot more business with these guys, couldent be happier with the service. Im also am waiting on a fruit fly culturing kit and some Indian almond leaf litter. These are offically my first dart frogs. Also a pic of the painted mantella on a brom from this morning...


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## Darts/Mantellas.by.P3RRY (Feb 1, 2011)

I plan on doing 3 more ten gallons, so I have a total of 4 in my closet for breeding pairs or trios. They all will be verts Im thinking mostly all dentros: machetos, yellow headed tincs, either some mint terribles or Sipaliwini (green)...We will see i will prob end up doing them all and more in time.


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## ryangreenway (Apr 30, 2010)

For those frogs you have listed you'll want to do horizontal tanks, they're more terrestrial than arboreal.


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## Darts/Mantellas.by.P3RRY (Feb 1, 2011)

Ryan Im going to do all 4 tanks vertical due to space... in time IM now thinking 2 20gals and 2 10gals since I have the room to do it that should give them enough room to roam around.


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## Darts/Mantellas.by.P3RRY (Feb 1, 2011)

On second thought your right Ryan, and I re-measured I can do all horizontal tanks which would save me alot of money to because I wouldent have to do vert conversions at 25 each.


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