# Need the help of a wise person.



## Conman3880 (Jul 8, 2007)

I recently won a fair sum of money in a fishing tournament- all of which will be going into my dart frog hobby. But I dont know what I should do. Should I...

...1. Construct my own 100gal tank

2. Buy a variety of tanks at Petco's 1$/gallon sale

or 3. Use it to buy frogs for tanks I already have.

I'm really stuck here. I'm leaning towards constructing a 100gal, but then again, I could buy a couple decent sized tanks & get more frog space out of the deal. What do you guys think?


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## Mywebbedtoes (Jul 2, 2007)

Well this seems to be stressing you out a lot! So, in my wisdom, I think you should relieve your burden to me. I am prepared to shoulder the stress for you, it will take a lot, but I am willing.

In seriousness, I think there are not enough larger tanks in the hobby. I would go big, or do two mid size ones (50-75 gallon maybe). Do something that won’t just expand your frog collection, but something that expands the quality of your collection.


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## Dancing frogs (Feb 20, 2004)

Which would you prefer, a 100 gallon chunk of rainforest, and one species, or a bunch of smaller ones and more variety?

If it were me, I think I'd go with a couple of 29's and 20H's


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## vortexofhate (Jul 23, 2007)

If it was me...

I'd go with a 100g tank and section it off into multiple different sections. You can make it look like one giant chunk of rain forest which I personally love the look of and you will still be able to keep multiple frogs in it.

My next project is actually getting 100g and splitting it off into 3 sections.

Jason


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## Conman3880 (Jul 8, 2007)

Considering I'm still fairly new to the hobby, I'll probably end up keeping the frog collection low & go for the 100gal. I'm still totally open to suggestion though =P


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## a hill (Aug 4, 2007)

I would vote for a tank rack, then once its all filled up with frogs and you've got eggs you can always trade for more frogs, and do other things!

I'm not wise though...

-Andrew

ps. Congrats on the winnings!


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## Jungle_John (Feb 19, 2007)

i would get a wire rack and 3 40gal breeders. that way you can have 3 nice size tanks all on a rack. make all 3 for show and right now you can get the 40 for 40$ istead of 130$. id do 40 because the 50gal i dont think fit as good. but thats me. thats 3 nice size tanks with 3 frog type and 3 diffrent tanks to get 3 looks from. i like to look at all my frogs but have somthing they live in also looking nice.


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## tyler (Feb 23, 2006)

Really depends on what you want. Many will choose the rack system, others will choose the large vivarium. If you think you're handy enough to create something really nice, I'd go for the large tank. You really can't go wrong here, as the outcome should be nice either way.

100gal gets my vote!


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## GSXR_MURRHEE (Sep 16, 2006)

I just recently bought a 155 gal bowfront in the hopes of making a big tank, and now I'm looking to sell it. After I bought the thing I started to think about other stuff like: do I really have space for this thing, money to set it up(tops, plants, soil, driftwood,etc) what if I have to move (big tanks aren't light and it can be hard to sucker people to help move sometimes lol). Plus I can sometimes hardly find my frogs in my 75 gal I just redid. I'd go for a couple of smaller good sized tanks, like 50 gal or so, set 'em up nice and get a few more frogs. Hope that helps.

Sean


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## zBrinks (Jul 16, 2006)

Id go with 100gal and stick some tricolors in it.


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## costaricalvr12 (Oct 5, 2006)

Depends on what your interested in with pdf's, breeding or keeping. If you are interested in breeding (not for buisness), I'd go with a rack of a few 40g breeders. If you like just keeping, go for the 100g. IMO, I'd go with the 40g breeders. But, hey, it's up to you, either way will make for a beautiful viv.


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## OneTwentySix (Nov 11, 2004)

Instead of sectioning a very expensive 100 gallon tank into seperate systems that still allow disease and parasite transmission, why not buy 5 20Hs and stick them together on a rack, etc? And if you don't want many species, why not buy several different bloodlines of one species, etc?


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## Herperboy (Jan 9, 2007)

I would say get a nice sized bowfront. Maybe a 72 gal...i think that is one of the sizes that they come in.


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## Conman3880 (Jul 8, 2007)

OneTwentySix said:


> Instead of sectioning a very expensive 100 gallon tank into seperate systems that still allow disease and parasite transmission, why not buy 5 20Hs and stick them together on a rack, etc? And if you don't want many species, why not buy several different bloodlines of one species, etc?


If I go with the 100gal, I will NOT be sectioning it off. Nor will I mix species. I just think that ruins the point =P

And bowfronts just never really did it for me. I dont think they're worth it.


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## Jungle_John (Feb 19, 2007)

Conman3880 said:


> OneTwentySix said:
> 
> 
> > Instead of sectioning a very expensive 100 gallon tank into seperate systems that still allow disease and parasite transmission, why not buy 5 20Hs and stick them together on a rack, etc? And if you don't want many species, why not buy several different bloodlines of one species, etc?
> ...


couldnt said better myself


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## daemonfly (Dec 6, 2006)

If you have the room, I would go with the 100g. Tons of room for the frogs, and more room for plants, so it won't always look "overgrown" like smaller tanks can.

I'd rather keep a few more frogs in a bigger tank, than just 2-3 in a small tank. I'm sure frogs don't live and stay in a ~12x12 area in the wild.


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## Dancing frogs (Feb 20, 2004)

Also, it doesn't have to be all one way or another (but that's up to you).

I highly suggest starting out with a small cheap tank...perhaps even a ten, just to try things, and get a feel for the process.
Trust me, a large tank is neither cheap to set up, and takes some time as well...and if you get it all together, and wish you'd done something different, it's that much more work and $ to redo it.


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## Conman3880 (Jul 8, 2007)

I've had my fair share of do's and dont's in vivarium making. I'm up for a challenge =]

But I assume setting up multiple smaller tanks would be just as expensive as setting up one big one. Not to mention frog prices!

I'm currently working on my 2nd dart viv, so this one would be my 3rd (or my 3rd, 4th and 5th depending on which route I go). I'm still totally stuck. I need to make my mind up!!


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## sports_doc (Nov 15, 2004)

Conman3880 said:


> I've had my fair share of do's and dont's in vivarium making. I'm up for a challenge =]
> 
> But I assume setting up multiple smaller tanks would be just as expensive as setting up one big one. Not to mention frog prices!
> 
> I'm currently working on my 2nd dart viv, so this one would be my 3rd (or my 3rd, 4th and 5th depending on which route I go). I'm still totally stuck. I need to make my mind up!!


Perhaps you cant make up your mind b/c neither decision is the right one, right now.

Hold the money aside. Use it as opportunities arise. Dont let it burn a hole in your pocket and be wasted on a quick decision. Or someone else's decision that convinced you. 

You realize people change interests, change hobby's, ect. You'll have a 100 gal 1/2 ton monster stuck in your living room. So heavy no-one will be able to move it, or want it for that matter. Always have an exit strategy. Go slow.

Best,

S


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## Conman3880 (Jul 8, 2007)

I like that advice, Shawn. Money is tempting, isnt it?


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## booboo (Jan 22, 2005)

If you already have other tanks setup, you could always use the money to buy some showy plants and spiff up the tanks and then get some new frogs. Then you could have pretty tanks as well as new frogs and enjoy what you have, thats what I did... but what I do isnt for everyone I suppose just an idea.


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## bbrock (May 20, 2004)

I wish more people would go through this exercise Conner. I applaud you for really thinking this through. Anyone who has been in this hobby for a long time as seen way too many collections crash because people obtained too many frogs and vivaria without realizing their own limitations.

I do think holding off is probably the best choice. If you really had to spend the money, I would hands down opt for the large vivarium. After 13 years in the hobby, I still spend 80% of my frog watching time staring at my one large 100 gallon vivarium. There is so much more to see in there than just the frogs. And the frogs are much, much, more interesting to watch when given elbow room. I can confidently say that I have learned much more about keeping PDF and designing vivaria from this one vivarium than all of my other tanks combined. There are many other forms of "variety" in this hobby than just the number of species.


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## AccidentalChef (Jun 29, 2007)

If this is your first tank, I'd definitely start with something smaller. You'll learn so much from it that you could do a much better job on your second or third viv. With such a big tank to start with you'd probably really regret all the little mistakes you made and want to tear it out and start over. Maybe just build a 20 gallon viv or two to learn how to do things, then save up a little cash and go for the 100. I'd rather watch one species of frog that have a lot of room to climb around and interact than ten different species that were in too small of a vivarium. If the frogs do well in groups, you could keep a pretty good sized breeding colony. With a big enough tank, even some species that can normally only be kept in pairs might do well in a small group.


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## Conman3880 (Jul 8, 2007)

If I went for the 100gal, I would like it to be home to a group of leucs, maybe tricolors. I currently keep auratus, and I dont think they're very exciting to watch. I should say "theyre vivarium isnt very exciting to watch" :roll:


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## davefan13 (Jun 14, 2007)

depending on how much money you won, you could get an awesome rack. i know that there is one around here that is finished nicely with wood. it hold 10 vivs i believe, and looks fantastic. 

so . . . . a rack gets my vote

second goes to the 100. i would maybe try to get some more expensive/interesting frogs, though. 

another thing that you could do is a paudlarium. they always look fantastic when done correctly and in a big enough tank. gives diversity with the rainforest/river effect.

but it is really up to you . . . have fun!


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## Conman3880 (Jul 8, 2007)

IMO, "expensive" doesnt make a frog "interesting". I like leucs, and I think they would be very entertaining in a tank that large.

I like the idea of a rack, but I dont know if I'll want that many frogs. I'm safely going to say, at this moment, if anything, I'll go for the 100.

But I dont know how to go about building a tank that large... So we'll see how it works out.


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## brettlt (Oct 5, 2006)

I would go for the 100. I love large tanks. Leucs are totally awesome, never a bad choice.

You could always buy a 100 gallon, or close to, tank. You do not have to make it.


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## Conman3880 (Jul 8, 2007)

Buying a 100 gallon costs upwards of 350$.

I can build one for about 250$.

Are tanks tricky to build? Do any of you reccomend investing into a commercial 100? I'd rather have it be reliable than cheap.


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## brettlt (Oct 5, 2006)

You might try looking at other vendors. Greatlakesaquariums.com has 3 different shaped 100 gallon aquariums ranging from $160 to $260, and a 125 gallon for $190.
Glasscages.com has a 100 gallon for $275.

That sounds cheaper than you can make one.


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## Conman3880 (Jul 8, 2007)

But I havent found a website that will ship a tank directly to a residential address. That would be convienient.

But I'll be looking into GreatLakesAquariums... What a deal!!!


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## KeroKero (Jun 13, 2004)

My whole collection is currently taking residence on two 48" racks... and no, not stuffed full of frogs! I recently bought the second rack to allow me to have the room for the tanks being put together or being grown out for frogs. When I moved in May, I decided to move the frogs around and finally get my projects going, and really set up some of this stuff nice. I'm currently working on a front opeing 40g breeder tank and a 65g "show" tank (or as much of a show tank as I'm willing to do). I've got the majority of my frogs broken up into 10g and 15" cubes... I don't like it. I keep my frogs in groups, and a big part of that is to watch the interactions. The more frogs you have, the more work you have to maintain them... I do more work with the food than the frogs! A large tank involves a LOT of work and time to start it up, but after that... a tank like brent's does a lot of work itself. I hope my 65 turns out half as nice as brent's has (and as long lasting). I'm hoping it will be an interesting tank to watch (altho it looks like I may be putting in a relatively shy species... we'll see how it goes!).


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## Jungle_John (Feb 19, 2007)

if you go with a 100gal i would suggest buying it from a retailer. for the little price diffrence the trouble isnt worth it. also if a tank come in broken from a retailer they replace it. if you breack glass building one... well you got to replace it.
good luck , i wish i could get a very big tank. -JC


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## bbrock (May 20, 2004)

Conman3880 said:


> Buying a 100 gallon costs upwards of 350$.
> 
> I can build one for about 250$.
> 
> Are tanks tricky to build? Do any of you reccomend investing into a commercial 100? I'd rather have it be reliable than cheap.


If you are unsure of your skills or the design you want, I would invest the money in a good front opening vivarium from a reputable manufacturer/vendor. Designing your own for the first time is an experiment at best and a large viv is a pretty expensive way to experiment. Only build your own if you really want the challenge of building something yourself, or if you have a specific design you know will work. With a good manufacturer, you get a well tested design and excellent craftsmanship that you won't have to spend a bunch of money retrofitting to fix problems later.


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