# Ch3tt's Frogroom



## ch3tt (Apr 4, 2012)

Well for the past few months i've been working on finishing a room in my basement for a frogroom! Its been a slow process, but its getting pretty close to being finished so i thought i'd share the progress. I'm in the process of designing the custom racks I'm building for the room. I can't wait to get them built, and get all my vivs moved in! Stay tuned for more updates!


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## xIslanderx (Dec 8, 2012)

Wow! ...following. Thanks for sharing.


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## SDK (Aug 11, 2014)

Wow!

That's all I really can say


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## varanoid (Jan 21, 2011)

That's what I am talking about!


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## Mohlerbear (Feb 20, 2014)

Um...subscribed!


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## mwallrath (Mar 8, 2013)

Impressive. Can't wait to see it with vivs.


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## MWAInverts (Oct 7, 2014)

Looking very nice there! So jealous 

I need a new house haha


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## ch3tt (Apr 4, 2012)

Quick update.. Material came in for the racks. Today we got it all cut and ready to weld. The plan is to weld Saturday. Will hopefully have another update this weekend!


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## xIslanderx (Dec 8, 2012)

Oooooh boy. Now I am really jealous. 
I have TIG welded a couple of my racks. I just wish I had the space you did! Looking forward to seeing how they turn out


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## ch3tt (Apr 4, 2012)

Well its been a while and life has been crazy! My wife just gave birth to our first child on the 2nd so needless to say i've been a bit busy. However i managed to slip away for half a day to day and got the frog racks all welded up and finished! The next step is just prime and paint them. 

I'm thinking i might actually pain the racks white, maybe it will give the room some good contrast when the vivs are in. Thoughts? what color would you pain them?

Here are a few pictures of the day's labors. 

These are the leveling feet we put on the bottom of each leg. This way we can adjust the racks when we get them into their final positions. 


And so it begins




Starting to take shape




Finished welding


On their way home!


In the garage, cleaned and ready for paint!


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## repking26 (Mar 12, 2012)

CONGRATS on becoming a dad! Now your PDFs will get the memo, they will see that their caretaker has produced a Humanlet and now they better get to producing some froglets haha. Fair is fair! 
And also congrats on the new frog room. I can foresee a lazy boy recliner in the center of the room so you can just sit back and marvel at the glory that are PDFs and vivs haha. I never thought I would ask another guy this, but how large are your racks haha. I ask because I was wondering how you plan on getting those into the basement haha. 

-Mo-


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## oldlady25715 (Nov 17, 2007)

that is some serious labor! lookin good for sure and great pics.


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## Nick_ (Mar 24, 2008)

Holy beautiful overkill batman! I love it! Nice racks and nice shop, very clean

Look forward to seeing them setup. Kudos on the craftsmanship.


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## Sktdvs14 (Oct 20, 2014)

WOW!!! Following this thread. This build is looking epic!!


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## frogfreak (Mar 4, 2009)

Nice work! With the charcoal grey walls what about silver?


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## Drewbacca (Apr 5, 2014)

Whoa... This looks incredible. I am now a dedicated follower to this thread!


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## kitcolebay (Apr 7, 2012)

Looks awesome Brett! I really envy you sir. I dream of the day I get a basement to work with and start from scratch. I already have a lot planned out in my head. Lol. 

The room looks great with a touch of class too it. Those racks are very nice. It really makes me miss welding. The place I used to work for allowed us to order bar stock like that at cost and have it cut to length for free. That made for a lot of nice projects. Unfortunately, I don't have access to the steel or welders anymore. You did a great job with yours and looks like you really planned them out well! 

You're doing it and doing it right! Can't wait to see more!

Congrats on the new arrival sir! Nothing like being a daddy! 

-Chris


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## ch3tt (Apr 4, 2012)

Happy New Year!! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season! Thank you all so much for the wonderful comments and support on this build. I love reading comments so keep them coming! 

Just wanted to give a quick update...

RACKS ARE IN!!!



The only thing i have left to do is source some 3/4" melamine shelving. I've been in contact with a couple cabinet shops and i think i'm going to have them cut the pieces i need. Lowe's and home depot carry it but in akward sizes and it would have cost me a small fortune in wasted pieces. 

As soon as i get the shelves in the fun begins and i get so start moving vivs into their new permanent homes.


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## Joe S (Jun 15, 2013)

Very exciting! I love how nice that room is, I seriously wish my basement critter room was finished and looked that nice!


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## rigel10 (Jun 1, 2012)

Great job! I can't wait to see your frogroom with tanks and frogs!


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## Luke-O-Melas (Dec 20, 2014)

This room is simultaneously insane and totally awesome! Keep up the great work and I expect that a person with such skill and patience in construction will be as successful with the husbandry and breeding of these gems.


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## ch3tt (Apr 4, 2012)

Well i picked up the melamine shelving from the cabinet shop last night, they were all cut perfectly and dropped right into place! I think it turned out awesome and can't wait to start moving things in. 




I still have a few things to do/figure out. I need to figure out how i'm going to mount my led lights over the tanks. I use the 20W Grow & Glow Led bulbs and absolutely love them. The other thing i need to figure out it how to heat the room, i've got a heat run in the room but it is still a bit colder than the rest of the house. i'm thinking of a oil filled radiator type heater on a thermostat, anyone have any success with these or have any other good ideas? The mist king has been ordered and will be installing that soon as well. 

I liked the look of the racks so much that i decided to make a work table/desk to add to the room also


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## zonz540 (Feb 8, 2012)

I use an oil radiator in my frogroom. It keeps right around 72/65 and doesn't create hot spots in the room.


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## ngeno626 (Nov 14, 2013)

1 word - envy! looks awesome - i can only hope one day ill have a set up like that


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## SteppingStones (Dec 30, 2013)

Looks great! If only my reptile room looked this nice lol. Can't wait to see updates!


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## ch3tt (Apr 4, 2012)

well i finally got most of my vivs moved in to there new spots! I have some 12x12x18's that i'm going to put up on the top row but haven't had a chance to move them over yet. This is certainly not the final layout of the vivs but hey, they are in! I'm still working on a way to mount the leds to the rack so i can get them up off the vivs. Also all the vivs on the bottom row are going down the road soon, i'm switching everything over to exo vivs to keep things cohesive. 

More to come soon! 





Decided to put the 100 gallon on the desk in front of where the computer will go.


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## Brady (Oct 9, 2008)

*Looks amazing!*

When do I get to come see it in person? Would be great to catch up!


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## frogpecker (Mar 20, 2013)

Just stumbled across your post. Awesome. So much planning. But it came all together wonderfully and the execution is grandiose. You realized everybody's dream. 

That leaves the rest of us frog-green with envy. 

Cheers to you and keep this post going.


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## ch3tt (Apr 4, 2012)

you are welcome anytime!


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## FroggyKnight (Mar 14, 2013)

Wow, I'm a little lost for words! That rack is awesome and it will be even more stunning once you move more exos in. 

I love the 100g! What is the tall plant in the left of the tank?

John


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## peiji (Sep 16, 2014)

looks even better in person.


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## ch3tt (Apr 4, 2012)

Thank you all for the very kind words! Froggyknight, the plant is some type of brom, i'm not sure exactly what it is. 

Well I decided to play around with my new macro lens and ring flash and thought i would share a few of my favorites. I plan on doing detailed photos of each viv and its occupants but for now, enjoy!

Azureus


Yellow Terribilis 


Cristobal


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## ch3tt (Apr 4, 2012)

well its been a while since i've updated this thread, i've made some progress and i feel like its coming together nicely. I'm in the process of (slowly) switching all my vivs over to exo's in order to give the room a clean cohesive feel. I've still got a few things in tubs which i really don't like, they will make it to vivs soon. I'm switching out all my 12x12x18's on the top row to 18x18x18, i feel like the 12x12x18 is just too small even for a pair of thumbs. anyway, let me know what you think, i'm always open to suggestions. Thanks!


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## lochanrk (Mar 7, 2015)

Love the attention to detail that went into this build! Awesome work!!


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## Punjab (Apr 30, 2014)

This looks great!
My only recommendation would be to find a way to mount the lights under the shelves instead of setting them on cups.


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## ch3tt (Apr 4, 2012)

Thanks lochanrk! Punjab, i definitely agree its definitely a temporary situation. I've got a buddy who is getting a 3d printer delivered in the next few weeks and i plan on designing a cool way to mount the lights out of the way. I agree the cups look lame, but a good short term fix.


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## L8apex (May 2, 2014)

FroggyKnight said:


> Wow, I'm a little lost for words! That rack is awesome and it will be even more stunning once you move more exos in.
> 
> I love the 100g! What is the tall plant in the left of the tank?
> 
> John


It's a bilbergia casa Blanca, someone forgot to give him a plant list...


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## rigel10 (Jun 1, 2012)

Very nice frogroom, clean and tidy. I like it!


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## Tykie (Mar 22, 2015)

Brett, 

That Frog Room is awesome, 1st class all the way. My Frog Room goes into construction on April 11, 2015. If you have any Suggestions for me please tell me. 

Thanks Again for the pair of MINT TERRIBILIS they are doing great. 

Mike (Tykie)


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## ch3tt (Apr 4, 2012)

Cleaned the frog room today and thought I would share an updated pic. My buddies at Custom Tropical Ecos built 6 new vivs for me a couple months ago and i'm very happy with how they turned out. The racks are slowly starting to fill up. I've got 2 vivs in the process of being built and 3 empty ones i'll be starting soon. 

Let me know what you think!


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## Encyclia (Aug 23, 2013)

Really nice work, here. Ch3tt. I love the stands. I have found that having something welded can be worth the extra cost to get just what I want. Great job.

Mark


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## Holdway (Jan 26, 2015)

Looks AWESOME!!!
The exo's was a good choice. I like how everything has a flow to it.


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## Drewbacca (Apr 5, 2014)

Very classy look! I'm loving the way this is turning out for you!!! "One day" I keep telling myself... "One day." 

Cheers!
-Drew


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## rigel10 (Jun 1, 2012)

Re-reading your thread, I can only appreciate again the good job you have done! Keep us updated!


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## ch3tt (Apr 4, 2012)

Quick Update:

I finally got around to installing my Mistking system. I wish i would have done this much sooner, this thing is pretty slick!! Not much to see, but here are a few pics of the process and how it turned out. 




Luckily the rest of my basement is unfinished so i was able to run my RO line from my unit right into my 45 gallon garbage can thats in my tadpole closet. the garbage can has a float valve so it automatically tops off after water is used. Just below half way down is the line that runs to the mistking pump. This way i just had to run the 3/8 line through one wall and into the manifolds. 


I decided to go with the manifold system because i wanted to be able to individually control if each tank is getting misted. I haven't got them yet (in the mail) but i have a shut off valve for each line that runs off the manifold. That way I am able to simulate a dry season by simply turning the valve off for that particular viv. As you can see i have a little cleaning up to do. I am going to mount the manifolds and clean up the tubing to make it look nice. 



This is the not-so-finished product. I've only had it running for about a week but its been extremely nice to have setup. I would highly recommend getting one!


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## rigel10 (Jun 1, 2012)

Very nice! I see you have two Exos on the right rack. Why do not put them next to each other on the front rack? They look to me to be of the same size.


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## ch3tt (Apr 4, 2012)

They are 12x12x18's. The top shelf doesn't have enough room for 24 tall, except for a few spots on the back rack. I think I'll eventually switch those out for 18 cubes. I don't like the 12x12x18's too small.


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## ch3tt (Apr 4, 2012)

I did some cleaning in the frogroom today and though i'd post an updated photo, enjoy!


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## pdfCrazy (Feb 28, 2012)

If thers one thign I love to see, its a nice, organized, smooth, clean frogroom. Good job!


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## holmarie (Nov 30, 2015)

Wow, when I saw 'frogroo', this isn't what I was expecting. Beautiful room though!


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## ch3tt (Apr 4, 2012)

Thanks guys, i really appreciate it. Its definitely still a work in progress but i'm happy with how its coming along. In the next couple months i plan on doing a much more in depth look at each viv and its inhabitants. I'm also planning on doing a series of videos, including video updates of the room. 

I'm curious what you were expecting Holmarie?


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## Frogsarefun (Nov 25, 2015)

Fantastic frog room!
I'm new to dart frogs, so this may sound dumb, but are the plastic tubs on top all springtails cultures?


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## erikm (Oct 1, 2015)

I'm guessing those are grow out tubs for froglets or quarantine tubs for new arrivals.



Frogsarefun said:


> Fantastic frog room!
> I'm new to dart frogs, so this may sound dumb, but are the plastic tubs on top all springtails cultures?


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## ch3tt (Apr 4, 2012)

Ericm is correct, they are grow out tubs for froglets.


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## JoshArnold (Aug 24, 2015)

Hey Ch3tt, I'm in Ogden and just getting into the hobby. Your frog room is amazing! I saw you had some thumbnail frogs for sale in the fall in the marketplace thread. Do you still have any for sale?


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## Erikb3113 (Oct 1, 2008)

Curious, did not see any nozzles prior to mistking post. Did you pre drill and plug? Or did you have to drill on occupied tanks?

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## Erikb3113 (Oct 1, 2008)

Looks awsome by the way

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## Reding E (Sep 20, 2010)

Your frog room is coming together nice and organized.I wish I had a room that size. I was wondering where you got the manifolds?And did you put drains in?
Again good job, this gives a lot of people an idea of how a good frog room should look like.


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## ch3tt (Apr 4, 2012)

I apologize its been a while since i've updated or answered any questions. 

Ericb- I just poked a hole in the screen and put the misting nozzle through that. 

Reding E- I got the manifold directly from mistking, it works awesome and i'm getting ready to order one more because i'm out of spots. None of my tanks have drains, i just manually drain with turkey baster once a month or so.


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## ch3tt (Apr 4, 2012)

Had the opportunity to host a get together at my home last weekend to teach the Wasatch Marine Aquarium Society all about keeping frogs! We had a great turn out and people were fascinated. I raffled off 2 pairs of frogs with all proceeds going to Tesoros, I will be making that donation in WMAS's name this week. This was a great excuse to clean and organize the frog room so I thought I'd share an updated pic. Thanks WMAS!



Also i've never posted a species list but here it is. 

Oophaga Histrionics Bullseye
Oophaga Sylvatica Paru
Oophaga Pumilio Bastimento
Ranitomeya FG Ventrimaculata 
Ranitomeya RED Ventrimaculata
Ranitomeya Benedicta Shucushuyacu 
Ranitomeya Fantastica Nominal
Ranitomeya Imitator Tarapoto
Ranitomeya Variabilis Southern
Ranitomeya Imitator Varadero
Ranitomeya Vanzolinii
Dendrobates Tinctorius Azureus
Dendrobates Tinctorius Powder Grey
Dendrobates Tinctorius Alanis
Dendrobates Tinctorius Robertus
Dendrobates Tinctorius Green Sipaliwini
Dendrobates Tinctorius Patricia 
Dendrobates Tinctorius Koetari River
Dendrobates Tinctorius Bakhuis
Dendrobates Tinctorius Fine Spot Leucomela
Dendrobates Tinctorius Cobalt
Dendrobates Tinctorius Oyapok
Dendrobates Tinctorius Standard Leucomela


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## C los7 (Sep 24, 2015)

Impressive!


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## Mildster (Jun 3, 2013)

Nice! Appretiate the update and I like the clean look. I however see that you may fit yet another couple of tanks in there ;-) Go for it!

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## Y0urbestfriend (Jan 31, 2014)

Some high quality pics of each individual tank maybe?? or a video tour? that would be awesome


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## aguila_rapax (Jan 6, 2011)

Verry nice project!


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## Fingolfin (Jan 31, 2016)

Very impressive list! 


Ps. Leucs are not tincs 

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## ch3tt (Apr 4, 2012)

Thank you all for your kind words!

Mildster- Funny you mention that, i just ordered 8 more vivs to fill out the racks yesterday 

Y0urbestfriend- Very good suggestion, i'be been meaning to do that for a long time, i just haven't gotten around to it. 

Fingolfin- Lol good call, i got a little trigger happy with the copy and paste.


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## ch3tt (Apr 4, 2012)

well I've been meaning to do this for quite some time but i finally got around to taking some pics of the individual vivs this evening. 

Keep in mind some of these are a work in progress and some of these could use a good trimming. Photos really don't do most of these justice because its hard to see the hard scape, but you get the idea.

Enjoy!

Ranitomeya Variabilis Southern


Dendrobates Tinctorius Cobalt


Dendrobates Fine Spot Leucomela
An old viv, i just ripped most the plants out and am going to replant, i just haven't done it yet. 


Ranitomeya Fantastica Nominal
Newly replanted. 


Ranitomeya Benedicta Shucushuyacu


Dendrobates Tinctorius Bakhuis


Dendrobates Tinctorius Koetari River


Dendrobates Tinctorius Patricia


Dendrobates Tinctorius Azureus


An Empty, I had a group of Santa Isabel's in it. Im having snail issue with this tank so until i get that straitened out it will remain empty. 


Dendrobates Tinctorius Green Sipaliwini


Dendrobates Tinctorius Robertus


Dendrobates Tinctorius Alanis


Ranitomeya FG Ventrimaculata


Ranitomeya RED Ventrimaculata


Dendrobates Tinctorius Powder Grey


Dendrobates Tinctorius Oyapok


Dendrobates Standard Leucomela


Oophaga Sylvatica Paru


Ranitomeya Vanzolinii


Ranitomeya Imitator Tarapoto
Brand new, as you can see i'm still working on planting. 


Oophaga Pumilio Bastimento
Brand new, still planting. 


Oophaga Histrionics Bullseye
100 Gallon Exo


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## aguila_rapax (Jan 6, 2011)

Looking great! Nice variation in species and well decorated tanks suitable for their inhabitants! 
The pic's of the Tinc. Bakhuis and Koetari River are the same picture 

Greatings from Holland!


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## baskis (Jun 7, 2015)

This is nuts. So so cool. I noticed you had a picture of some yellow terribs on the first page, do you still have them?


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## ch3tt (Apr 4, 2012)

Thanks! Sorry for the goof up on the duplicate photos. 

I don't have the yellows anymore, I sold them to a buddy. He probably has some froglets if you're looking.


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## baskis (Jun 7, 2015)

ch3tt said:


> Thanks! Sorry for the goof up on the duplicate photos.
> 
> I don't have the yellows anymore, I sold them to a buddy. He probably has some froglets if you're looking.


Okay awesome. It'll be pretty far in the future but those are what my next build is for. I might have to message you some time and get his name


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## erikm (Oct 1, 2015)

Amazing collection!


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## sbye (Nov 10, 2009)

Great job! This makes me want to get back into the hobby again


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## beav9900 (May 23, 2010)

This room looks great. Very clean and organized! I really like that you have pictures of each species on the tank. My one suggestion would be to get small frames for them, just thinking this would continue your clean look.


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## RichardA (Jul 15, 2009)

Awesome build and room!


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## rpping (Sep 5, 2015)

Really makes me wish Florida homes had basements. Great looking frog room!


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