# Tank too wet



## Esvee333 (Oct 4, 2016)

I have an 30x18x24 terrarium with a water feature I built using flat stackable rocks and a submersible pump with an output running up the backside of the rocks. The water just trickles down the rocks and creates a wet surface that my frogs are seeming to enjoy. My only concern is that the sides of my tank bead up with so much condensation that it runs down the glass. My tank sits at 76-79 degrees and doesn't typically drop below 99% humidity. 

My concern is the substrate (bark, sphangum, charcoal mix) near the water feature is getting too wet. I've added some river pebble and moss as an bank to help the water from reaching the substrate but is there something else I should be doing? And is the excess moisture on the sides of the glass an indication that my tank is too moist and should I consider ventilating? I know there should be some but sometimes there is so much it beads and drips. My water table is made up of river cobble, a mesh layer and then the substrate, planted, and good hiding spots (logs and flat rocks dug in) and covered in leaf litter and live moss.


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## Encyclia (Aug 23, 2013)

Hi Esvee, welcome to the board! 
I am going to assume that since you are on Dendroboard, that you plan on putting dart frogs in there 

That tank does look a bit wet to me. There are two things that I would worry about with having a tank that wet. First, near-100% humidity removes the frogs' ability to cool themselves evaporatively. You maybe at 76-79 right now, but that may not be true year round. It may get warm enough that the frogs need to cool themselves and 100% humidity takes away one of the tools that they can use to do that.

Second, I would worry about the water hitting the substrate. You should have a gap between the water in the drainage layer and the substrate. If water is wicking up to your substrate, you can get rotting conditions in there that can produce some nasty by-products like hydrogen sulphide. It can get to be a mess in a hurry if the substrate doesn't dry out regularly.

I recommend ventilating the tank, for sure, but I have had some issues in the past with being able to adequately ventilate top-opening tanks. You may need to put a little fan above the vent to facilitate air movement. They are sold on this board by hydrophyte and others. If you do that, though, you will probably need to put it on a timer because it can be too much if left on all the time.

Best of luck with your tank!

Mark


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## Esvee333 (Oct 4, 2016)

Thanks Mark! 

I actually have some auratus and azureus in the tank now and they seem to be happy. They are quite active and some spend a bit of time on the water fall and the sides of the tank. The auratus were very shy at first but are definitely coming out more. Venting the tank is a good idea, I've always been under the impression the the higher humidity the better but my tank is just too wet. 

The substrate near the water feature is where I'm concerned because forwards the other end of the tank the substrate and mosses will remain a good moisture level with a little bit of misting. The side near the waterfall however is taking on water so I may have to lower the water table yet to keep that from happening? 

The waterfall isn't seeming to splash or anything like that so I think it is just a high water table issue hopefully. And hopefully quickly to resolve! Thank you for your feedback!


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## Encyclia (Aug 23, 2013)

Happy to do it.

The humidity most people shoot for is 60-80%. You need to keep an eye on that water level to make sure your substrate is not saturated all the time. If you continue to have issues, you might consider taking the water feature out. It's not necessary for the frogs.

On another topic, I will also say that it is generally frowned-on to have multiple species (/morphs/locales) in the same tank. There is a risk of hybridization. This board (and other dart-specific boards) tend to have a negative viewpoint of this practice. If I were you, I would split the species up into their own tanks. For more information, I recommend you do a search on this board on mixing species. There are numerous threads with information about why it is not considered to be a good idea in most cases.

Mark


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## Esvee333 (Oct 4, 2016)

I have researched that and was a bit concerned. I learned a lot about keeping terrariums from my professor in college who always kept the auratus and azureus together. He never experienced any problems as long as there were enough hiding spots and food available to allow the auratus to compete for resources as they can be more timid. Mine are still very small so I haven't experienced any problems with dominance or anything either. Being very new to this forum I was actually surprised when I read the reviews on mixing species because it was something I haven't thought about previously, but the reasoning absolutely makes sense. 

What behaviors or signs should I keep a look out for to determine when these frogs need to separated? If they appear to be living happily and have ample space/resources with no problems is it absolutely necessary, given they don't not start breeding (in which case absolutely they will be separated). 

Thank you for any opinions on the subject because this has been something I've been deciding on for when the frogs mature.


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