# 750+ Gallon Vivarium: The Rainforest Exhibit!



## TheRainforestExhibit (Dec 3, 2018)

I figured I would post this vivarium in the finished builds, since,except for a few minor details and changes, it is almost completed!
A few threads are posted in the Construction Forums and New Members section.

Our main enclosure is a Custom Aquariums Amphibious Aquarium, the largest one (so far) that they have ever built. They have mad a six foot one, but it is 2 feet wide, where ours is a foot shorter in length, but 2 feet wider in depth. 5' long x 5 feet tall x 4 feet deep) Still, both are pretty cool!

We are only a few weeks from getting the frogs, which will be mainly the Golden Poison Frog (Phyllobates terriblis). We have partnered with one of the largest and most successful rainforest charities in the world, the Rainforest Trust. What is ironic is, we had decided to house the Golden Poison Frog (our logo has one on it) months before we contacted the Rainforest Trust, however, the week we did contact them, they had just solidified an agreement to save thousands of acres of Golden Poison Frog land the week before...talk about timing!

Let me know your thoughts!

Also, we are trying to build our YouTube Vlog...if you can, please subscribe, thank you...

YouTube Link:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtnSqKjNlHuClgb5HVUaAAQ

Also, our website is www.therainforestexhibit.com

(The Groot pic is just for fun...not staying in there. Lol)


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## fishingguy12345 (Apr 7, 2019)

Wow! That's all I can say. Wow!


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## Alphonsus (Apr 10, 2015)

That is so stunning!!! This is probably a dream of mine when I get my own house in the future. I just subbed to your channel, can't wait to see more content of the paludarium in the future!


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## TheRainforestExhibit (Dec 3, 2018)

fishingguy12345 said:


> Wow! That's all I can say. Wow!


 Please tell me more!!! I would really love your feedback. I sit in an office all day painting, and it is always awesome to other people's ideas, comments, etc.

Either way, thank you...it means a lot to me!


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## TheRainforestExhibit (Dec 3, 2018)

Alphonsus said:


> That is so stunning!!! This is probably a dream of mine when I get my own house in the future. I just subbed to your channel, can't wait to see more content of the paludarium in the future!


THANK YOU!!!
That means a lot to me...I appreciate it!


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## gonzalez (Mar 28, 2018)

I really like how it turned out. You probably answered this before, but I haven’t seen it yet, but what animals are you keeping in there? Also, how do you keep the front glass clear with the misting nozzles so close?


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## TheRainforestExhibit (Dec 3, 2018)

More Pics...

A pair of Custom Chucks I made for Custom Aquarium/Custom Cages/Vision Cages Owner, Adam.


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## TheRainforestExhibit (Dec 3, 2018)

gonzalez said:


> I really like how it turned out. You probably answered this before, but I haven’t seen it yet, but what animals are you keeping in there? Also, how do you keep the front glass clear with the misting nozzles so close?
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Hi!!! Great questions!

The main animal from the start of this has been the Golden Poison Frog (Phyllobates terriblis). I have mentioned that we are in a partnership with the amazing charity, Rainforest Trust. The week I contacted them to see if they wanted to partner up (within a month or two, i will be sharing our plans with them, I really needed The Rainforest Exhibit to be completed, which now it almost is), they made it aware to me that the previous week, they just sealed a deal to save over (I hope this is right, I know it is close) 18K acres of Golden Poison Frog territory!!! They said they saw my logo and, like me, felt it was meant to be!

For the rest of the fauna, I have always loved Red-Eyed Tree Frogs. So as of today, it is still a go on this. Maybe 2 or 3, no more than that. I may consider the Monkey frog (Phyllomedusa sauvagii), instead of the Red-Eyed, but I am still debating.

I wanted Mourning Geckos to bring awareness to invasive species, but I am concerned with escapes, since the babies are so small, and we have some small slit spaces. We will see.

Then a new friend,
...suggested the Bumblebee Millipede.
so after a bit of research, I decided to put 2 or 3 in the exhibit.

I have started putting fish in the enclosure, catfish, and some Tetras. I will be posting the list soon.

OK, now the glass!

I have two fans on each side of the enclosure. They are 3 inches in diameter.
One is over a radiator type heater, the other is just by itself. The radiator is only a precaution. Since the studio is in the basement (half underground), it gets colder in there than the rest of the place, so I want to keep the air in the enclosure to around 73 degrees, and the water to 77 to 78 degrees Fahrenheit. I have kept the air consistent like that since the start. The water is only 2 weeks running now, but it is right at 78 degrees.

After the mist and fog, they pretty much knock out the condensation.
I am still toying with them and I may consider putting two on the top of the tank (inside and protected).

I will post pics, although you can see the fans on the lower sides, right above the water, but on the outside.

I hope this answered your questions?

Let me know


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## Rocktaki (Apr 4, 2018)

Will be eagerly watching this thread.


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## TheRainforestExhibit (Dec 3, 2018)

Sorry for the delayed post. I have been busy with a ton of other projects and have not posted anything on here in a couple of weeks or so.

Here are some updated pics of some new growth in The Rainforest Exhibit will have Poison Frogs in the exhibit within 2 weeks or so. We still have some lighting to add and a few other updates. before it is ready for the animals.

One thing, our Springtails have bred amazingly, no issues there.


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## mongo77 (Apr 28, 2008)

I don’t want to sound like a jackass but I think that tank is horrible for terribilis. They don’t really climb onto broms and stuff. Mostly stay among the leaf litter. When I had them, they seemed to like more ground space


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## gonzalez (Mar 28, 2018)

mongo77 said:


> I don’t want to sound like a jackass but I think that tank is horrible for terribilis. They don’t really climb onto broms and stuff. Mostly stay among the leaf litter. When I had them, they seemed to like more ground space




To be fair the tank is bigger than most, even if it is tall. They don’t climb but they definitely have plenty of space. The water feature is more concerning to me, but even then a lot of people are able to pull it off, and this system seems like it is kept track of very well.


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## TheRainforestExhibit (Dec 3, 2018)

Thanks for all the comments...I appreciate it.

To discuss your concerns, I will answer from a reply with quote on each comment.
Just so you know, all of your concerns were considered, so thank you for your honesty, I appreciate it! 

Adding some pics of the Golden Poison Frogs (Phyllobates terriblis Orange Morph) that we received from FrogDaddy.com!


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## TheRainforestExhibit (Dec 3, 2018)

mongo77 said:


> I don’t want to sound like a jackass but I think that tank is horrible for terribilis. They don’t really climb onto broms and stuff. Mostly stay among the leaf litter. When I had them, they seemed to like more ground space


I just wrote a 3 paragraph answer to this and when I hit submit, the page crashed.

So 45 minutes wasted.

The gist was, there is 36 inches deep flat ground area, that goes from left to right to about 40 inches. Recommended by breeders and many hobbyists, 24 inches by 18 inches for 3 adult terriblis. My land area, with half being moss and half being leaf litter, is enough for approx. 9 adults, and we will only have 5 to 6.

I built vivariums in the 90's before it was the thing to do and I worked for Zoo design company and built exhibits in different zoos in the USA. The main area in the Cleveland Botanical Garden, the huge tree, mud walls, rocks, were carved and molded by myself and one other sculptor (this was during 9/11, when we were building it and the Madagascar adjoining area).
I only bring this up so you know that I have experience with exhibits. I have seen Poison Frogs kept in huge enclosures with all different species in the same enclosure, poison frogs kept in the same enclosure as poisonous snakes (in fact, there is a zoo, right now in the USA, that keeps over a dozen Tinctorius with Fer-de-lances, crazy, huh?)

By volume, my exhibit is 750 Gallons.
I will have 3 tree frogs (as of now, Red-Eyed, considering others still),
5 Golden Poison Frogs, 2 Mourning Geckos, and several species of tetras and catfish.

PLUS, the other areas can easily be accessed, which increases the land area by a third, if they choose to do so. (in the other comment I wrote that was lost, i discussed the waterflow of the pumps and the land area to the right of the streams, but, you get the gist.

Thank you for your comment. Actually, you would have helped me, if I did not think about this beforehand, so your concern is greatly appreciated.


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## TheRainforestExhibit (Dec 3, 2018)

gonzalez said:


> To be fair the tank is bigger than most, even if it is tall. They don’t climb but they definitely have plenty of space. The water feature is more concerning to me, but even then a lot of people are able to pull it off, and this system seems like it is kept track of very well.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Hi gonzalez, thank you for your comment!

I am glad you brought up the water feature in my exhibit, since there was a lot of thought put into it!

Egress was my main concern since I have seen many zoos around the world, that keep Poison Frogs in exhibits with large water areas. I even got shot down when I talked about this years ago. Basically telling me that I clearly have never been to a South American Rain Forest, Poison frogs live everywhere, near water, streams, rivers, flood areas, etc. 

I designed the exhibit's water features with minimal flow, slow currents, so nothing can become overwhelmed, except Springtails. All areas have egress features in every section. There are no overhangs to trap a frog, and even the stream, has a plastic grate over the outlet plumbing. The H2Overflow, Custom Aquariums Patented Overflow System, has a grate over the sump intake. I actually added a screen, so no frogs legs could get caught (pics available if you ask for them).

Even with every issue addressed, accidents happen. I have heard of a frog getting stuck behind the plastic tubing on a little water dish bubbler, and drowning. A caiman drowned getting stuck behind an undergravel filter tube.
My old company built Walt Disney's Animal Kingdom (before I was hired)...the animal deaths there were outrageous (kept secret)

I have not yet seen a Poison Frog drown in 8 inches of water. If it has happened (maybe it has), I haven't seen it. I have heard concerns, since I thought this myself (hence, my old boss, above), I would like to learn more if you know of actual cases of this happening, please share.

Thank you for your comment...sincerely!


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## hungrymonkeyx3 (Apr 20, 2014)

Out of curiosity, if frogs were to lay.. since they are soo many puddles and water sources, would you run into a problem with eggs (difficult to find, etc...)


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## TheRainforestExhibit (Dec 3, 2018)

hungrymonkeyx3 said:


> Out of curiosity, if frogs were to lay.. since they are soo many puddles and water sources, would you run into a problem with eggs (difficult to find, etc...)


Great question! 

I have thought about this. Breeding is not a "thing' for me and not something that I want to pursue (although, read below*). However, as I said in replies above, the Golden Frogs will mainly stay in a certain area, since they usually do not climb.
The water in areas within reach are moving, so the odds of them laying there are slim. Other than that, there is no standing water, other than bromeliads.

*I am prepared with extra vivariums, petri dishes and canisters, etc., in case I see activity and change my mind.

There is also a "plan" that I have not discussed yet...within a few months, that will help me keep tabs on the goings on inside the exhibit. more on that later.


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