# How long?



## erik775 (Aug 19, 2012)

Do i really have to wait a whole month before i put my dart frogs in the terrarium i built with gs and silicon ???what's the shortest time?
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## Tricolor (Jun 12, 2009)

I would wait a week or until smell is gone.


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## Rusty_Shackleford (Sep 2, 2010)

Most people recommend waiting a month or more before adding frogs. There are a few reasons why. You want to give the viv time to stabilize and balance itself out. Give the plants time to root themselves and to be able to withstand the frogs climbing on them. You're also giving the microfauna time to reproduce and stabilize their populations inside the tank. Absolutely you want to make sure that your GS and silicone is cured. Actually you want to make sure it's cured before you ever put substrate or plants in. My advice is to wait as long as humanly possible within reason. I've got a couple of vivs that I set up last Nov and they still have never had a frog in them....yes.. it is driving me crazy lol.


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## Judy S (Aug 29, 2010)

why??? Can you give us a reason ??


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## Pacblu202 (May 8, 2012)

The same reason you do that with a fish tank. For it to cycle and what not.


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## timopictures (Sep 9, 2010)

I've started to avoid using silicone because it seems like it takes forever for the smell to go away. It drives me absolutely insane. I've waited months sometimes and the smell still isn't gone.


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## PumilioTurkey (Feb 25, 2010)

I usually wait 1-3 weeks before putting the frogs into my vivariums.


But I also know of long-time breeders who put them right away into the vivarium after it is finished without any health-related problems.


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## WendySHall (Aug 31, 2010)

It's very important not to rush when using silicone...the fumes can kill your frogs. It has to be absolutely, positively cured completely. I totally avoid silicone now. When I build tanks, it's simply great stuff which I paint after it's dry. No silicone whatsoever.


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## markpulawski (Nov 19, 2004)

Last time I used silicone to put in some cypress knees it took about 3 days before it was to me totally cured...no smell and solid. I did leave my tank open with no top or other items in the tank so the air circulation was good. So at about the 5 day mark I added everything else and had frogs in it a couple days later, so for me a week with no ill effects. 
I think as long as you can keep good circulation and keep the tank open it will cure pretty quickly (2 - 3 days), after that adding everything else and letting it settle a day or 2 is all I have ever done. 
If you want microfauna to establish itself 30 days would be plenty of time for springs and you could adjust plants and decore to make sure all is well before getting your hands in the tank with the frogs to do that.


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## Pumilo (Sep 4, 2010)

markpulawski said:


> Last time I used silicone to put in some cypress knees it took about 3 days before it was to me totally cured...no smell and solid. I did leave my tank open with no top or other items in the tank so the air circulation was good. So at about the 5 day mark I added everything else and had frogs in it a couple days later, so for me a week with no ill effects.
> I think as long as you can keep good circulation and keep the tank open it will cure pretty quickly (2 - 3 days), after that adding everything else and letting it settle a day or 2 is all I have ever done.
> If you want microfauna to establish itself 30 days would be plenty of time for springs and you could adjust plants and decore to make sure all is well before getting your hands in the tank with the frogs to do that.


I'm with you, Mark. While I am all for aging when possible, to allow plants to root and microfauna to take off. However, I have put frogs into vivs that had silicone applied only 3 days ago. I use GE silicone 1, keep the viv wide open, with a fan to circulate air through the room and through the viv. You also want to avoid large beads or clumps of silicone, as they will take longer to cure.
IMPORTANT: If you stick your head in the viv and smell, while the fan is on, it will probably smell fume free. This may be because the fan is clearing the fumes. You must shut off the fan and let it set for 15 minutes or so, before checking for fumes.


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## Pacblu202 (May 8, 2012)

Pumilo said:


> I'm with you, Mark. While I am all for aging when possible, to allow plants to root and microfauna to take off. However, I have put frogs into vivs that had silicone applied only 3 days ago. I use GE silicone 1, keep the viv wide open, with a fan to circulate air through the room and through the viv. You also want to avoid large beads or clumps of silicone, as they will take longer to cure.
> IMPORTANT: If you stick your head in the viv and smell, while the fan is on, it will probably smell fume free. This may be because the fan is clearing the fumes. You must shut off the fan and let it set for 15 minutes or so, before checking for fumes.


It usually helps if you put a cover on the viv too during that 15 minutes to really trap in any fumes. If they are there while it's covered it definitely needs more time.


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