# First Viv 18x18x24



## Gibbs.JP (Feb 16, 2016)

Hello All!

I just planted my very first vivarium/paludarium ever, and wanted to let you all have a look and post your thoughts or advice. I've posted a couple other times on here recently asking questions, and just wanted to show what I've come up with after lots of reading, research and work on the viv. Your comments are very appreciated as I'm super new to all this, and inevitably will/did make mistakes. 

I got most my plants from Josh's Frogs and some NEHerp Original Substrate mix. DIY foam and cork background with waterfall and some slate rocks. Hydroton balls in the bottom with a fiberglass window screen separating the ABG mix. I also got a springtail culture from NEHerp that I put in the substrate before planting, so hopefully they are doing ok. 

The pond will house some small killifish and cherry shrimp just for kicks. 

Right now I have in mind to get a pair of either Azureus or Green Sips. I'm hoping either of those 2 will do ok in this setup - I know I went backwards and should have designed the viv around the frog. Oops  

Ok, so please feel free to check it out and let me know your comments on whether or not anything should be rethought or redone or the like. Thanks in advance!

Here is a quick YouTube video of it: https://youtu.be/HGJmJ6yMtKQ


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## Logan Pittman (Jun 6, 2015)

Very nice job for your first viv and a paludarium at that. The only concern i have is dart frogs are not the best swimmers, and your water section looks to be about 4 inches deep maybe? Tincs like to sit in the water so they would def utilize the water area, but if the bank is too steep and they cant get out they might drown.


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## Gibbs.JP (Feb 16, 2016)

Thank you Logan. The water is about 3" deep and I have a pretty eased incline leading out from a piece of mopani with just that idea in mind. I'm hoping it's enough. There is also the cypress branch sticking out. 

I've never seen how they do in deep water (I know they are suceptible to drowning from stress if they can't find a way out), so I don't know how much navigating they'll do to find a way out. It's overall a pretty small surface area of water so theoretically they should be able to grab that mopani fairly quickly. 

Appreciate the comment and concern though Logan!


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## tardis101 (Apr 11, 2012)

Very very nice. Way better than my first viv...and second.  

I would add some leaf litter the the bare soil areas. Some handful of nice large magnolia leaves would be great. The tincs won't utilize much of anything above the ground level (that will vary a bit, but generally speaking). It looks like the water is about 20% ish of the ground area? So if you go with a smaller morph of tincs, like the Azeurus, I think that would be ok in there. The water looks a little deep to me for the frogs to utlize, but I've not had a standing water feature in any of my tanks, so I'm not really one to say.


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## Hobbes1911 (Mar 22, 2013)

How did you seal the water part? Did you just use silicone, or also some other glue etc.? I'm asking because in my experience if you just used silicone over existing silicone lines (from the tank) it will start leaking over time.


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## Gibbs.JP (Feb 16, 2016)

tardis101 said:


> Very very nice. Way better than my first viv...and second.
> 
> I would add some leaf litter the the bare soil areas. Some handful of nice large magnolia leaves would be great. The tincs won't utilize much of anything above the ground level (that will vary a bit, but generally speaking). It looks like the water is about 20% ish of the ground area? So if you go with a smaller morph of tincs, like the Azeurus, I think that would be ok in there. The water looks a little deep to me for the frogs to utlize, but I've not had a standing water feature in any of my tanks, so I'm not really one to say.


Thanks, Mike. I have been waiting on NEHerp to restock their leaf litter and will order some as soon as they get more in. 

The water part designed more to house some fish than for the frogs to use, but there is a nice piece of mopani that gives very easy access out if they got into the water. It also has plenty of sitting room for them to soak if they wanted. I'm crossing my fingers it will be enough for them to safely escape the water if needed. 



> How did you seal the water part? Did you just use silicone, or also some other glue etc.? I'm asking because in my experience if you just used silicone over existing silicone lines (from the tank) it will start leaking over time.


Hobbes, I actually didn't add any extra sealant to the tank...  

All the stuff I read before starting just mentioned to test the tank to make sure it didn't have any leaks, which was all I did. I filled it full of water and let it sit and noticed no leaks, so I assumed it was fine... it was advertised as having a "waterproof bottom" and I didn't think to reinforce it any. Hopefully it will hold up over time! 

I guess worst case scenario if it starts leaking is that will give me an excuse to set up another viv (to house the future frogs) and then redesign this one, leaving me with two! 

----

Also, I didn't mention in the OP that the light on top is temporary until I get the Exo Terra compact fixture and 2 Jungle Dawn LEDs from NEHerp. I was looking into the Current Satellite Plus fixture that had all the cool settings, but Mike from NEHerp said it wasn't enough output for this size tank. 

I'm also planning to add a little more terrarium moss on its way from NEHerp with the lights.


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## Hobbes1911 (Mar 22, 2013)

Gibbs.JP said:


> Thanks, Mike. I have been waiting on NEHerp to restock their leaf litter and will order some as soon as they get more in.
> 
> The water part designed more to house some fish than for the frogs to use, but there is a nice piece of mopani that gives very easy access out if they got into the water. It also has plenty of sitting room for them to soak if they wanted. I'm crossing my fingers it will be enough for them to safely escape the water if needed.
> 
> ...



No no I meant the little partition you made. The tank should be fine especially if you've water tested it. However, I meant that water partition you added, how did you seal that part?


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## Redeye_Mar (Feb 23, 2013)

Wow! What an awesome first build. Looks like you have a knack for this. Are you already dreaming and planning your next one?


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## Gibbs.JP (Feb 16, 2016)

Redeye_Mar said:


> Wow! What an awesome first build. Looks like you have a knack for this. Are you already dreaming and planning your next one?


Thanks Redeye... indeed I already have ideas for another! My wife of course doesn't share my excitement though. I'll first see how I do with these plants and frogs before I think about actually building another.



> No no I meant the little partition you made. The tank should be fine especially if you've water tested it. However, I meant that water partition you added, how did you seal that part?


Hobbes - the partition was some foam from from a craft store that was covered in the pond great stuff and then covered again in silicone. Since there is water on both sides of it, I wouldn't think it should matter if it leaks... One side is the pond and the other side is the hydroton balls that are filled with water anyways.


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## Gibbs.JP (Feb 16, 2016)

I decided to take out the "pond" of this build, as it was not going to work for what I had in mind to keep some fish. The water quality was getting to be a pain to control and fish kept dying. Even with a filter I rigged to work as an after thought. Plus, all the feedback I had gotten from fish keepers was that the body of water just wasn't large enough to hold any fish. 

So, I filled it in! It's still a little bare, as I need to get some more plants to fill in the substrate. I've contacted a couple members here that I'm excited to get some plants from. 

I wanted to keep the waterfall since it still worked fine in theory and practice, and wanted it to end up in a small pool that would be dart frog safe. I had some ideas to do it manually from rocks and such, but came across a neat little cast pond at a pet store I thought would fit the tank well. It looks a little more fake in there than I thought it would, but I doubt the frogs will mind. It's nice and shallow with steps and everything. Maybe I should heat it so they have a jacuzzi...

I drilled some small holes in the bottom of it that drains straight down into the hydroton balls instead of filling up and pouring over the sides. Seems to work fine so far.

Oh well... live and learn. If I try and do a large water feature ever in the future, I will definitely plan it out better beforehand. Ignorance can spoil grand ideas!

Here is what it looks like now:


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## cam1941 (Jan 16, 2014)

Can't believe I missed this one! Great job! looks just like a real jungle in there  Some really different choices of plants too...

Like the new water feature too... Sucks when plans don't work out but you really recovered nicely looks reallly natural and cool


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## Gibbs.JP (Feb 16, 2016)

cam1941 said:


> Can't believe I missed this one! Great job! looks just like a real jungle in there  Some really different choices of plants too...
> 
> Like the new water feature too... Sucks when plans don't work out but you really recovered nicely looks reallly natural and cool


Hey, thanks for the kind words, Cam. I have absolutely no knowledge of plants at all, so I just picked some from Josh's Frogs that had cool names the family would enjoy... My wife's favorite song, daughter's favorite animal and star wars character, hometown city, etc. I'm excited for them all to grow in so it will look a little less bare. I still have in mind to get a couple more broms to mount, maybe a nice vine and another small foreground plant. I've been in touch with some forum members that I'll most likely get some nice plants from very soon. 

Also, FROGS! My first frogs will be here in the morning, courtesy of a very cool forum member who's delivering! I'm super excited. I have a nice little grow out tank for them while this one fills in some. 

I've barely scratched the surface of this hobby, and I'm already addicted and planning my next build.


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## Gibbs.JP (Feb 16, 2016)

They're here! I got a reply on my Wanted ad for local tincs, and an awesome member contacted me, we worked out a deal, and they actually hand delivered them to my doorstep! How's that for amazing service!? I've now stepped into the realm of owning actual frogs after months of reading, research and tinkering with tanks. They are already super addicting to just sit and watch. Very active and bold, even as froglets in a new setup. Eating well and lookin' healthy! 

I've got them in a small grow out tank for now until my 30g grows out more. I plan to keep them in there for a few months while I work on a 50g tank I have just sitting empty in my garage. Once they reach maturity, I'm hoping for at least a pair out of the 5 and I'll separate them as necessary. Here's the small grow out tank they'll be residing in for a while:



And here are the new froglets!











So far everyone seems happy and healthy as far as I can tell. I'm excited for the months to come to see them grow and develop. And so it begins...!


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## Gibbs.JP (Feb 16, 2016)

Update on my first vivarium build:

Been adding some plants here and there... after filling in the pond section, I was in plant-adding-mode and it didn't stop! It's taking longer than I thought for the original plants to grow, but then, I have no idea what's normal. It seems most all the original plants are at least taking root and doing well. I've seen new growth on several of them, and they do seem to be growing... just slowly. Seems my black thumb luck with plants might just be turning! Just got my Jungle Dawn LEDs yesterday, so I'm hoping those will help stimulate the plants. 

I got a little carried away with the broms, but I just love those things. And when you get great deals on them from board members here, why not?!









Plant list:
_Alocasia ‘Tiny Dancers’
Asarum Maximum ‘Ling Ling’ (Panda Face Ginger)
Billbergia ‘Darth Vader’ (La Noche x Domingos Martins)
Ficus Pumila Minima (Creeping Fig)
Neoregelia Ampullacea ‘San Diego WBC 94’
Neoregelia ‘Fireball’
Nephrolepis obliterata 'Emerald Queen' - Australian Sword Fern
Peperomia Glabella
Cryptanthus ‘Pink Earth Star’
Fittonia Argyroneura
Neoregelia ‘Wee Willy’
Neoregelia ‘Tiger Cub’
Neoregelia ‘Angel Face x Midget’
Neoregelia Punctatissima Rubra_


Overall I'm still really pleased with it. We're our own worst critics, so when you're happy with a project, that's a good thing.  It's seeded with springtails and giant orange isos. Lots of fungus gnats too 

I was originally going to put (hopefully) a trio of my Azureus in this one, but now I'm thinking of maybe getting a trio of R. Imitator Varaderos for this one, and building a larger horizontal display tank for the Azureues. I'm about to head to a local fish store this morning in hopes of getting a big tank at their blowout sale. I love working on these vivs! I've got so many ideas from all your builds... 

Any thoughts about putting some Varaderos in this?


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## ChillerVB (Mar 31, 2016)

I love it!


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