# 60x50x70 Viv for R. Varadero



## dennis2311 (Feb 11, 2016)

Hey folks,

I'm Dennis from Germany and today I want to present you my viv. I finished it in january this year and since two weeks it houses 0.0.2 R. imitator "Varadero". The frogs are about 3-4 months old. 

It's a 60x50x70cm standard viv and had something like a waterfall what I thought is a cool idea to test, but after several weeks, I shut it down because there were too much moisture as a case of the capillary effect. 

It's lighted with two 6500k T5 and one Solar Raptor 35w Flood. 

Even if this is not the current setup of plants (I changed the bromelia at the right on the bottom), I want to show you a pic which is 1-2 weeks old. 
At the moment its pretty hot here in Germany and this room is very bad isolated, so I turned off the Solar Raptor which means no good pics with excellent lightning, haha. I will upload a new pic when I can turn the Solar Raptor on again. Fell free to ask if you got any questions. 



















Dennis


----------



## Damon Ryan (Nov 13, 2015)

dennis2311 said:


> Hey folks,
> 
> 
> 
> ...




That is sweet! What kind of moss is that?


----------



## Gibbs.JP (Feb 16, 2016)

Hi Dennis - Welcome to the forums. 

I certainly hope that wasn't your first ever vivarium, because if so, you're putting many of us to shame! 

Phenomenal job with that - it really turned out great. I really like it! Thanks for sharing. 

PS, I imagine your new Varadero love it!


----------



## dennis2311 (Feb 11, 2016)

> That is sweet! What kind of moss is that?


Hey, it's Java Moss all over the bank 



> Hi Dennis - Welcome to the forums.
> 
> I certainly hope that wasn't your first ever vivarium, because if so, you're putting many of us to shame!
> 
> ...


Thanks Josh, your post makes me proud. 

to be honest, I've build a vivarium before with "Rainforest Background", but I wasn't really convinced. So that was my second, selfmade vivarium.

I really hope my Varaderos love it, since they explored the whole vivarium in the last days I don't really see them anymore, because there are too many places to hide. But that's good, the most important thing is that they feel comfortable. 


Dennis


----------



## dennis2311 (Feb 11, 2016)

Hey guys, 

I promised you to update this thread soon: 

It's getting a bit colder here, so I turned the Solar Raptor on again. 

Here are some pictures:









































































and one of them was watching me 










- Dennis


----------



## austin (Dec 6, 2013)

Great looking tank! Would you please post a list of the bromeliads you used?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## dennis2311 (Feb 11, 2016)

Hey austin, 

first of all thank you and of course I can. Starting from the left to the right: 

1x Guzmania theresa 
3x Neoregelia "fireball" 
3x Vrisea racinae 
1x Neoregelia spec. brasilia 
1x Neoregelia "red waif" 
1x Neoregelia "hybrid small" 
2x Neoregelia "mephisto"
1x Neoregelia "tigrina" 

-Dennis


----------



## waterbed fred (Jan 10, 2010)

I really hope my Varaderos love it, since they explored the whole vivarium in the last days I don't really see them anymore, because there are too many places to hide. But that's good, the most important thing is that they feel comfortable. 


Dennis[/QUOTE]

And THAT is a great thing!!!!! Thank you for putting the inhabitants needs first. VERY professional of you!! This is an INCREDIBLE looking Viv !!! You, Sir, have made my own personal "Top 10 " Best Most Natural Appearing Viv List !!!
I have subscribed to this thread!!! More pics, and keep us posted!!!
Also, what kind of Vine looking plant is that in the center middle, growing forward?


----------



## dennis2311 (Feb 11, 2016)

Hey fred,

wow, thank you! That is making me really proud (and my Varaderos also ) 

Maybe you need to be a bit more concrete - do you mean the fern? This would be a "Selaginella spec. Bocas del Torro" (you can google it, if it's not the plant you've meant, just repeat your question here and we will find its name!) 

-Dennis


----------



## waterbed fred (Jan 10, 2010)

That is the Fern. It's beautiful. Almost looks like a vine. Very "Jungly" looking....LoL


----------



## dennis2311 (Feb 11, 2016)

Hey guys, 

it's time for another update! 

I still need to case the light box, but I'm too lazy to order some forex. 










The begonia is doing great.










Also the pilea is growing very well, its earth is a very good place for the tropical woodlouses.









These two vrisea racinae are the new home of my two Imitators. They're staying there the whole time, unless they're looking for food. 









I like this very small bromeliad very much!









The fern at the left side of the front, when I planted it, it had only two tribes 









And finally my imitators, it's very hard to catch them with the camera, they only show in the morning when the light goes on


























But when I follow the "tracks of the dung" it seems that they're moving in the whole vivarium, only problem is that they are very good in doing it when I'm not in front of the vivarium or in the room, haha. 

Furthermore I think that they got a bit bigger. They're eating well (I guess) but I never saw them eating something different than a springtail. Maybe they're still too small to like the fruit flies. 


-Dennis


----------



## Gibbs.JP (Feb 16, 2016)

Love it! Great job once again!


----------



## Ravage (Feb 5, 2016)

My Varadero's hide all the time, except, as you say, at dawn. If you stay looking at them they freeze, but if you turn away, they are gone. I saw a guy locally who has a tank full of them and they are out and gregarious just like a D. tinct. I guess it's individuality.


----------



## Gibbs.JP (Feb 16, 2016)

Ravage said:


> My Varadero's hide all the time, except, as you say, at dawn. If you stay looking at them they freeze, but if you turn away, they are gone. I saw a guy locally who has a tank full of them and they are out and gregarious just like a D. tinct. I guess it's individuality.


Must be. My 4 Varaderos are all out all throughout the day. They also won't run and hide unless I open the doors and stick my hand in. A couple won't even hide then.


----------



## dennis2311 (Feb 11, 2016)

Yes, I think it's individuality. But as long as they show me that they're alive im very happy, even if they hide most of the time.  

-Dennis


----------



## dennis2311 (Feb 11, 2016)

Hey there, 

some shots of the last days..


























Soon they will be pubescent, I really hope that they turn out as a male and a female  But time will tell..

Also it's very hot in my room, temperature is like the temperature outside, and at this moment it's almost like 30° celsius (86° fahrenheit) but fortunately I bought some air conditioner and it was a great idea, it's cooling down the room to 22-23° celsius (71-73° fahrenheit). 

Last year, when I had no frogs, I was able to live with this temperature, but now, it's too risky for my two little varaderos.  Good side effect is that I'm feeling more comfortable too


----------



## Gibbs.JP (Feb 16, 2016)

dennis2311 said:


> Also it's very hot in my room, temperature is like the temperature outside, and at this moment it's almost like 30° celsius (86° fahrenheit) but fortunately I bought some air conditioner and it was a great idea, it's cooling down the room to 22-23° celsius (71-73° fahrenheit).
> 
> Last year, when I had no frogs, I was able to live with this temperature, but now, it's too risky for my two little varaderos.  Good side effect is that I'm feeling more comfortable too


Here's to hoping you have a pair! My pair are very prolific... which I'm sure will be even more when I take the other females out soon.

I've got my tanks in the kitchen/dining room and it's been in the 100's out here this past week. My wife's none too thrilled about keeping the AC on now even if it's only in the 80's outside. Gotta keep those tanks cool!


----------



## dennis2311 (Feb 11, 2016)

Got a new plant that I always wanted, a Begonia amphioxus. Hope that it will survive the next few days and build some new roots and leaves. I don't know if the place in the spot light of the Solar Raptor is the right one. 










Here is a picture of my "setup", still need to cover the light box.. 










I will post an update of the vivarium soon.


----------



## Gibbs.JP (Feb 16, 2016)

dennis2311 said:


> Got a new plant that I always wanted, a Begonia amphioxus.


Hey Dennis - looks great! I'm pretty spoiled where I live in that there are lots of really great nurseries very close to me, one being the famous Andy's Orchids. There is another nursery I visited last week for the first time, and they had TONS of mini Begonia sp.s! I picked up a B. amphioxus as well and just planted it in my new tank. I heard they like to dry out and not get too wet, so hopefully your's is in that kind of area of the tank.


----------



## dennis2311 (Feb 11, 2016)

Hey Josh, 

that explains why you have so many beautiful plants in your tanks  In germany we've got quite a few good shops where you can order your bromeliads/ferns/orchids but I think you can't compare it with the shope you have in your areas. 

The Begonia arrived wrapped in wet tissues and a very moist root ball so I'm trying to keep it very moist the next few days. But in the spot light it will inevitable dry out in the "midday sun", so we will see. 

Thanks for your advice!


----------



## aguila_rapax (Jan 6, 2011)

I'm from Holland from which shop in Germany you ordered the begonia, i'm looking for it as wel.

Verstuurd vanaf mijn D6603 met Tapatalk


----------



## dennis2311 (Feb 11, 2016)

aguila_rapax said:


> I'm from Holland from which shop in Germany you ordered the begonia, i'm looking for it as wel.
> 
> Verstuurd vanaf mijn D6603 met Tapatalk


I ordered it vom "Bromelien Westermann" (very good shop in my opinion), but it seems that they're out of stock


----------



## aguila_rapax (Jan 6, 2011)

Didn't know Westermann sold these, i will order one probably. His plants are usually from very good quality.

Verstuurd vanaf mijn D6603 met Tapatalk


----------



## dennis2311 (Feb 11, 2016)

Aloha, 

yesterday I had some kind of nightmare, I came back because I was the whole day out of the house but I've kept the heat cable on. So I checked the maximal temperature of my thermometer and it showed me something about 90° F! 
Additionally myfrogs didn't show and so I expected the worst  I was just sitting in front of my vivarium, waiting for one of the Varaderos to appear - but nothing. After half an hour I checked the bromeliads and found one of them - alive. So one of them was for sure alive, the other one was somewhere in the vivarium where I wasn't able to find it. 
Today I woke up and saw both of them eating so I would say it took a good ending. But I will be a bit more carefully with the heat cable, I definitely need to buy a thermostat. 

They're 5 months old now, I'm very excited if they are male/s oder female/s. 

Also I wanted to show you some pictures from today, but I think there aren't many changes. 










The waterfall soon completely covered with moss  









I don't know how big this Pilea will get 









My loved Begonia amphioxus, it's a really cool plant. Also I think the place is good - at least it doesn't died yet and I think that's a good sign.









The other Begonia


----------



## waterbed fred (Jan 10, 2010)

Congratulations!!! Your Viv is becoming one of my favorites, and since the beginning, I've saved this thread. That Begonia is Gorgeous!!! Keep posting updates to keep us informed on if you end up with a mating pair!!! The offspring will be lucky to have such a beautiful Viv !!!


----------



## ChrisAZ (Sep 6, 2012)

This is a beautiful vivarium. Well done! I'm interested in knowing what kind of ventilation the top has and how do you have the bottom set up. Here in the US most people use a what's called a false bottom or a thick drainage layer of gravel. I know that most European style vivariums I've seen use a different system. Can you explain how you did yours?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## dennis2311 (Feb 11, 2016)

Thanks guys! I'm glad that you like our viv 



> I'm interested in knowing what kind of ventilation the top has and how do you have the bottom set up. Here in the US most people use a what's called a false bottom or a thick drainage layer of gravel. I know that most European style vivariums I've seen use a different system. Can you explain how you did yours?


Of course I can explain how I did it. 

First of all it's an european standard vivarium, so there are two ventilation areas to guarantee a air circulation. One is unter the fronds windows, the second one is at the top. I can make picture for you tomorrow. 
Now to guarantee a better air condition, especially because there's a light box at the top, I use one fan which is drawing air out of the vivarium so that there's an air draft like in a chimney. Fresh air is coming in over the front ventilation area, it raises to the top where it goes out through the ventilation area there. The fan increases the effect, but it runs only for 3-4 minutes every hour. 
Also I removed the top of the lighting box so that there isn't so much heat accumulation in the light box. I will fortify this explanation with picutres tomorrow. Feel free to ask if you have questions. 


The method of using a "false bottom" was totally new to me when I visited this forum for the first time. There are so many differences between american and european vivariums! 
Here in europe you can buy vivariums where the constructor uses a glass pane to create a slope. With this slope the water is able to floww off into the ditch at the front easily. 
Another method is to use a drainage with good water absorbing abilities, then something like gauze to filter the dirt/mud and then use leaves, xaxim, turf or something like that. 
Most german people will disadvise things like turf or earth as soil, because it gets to moist and this will harm the frogs. One of the principles is "the ground should be more dry than wet" or something like this. I hope you get what I want you to say. 

Back to your question: I used foam and styrofoam to build the ground, nothing like a slope or something like that. The front area is a bit downward sloping, but the back part of the ground isn't constructed like that but I'm fine with it. I would say I have no problems with moisture there. 
Here are some pictures of the building process, at this time with an activated waterfall  : 


































And this was it the first time planted in january of this year









I think in this 7 months I changed a lot


----------



## ChrisAZ (Sep 6, 2012)

Thanks for the response and I look forward to more pictures.
Another question I have is, how long did it take the Java moss to cover the bottom and did you have to run the water fall to get it to spread so well? Also, how often and how long do your misters run?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## dennis2311 (Feb 11, 2016)

Hey Chris,

for the first few months I ran the waterfall, so I think the java moss had the best conditions to spread out well. Also an intensive light is very important to let it grow fast and intensively colorful. 

When I stoped the waterfall due to much moisture, there were no problems in keeping the java moss alive. 

At the moment the misters run 4 times a day but I think I will set it to 3 times a day. They run for ~8-12 seconds. Once a day I water the moss extern.


----------



## MasterT (Jun 7, 2016)

Hey this is really amazing. I am so excited to start my first builds. I have a 10 gallon, 29 vert, and a 55 aquarium I'm doing all kinda at the same time. I hope they come out half as good as yours did.

Great job


----------



## dennis2311 (Feb 11, 2016)

Thanks mate and good look with your builds, if you've got any questions, ask this forum! 

I've got a question for the plant experts (GIBBS I hope you read this!) 

I got this Marcgravia and in the last two weeks it reached the top of the vivarium. Since it was growing huddled against the backwall (I've no idea if this is right), it has no chance to do it at the glass top. 
Should I cut the red part off and plant it somewhere else in the vivarium? Or should I fix the red part at the backwall too that it can grow there (no idea if that works, I think it grows only in direction of the top)

Last idea would be to let it there as it is and look what happen.


----------



## ChrisAZ (Sep 6, 2012)

Marcgravia is easy to propagate in my experience. If the undersides of the cuttings are touching a damp substrate they will grow roots fairly quickly but it may take awhile before you get new leaf growth. And yes, it will always grow towards the light. I usually plant it at the bottom of a wall I want it to grow up. When mine get to the top like yours I usually trim them and start a new plant at the bottom.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## dennis2311 (Feb 11, 2016)

Thank you, that answered my questions 100%!


----------



## Gibbs.JP (Feb 16, 2016)

Hey Dennis -

I was gonna say you should just cut them and send to me  That umbellata is awesome!

I second Chris' advice... just cut the tops and replant them elsewhere. You've got a lot of empty fern panel areas at the back that would look good with some new cuttings to grow up. 

A few of my Marc. species have rooted and taken off really quick when planted in sphagnum and others seem to take longer. I tried diverting the direction of one of mine but uprooting the top portion and changing directions, but I don't think it liked that. It's growing much slower now after I did that...


----------



## dennis2311 (Feb 11, 2016)

Hey guys, 

here's a small little update for you. Due vacation I wasn't at home for 11 days, so I needed someone to feed the frogs, their food and to check the climatic conditions. One week before I bought a thermostat to regulate the temperature if it's cold at night oder too cold during the day and it worked great! 
Also a friend of mine, who took care of the frogs was able to keep them healthy. One weekend he was traveling, so that another friend of mine needed to feed the frogs and he totally missunderstood the instruction.  I have a special powder to feed the springtails and he thought that he must give that powder into the vivarium. Also he thought that a "dash" had the size of a spoon and so he gave too much powder into the wrong tank (the frogs vivarium). 

Yeah for a few days it mold under perfect conditions and when I came back this morning, I found a greasy mass on the moss. In it where millions of springtails, I think some kind of maggots and centipedes. 
I knew that there were centipedes in the vivarium but I think the powder attracted them and helped them breeding. So the first move when I entered the room was running to the vivarium, pulling out the affected moss and collecting the centipedes (I think it were 10 centipedes on a room of 10x10cm). Now theres a whole in the frogs and mine "carpet of moss"  but I hope I solved the problem and there's not more perfect living space for bacteriums. 

Apart from that the moss and parts of the background were a little bit dry, but all in all my friend made a good job and the frogs look fat as they were when I left them. Now I'm very happy that I can take care off them again.


----------



## VPardoel (Apr 2, 2010)

Love the moss! awesome tank Dennis


----------



## dennis2311 (Feb 11, 2016)

Hey guys, quick update for you! 

Was able to take a few shots while I was cleaning the front. 


















































































I added the tree fern trunk a few days ago. Also I ordererd a new, bigger bromeliad, to plant it on the trunk. 

If you've got any questions, feel free to ask!


----------



## Damon Ryan (Nov 13, 2015)

In those last two photos is that small green circle leaves vine peperomia? Where did you get you get it? 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## dennis2311 (Feb 11, 2016)

Hey Damon, 

I'm from germany and got the peperomia from a german shop named "bromelien-westermann".

Unfortunately it stopped growing after a few weeks, I don't know why.


----------



## Gibbs.JP (Feb 16, 2016)

Looks gorgeous as always Dennis! I don't see the amphioxis... did that one melt and die like all mine do?


----------



## kblack3 (Mar 9, 2015)

Where did you find the trunk? That is an interesting piece!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## dennis2311 (Feb 11, 2016)

Hi Josh, 

nope, it's still alive! At the pictures it's right behind the tree fern, concentration Josh!  

I've got my new bromeliad and went to a store to buy a new root to plant the bromeliad on, the method with the tree fern was a way too inharmonic I guess. 

So here it is



























kblack3 said:


> Where did you find the trunk? That is an interesting piece!
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


In germany you can order it at many shops for vivariums and bromeliads


----------



## GOSKN5 (Dec 31, 2011)

That is awesome... so full...looks like a jungle (in a good way)

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk


----------



## jsard85 (Dec 26, 2016)

Wow! This gives me alot of ideas for my next setup. Thank you!

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk


----------



## spikeizzy77 (Nov 8, 2016)

Looks amazing!


----------

