# My First Vivarium



## Toxin (Apr 16, 2007)

Hey ive been lurking deondroboard for a couple months now and ive been putting together my viv. but now i think its worthy of having pictures posted. I bought a 96w Satellite Light off Joshs Frogs, but right now ive only got reptisuns in there. If you guys could reccomend any frogs that could live in this viv i would really appreciate it.

Here are pics!

FTS









Riens Pride









Treasure Chest









Red Bird









Left Side









Right Side









Middle









Enjoy! :lol: 

-Toxin


----------



## Alfy111 (Aug 6, 2005)

hey very nice! how big is it exactly? The only thing i think you should do before you think about getting frogs is add like moss or something to the bottom because all of that bedding will get caught up all over the frogs and stress them out. Also it looks really dry so you definitely should add some more water or something. Try to fill it with water until the leca balls in the bottom are completely submerged. The broms look really nice, but why dont you add some more plants, not more broms, this way you could give the frogs more cover places to hide and sleep in. Otherwise, really nice viv and the background looks pretty sick. And yeah just lookign back at the pics one more time, definitely add more water to the substrate, it looks really dry.


----------



## Toxin (Apr 16, 2007)

Thanks, its a 40 breeder. Ill try filling it till the leca balls are fully submerged. my background consists of 4 pieces of corkbark greatstuffed to the background, i really like the outcome of the background. im gonna add more plants i just dont want them taking nutrients from my broms while they root.

-Toxin


----------



## Marty71 (Nov 9, 2006)

It's a really nice start. I would second what Alfy said. Throw in some leaf litter (I never did this in my first couple tanks but should have) because the coco bedding will get stuck to the frogs and stress them (and coincidentally you when you see them covered in s&*t) . Also you may want to add some non brom plants. Pilea and Saginella (sp.)? for the front, some Hoya's, Pepperomias, Pothos in the background etc...

Don't worry bout the Broms, their roots are more for stability than nutrients, give them good light and they'll be all set.

As far as frogs you have pretty much an open book with a 40. A group of Leucs would be crazy happy in there....

My first tank had two Home Depot Plants (not properly washed), and a sagging false bottom so it's a hell of a good start....


----------



## tyler (Feb 23, 2006)

Beautiful broms. I second what Marty said. All I have to add is to get the broms directly out of the substrate. From the photos, it looks like the substrate is peat moss. PM doesn't drain all that well, and will cause the plants to rot over time. I use PM, but don't have any plants that are rooted directly into the substrate, but rather mounted on wood of any kind.


----------



## Toxin (Apr 16, 2007)

Marty- Thanks Ill have to buy some of those plants.

Tyler- I actually used Bed-A-Beast, so its more of a coco kinda substrate. thanks for the concern though


----------



## Grassypeak (Jun 14, 2005)

WAIT!!!!! DO NOT FILL THE TANK UP TO THE TOP OF THE LECA! That will mean that the water will be touching the soil, which is already a compact soil for a viv. If the water touches that soil it will be saturated in no time and those $$$ Neos will be toast. The LECA is there as a drainage layer. It holds extra water and keeps it away from the soil. With that tight soil you should be misting sparingly so as to keep the soil evenly moist but never wet. Remember you are going to be maintaining at least 70% humidity so the soil is going to dry out very slowly. Especially that soil.

I agree that you should cover the soil with leaf litter to keep the coco fiber or peat off of the frogs. I kind of wish you would buy some bark chips to plant those beautiful Neos in first though. Aside from the soil issue your tank looks great. I really like it.


----------



## housevibe7 (Sep 24, 2006)

I have to agree completely with Chris and Tyler... leaf litter, more plants, and please please please get those gorgeous broms out of the media. I would mount the either on the background or get some suction cups.


----------



## Toxin (Apr 16, 2007)

What kind of media should i use instead of coco-fiber?


----------



## roadkillkitty (Jul 26, 2006)

fir bark and orchid bark, something well draining and doesn't retain a ton of moisture


----------



## Toxin (Apr 16, 2007)

I just got some plants from Black Jungle.

I got
-Anoectochilus roxburghii 
-Assorted Gesneriad
-Pilea cadieri
-Pilea spruceana
-Mini Aroid Vine
-Peperomia angulata

Ill go try to find some orchid bark

-Toxin


----------



## axolotl (Dec 31, 2006)

you can mix the orchid bark right in with the Bed a beast.


----------



## Toxin (Apr 16, 2007)

Yah im gonna go to my local nursery tomorrow to get some or orchid bark, and yah im planning on mixing them.

-Toxin


----------



## Grassypeak (Jun 14, 2005)

Toxin,

Can you describe your drainage layer to us? In looking at your first photo, I see some black stuff and a thin layer of LECA. How deep is your LECA layer? Also did you incorporate some way of draining your LECA layer if the water should start to build up?


I wouldn’t mix the orchid bark and coco fiber, so much as use just the orchid bark around the Neos. Neos can be planted in coco fiber when they are used as house plants, but in a viv I wouldn’t let any coco fiber near them. The stuff just holds too much water.


----------



## Toxin (Apr 16, 2007)

the black stuff is aquarium gravel, and my LECA layer is only about an inch deep


----------



## Grassypeak (Jun 14, 2005)

The gravel + the LECA are an inch deep? Did you place screen between the gravel + LECA and the coco bedding?


----------



## Toxin (Apr 16, 2007)

My gravel and LECA are about 2 inches. and yes i did place screen between all of them


----------



## Grassypeak (Jun 14, 2005)

Two inches is probably O.K. You want to maintain the water level in the LECA/gravel AT LEAST an inch below your substrate. This will prevent the substrate from wicking the water up and becoming saturated. Saturated substrate kills many many many types of plants. I would definitely amend your substrate with lots and lots of orchid bark that will help it to be a little more airy and free draining. You also don’t need such a deep layer. I would not make the soil layer deeper than two inches. One inch would probably be even better if you are going to pile a leaf litter layer on top (remember that coco fiber sticks to the frogs, unless of course, it is saturated with water :roll: ). Around your Neos, I would only use orchid bark. 

I was also thinking that you might just want to get two small pieces of driftwood and elevate your Neos completely above the soil. In a vivarium they live much longer when they have no substrate at all.

You could also elevate them with a cocohut. Just drill some holes in top of the hut and place a few bamboo skewers in the holes. The skewers will form a type of open basket to hold the base of the Neo.

Hope you don’t mind all my comments. Those are two really nice Neos and I hate to see you lose them.


----------



## Grassypeak (Jun 14, 2005)

Oh yea, how are you going to drain the drainage layer? Did you decide?


----------



## Toxin (Apr 16, 2007)

i still havenet figured out how im gonna drain the drainage layer. thats a big beginners mistake. im having second thoughts on my n treasure chest, :x it looks too big for the viv. Any Ideas?


----------



## Toxin (Apr 16, 2007)

Ok so I gotsome orchid bark, and i also found a piece of driftwood laying around. I thought i would mount the Riens Pride and plant the treasure chest. i did that but then i wanted to mount the Red birds aswell, ive ordered 3 square feet of moss. i came out with this.

Mounted Rien's Pride









Treasure Chest Planted In Orchid Bark









Mounted Red Bird









New FTS









-Toxin


----------



## sbreland (May 4, 2006)

Here's the problems as some have already described... Bed a Beast does not drain... period. It will wick up all the moisture and create a very saturated substrate which will kill ANY broms planted in it in a hurry. The moving of the Reins Pride onto that piece of wood is a good move, but leaving the Treasure Chest or any other brom in that substrate will mean you are wating your money. If you are 100% intent on planting it in the ground/substrate, here's an idea. Take a piece of PVC pipe about 2" wide or so and cut it into a tube about 3-4 inches long. Drill a bunch of holes on all sides of the pipe down the entire length. Pull away the substrate down to the LECA later and cut a hole in the screen big enough to fit the pipe through. Pull away enough LECA til you see the bottom of the tank and then place the pipe in vertically in the hole. Put some LECA in the PVC pipe so it's about the same height as your original LECA layer. Backfill around the pipe and bring the substrate within about 1/2" of the top of the pipe. Now you should have this piece of PVC pipe vertically buried with only about 1/2" of it sticking out the top. Place the base of the brom in the pipe and backfill with orchid bark (NO COCO FIBER!!) into the pipe till you get the brom nicely placed in the pipe and then let it spill over and create a little base. Fill in around the base with orchid bark to cover up the top of the pipe and once you add the leaf litter it will hide everything nicely and will look just like it is planted in the soil, only it will not be. It will drain great and the holes drilled in the side will keep water from building up in the pipe. 
On the other thought... leave the Treasure Chest... it looks great! It looks a little large in there now but once you fill in with a few more plants and everything grows in it will look fantastic!


----------



## sbreland (May 4, 2006)

Oh, as for your drainage problem... very simialr to the above. Take a small pice of PVC pipe (1/2" or 3/4 should be fine) and do exactly like above except drill a large amount of holes near one end. Bury it like above with the "holy" end at the bottom in a back corner or some out of he way place in your tank, but don't add any LECA to the pipe this time. This essentially makes a tube all the way to the bottom of your tank and you will have to siphon (like you would a fish tank) out the excess water. The catch is you can't leave an open hole just hanging out in you viv or you will come up missing a few frogs so you need to get or make a plug that will fit in the top of the pipe for when you aren't draining. Pop the plug into place and cover with a light layer of bark and leaf litter. The access point will be buried and not visible and all you will have to do when you want to drain is remove a small layer of bark and leaves and pull the plug off to access the hole, drain, and replace.


----------



## Toxin (Apr 16, 2007)

Sweet, thanks ill need to do that


----------



## Grassypeak (Jun 14, 2005)

O.K. so now that all of that is settled lets talk about ventilation.


----------



## sbreland (May 4, 2006)

Boy, you thought my last posts were long, don't get me started on that one... :roll:


----------



## Toxin (Apr 16, 2007)

I was gonna do almost a full glass top except im gonna leave about 2-3 inches in the back for a screen like Corpus Callosums http://www.dendroboard.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=29350

If you guys could point me towards a different idea that would be awesome too.


----------



## Grassypeak (Jun 14, 2005)

I mistakenly posted this on Corpus Callosum’s thread. This is where I meant it to go.

Personally, If you are going to go with a screen vent, I would do it in the front of the tank. My first viv had a 1” wide vent across the entire front and only fogged when the lights were out. When the lights came on in the morning the fog cleared. It was pretty cool.


----------



## Toxin (Apr 16, 2007)

do you think it would be safer to have tempered glass cut at binswager glass instead of getting the 1/8 inch picture glass cut at lowes. my light might not rest on the glass. if that happens i could probably use the 1/8 inch, right?


----------



## Jencylivez (May 31, 2007)

whats that gorgeous pink plant in there, and where did you buy it from?


----------



## Toxin (Apr 16, 2007)

Thats a n. treasure chest and i got it from antone

More pics with new light coming tomorrow


----------



## Grassypeak (Jun 14, 2005)

Toxin, 
A 40 breeder is 36 X 18. You are going to want to make some sort of opening, or are you just going to use the screen section as an opening? In any event 1/8” glass works fine on top of a 30 gallon tank, which is 36 inches long. I don’t think you need to go with tempered glass.


----------



## Toxin (Apr 16, 2007)

I was just gonna use the screen part as an opening. 

Ill post new pics in the next hour or so


----------



## Toxin (Apr 16, 2007)

As promised. Pics with new Satellite Sunpaq 96w. Do you guys think this light is good to keep the color in the broms? I planted a new plant yesterday, in the right corner

FTS









New Plant









Rien's Pride(do the upper left and lower right leaves look burnt to you guys, if so how do i fix?)









Treasure Chest









You like? :lol:


----------



## kyle1745 (Feb 15, 2004)

You may want to wet down the substrate a bit more before adding frogs.


----------



## Toxin (Apr 16, 2007)

Ive got moss coming in the mail to cover the substrate and keep the soil humid, and im not getting frogs for a few months.

Thanks 
Toxin


----------



## kyle1745 (Feb 15, 2004)

Cool, and its is an amazing brom.


----------



## Toxin (Apr 16, 2007)

thank you. im hopefully getting my black jungle plants tomorrow.


----------



## Grassypeak (Jun 14, 2005)

I like the fixture. How many bulbs does it hold?

What color temp is the bulb. It looks a little blue in the pictures. That may just be because I’m used to looking at my vivs, which are lit by daylight spiral compact fluorescents (too yellow :? ).


----------



## Toxin (Apr 16, 2007)

theres two bulbs and one is 10000K the other is a 460nm actinic. i dont know if thats what you wanted, but thats what i think your asking.


----------



## Toxin (Apr 16, 2007)

Hey I just got my plants from black jungle, and im having a hard time figuring out where i want to plant them. Im gonna just say give me your opinions.

Peperomia angulata









Anoectochilus roxburghii









Pilea spruceana









Assorted Gesneriad









Pilea cadieri









And the cocohut that i really misunderstood the size on









FTS









-Toxin


----------



## rozdaboff (Feb 27, 2005)

Toxin - 

Not sure if it is just a mistake in the post - or if you have the tags mixed up - but the jewel orchid (Anoectochilus roxburghii) you have labeled as the Gesneriad, and vice versa.


----------



## Toxin (Apr 16, 2007)

thats my fault i probly put the plastic stakes back in the wrong pot  Any ideas of where i should put them. also, any other plant suggestions.


----------



## Toxin (Apr 16, 2007)

I got my moss yesterday. i also planted the plants

Left Side









Right Side









Pilea spruceana









Peperomia Angulata









Pilea Cadieri









Anoectochilus roxburghii


































































Enjoy! :lol:


----------

