# Broms for my 1st Vivarium



## BeastMaster (Jul 29, 2015)

Aloha,
Living on Oahu allows me to take advantage of having a local population of D auratus to keep.

I'll be setting up an Exo Terra 12x12x18 w/ bromiliads & different aquatic plants (Crypts, Buces & Anubias) from cuttings & trimming of my numerous planted tanks.

Locally I've picked up these Broms:
From Olomana Tropicals-
Neo. "Kryptonite"
Neo. "Klingon"
Neo. "Popoki"
Neo. "Wild Tiger"
Cryptanthus "Jade"

From Honolulu Zoo-
Neo. "Fireball"

From Koolau Farms-
grapewood/cork arrangement w/
Tillandsia ionantha 
Tillandsia juncea 
Neo punctatissima or "tiger"?

Planning to attach Broms to cork tile background using superglue gel. Have used this on aquatic plants w/ rhizomes, will this work to affix bromiliads to cork?




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## rigel10 (Jun 1, 2012)

I think 12x12x18 too small for auratus. And broms not strictly necessary for this frog. (My opinion).


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## Drewbacca (Apr 5, 2014)

Since you are living in Hawaii, I don't know about the legality of keeping darts there. Even if their are introduced established D. Auratus populations, I think it is still illegal to transport dart frogs into, within, or out of Hawaii. Some one please correct me if I am wrong, but I would check to find out the legalities first, even if dealing with locally found populations. Better safe then sorry. 
-Drew


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## BeastMaster (Jul 29, 2015)

Just contacted both DLNR & State Ag about local auratus & yes, illegal to import/export off Oahu but no permit is required to possess the animal. So keeping local auratus on this island is not an issue.

Further research on mini "Neo"s found that the nursery owner that I got the bromeliads from is a renowned hybridizer of these miniature epiphytes. Learned that lineages w/ lilliputiana in their background will develop the smallest rosettes. With that, the broms that I listed before will be used in a "Living Wall" project & I recently acquired Neo 'Fireball x lilliputiana', 'Outrigger', 'Manini' & 'Lillipooh' for the vivarium.


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## Encyclia (Aug 23, 2013)

I saw grapewood listed in there somewhere. My experience with that stuff in the high humidity environment of a vivarium is that it disintegrates very quickly. Sounded like maybe you were going to reattach some of the plants, though, so maybe you weren't planning on having it in there.

Mark


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## BeastMaster (Jul 29, 2015)

Encyclia said:


> I saw grapewood listed in there somewhere. My experience with that stuff in the high humidity environment of a vivarium is that it disintegrates very quickly. Sounded like maybe you were going to reattach some of the plants, though, so maybe you weren't planning on having it in there.
> 
> 
> 
> Mark



Thanks Mark for the heads up. Will look elsewhere for some other driftwood pieces to attach the Broms to.

Here a pic of the final lineup of Neos for the vivarium.








Front row- 'Domino', 'Fireball x lilliputiana ', 'Red Waif'
Back row- 'Wild Tiger', 'Popoki'

While looking for the right mix of Broms, picked up a lot of other mini hybrids that were developed by our local breeder. She was extremely helpful in providing guidance with bromeliad care and provided me with a number of beautiful cultivars that she has developed. I'll be putting up vertical wall planters & post pics of those later.


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## BeastMaster (Jul 29, 2015)

Finally received the ExoTerra "mini tall" tank today! Replaced the foam background with a ZooMed cork tile. Added the ZooMed Hydroballs, Substrate mesh & sloped the Eco Earth front to back. Placed two pieces of cork bark & added more Eco Earth to terrace the substrate. 

Finally, placed the selected bromeliads in their visualized positions.









The tank is lighted w/ 12" Finnex planted+ led fixture over the stock lid. Will probably install cellophane over the wire screen to help maintain humidity levels.

Going to sleep on it overnite & if I don't have any issues with it, will either permanently attach the brom bases or just leave in place & allow the plants to take hold. The last step will be to scatter monkey pod leaves over the exposed coco fiber. 




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## jarteta97 (Jun 13, 2014)

Several issues here:
1. Coco fiber as a substrate does not have the necessary nutrients necessary for longtime plant growth, it is also too tightly packed and will cause root rot in most plants. Good ole' ABG (Atlanta Botanical Garden) mix or its equivalent is best for vivariums, allowing for proper drainage and plant nutrients.
2. I don't see a drainage layer (LECA, hydroballs, false bottom, etc.) which means that excess water will pool at the bottom and only escalate the root rot problem.
3. Broms are epiphytic, meaning when planted terrestrially, they will rot. That awesome cork background, though, is perfect for mounting broms, which means you can fill in the bottom with an assortment of ferns, mosses, and a wide plethora of plants that YOU get to choose, all part of the fun 
4. A 12x12x18 is very small, I would not hold more than one frog in it, and if it were my choice, I wouldn't hold any frogs in it, I wouldn't be comfortable with the small footprint.

Otherwise, I love the layering effect you created with the cork pieces, I might replicate it myself, and the broms are beautiful, just fix those mistakes and it will be greater than you would have thought!


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## BeastMaster (Jul 29, 2015)

jarteta97 said:


> Several issues here:
> 
> 1. Coco fiber as a substrate does not have the necessary nutrients necessary for longtime plant growth, it is also too tightly packed and will cause root rot in most plants. Good ole' ABG (Atlanta Botanical Garden) mix or its equivalent is best for vivariums, allowing for proper drainage and plant nutrients.
> 
> ...



Aloha jarteta97. The Broms were placed in position on top of the coco fiber to work out their final locations. The next step will be to place a small mounds of orchid bark in those spots and then nestling them Brom base in the bark mound. The Broms will be left undisturbed till the anchoring roots hold the plant in place.

What I'm doing is growing the Broms under "hard" conditions. Controlling nutrients & light intensity are factors that help to prevent the rosettes from growing large & "leggy". With no fertilizers or soil nutrients (nutrients will be supplied by the PDF later) along with partial filtering of the LED lighting by the screen lid should help to keep the plants small and compact. This technique is based on conversations with a well known bromeliad hybridizer from whom I obtained the Brom pups from.

The pic I posted doesn't show the layer of Hydroballs or the screen mesh under the coco fiber (in the text).

Well aware of the epiphyte growth of Neoregelia but, wanted to make the Brom rosettes accessible to the future auratus. Mounting the plants on the cork background tile will make the Brom cups difficult for the frogs to access. Placing the rosettes on or adjacent to the cork pieces allows the frogs easier access to the Brom cups. After the Broms are established, will experiment with adding some Crypts, Buces and Anubias from some of my planted tank projects to accent the Broms.

The footprint is quite small, but using substrate slope and terracing with the cork pieces should help to stretch the square footage of this setup. 

Placed the clear cellophane under the screen mesh on the lid. It appears to be doing it's job maintaining the humidity level in the tank. Will probably place the orchid bark mounds and finalize the plant positions next.










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## jarteta97 (Jun 13, 2014)

Ok I understand the brom placement now, you learn something new every day, so thank you for the knowledge on brom growth ☺ how many auratus are u placing in the tank? Because i would not keep more than 1 considering the tank size, even despite the increased floor space created through terracing 

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## BeastMaster (Jul 29, 2015)

jarteta97 said:


> Ok I understand the brom placement now, you learn something new every day, so thank you for the knowledge on brom growth ☺ how many auratus are u placing in the tank? Because i would not keep more than 1 considering the tank size, even despite the increased floor space created through terracing
> 
> Sent from my SPH-L720T using Tapatalk



I totally agree with you about keeping only one auratus in this sized tank. More would probably over fertilize the Broms haha.

The technique of mounding orchid bark on coco fiber for Brom rooting is something I haven't seen in terrarium/vivarium so, this might be new. Coming from a planted tank background kinda slants my look towards vivariums.


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## JPP (Mar 25, 2015)

BeastMaster said:


> Mounting the plants on the cork background tile will make the Brom cups difficult for the frogs to access.


Nah, no it won't. They'll climb right up the cork, even the wet glass sides. Especially in a tank that tiny.


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## BeastMaster (Jul 29, 2015)

A change up update. Looks like an all Brom tank! Had a couple of Cryptanthus 'Variegata', Tillandsia ionantha & Tillandsia stricta? (Tillandsia from a grapewood arrangement) available so, in they go. The ionantha were superglued to the cork tile, the earth stars into the coco fiber & the stricta? superglued to the cork pieces. Also braced the Neos w/ small mounds of orchid bark. Last step will be covering open areas w/ monkey pod leaves.










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## BeastMaster (Jul 29, 2015)

Oops, that was the before pic, here's the after pic










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## BeastMaster (Jul 29, 2015)

Reviewed the FCBS database for ID of stricta? Appears to resemble T. bartramii. That will be the tentative ID until it floresces & positive ID can be made.


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## BeastMaster (Jul 29, 2015)

Have to show off my collection of mini Neos. While researching these small epiphytes, came across a number of suitable candidates that I couldn't pass up. Decided to put up a Brom Wall w/ all the extras.
I temporarily potted them in 4" pots filled w/ orchid bark until the components for the vertical planters were received along with the shade cloth that was recommended by our local breeder. When all the parts arrived and the shage screen frame was fabricated, the Brom pups were repotted w/ additional orchid bark. The roofs were made using 60% shade cloth installed in a custom sized window screen frame & hung using paracord & hooks. The 4 tier felt planters were tied to a 4' piece of slotted flat bar that was suspended from construction straps that were folded over the was wall caps. This design was to closely replicated the conditions (lighting, air circulation) were most of the pups came from.










































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## Mohlerbear (Feb 20, 2014)

Awesome!


Loading bowls and building vivs! Braaap!
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## Frogtofall (Feb 16, 2006)

BeastMaster said:


> *...What I'm doing is growing the Broms under "hard" conditions. Controlling nutrients & light intensity are factors that help to prevent the rosettes from growing large & "leggy". With no fertilizers or soil nutrients (nutrients will be supplied by the PDF later) along with partial filtering of the LED lighting by the screen lid should help to keep the plants small and compact. This technique is based on conversations with a well known bromeliad hybridizer from whom I obtained the Brom pups from...*



Growing bromeliads the way you are growing them is not growing them, "hard". Growing hard would require significantly highler light, ie almost full actual sunlight or a light with the capability to produce a heck of a lot more light that what it looks like they are getting right now.

Doing this in a terrarium is actually kind of difficult b/c while there are lights strong enough, they would almost certainly cook the plants in a typical dart frog style terrarium. That being said, you can get pretty nice color and shape in a terrarium but it will be nothing quite like growing a bromeliad hard outside in the sun with almost zero food for that tight shape. You will inevitably get a bit of "stretch" in a terrarium. It's unavoidable.

It sounds like you met Lisa Vinzant. She has some pretty stellar hybrids. Darth Vador (a Billbergia) is one in particular that is pretty amazing.


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## BeastMaster (Jul 29, 2015)

Frogtofall said:


> Growing bromeliads the way you are growing them is not growing them, "hard". Growing hard would require significantly highler light, ie almost full actual sunlight or a light with the capability to produce a heck of a lot more light that what it looks like they are getting right now.
> 
> Doing this in a terrarium is actually kind of difficult b/c while there are lights strong enough, they would almost certainly cook the plants in a typical dart frog style terrarium. That being said, you can get pretty nice color and shape in a terrarium but it will be nothing quite like growing a bromeliad hard outside in the sun with almost zero food for that tight shape. You will inevitably get a bit of "stretch" in a terrarium. It's unavoidable.
> 
> It sounds like you met Lisa Vinzant. She has some pretty stellar hybrids. Darth Vador (a Billbergia) is one in particular that is pretty amazing.


Aloha Frogtofall
When I spoke with Lisa, I came away with lighting & nutrients as controlling factors in preventing "leggyness" in broms. I tried to maintain the same lighting conditions by using the same grade of shade cloth that she uses over her nursery over the vertical planters. In the vivarium, I'm going to monitor the screen filtered LED lighting & the lighting cycle that I'm using and try to adjust as they grow. She infrequently feeds her broms with a very low NKP fertilizer. I've read somewhere in the forum about minimizing/not fertilizing as part of "hard" cultivation techniques. That's why I'm not feeding the rosettes for now & using orchid bark as potting medium vice substrate that may contain nutrients. She also mentioned that changes in thier environment may also cause them to "stretch" until they adjust to the changes. 
Looked up the Darth Vader Billbergia & yeah, that is pretty amazing! Thanks for looking.


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## BeastMaster (Jul 29, 2015)

Discovered this Neo. 'Popoki' pup today in the vivarium.








All the other Broms have not shown any growth or development so far. Misting daily keeping the Neo cups filled w/ water.


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## BeastMaster (Jul 29, 2015)

"Dixon" did some mods to Brom City. It trampled one of the T bartramii in the foreground. I removed it & started looking for a replacement. Found a T bulbosa that I really liked but didn't really look right in the foreground. Found a place for it on the cork tile where it's been superglued into position.


















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## BeastMaster (Jul 29, 2015)

Just put down a new layer of monkey pod leaves. The Brom count is now 16 with the addition of a 2nd T bulbosa and 2 new T vanhyningii. The Neo 'Popoki' & the 'Fireball' x lilliputiana are putting out stolons/offsets & the Cryptanthus are developing new leaves. Only the T bartramii & T ionantha remain unchanged over the 4 week period.


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## Mohlerbear (Feb 20, 2014)

Are all of your broms in the substrate?


Loading bowls and building vivs! Braaap!
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## BeastMaster (Jul 29, 2015)

Mohlerbear said:


> Are all of your broms in the substrate?
> 
> 
> Loading bowls and building vivs! Braaap!
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk



Only Cryptanthus. The Neos are either sitting on small mounds of orchid bark or wedged between the cork. All the Tillies are superglued into place. 


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## Darrell S (Jan 9, 2011)

I had a question about mini neo's . I'm in a real steep learning curve for bromeliads . Is a mini neo a type of bromeliad that stays small. If so do they have a water tank in the center ? I need to remove a brom that is getting too large and would like to replace it with something that tends to stay small for the thumbs. If you have a suggestion I would appreciate it. Also does the person you have been getting yours from have a online store. Thank you.


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## BeastMaster (Jul 29, 2015)

Darrell S said:


> I had a question about mini neo's . I'm in a real steep learning curve for bromeliads . Is a mini neo a type of bromeliad that stays small. If so do they have a water tank in the center ? I need to remove a brom that is getting too large and would like to replace it with something that tends to stay small for the thumbs. If you have a suggestion I would appreciate it. Also does the person you have been getting yours from have a online store. Thank you.



Happy Thanksgiving Darrell. Mini Neos for me are those species or hybrids that the breeder/retailer has advertised the rosette remains under 15cm (6"). Lisa Vinzant is a local breeder here and her hybrids are available thru Bromeliads.com & Tropiflora.com. Some of my favorites are 'Outrigger', 'Popoki', 'Hobie Cat' & 'Ally Oop'.
Good luck.



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## Darrell S (Jan 9, 2011)

Happy Thanksgiving to to you and yours Beastmaster. Thank you for the reply and suggestions , I will keep reading and researching .


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## BeastMaster (Jul 29, 2015)

Darrell, also check bsi.org registry & FCBS.org database.


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## holmarie (Nov 30, 2015)

Love the cork in this tank! And the broms.. And everything about it =]


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## BeastMaster (Jul 29, 2015)

holmarie said:


> Love the cork in this tank! And the broms.. And everything about it =]



Thank you. The use of a cork tile made for this tank size makes it easy to just plug it in. The cork pieces were found @ a local nursery. This made it easy & simple to put together the hardscape for my 1st vivarium.
The Neo broms were available locally. Here on Oahu, I'm very lucky to have a noted breeder of mini Neos, Lisa Vinzant. She is a wealth of knowledge in keeping these beautiful epiphytes. The Tillies were purchased from Home Depot & a local nursery coop. 
I used monkey pod leaves because they are readily available here. I got my leaf litter from the Honolulu Zoo where I work because I know they are pesticide free.
I hand mist daily w/ tap water & only keep the front glass doors clean of water droplets. I leave the sides alone & allow residues to coat the interior glass. The hope is the opaqueness should help "Dixon" feel more secure.
The use of cellophane over (actually under) the ExoTerra screen cover is working well in maintaining humidity levels along w/ being able to be transparent enough for the LED lighting.
Really had a lot of fun putting this project together. It'll be interesting watching this vivarium develop. 
Oops, sorry for being so long winded.


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