# Medic1's 40 breeder peninsula!



## Medic1 (Jan 18, 2013)

After a few years of reefing, I have finally decided to pull the trigger on a vivarium. Due to financial circumstances, I had to get rid of my reefing equipment. Fortunately, I've used the money from that to fund the vivarium build. Inspired by Grimm's peninsula, I've decided to build my own peninsula build. Now, this is my first vivarium I've built, so it may be a bit sloppy. Any bit of advice would be great! I'm so stoked for this!!


----------



## Kas (Oct 6, 2013)

No advice but want to say, "Great start!"


----------



## Medic1 (Jan 18, 2013)

Awesome, thank you!!!  I'm slowly getting everything pieced together. Still looking for some show stopping pieces of driftwood. Thank god I only need maybe two more pieces! I should get a little bit more done this weekend. Things are starting to pull together, finally! Been working on this bad boy for about three months!


----------



## asunderco (Apr 4, 2011)

Medic1 said:


> Been working on this bad boy for about three months!


Nice. Yeah take your time. You can always tell a rushed tank and one with thought put into them.


----------



## Trickishleaf (Jun 29, 2012)

Good to hear you're taking your time. Every regret I have in a tank is when I got impatient and rushed something. 
I love the 40breeder footprint. I'm excited to see how this turns out.

My only advice to you is regarding plants. I see people make really sweet hardscapes etc... and then put lemon button ferns and pothos in there.
If you really want to make your tank stand out, use more Peperomias and rarer ferns, Gesneriads, Orchids/Jewel Orchids (Macodes Petola is one of my favorite plants). It will cost you a couple bucks more per plant, but you'll love the result in the long run!

I wasted a lot of growing time by starting with cheaper plants to save money, and ended up ripping them out and replacing them with more exotic ones.


----------



## Adam R (Jun 26, 2013)

Medic1 said:


> Awesome, thank you!!!  I'm slowly getting everything pieced together. Still looking for some show stopping pieces of driftwood. Thank god I only need maybe two more pieces! I should get a little bit more done this weekend. Things are starting to pull together, finally! Been working on this bad boy for about three months!


one word of advise, make sure the driftwood is "non rotting". ive used just about everything under the sun and Malaysian driftwood has fared the best for me. its just difficult to find it sometimes, and for the right price. 

actually another thing i learned is, if you can help it, try to find a substrate that inst too messy. the frogs walk and climb over everything while your away. they will make a mess of the tank walls and plants if you have a fine dirt-like substrate. i switched to fluval stratum after seeing how it works for grimm and i love it. it is very pricey as well but its very multipurposed


----------



## Medic1 (Jan 18, 2013)

Hey thanks for the replies everyone! I'm working on getting a little more progress done, no thanks to the holidays!  lol Anyway, any good recommendations for some ground cover plants or just some basic fillers? I'm planning on adding a few jewel orchids and a couple peperomia. I really like genseriads as an idea, as well as a few ferns (not lemon button). I'm up for any ideas, really. Also, I have 4 broms, debating on adding a couple more. Thoughts?


----------



## Medic1 (Jan 18, 2013)

Also, I'm thinking about scrapping my idea for a water feature. Seems to be too big of a hassle for such a small area! I'm definitely planning on a water feature for the next build, however. But that's going to be more of a paludarium than anything, possibly with some red eyed tree frogs. Still undecided yet!


----------



## Adam R (Jun 26, 2013)

Medic1 said:


> Also, I'm thinking about scrapping my idea for a water feature. Seems to be too big of a hassle for such a small area! I'm definitely planning on a water feature for the next build, however. But that's going to be more of a paludarium than anything, possibly with some red eyed tree frogs. Still undecided yet!


good idea to wait, guarantee you will thank yourself later. my first build i thought was fantastic, till time started to pick it apart. you will learn alot from your first tank so it helps to start as simple as you can allow yourself


----------



## Medic1 (Jan 18, 2013)

Got it all set up and planted, FINALLY! Now it's time to let everything grow in. Definitely planning on adding at least one more piece of driftwood and more foliage. Until then, time to let it all grow!


----------



## Medic1 (Jan 18, 2013)

Wow, I'm kinda digging this! Must be doing something right to not have much in terms of tips or advice! Lol

Well, now that things are up and running, I've definitely noticed an improvement in my plants already. Now it's time to play the waiting game. I think I've decided on getting a group of 3 or 4 Tinc Cobalts or the same sized group of Costa Rican Auratus. Can anyone chime in as to which group would be a little more suited for this kind of tank?? Thanks in advance!


----------



## Medic1 (Jan 18, 2013)

Here's a quick little update! It's been about a month and a half now since I've set everything up. Plants look like they've almost fully recovered and are now starting to show signs of new growth! I also got some clippings from a guy that hooked me up with a few really nice pieces. Hopefully within the next two weeks, the clippings will have established and I'll be able to put frogs in! I've finally decided that I'm going to get a pair of green sips from the same guy I got the clippings from. The big plan is to add about two or three more after a while, hopefully to get a good group with potential to breed in there. Anyway, I've rambled enough, ENJOY!  lol

Don't mind the dirty glass or crappy cell phone quality!







Looks like my neo fireball is starting to put off a pup already! Super stoked!



Anyway, thanks for looking!! Feedback is ALWAYS welcome!


----------



## ngeno626 (Nov 14, 2013)

great start. post some more pics when it starts to fill in


----------



## Medic1 (Jan 18, 2013)

Hey thank you! I'm definitely looking forward to see the growth that I'll get within the next month.


----------



## Medic1 (Jan 18, 2013)

GETTING FROGS TOMORROW!!!!!  A pair of green sips!


----------



## Aldross (Dec 30, 2013)

Looking good. I'm sure they will love it. Make sure that you put them in quarantine before putting them in you well done viv. You want to make sure they are healthy so you don't have any issues. 
Be sure to post pics when they show up.


----------



## Medic1 (Jan 18, 2013)

Got them yesterday! And I didn't QT them... :/ Too far past the point? I fed them some melanogasters as soon as I got them to my place and they chowed down. Within minutes of introducing them into my tank, they were hunting springtails as well. Fed them again today and they are PIGS! If I need to QT, I'll do so without hesitation, but they look nice and healthy! Here's some pics!!  Thanks for the look and replies!

Just fed them, they want OUT! lol










Couldn't help taking a top-down shot on these guys!


Now, I'm pretty sure they're both males. If anyone could help me with identifying this, that'd be cool. I'd like to get at least one more, preferably a female at that. Any advise is welcome! At that, though, I think it's time to start another build!  haha! Dang, I've got the dendro bug!


----------



## Jessa (Feb 9, 2014)

Nice job on the build, you must be so excited to finally have it done! I was interested in finding out how many gallons your setup is? Also, do you have any idea on about how old the frogs are?


----------



## Medic1 (Jan 18, 2013)

Thank you! I'm super stoked to have it all finished. Now the fun part really begins, watching it all grow in and enjoying the frogs! The tank is a 40 gallon breeder, wish it was taller, but I had it sitting around since I decided to not make it into a reef. As to the age of the frogs, I am unsure. The guy I bought them from wasn't quite sure. Plus he was told they were a "breeding pair," even though he's told me they never showed any breeding behavior. On top of that, they both look like males! Oh well! I can try and trace it back to the original seller, but I'm not sure how well that'll work out for me. They're definitely adults, I can say that much!


----------



## Medic1 (Jan 18, 2013)

So, I know I just got started with this and my build is definitely VERY young, but I am going to be replacing it. I found one awesome deal on two 18x18x24 Exo-Terra tanks and I'd like to put them side by side on the stand I have the 40 breeder on currently. The main reason I'm doing this is the fact that a 40 gallon breeder just isn't tall enough for what I'm looking for. Also, the peninsula look just doesn't work in my apartment. This was supposed to go behind a love seat, but things just haven't worked out the way I'd like them to. So, I'm going to be doing another build thread here very soon!  Here's a couple pics of what I have so far. $35 is tough to pass up on an exo-terra! Especially when they're in great shape!



The guy also gave me a free froglet! He said that he didn't know about it until he was starting to clean out his supplies. It looks nice and healthy, most likely tank raised by parents. Plus it eats like a champ, so I'm not too concerned!

Looks like a D. Tinctorius "Boulanger"


Well, stay tuned. I'll have a new thread up this week!


----------



## Medic1 (Jan 18, 2013)

Just a few quick photos for you all!!!  My apologies for the crappy cell pics and crappier lighting, but hey, it's some views of my frogs! 

Chow time!!


Moving a little quick for the camera. Definitely more interested on snagging some melanos than posing!


This is a little more interesting view of foliage than anything. I need to get a nice camera set up to really be able to snap some choice shots.


Got one of my begonia clippings to really grow and bloom like mad. Basic looking flowers, but it adds a nice touch to the viv.


----------



## Limitedjive (Jan 16, 2013)

Medic i thought i recognized ya from nano-reef. Hahaha i did the same thing still have my reef tho. Your setup looks great.


----------

