# Another Exo Terra 18 X 18 X 24 with lots of detail!



## cpalmerpdx (Dec 3, 2012)

Well, I've been lurking on here for a few weeks, and I started my first build using bits and pieces of information that I picked up from this site. Thanks, everyone for your help! Now I'd like to give back by providing pictures and a lot of technical details from my own build, with hopes that I can help someone else in the future. I've been in the dart frog world for quite a few years now, but I've never put together a cool tank. I received an early Christmas gift, an Exo Terra 36 X 18 X 36. Whoa! It's big! I wanted to build a great stuff background, but decided I should probably practice on a smaller tank. So, that's where the 18 X 18 X 24 comes in. 

Here is the tank to start. Very pretty...I hope I don't screw it up.


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## cpalmerpdx (Dec 3, 2012)

I used aquarium sealant to reinforce the seal at the bottom of the tank.

I decided to build a Great Stuff background, so I covered the back and sides with GE Silicone II Black (window/door/attic/basement 100% silicone). This stuff costs approximately $6.50 a tube and I was able to find it at Home Depot (not at my local Ace Hardware or Lowes). 

I put on my gloves and, using my caulking gun, quickly applied thick lines on all three sides, thinking I could then rapidly smear the silicone flat. NOT a good idea. I'm fast, but this stuff dries quickly. By the time I got a thick bead on all three sides, it was already starting to thicken, making it very difficult to smear on the glass. When I do my large tank, I will apply a relatively small patch at a time...maybe half of one side of the glass at a time. 

Because I had a smeary mess after my first application, I had to wait for that to dry and then try to even it all out with more silicone after my first layer dried. It took three tubes of silicone to do all three sides.


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## cpalmerpdx (Dec 3, 2012)

Next, I decided I wanted a way to siphon water from the bottom of the tank when necessary. I put in 1/4 inch tubing (because it fits in the slot at the top of the Exo Terra tank), running it from the bottom, up the side, over the top, and down the back. Because the tubing is so narrow, I don't want it to clog (I'm going to put LECA at the bottom). So, using egg crate, I built a little frame to protect the tubing. The bottom piece is 'hollowed' out at the center and the tubing is within. The two smaller pieces on top are off-set so that the grid holes are smaller. The three pieces are held together with cable ties, wrapped in mesh, and siliconed to the bottom of the tank.

In retrospect, I realize how silly the design is. Like this, the tubing is going to end up getting embedded in the great stuff background, so I'll never be able to take it out. A MUCH easier and more efficient way to do this would be to silicone a larger tube down the inside, down to the bottom. Apply mesh to the open end. Insert the smaller tubing down into the larger tubing. That's what I plan on doing with my large tank.


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## cpalmerpdx (Dec 3, 2012)

The great stuff background was my next step. I purchased the gaps and cracks Great Stuff in the yellow and red can. A 12 oz can was ~$3.50 and the 16 oz can was ~$4.28. I did all three sides, one side each day. As you can see, I put it on kind of thick - each side represents one full can of GS (three cans total). 

I applied the foam slowly, careful not to get too close to the sides of the tank (I was afraid it would expand too much and crack the glass). I hated leaving this stuff to cure for a whole day (I'm NOT a patient person), but I didn't want to risk having the background peel away from the silicone because the Great Stuff wasn't fully cured. Once I finished one side, I flipped the tank so that the next side to get sprayed was lying flat. I really dreaded this GS step, but honestly, it wasn't too bad. It is VERY sticky though, so be sure to wear gloves. I was very careful and still managed to get some on my hands and clothes during this build (in later steps where things get more detailed). My hands still look lovely. Perfect timing for serving Christmas dinner.

I played with the idea of securing my wood, net pots, and what-not to the back before applying the great stuff. But, because some of the wood is really heavy, and because I'm not that great with spatial design, I decided to do the GS background first and then cut into the foam to design where I want the wood and what-not to go. This also provided a substrate to help stabilize my heavier wood pieces.

The big mistake that I made at this point was that I forgot to take the filter off the front of the tank. The filter is a piece that snaps out of the tank. I had bought some no-see-um netting and I wanted to apply this netting to the inside of the filter/screen so that fruit flies can't escape (I don't want to cover the filter with silicone because I want some air to get into my tank). But, I GSed the sides and effectively trapped the filter in place. I had to secure the netting over the filter while it was still in the tank, and had a hard time getting the netting all the way to the edges of the filter. Sigh! 

Remember to take into account your doors and the expansion of the GS! I didn't get too close to the doors, just to be safe. I did go all the way up to the rim at the top though because I figured it would be easy to trim up there.

Oh, let me step back to the silicone step for a second. Be sure to be careful not to silicone your doors shut. I almost did, but remembered to open my doors at the last second. They had a thin film of silicone on them and someone said not to worry, it comes off of glass easily. Well, I let mine cure before I tried to razor blade it off and I didn't think it came off all that easily. There is still a very thin, sticky layer that I'm going to have to rub off. Next time I will apply tape on the inside seam of the doors to prevent this extra nuisance.


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## cpalmerpdx (Dec 3, 2012)

Alright, so next I had to decide where to put my wood and plants. This tank is taller than it is wide, and I want my frogs to have maximum space to explore. So, I decided to build several floors, with ample room for them to walk around on each 'floor'. I held the items that I wanted to embed into the foam background where I wanted them and cut into the foam. Then I laid the tank down and worked one side at a time, using GS to secure my items in place.

The first level is going to be ground level. It will be rather dark down there (understory), with leaf litter, a coco hut, maybe a piece of wood or cork tubing, and some low light plants. I GSed in a very nice piece of cork bark on the back of the tank (although it doesn't look very nice in this picture, you are going to have to trust me on this one) to make it look like the trunk of a tree (plus, I can attach plants to it if I want). I later carved out a lot of the GS from the lower level, to maximize the amount of living space for the frogs. 

The second level is made of up a length of mopani wood. This stuff is heavy! I put it at an angle, so that one end is near the substrate (1st level) and the other end extends up to the third level. To install, I used quite a bit of GS, and an empty tube of silicone to help keep it propped in place. I'm amazed at how strong the GS is...I don't think this wood will ever budge. 

The third level is made of up ghost wood pieces, pods, and 2" and 3" net pots. I used GS to build out this level, and then carved out runways and a cave so that the frogs can explore this level too. Right above this level, I attached a cork tube to give them more interest (although I fear the tube is too small for my monster frogs (D. tinctorius, cobalt)). 

If I could have a re-do, I would put the third level down at least an inch. The way that it is limits what I can plant at this level. 

Most of my plants will be at the highest (canopy) level and the bottom will be rather dark. I really debated whether I wanted to do it this way (build out the top later horizontally so much). I tried to think like a frog as I was building, and finally came out with this design.  I hope they appreciate it!










This one is from the top looking down 









This gives you a better view of the second level









This shows the cork bark and more of the upper design


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## cpalmerpdx (Dec 3, 2012)

In two posts above, I said at each side represents one can of GS. I want to specify that they were the 12 oz size cans. 

In the post above, it took 1 or 2 (I can't remember) 12 oz cans of GS to get the pieces of wood and what-not in...for a grand total of 4-5 cans of GS (I think it was 4)

Okay, this next step was the part where I did A LOT of research. It's winter, so I'm doing this project in my livingroom, so I was hoping to find a way to spruce up the background without too many fumes. I also decided that I really don't like silicone that much (costly and miserable to work with). I was really inspired by Frank Payne's amazing tank and I decided to try Drylok. I bought 1 gallon (smallest size they had) of the UGL Drylok latex base masonry waterproofer (white) - in a teal, white and red can. It costs ~23.00 and will be enough to do several tanks. I also bought two bottles of Quickrete liquid cement color, brown and terra cotta. They were $5-6 a bottle. If I had to do it again, I would buy just the brown and not bother with any other color. One bottle is enough to do thousands of tanks...seriously, this stuff stretches far!

As Frank suggested, I applied the tinted Drylok over the GS by itself (nothing else) and let it cure for a day. I did not sand the Great Stuff first, and the Drylok adhered just fine. Drylok is very strange stuff...a moderately thick consistency with sand or something mixed in. It was pretty cool and very easy to use. I used cheap, disposable paint brushes (small and medium sized) and kept them in a Ziploc baggie between coats. 

I didn't bother taping off my wood because I have a Dremel tool and any marks that end up on my woodwork can be easily sanded off. 

If I had it to do over again, I would tape off the black plastic rim at the top of my tank before doing the Drylok step. I got Drylok on this plastic, thinking it would be easy to remove later on, and it turns out to be very difficult to get off plastic.

The fumes weren't horrible but it wasn't great either. I got a little high and ended up wearing a mask when I did my 2nd and 3rd coats. 

Here is the first coat (Drylok only)









A closer view...you can see where I missed some crevices 










From the top of the tank...


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## cpalmerpdx (Dec 3, 2012)

The next day, I added a second coat of tinted Drylok and pressed Exo Terra Plantation Soil substrate into it. The substrate was purchased as hard blocks. The directions said to add one gallon of water to a block and wait for it to expand. I put two blocks in a huge pot and then added one gallon of water (half the recommended amount). It was enough water, but the substrate was still too moist to add directly to the Drylok background. I had to spread it out on baking sheets and bake it at 220 F...ALL DAY. It took forever and, as I may have mentioned, I'm not really a very patient person. Next time, I will add one cup of boiling water to the block and see what I can do to break it up. Two blocks was more than enough to do the whole tank. I was pretty wasteful, so I bet one block would have been ample. 

So, with the tank laying flat, I added a generous layer of Drylok over the GS and then pressed this 'soil' into it. I did half a side of the tank with Drylok and then dumped on a huge pile of the soil, and pressed it in. Then I did the other half of the side of the tank. After an hour, I flipped the tank to do the next side...and then the next. Given that I have a lot of detail in this tank, and a lot of nooks and crannies, I am SO GLAD I did not use silicone. Drylok was perfect for this project. Really easy to use. 

The next day, I went in to do my third layer of Drylok. I noticed that the GS background had shrunk a little, exposing some holes that weren't there the day before. This didn't shock me since Frank had mentioned it happening to him when he didn't allow enough time for GS to cure. However, I'm pretty sure my GS was fully cured and it happened to me anyway. How long does it take GS to cure anyway? 

It wasn't a big deal. I had brown silicone (GE II) and used that to fill in cracks and crevices. I had big holes that led to another dimension under my various wood pieces. I love frogs, but sometimes that aren't the smartest creatures in the world. I decided I should plug up every weird crack, crevice, or hole to keep my frogs from exploring the inside of my GS backgrond. Silicone was enough in some cases, but for the larger gaps under the wood, I decided to break up the background that comes with the Exo Terra tank and use pieces of it to plug the holes. The Exo Terra background is a type of styrofoam. I know some of you mentioned that styrofoam in tanks leaches chemicals into the water that are acting like an endocrine disrupters, so I thought twice about using it. But, I figured that Exo Terra is (hopefully) using an animal safe style of styrofoam (several people leave the background in their frog tanks and don't seem to have a problem), I'm using the equivalent of a 3" X 3" piece (or less) under the wood, and I don't plan on breeding my frogs (I think they are both males anyway). So, I decided it (and lots of silicone) was my best option for plugging holes.

I applied the third layer of Drylok in places that I thought needed a thicker layer of plantation soil and then I sanded the paint off my wood. I think it turned out pretty great! I used a toothbrush to get all the excess 'soil' off the background, and vacuumed it out. I was very generous with the Drylok and, hours later, I can see a lot of areas that are still wet. I am going to give this a few days to cure and then rinse it all down with water before I start putting in my LECA and substrate layers. Besides, I don't have any plants yet anyway. I can't seem to find anything locally (Portland, OR...there must be somewhere to buy locally!?), and I hate to have plants shipped from the east coast this time of year, but I guess I'm going to have to. 

In the meantime, I will ponder how I'm going to do my top. I'm considering using the screen frame that comes with the tank and fitting glass to it. Has anyone had success doing it this way?

I'll keep you all posted! In the meantime, happy holidays to you all 



















I just wanted to add one note while I still have time to edit.

With the net pots...I tried using a straw that extended from the bottom of the pot, down through the GS layer, and out for drainage down to the substrate level. However, the straws were not that easy to work with, and I wasn't sure I was getting the proper drainage on the pots. So, what I did was use a chop stick to poke holes down through the Great Stuff after it had completely cured.


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## ralph (Sep 13, 2006)

Nice work so far. Don't forget drainage for those pots in the foam.


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## cpalmerpdx (Dec 3, 2012)




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## shiloh (Nov 28, 2012)

This looks really great, especially for a first build. I love the idea to have different tiers built into your background. Have you checked to see if your drainage line is still good? I've heard that the gs expanding can collapse those plastic airline tubes pretty easily.


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## mydumname (Dec 24, 2004)

For future....they sell coco fiber in bag form that is much dryer. I use it right out of the bag but you could let it sit spread out overnight to dry. Won't take long.

Also....that seems like quite an excessive amount of silicone. I spread some on two 24x18x18 tanks last week and didn't even use one bottle. All three sides as well.


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## trendkill (Nov 5, 2012)

Love the layout and the placement of the branches.. this is going to be really nice.


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## cpalmerpdx (Dec 3, 2012)

Thanks, Nicole! I'm excited  It's such an upgrade for my frogs.


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## cpalmerpdx (Dec 3, 2012)

Thanks, Xeophex. I used a chop stick to poke holes through the GS after it had cured.


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## cpalmerpdx (Dec 3, 2012)

Greg - I'm amazed that you can do three sides with half a tube. Do you mind telling me how you are spreading it on? I can't seem to get an even coat. My use was excessive - partly to try to cover up the fiasco that was the first layer, but I would have used a minimum of 1.5 tubes even if things went perfectly from the start. When you are done, is it just a translucent gray, or is it black? 

Thanks for the heads up on the coco fiber...that would be so much better. Unfortunately, I bought TWELVE blocks of this stuff! One problem that I'm having is that I'm over-buying supplies (which is why I'm including these details in my thread, to help newbies prepare more efficiently). I have enough of just about everything to build several more vivs. I think I have enough cork bark to panel my livingroom


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## Nismo95 (Jul 30, 2011)

they sell spatula's at home improvement stores. the metal kind. We have them at the house for when we did drywalling or applying grout. basically squirt out a good hefty line of silicone at one end of the glass and than use the tool to spread it flat.. after doing it by hand for a few vivs and than using the tool... it was a no brainer what we'll do from now on.


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## cpalmerpdx (Dec 3, 2012)

Hmmm, like a grout float?


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## mydumname (Dec 24, 2004)

Return the blocks?

I squeeze some silicone on and spread it with my finger. I do a thin coat. Don't see a need or.a difference for a thick coat. Your goal is to have it connect to.silicone not.glass. so.thickness shouldn't matter.


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## cpalmerpdx (Dec 3, 2012)

Thanks, Shiloh. That's really good thinking. Fortunately, my air hose still works...probably because it is so small. But, your message makes me wonder how useful my 'upgraded' design (tube within a bigger tube) is going to be. Hmmmm. Thanks!


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## cpalmerpdx (Dec 3, 2012)

Okay, today I managed to work on the inside of the tank a bit. I covered all my net pots with plastic and sprayed out the inside with the sprayer on the kitchen sink. I wanted to completely rinse the background off. Then I generously rinsed it again with distilled water and a sprayer. I siphoned off all the water from the bottom and completely cleaned out and rinsed the bottom of the tank.

I took a 10 liter bag of LECA (clay balls, the brand name I used is Hydroton, used for plants/hydroponics, cost ~23.00 a 10 liter bag) and rinsed it out thoroughly in the sink. I then used a big collander and poured boiling water over the LECA and then did a final rinse with distilled water. The 10 liter bag filled the bottom of my tank to almost 2" high. Sorry it doesn't show in my picture.

I covered the layer of LECA with substrate mesh. I used Exo Terra bio drain terrarium mesh because I wanted to see what it was like. It's pretty nice stuff (but I'll probably use my cheaper stuff in the future to save $)

On top of this, I put ABG mix substrate. It is actually a special mix (NE Herps, where I purchased it from puts it together). I bought a lot of this, so I'm not sure the exact quantity that went in the tank. I wetted it with distilled water and added 2 (1) gallon bags. This filled the bottom to ~ 2 inches of substrate. I may end up adding more once it settles a bit. 

Here it is with the floor in


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## frogparty (Dec 27, 2007)

Coming together very nicely


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## pdfCrazy (Feb 28, 2012)

Well, for a first build, I think its a very good job. I especially like the way your "levels" create shelves the frogs can walk on instead of having to hang vertical. The net pots area in good spots and I liek where you put the nut pod "bowl". Not to criticize, but the one drawback I see every time I see a background of this type (and your view from the top really showed to the extent) that these background being as thick as they are, take up an enormous amount of the interior volume of the tank. I cant argue witht he end product though, looks good.


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## cpalmerpdx (Dec 3, 2012)

Thanks for the encouragement, both of you 

PdfCrazy, I know what you mean. I really hemmed and hawed about putting in such an extension on the background. I decided to go for it because it creates so much more surface area for the frogs. I carved out most of it at the very bottom, so they have nearly the entire 18X18" space to cruise around at the bottom there. Then I built out the top most layer quite a bit, otherwise all that space just kind of goes to waste. The only downside to doing this is that it is going to make the bottom of the tank rather dark once the plants fill in at the top level. But, I figured the increase in livable space for the frogs is worth it, and maybe they'd like to go somewhere dark once in a while and get away from the lights. I'm very interested to see where they will spend most of their time.


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## cpalmerpdx (Dec 3, 2012)

Okay, next I put in some leaf litter and furniture at the bottom-most layer. 

I used three different types of leaf litter: sea grape, magnolia, and live oak. 

I soaked all of my pods, the cork tube, and other accessories in boiling water and then rinsed them off with distilled water before placing them in the tank. 

here is a pic of the tank









Here is a bit more detail - you can barely see it, but at the top-ish right side (darkest corner, under the mopani wood shelf) is a large, dark coco hut. It shows how much of the floor space on the first level is still available to the frogs. In fact, there is still quite a bit of room in that corner for the frogs to cruise around and frolic because the mopani wood shelf is slanted upward. Maybe next time I do something like this, I'll slant the shelf in the opposite direction so that there is more viewable space. As it is, 15% of the total space at bottom is completely non-viewable. Hmmmm. 










This gives a little bit more detail of the left, bottom side. The far left side has a relatively large piece of cork tubing for the frogs to go into and climb on


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## cpalmerpdx (Dec 3, 2012)

I started on my large tank, making the modifications that I describe above. I just applied silicone to the back and sides and this time I used a drywall trowel to spread it. Much easier and it looks so much better. I still put it on thick because it is going to be in my livingroom and I don't want the yellow Great Stuff to show through. I want the sides to be pitch black.


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## Fishbone (Dec 12, 2012)

Nice work!

Thanks for the details too...very helpful!

I might have missed it, but what frogs are you going to put in there?

When you put your plants in, I hope you use the same type of details.
(Plant name/location and where you got them from)

Thanks


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## cpalmerpdx (Dec 3, 2012)

Thanks, and I'm glad this post is useful to you  I will continue to include as many details as possible.

I'm going to put in (2) 5.5 year old Surinam giant cobalts. Both are male, so I'm toying with the idea of adding an adult female. I can't wait to add my frogs to this tank. It is such an upgrade for them. 

Take care,


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## ralph (Sep 13, 2006)

cpalmerpdx said:


> Thanks, Xeophex. I used a chop stick to poke holes through the GS after it had cured.


No problem. I didn't refresh before I posted and hadn't seen you earlier post stating that.
Anyway, good idea about the chopsticks. Something I may have to do too. I'm planning on having some plastic tubing coming off my pots - but it may not work out.


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## frogparty (Dec 27, 2007)

I like how the pods are incorporated up into your background hard scape. Since there's no drainage, you should consider planting one with a Utricularia like U. longifolia. Great flowers and cool foliage


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## cpalmerpdx (Dec 3, 2012)

Oh my gosh, that plant is adorable! Thank you for the suggestion. I'm going to try to find it locally.


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## cpalmerpdx (Dec 3, 2012)

It's been a while since I last posted, but I planted my small tank, built my large tank and planted the big one too.

I had a local glass shop cut the glass for me. I took in the Exo Terra screen lid in and he cut the glass to size (I won't be using the screen top that came with the tank at all). I had him do the top in two pieces. The back piece will probably never be opened and the light will sit above it. He notched an edge in the back to accommodate my drainage tube. He also ground off all of the sharp edges and rounded the corners. The glass was 3/8" thick and I think it looks really great. For two pieces on this tank and two pieces for my 36" X 18" X 36" tank, it ended up costing approximately $55.00 (four pieces of glass total)

There was a slight problem because I didn't notice that the frame at the top of the Exo Terra tank has a couple of plastic tabs that jut out. So, the front half of the glass didn't fit well in the frame (since I had it cut to the exact size of the screen lid and the frame of the screen lid is molded to accommodate these plastic pieces on the rim of the tank). I was going to line the top rim with a thin piece of weather strip to get a good seal with the glass and prevent fruit flies from escaping anyway. But, because these tabs were there, I decided to do two layers of weatherstrip. This built up the rim up enough so that the weatherstrip was level with the plastic tabs and my glass then fit perfectly.

I purchased an inexpensive handle and Gorilla glued it to the front piece of glass so that I can access the tank from the top if I want to. 

Here is the top rim of the tank with weatherstrip









Here is the handle on the front piece of glass. I still have to neaten it up by trimming the excess Gorilla glue


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## cpalmerpdx (Dec 3, 2012)

I purchased many of my plants at Home Depot and Fred Meyer, but I couldn't find any suitable bromeliads locally. I ordered them from a vendor on this site (Tropical Plantz). Oh boy were they big and beautiful!!!! I'm very pleased and a bit worried that I won't be able to keep them alive. Plants are NOT my strong suit.

Here is a picture of the tank planted:









Here is the upper most level:









A portion of the middle level









And the bottom most level (most of it is hidden)









If anyone has questions on the plants, I know what most of them are and I'm happy to tell you.

One thing I don't love about this tank is that so much of the bottom is hidden. I changed the design a bit for my big tank (pics to come). Fortunately, the frogs that are going in this tank are super bold and will be out cruising around most of the time. I can't wait to get them in there!

I ordered some sheet moss and will add that to the tank to green it up a bit more.


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## cpalmerpdx (Dec 3, 2012)

I'm not sure if my lighting is going to be adequate for my plants, but I sure hope it is. I purchased the light fixture that goes with the Exo Terra tank and I put two CFL bulbs - 13-14 W, 800+ lumen, low heat. 

For my large tank (36" high and wide), I have the Exo Terra light fixture with four of these bulbs. 

I hope it works. 

I was going to put in a misting system, but that is going to have to wait for funds. It costs $15.00 per hole to have holes drilled into the glass. I want 3 holes on the small tank and 4 on the large (one for Mistking and the others covered with no see um netting for ventilation). But, in the meantime, I am going to hand mist.


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## cpalmerpdx (Dec 3, 2012)

I 'seeded' my tank with springtails. I wasn't sure how many springtails to add in, so I'll probably dump a handful in every day. I'm guessing I'm just supposed to pour them into the leaf litter.


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## Nismo95 (Jul 30, 2011)

dang. you paid the 15 per hole?! lol. You should try it yourself sometime, its actually pretty fun. I learned this summer myself. if the lighting is something bothering you, before you go with a mistking you should look into the Jungle dawn LED's for exoterra hoods. I use them on all our setups and the lighting is phenomenal. Look up lightyourreptiles in google or Todd is excellent to work with and provides some great stuff. He is also here on the forums and a sponsor I believe!  Nice tank BTW!


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## cpalmerpdx (Dec 3, 2012)

Thank you, I'll definitely look into that. 

I didn't pay $15.00 a hole! I couldn't do it! lol! I decided I'd better learn to do it myself at that price


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## Nismo95 (Jul 30, 2011)

oh thank goodness lol. I would of thought you were crazy in the head if you did spend that money! I use 4 of his 13w screw in LED boards to light our 36x18x36 exo terra. Kinda spendy but definately worth it! Those little 9w CFL's are no match!


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## cpalmerpdx (Dec 3, 2012)

dang it, those are expensive! I'm going to trust you on this and bite the bullet and buy them. Thanks again.


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## Duff (Aug 4, 2011)

Hi Catherine, Your tank looks great! I've enjoyed following your build. I agree with Nismo - the LED's from LYR are wonderful. I've got 2 12x12x18 tanks and use them over both tanks. The cost IMO is definitely worth it. They run cool but I do also have a 3/4 inch gap between the hood and the tank top for a bit more air flow. I also can't say enough about Todd over at LYR - he's wonderful to deal with and patient with questions. 

Looking forward to seeing your tank grow in!

Duff


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## cpalmerpdx (Dec 3, 2012)

Good to know, Duff. Thanks. I hope you are right because I had to order SIX of them! So much for my budget....


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## cpalmerpdx (Dec 3, 2012)

Alright, using what I learned from my first build (above), I was able to improve my second build. This is a BIG tank, which was much more of a challenge. It is an Exo Terra 36X18X36. I liked the tiered effect in my small tank because I think it maximizes the amount of 'ground' space for the frogs. So, in this tank there are a total of 5 levels.


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## cpalmerpdx (Dec 3, 2012)

BTW, I have no idea what I'm going to put in this huge tank. I welcome suggestions.


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## cpalmerpdx (Dec 3, 2012)

And finally, here is the big tank with plants. I'm still waiting to get some coco huts (seems like there was a shortage for a while), which I will put at the bottom and perhaps throughout the tank. 

I hope my build journal helps someone build their own in the future!

I will post more pictures once I put frogs in these tanks. The Portland Reptile show is coming up on the 26th, so hopefully I can get some new frogs then.


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## cpalmerpdx (Dec 3, 2012)

Well, I finally got the small tank ready to put the frogs in a couple of weeks ago. Boy, these 5.5 year old frogs were NOT happy about the move. They are still hiding 90% of the time. One of my frogs also developed a very puffy neck...some kind of response to the stress/depressed immune system (?). Or, perhaps he injured himself in the tank somehow? He is currently being treated with Baytril and seems to be feeling better. I'll probably post something about this in the health section. In the meantime, here is a picture of the tank after it has grown in a bit









Here is a picture of the frogs in the tank...they are thinking about exploring a bit today


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## Duff (Aug 4, 2011)

Hi Catherine, Your tank looks great! Sorry to hear about your frog, I hope he gets better soon. 

Did you end up changing your lighting? Did you go with the LED"s? How many did you end up with?


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## cpalmerpdx (Dec 3, 2012)

Thanks, Duff. Yes, I took your advice and I got two Jungle Dawn LEDs 13W for this tank (and 4 for my bigger tank). I love them - they really are great lights! Thanks so much for the suggestion. I just ordered two more for a new tank build that I have in the works


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