# 90G(350L) vivarium



## Redknee (Feb 19, 2012)

Hello everyone, 
Tho new to frogs I am not new to terrariums and pets that most people call strange pets.
Been keeping tarantulas and other sort of bugs as well as turtles, fish, dwarf shrimp, etc.
Big fan of aquascaping to.
Just decided I really, really like PDF and so I began my 90G vivarium project,
120cm/50cm/50cm.
Part of the background is done just needs a few "edits" and I am about to make the fake bottom, rain/mist sistems and perhaps even a waterfall(if time permits).
I am about to get the substrate ready to and I was thinking of mixing aquarium sand(black quartz) and Exo Terra Plantation Soil, 50/50.
I know there is a ton of info on substrate but I would like some info from someone who used the exo terra plantation soil, basicly interested in what to expect with it.
Light will come from 4, 36W osram 865 neons.
I will upload photos soon.


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## bratyboy2 (Jan 29, 2010)

I had the plantation soil a long time ago and it really holds water...i would possibly do a 1:2 ratio soil : sand....you really want good drainage


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## EvilLost (Jan 10, 2011)

i don't know what the plantation soil is....i'm guessing its a mix of coco coir and husks?



for a basic, safe soil just use..

coco coir for "dirt"
coco husk / orchid bark for moisture retention+drainage
shredded sphagnum some use as well
finely ground natural wood coals (small amount)


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## bratyboy2 (Jan 29, 2010)

Evil where can we get these products and do you have pictures of the bags?


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## EvilLost (Jan 10, 2011)

there are many companies that make them...

coco coir and coco husk both come in "compressed brick" form. I'm guessing that plantation soil is some mixture of these.

I buy the pure coco coir bricks from any of the suppliers or even petco. I don't know what names they use honestly...I have to see it in person. The coco coir is "fine particles" which is used for dirt.

The coco "husk" looks like little chunks of wood chips.


For Sphagnum, here are some of many suppliers:
https://www.google.com/webhp?source...81b91e2f0d7b36&ix=sea&ion=1&biw=1920&bih=1109

wood coals:
8.8 lb. Lump Charcoal-HDPG01 at The Home Depot

that is, if you are willing to grind them down.... 


orchid bark:
http://www.amazon.com/Orchids-R-Us-Inc-Orchid/dp/B002X0E59M (this link in particular isn't a great example of product, I only use this link because the picture shows what the actual stuff looks like...its just like little chunks of wood. You can buy this much cheaper at a garden center instead of petco)


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## Redknee (Feb 19, 2012)

Thanks for the answers.
Now for the crap part, anyone has any idea what else to use instead of egg crate sheet? Nobody sells that stuff in this hellhole of a country and I really dont want to buy plexiglass and spend eternity making holes in it


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## freaky_tah (Jan 21, 2009)

Where are you from? It generally isn't sold as eggcrate...you can find it in the lighting section of hardware stores as a light diffuser. The small hardware stores around by me carry it as well as the big box stores.

You can get hydroton instead, available online or at hydroponic stores. People have used other fillers instead of eggcrate, but I'm blanking at the moment.


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## carbonetc (Oct 13, 2008)

Some people use styrofoam packing pellets. Though I imagine you'd want to get them pretty clean first.


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## Redknee (Feb 19, 2012)

freaky_tah I know it's not called eggcrate in stores, they are also used for air conditioning still it is nowhere to be found. Not online(in the country), not at any local or non local store, not at any air conditioning firm/company, etc.
All I can find is metal light diffusers but it's not aluminium nor is it inox, it's simple metal that oxidizes.
Oh, I'm from Romania to answer your question 
I was actually looking for a substitute but something similar(plastic grill of sorts) that someone, anyone used with success.
I'd use clay pellets or even styrofoam pellets as well as hydroton but I am unsure how my water pump would worn in such medium. With that many pellets or hydroton I'm not sure it would actually be able to suck water in(for the waterfall). I'm also unsure if the hydroton would not clog from the soil above it.


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## Roadkillstewie (Feb 15, 2012)

lump charcoal, don't have to grind neccessarily... stomp on it, hit it with a hammer etc... that being said, I have gotten chunks (same brand as imaged) that were not completely charcoaled. 

Not all that hard to make your own if you're inclined either.


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## Redknee (Feb 19, 2012)

Well since nobody in this joke of a country sells eggcrate sheets I found something even better!
It's 50/50/8(in cm) and the seller sais it's for pigeon cages but i dont really care!
They are sturdy as hell, I tested them by standing on one of em and it did in fact hold! And I am 188 pounds of mean, ugly faced, body mass.
Will update on the waterfall and background and soon on the DIY WORKING mist sistem.
Project can go on!
P.S the terrarium is 140(not 120)/50/50.


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## bratyboy2 (Jan 29, 2010)

That should work just great!


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## Redknee (Feb 19, 2012)

Quick question: Does anyone use lucky bamboo(Dracaena Sanderiana) in their vivs? 
I hear it's somewhat toxic to cats and dogs but does not release toxins in water so I was thinking of using some in my frog viv.


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## Redknee (Feb 19, 2012)

Oh and do you really need to put epoxy over grout? I was thinking of using 3 layers of grout on my backgrounds/waterfall and just leave it like that without the resin.


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## winstonamc (Mar 19, 2007)

Redknee, by vampire country, do you mean to say that you from Romania? am locust un an in Bucuresti si am stat multi lune in vrancea, ce faci?


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## Redknee (Feb 19, 2012)

winstonamc said:


> Redknee, by vampire country, do you mean to say that you from Romania? am locust un an in Bucuresti si am stat multi lune in vrancea, ce faci?


Salut, da din Romania, Transylvania, Cluj-Napoca 
If you ever come back send me a sign, maybe we can get a beer


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## Redknee (Feb 19, 2012)

Finished the background and waterfall and added first layer of grout. Will finish with 3 layers of eco lacquer(floor varnish) and sprinkle fine sand over the last coat of varnish to kill the shine of it.
Will be posting photos soon.


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## Redknee (Feb 19, 2012)

So I got a couple of netpots







that I intend to stick on the background and wood, etc to pot my bromeliads and plants ingeneral.
My question is should I wash all the dirt from the roots and just put the plant in the pot with no soil or can I leave the soil on the roots and stick it in the pot as it is?


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## bratyboy2 (Jan 29, 2010)

You want to use a AGB mix or something that is well draining....but has some nutrients...im using turface,pool filter sand, and fluval stratum...


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## Redknee (Feb 19, 2012)

bratyboy2 said:


> You want to use a AGB mix or something that is well draining....but has some nutrients...im using turface,pool filter sand, and fluval stratum...


Thanks for the tip.
I suspect that the nutrients would be gone pretty fast tho, how often should it be changed?
Also can anyone ID this plant? Got it from a neighbour who wanted to get rid of it and since it reminded me of a plant I saw somewhere in someones terrarium I took it.
Plant used to look like this:


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## punctata (Jan 31, 2011)

Im pretty sure that is a spider plant


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## Redknee (Feb 19, 2012)

Some of the plants and wood came today and I also finished the moonlight.
Background will be put in in the weekend.


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## Redknee (Feb 19, 2012)

Mist/rain system is ready. Keep in mind that it can make more mist like rain but I did not spend nuff time to mess with the sprinkler heads and set them to the right position in order to get fine mist BUT they can do it.
Thoughts?


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## Redknee (Feb 19, 2012)

Unfortunetly my background and waterfall were a fail and I had to redo them.
The background I hope will be ready this week and the new "waterfall" or rock wall or whatever you want to call it just needs a few more work and is done.
Here is my new waterfall, made from natural rocks.
Pretty easy to make, you put the first layer of rocks, silicone them together for a bit of strenght, select the next layer of rocks and see how they fit, add silicone, select 3'rd layer and so on. Let it dry for 2-3 hours and then simply fill the inside of the whole thing with GS and let it dry. After 1 day or so drill the whole interior to remove most of the GS and you have a stable, strong water thingy.
The parts where you can see the GS will be covered with silicone and cocofiber.


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## Redknee (Feb 19, 2012)

90% finished!
Still need to cover the waterfall with moss(I decided to go with moss...)
And a few fixes here and there.
Let me know what you think.


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## Alegre323 (Sep 2, 2011)

its looking awesome. the waterfall seems a bit deep, if dart frogs accidentially fall it they're gonna drown.


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## Redknee (Feb 19, 2012)

Alegre323 said:


> its looking awesome. the waterfall seems a bit deep, if dart frogs accidentially fall it they're gonna drown.


Thanks, the waterfall itself is impenetrable.
The water under the fall will have rocks in so they can get out with ease.


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## goof901 (Jan 9, 2012)

it looks great!! i think u should take out some moss and go with leaf litter. ur frogs will appreciate it


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## winstonamc (Mar 19, 2007)

don't forget that moss is not above growing on leaf litter


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## Redknee (Feb 19, 2012)

Thanks guys.
What do you mean winstonamc?

P.S After less than 24 hours since I finished it my tillandsia cyanea anita gave me a flower


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## winstonamc (Mar 19, 2007)

that moss will grow over leaf litter. You could buy a portion of java moss or something else like christmas moss on one of the aquatic forums or aquabid, chop it up and sprinkle on the leaf litter and as long as it doesn't dry out, you should get moss rambling over leaf litter.


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## Redknee (Feb 19, 2012)

winstonamc said:


> that moss will grow over leaf litter. You could buy a portion of java moss or something else like christmas moss on one of the aquatic forums or aquabid, chop it up and sprinkle on the leaf litter and as long as it doesn't dry out, you should get moss rambling over leaf litter.


I have xmass moss in my 30G tank, like a bucket full of it.
So what you mean is that moss would prefer to grow over the leafs instead of the cocohusk?
That I can do, not a big problem.


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## winstonamc (Mar 19, 2007)

I'm sorry if I wasn't being clear. What I was trying to suggest is that you can have moss without giving up all the strong Pros of having leaf litter (such as bolder frogs, much much better microfauna, natural look, etc)


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## Redknee (Feb 19, 2012)

Ah, I get it now 
Well I can get the leaf litter, not a problem.


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## Redknee (Feb 19, 2012)

Short video:


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## Redknee (Feb 19, 2012)

Climate control: lightning.
Will be on at night on the same timer as the mist system. 
Sry for the noise.


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## Redknee (Feb 19, 2012)

A few more photos.


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## jacobi (Dec 15, 2010)

What are the red berry looking things? 

Jake


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## Redknee (Feb 19, 2012)

jacobi said:


> What are the red berry looking things?
> 
> Jake


It's a plant, Nertera Granadensis


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## Redknee (Feb 19, 2012)

Well my leucs came today. They are tiny! I knew they are small but wow, really tiny!
350L(90G) for the 3 of them and still the first thing they did was try to escape, actually 3 hours after they were put in and they still are doing the same thing, on top of the background as far up as they can go trying hard to get out.
Pics will come soon but will let them get used to the vivarium for a 2-3 days before I get close, dont want to stress them.
Could anyone give me an idea about how many hydei should I feed each day? Tho I read that as many as they can eat in 2 mins or so it will be hard to tell with such a big vivarium, the hydei will be all over the place.


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## goof901 (Jan 9, 2012)

not sure if u should be feeding hydei if they are so tniy. how old are they?


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## Redknee (Feb 19, 2012)

Well they are big nuff to eat the hydei, think they are close to maturity, around 3cm. I was surprised to actually see them live that's why I said they are so tiny, in photos you dont really realise how small they are(even if mature and even if you do know they are 4-5cm max)) but when I got them and actually saw them...
The seller gave the hydei with them so I guess he if the frogs can eat them.
Going to move them anyway to a smaller tank till they mature, in that 90G I can never see them.


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## Redknee (Feb 19, 2012)

New photo:


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## goof901 (Jan 9, 2012)

that pitcher plant is temperary right?


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## jdooley195 (Oct 19, 2009)

One of the most perfect vivs i've seen. 

I hope your moss does well as it seems you have plenty of hides for your frogs. 

If you want a bolder group, throw some terribilis in there. 

So does that light constantly flash to keep the temp up at night? Ive never heard of that..could you explain that more? 

Tommy


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## Redknee (Feb 19, 2012)

goof901 yeah, as soon as the frogs are ready to move in I will remove the plant.

jdooley195 thanks, what do you mean by light flashing? The lightning sistem? It only flashes at night when the mist sistem goes on.
I do not need to heat the viv in the night or day, my room never gets cold or to hot, in the day the room is never over 25 celsius and the viv around 28 celsius and at night the room is still at 25 and the viv around the same.
Central heating and air conditioning are good friends to have.


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## Buddysfrogs (Mar 29, 2012)

I use hydroton for all my vivs and most have waterfalls. The pump sits in the hydroton layer and it works fine. 
Buddy


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## SNAKEMANVET (Dec 14, 2011)

Great looking viv.I just 5 little leucs also and is hard to find them in their viv.


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## jdooley195 (Oct 19, 2009)

Ha ha...I sooo thought that video said "climate control _lighting_ system"...No wonder id never heard of it, i made it up


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