# FIRST DART TANK: 29g construction journal [PIC HEAVY]



## tedthefrog (Aug 22, 2007)

*Hello All, I have been lurking for some time, but this is my first post. *,

I have about a years worth of experience with Red Eyed Tree Frogs which got my into the hobby.
Ive always wanted to get into darts, so I made my friend sell me one of his "Chocolate Leucs" ...can anyone clarify if she is actually a chocolate? I'm just going by his word.
I did months worth of research while she [Cathy: just guessing shes a girl] sat in her quarantine tank.

I went through 3 different size tanks before I settled on a 29 gallon [freebie=awesome]
and i built this terrarium with a trio of leucs [hopefully breeding] in mind.

PLEASE, give me your criticisms, pointers, suggestions, etc that anyone has to offer as they can only be helpful.
and I'd just like to say thanks in advance for posting all of those little hints in the forums,
it made it much easier to gather research and to start building knowing exactly what I wanted.


on that note:
here is a pretty in depth, step by step journal of my build...enjoy!

First off, I smeared black silicone over the back and sides of the tank









I then made an eggcrate column in the back right to house a water pump.
Then covered it all with the first coat of GS leaving it open at the bottom of the column for waterflow.
This area will be at the back of my planned "cave" portion of the tank.








Left side








Right side








Space for pump









I then built a raised platform, where the ground will go above the cave, 
I manged to find a perfect piece of driftwood for the retaining wall/cave entrance.

















The next coat of GS involved a balcony type land mass from the back wall,
to make up for the land area lost underneath the cave. I also tried to get a "tangled tree root" type of look on the background. I think it came out well considering GS isnt exactly cooperative.
















Light Test-The lighting I am using is a dual 24inch fixture with two Hagan LifeGlo bulbs.








I then Great Stuffed the driftwood into place









My next step was to create my water feature.
My goal was to create a sort of "water wall" that would stream in front of a recessed part of the great stuff where I will place a cocohut:to offer a cozy, constantly-damp option for the frogs to go and hide.
I gathered a bunch of slate chips and boiled tem to kill anything that might be hiding on/in them.

























With the waterfall complete and testing just fine, the next step was to cover the background with the typical silicone and coco fiber mess.
















I also attached slate to the inside of the cave to add a bit more realism.

















intermission...stretch it out.
sorry for all of the pics. 
but maybe this will help someone planning their first dart tank, like I was.

back into it.

NOW, I began to dived the land and water section using leca as well as gravel seperated by some stream stones that I found, and again boiled to sanitize.








I began to test out some plants that I picked up at lowes.
side note: [if you live in New Jersey, the Lowes in Holmdel has the best selection of any miniatures, and terrarium plants of any home goods store I have ever seen, from creeping figs to bromeliads. I live 30 miles away, and went back just to get more plants]








I got this piece of driftwood off of eBay from "sandys" If i remember correctly,
it was exactly what I was looking for, and she even through in an extra piece for free.









after alot of trial and error, I finally did my landscaping to produce hills and valleys.
I planted all of my plants and mounted my Broms and other Epiphytes.
I ended up adding even more leca and gravel to make the water level higher and and I also made a screen vent with a 1 inch opening based off of alot of vertical tanks I have seen, to prevent condensation on the front glass. Everything fit perfectly after some playing around, the pump and waterfall is flowing exactly how i wanted it to, and here is the finished product.
























































natural aeration from the waterfall.








shore








here is the waterfall & CAVE:
























some top views
















after 3 weeks of stabilizing the temps and humidity I introduced her into her new home.
she showed no timidness, and instantly went to the her how typical feeding spot, and began eating.
































see her?








cliche [but great] pose.








I was so surprised about how much of the tank she explores.
I dont think there's one area she hasn't been.
Here she is at the top of the tank.









These are shots after about 2 months of growth and a few more plant additions.
At first some plants seemed as if they were gonna die, but came back.
Everything is now growing, and rooting, and spreading like wildfire, I couldn't ask for better results.
















New chutes and leaves








the large brom dead center, instantly starting growing new roots, and establishing into the background.[Ive found its best to use no flash, but it was necessary to show the roots]








and the smaller one to the left did the same, as well as develop two new pups off of its sides.









...that's all for now, I will add updates whenever I take photos/get new frogs.
I hope I didn't put anyone to sleep with all of those pictures.
please let me know what you think.

Thanks!


----------



## Nubster (Jun 16, 2008)

Gorgeous is all that comes to mind.


----------



## ramos93352 (Apr 8, 2008)

Beautiful tank, really like the water feauture.

Is that a chocolate leuc? I can't really tell from the pictures. Im not sure If you mentioned it or not.


----------



## barnes (Feb 26, 2008)

i think your tanks is amazing :shock: ,but the plant to the far left w/ the red and yellow type spots on it (not sure on the name) gets very big, i could be mistaken but im sure some one eles will chime in.  (also, to me can never be to many pics :lol: )


----------



## tedthefrog (Aug 22, 2007)

I believe that it is a chocolate Leuc. at least thats what my friend said when he sold it to me!!!
all I know is that her coloring is not black at all, it is more of a muddy brown and her yellows go from dark on top, to light on the sides.
Can anyone def I.D. it as a *chocolate?*

That plant is a Codiaeum variegatum or "bush on fire"
how big are we talking!!?! uh oh.


----------



## ramos93352 (Apr 8, 2008)

Yea, I've seen that plant before at lowes too. Not sure exactly what it is, but I've seen it range in size from small like that one to a couple of feet wide and tall from what I remember.


----------



## tedthefrog (Aug 22, 2007)

oh, great!!!
i guess time will tell.
might have to pull the old swaperoo with another plant!

BTW, could someone explain the 0.0.0 system to me?
i don't understand it entirely.


----------



## gretchenellie (Aug 7, 2007)

0.0.0
male.female.unknown 

GREAT tank!!

what type of moss(es) did you use?


----------



## tkromer (Dec 20, 2007)

WOW! First tank or not that looks gorgeous. Very few first-timers are on that level, and honestly the vast majority of people who have already built a viv or two won't make anything nearly as nice as what you've got there. Plus a nice series of pictures to really show the progression! Turned out very nice. I'd give a 90% towards that being a chocolate, the colors are not 100% in the photo but I'd say that's what you have there.


----------



## tedthefrog (Aug 22, 2007)

thanks Tkromer,
ill try to get a better picture to show her colors and put it up.

the moses I used were mosses that i found at Bushkill waterfall park.
some were terrestrial and some were growing on drip walls and waterfalls,
so i just pulled them off and ziplocked them.


----------



## moothefrog (May 16, 2008)

It looks like a chocolate to me,awesome tank I could never do anything like that.http://www.blackjungle.com/Merchant2/1f-dlc.jpg Compare her to this pic.


----------



## Rodney (Feb 18, 2008)

Thats awesome! I have a friend that has seen a few of my tanks and she wants me to build one to go above there fireplace. They were thinkin about a saltwater tank but I think I sold them on going this route. This is one of the best construction journals I have seen. I know it took you a long time to post the pics and type all the descriptions. Thank you for taking the time to walk us through what you did. What kind of pump are you using for your water feature? How long do you think it took you to complete this project? I'm about to have a few projects going on at the same time. Building a 20L for myself and a 20 vert for moms office. Just waiting on my lights and etc. all to come in... I really wish I had an air conditioned garage, working in this Alabama heat and humidity is a terrible thing :evil:


----------



## Julio (Oct 8, 2007)

great tank!! great job.


----------



## tedthefrog (Aug 22, 2007)

Thanks!
The pump I am using is a repti flo 200, its cheap and has a weaker flow, which is what i was looking for.
All in all, from start to finish it took me about a month to build and plant.


----------



## pet-teez (Oct 3, 2007)

That turned out great, I was a little leary about the "1st dart tank" and then seeing all the soil but it got covered up and looks really awesome, I love that you have a lil water area and I like the moss covered shore too 
And yeah, thats a chocolate.


----------



## tedthefrog (Aug 22, 2007)

oh, thats not soil!
i did my research...
its dendro bedding ,mixed with orchid bark.


----------



## MattySF (May 25, 2005)

Outstanding first tank. Very inspirational


----------



## kyle1745 (Feb 15, 2004)

Great looking tank...


----------



## divingne1 (Mar 21, 2008)

WOW - that tank is amazing. Awesome job. 
Candy


----------



## pet-teez (Oct 3, 2007)

It's more soil than sand or rock  I just meant it in a dirt style substrate, not saying you dug some dirt up outside or anything. I figured it was expandable bedding stuff which is closer to what it is, but I didn't mean regular yard dirt 

This is one of my favorite "first" tanks 



tedthefrog said:


> oh, thats not soil!
> i did my research...
> its dendro bedding ,mixed with orchid bark.


----------



## tedthefrog (Aug 22, 2007)

ohhh, I see what you mean now.
well thanks for all the "great jobs"
makes me want to start on another ASAP!


----------



## melas (Oct 24, 2007)

Very nice! Let me know if you get tired of it . . . I might know a guy . . .


----------



## MzFroggie (Mar 22, 2008)

The tank looks amazing!! Good job!! The plants I know you cleaned them before placing them in the tank. Just wondering how you cleaned them.?.I have some broms I got from the walmart I am scared to death to put them in!


----------



## bronz (Jul 29, 2008)

Hi everyone, my first post here so get ready for some basic questions!

Firstly this is probably the best first viv I've seen in six months of internet scouring whilst I've been researching my own potential dart set up, and also the nearest to what I aim to achieve, well done. Now the questions:

I assume the rocks that separate the water area from the land aren't a water tight barrier? Does the water level effectively stay the same across the bottom of the tank and into the leca? If so I assume it's ok to do this as your tank is doing great.

Is there any heating in or around the tank except any provided by the lights? 

Is there any filtration in the system at all or does the plant life do it's bit? Again I'm assuming that if there aren't any water creatures filtration isn't necessary. if there were fish in there (for example) what would be the best way to incorporate filtration into the set up?

Lastly does anyone here know the best expanding foam to use that's available in the UK?

Thanks for reading!


----------



## tedthefrog (Aug 22, 2007)

1. Don't be so scared about those Broms.
As long as you give them a good thorough cleaning they should be just fine!
What i did was run them under luke warm water gently scrubbing them with a balled up paper towel.
Be sure to get every little nook and cranny.
When i finished washing all my plants that way, I mixed up a gallon of water treated with turtle safe
and did the whole process over again, as a "just in case" and to clear all of the hard water out.

2. YES! the water stays the same level throughout the tank, you just have to make sure your drainage layer is nice and even so that parts of your substrate don't stay wet all the time. the rocks are just there to separate the LECA and the gravel. seems to work pretty well.
There is no heating.
The lights did heat the tank a bit, but i just raised the fixture off of the tank with supports.
Through my research on here, it seems darts enjoy the same temps we do, so room temp should do fine [mid 70's, dropping at night]
I tried putting tetras in, but they didnt make it.
I went for a cheap pump so thats what i got, filtration is not neccessary for clean water.
Just make sure your rinse and rinse and rinse some more your Leca/gravel.
Im not sure what available in the UK!! sorry! but i have seen many post about that topic so i would give the forum search a try!

Everything in my tank is growing like crazy!
each of my broms has pups now coming off of it and my cuttings are now taking over!!
i will post new pics when i get a chance!


----------



## bronz (Jul 29, 2008)

Ok thanks for that, it's a bit of a nightmare trying to get my head round all this stuff that everyone has different opinions about so advice from someone who's doing it successfully is very helpful.


----------



## tedthefrog (Aug 22, 2007)

youre welcome.

just remember that it's whatever works for you, your location, and your budget.
I had a tight budget, and seeing all these people with expensive mister systems and what not, i was a bit overwhelmed but i still gather loads and loads of info and picked it apart so it would work for me.
SO, i made my tank without a mister.
sometime down the road ill have money to throw into one.
but for now the hand pumper is doing perfectly fine.


----------



## Grundsoe (Apr 18, 2008)

Hey

First of all, it looks very good, I rellay like it :wink: 

A couple of questions :?: 
How do you keep your front glass free of mist??

How do you make sure that a fly or to, dosen´t get out??

sorry for my poor english :wink: 

best regards

Thomas


----------



## cunomor (Apr 12, 2008)

Fantastic effort, I'm mulling over my next viv and I'll be referring back to this post.
Thanks for the pics.
-d


----------



## heatfreakk3 (Oct 15, 2008)

omg that was awesome! i could never make a tank that nice! what was that stuff you used on the background befor the coco fiber? im not sure how to do all of that


----------



## melas (Oct 24, 2007)

"First Tank" . . . yeah sure . . . looks like you've been building these for years! haha!  Great job! You certainly did you research and now you can reap the rewards. Congrats!


----------



## kron4me (Feb 16, 2008)

Man that is.....BEAUTIFUL! You did great, you have inspired me. I am about to start construction on my third vivarium. Tell me something where did you get the slate from, I can't seem to find it around here.


----------



## jpg (Jan 3, 2009)

FIRST DART TANK = Incredible !


----------



## viv4life (Dec 29, 2008)

that is absulutly beautifull!!!!!!!!


----------



## PacMan (Oct 9, 2008)

looks awesome man. Wicked job for a frist timer.


----------



## Julio (Oct 8, 2007)

great job!! way to take your time!!


----------



## iridebmx (Oct 29, 2008)

melas said:


> "First Tank" . . . yeah sure . . . looks like you've been building these for years! haha!  Great job! You certainly did you research and now you can reap the rewards. Congrats!


ditto! looks awesome!


----------



## DragonSpirit1185 (Dec 6, 2010)

barnes said:


> i think your tanks is amazing :shock: ,but the plant to the far left w/ the red and yellow type spots on it (not sure on the name) gets very big, i could be mistaken but im sure some one eles will chime in. (also, to me can never be to many pics :lol: )


That plant is a Croton...
Some get very big but I don't think that kind does....
Sure is hard to find a pic of it tho....even tho I see them all the time at Lowes and HD :/
This is the as close as I could find.

















Source


----------



## DragonSpirit1185 (Dec 6, 2010)

tedthefrog,
I'm in awe man....that is an awesome tank!!!
Definently one of my favorites I've seen yet.
Not too bad for a n00b 
You've paid more attention than most and haven't cheap skated your way through that build.
How is that GS ledge holding up? Seems it would be weak but I guess the silicone and coco fiber strengthened it a bit.
I'm thinking about doing the same but with a small peice of polystyrene
Are you looking to build more or will this be your only one?


----------



## tomer.baron (Jan 31, 2013)

definitely stealing some of this. great work (bit late i know!)


----------



## Triangle08 (Nov 1, 2012)

So nice definitely gonna have to use a similar water feature on my next viv. any updated pictures by chance? i know its been awhile but would be cool to see how its grown over the years.


----------



## Jewelvivariums (May 28, 2013)

I love how good of results you are getting with plant growth


----------

