# 55 Gallon Freshwater Convert.



## Johno2090 (Aug 31, 2011)

Would first like to say thank you for everyone who has posted on this forum from which without the wealth of knowledge I wouldn't have had such an easy time setting up.

I come from a Freshwater Aquarium background and still maintain two 30 litre fully planted Betta Tanks. Here's some of my aquariums:




























So enough about my fishy past. I decided after much deliberation that I could jam more plants into a terrarium and put some thumbnails in it for the stunning singing I love.

So I opted to use the 55 Gallon Tank (Custom built from Opti-white glass and taller than a normal aquarium it measures around 100l x 40w x 50h cm) and created this:










Lighting:
6x TMC Aquabeams LED Lighting on a controler with morning and evening phases (even thunderstorms)

Background:
Mix of Foam with clay/soil/moss mix built on-top.

Water feature:
Seyaru Stone from my Aquarium scape pushed into the foam as it set and I've ran a small filter up the back of the foam over the top so it drips slowly. Water is barely 4-5cm deep with lots of places to climb out. Filter is accessible by removing the rocks and Filter floss hidden underneath.

Plants: I'll update when I find the list!

Hydration:
Misting twice a day, have a misting system on the way which i'll put on a timer.

Heating:
None, Have a thermostat on the way and a large heat-pad/mat for the bottom of the tank. I'm assuming if i keep the Base and the water contained within the base warm enough it will keep the rest of the Tank Warm.

Please let me know of any pitfalls I'm walking into and suggestions/advice is always welcome.


----------



## eos (Dec 6, 2008)

Welcome aboard.... Nicely done... on all aspects, both aqua and viva. Where are you located?


----------



## oneshot (Mar 5, 2010)

I may be wrong but I believe water and an under the tank heater is not a good idea...


----------



## Johno2090 (Aug 31, 2011)

ah I should have put that! I'm From the UK, in lovely Warm Scotland!

Hmm thanks for the info oneshot. Do you know the reason behind this? The heater will not be in any contact with the water it will be under the tank between the stand and the glass bottom.


----------



## oneshot (Mar 5, 2010)

I think if the heater is stuvk to the glass with water on the inside, it can crack the glass. If the heater is new, read the packaging...


----------



## Johno2090 (Aug 31, 2011)

Thanks OneShot, From what i've read the cracking of the base glass is usually due to a quick change in temperature such as spilt cold water onto hot glass which would cause cracking. The glass i'm using is 10mm thick (for safety so knocks didn't spill 55 gallons of water in the house!) and should be very thermally stable. The heat mat is a 40watt matt as I didn't want a huge increase in temperature rather a stable atmosphere, there is also a large portion of water on the bottom glass due to the false bottom so it should absorb the heat well.

I'd love to get some more opinions on this as the last thing I want is to damage my tank. Has anyone heated their tanks like this before?


----------



## fieldnstream (Sep 11, 2009)

When I kept treefrogs I used the exoterra rainforest (low-wattage) heat pads under all of my vivs. I liked it because they heated the water in the false-bottom and evenly distributed the heat. I never had an issue, but I only added water by misting, never by pouring cold water straight in.


----------



## Johno2090 (Aug 31, 2011)

Update:

Here is the current tank Pretty much all grown in! I've had no problems with the under-tank heat mat and it keeps the substrate at about 76F

Moss has grown in nicely and it has been seeded with Spring-tails and Ghost Woodlice.

Also I apologise in Advance I only have my crappy phone camera but you get the general feed so far  I was thinking about adding some Orange Splashbacks in a month or so but I'm open to suggestions!


----------



## frogparty (Dec 27, 2007)

Very nice. Tell us of the frogs get stuck in the Nepenthes or if they can easily escape the pitchers.


----------



## Johno2090 (Aug 31, 2011)

The pitchers are very small the opening are around 50mm-1cm and there is only 1 Active one at the moment. The rest don't seem to be bothering forming pitchers. 

Im quite sure that non of the frogs I put in will be small enough to fit inside!


----------



## Lbacha (Sep 7, 2011)

Nice terrarium, I'm a huge aquarium keeper and I'm in the process of building my first terrarium (yes plants only) that Jewel orchid you have there is it a Dossina sp. and if so how is it growing for you I want to add a couple to my set-up as well. 

Len


----------



## rsain (Nov 5, 2011)

oneshot said:


> I think if the heater is stuvk to the glass with water on the inside, it can crack the glass. If the heater is new, read the packaging...


The packaging, (i.e, the instruction manual) on the exo-terra under tank heater is clear. Water is an acceptable substrate. Nothing to worry about - unless like others have mentioned you pour cold water onto heated glass.

See instruction manual here: http://exo-terra.com/download/product_manuals/Heat_Mat.pdf

- ryan


----------



## Johno2090 (Aug 31, 2011)

*Rsain: *I thought as much I've had the tank running for about 1-2months now so I'm quite happy with it being safe the first few days were a bit jumpy listening to the lights cooling down at night!!!

*Lbacha: *Its a _Dossinia marmorata_ and its been in there for about a month and slowly unfurling its new leaf. Will be keeping a close eye on it as its one of my favourites.


----------



## frogparty (Dec 27, 2007)

The pitchers will get much larger. Keep an eye on them


----------



## Johno2090 (Aug 31, 2011)

*FrogParty*: Will do if the leaves/pitchers start getting too big i'll just swap for a smaller one!


----------



## eos (Dec 6, 2008)

The tank is looking good.


----------



## Lbacha (Sep 7, 2011)

Some frogs actually lay their eggs in the pitchers, although most of the frogs I see on here are from the America's so doubtful any of these would


----------



## Johno2090 (Aug 31, 2011)

Update time!

First of all just showing off my glorious Moss walls 










My Fireball Neo's Flowering and pupping, starting to go a nice red under my lights too!










The full tank shot, I will show an unfogged and clear shot when my frogs arrive next week!










I'm getting a trio of juvenile _Ranitomeya vanzolinii_, So Excited!


----------



## Dizzle21 (Aug 11, 2009)

What is the grass like plant in the first picture? utricularia graminifolia?


----------



## Johno2090 (Aug 31, 2011)

It's Brazilian microsword


----------



## Johno2090 (Aug 31, 2011)

Updates

Full Tank Shot:





























Video:

Click here for a vid.


----------

