# Jgraz's first, a 12x12x18



## Jgraz (Sep 1, 2013)

Well here we go, my first build. It all started when my son caught a tree frog last weekend in Virginia. He wanted to keep it but we talked him out of it with a promise to explore setting up a frog tank. I've been interested in in Dart frogs for a long time but my Reef hobby takes up pretty much any free time I dont devote to family. But his finding a tree frog kind of gave me a kick in the rear to get going. 

My cousin has been keeping reptiles for years and offered up this Zoo-Med 12"x12"x18" terrarium for use. 









So after spending several hours on Josh's frogs site and this site I went out and collected some supplies. $150 and 3.5 hrs of driving later I had a good chunk of the stuff I needed to start. I went for the background first. Great Stuff, Cork Flats and rounds, tree fern planks, and some small pieces of drift wood and this is the out come.



























I think it came out pretty good considering it was my first time. Thanks For looking and come back for the next update


----------



## sanderdm (Jun 12, 2013)

looks good so far


----------



## dartboard (Jan 30, 2011)

did you already get the black silicone to cover up the greatstuff? Looks good so far!


----------



## Jgraz (Sep 1, 2013)

sanderdm said:


> looks good so far


Thank You




dartboard said:


> did you already get the black silicone to cover up the greatstuff? Looks good so far!


I have some leftover silicone from a tank build, It's clear but after I smear it on Im gonna cover with some coconut husk fiber that I picked up. 


Question: for the substrate I picked up the bio drain from exo terra which I will cover with the screen. After that is coco husk good to go for a growing medium or am I better off getting the ABG from Josh's frogs? I was planning on using the coco husk fiber followed by a layer of Sphagnum Moss then leaf litter on top.


----------



## dartboard (Jan 30, 2011)

Im sure what you have is fine for now... you could always easily replace it with something else later. If you have the other stuff already, no big need to get anything different right now


----------



## sanderdm (Jun 12, 2013)

yeah cocohusk is fine i have it as substrate and my plants are doing really good, they're growing amazing!


----------



## Jgraz (Sep 1, 2013)

Here we go. Looks good I guess.


----------



## Jgraz (Sep 1, 2013)

Ok a little update and some help needed. 

I finished the background and sealed off the spaces to prevent FF escape. I also replaced the screen top with glass and a small screened in section to aid air flow and venting. Here are the pics. Sorry about the quality. 


























Now to the question. I bulb I purchased is clearly not enough. Here it is. 









So I guess I need recommendations for my lighting. It's gotta fit the fixture I have so fire away your thoughts. Thanks for looking. 

John


----------



## iRyan (Feb 17, 2011)

Don't waste your money on any specialty brand bulbs like that one unless you're going to buy a LYR LED or something. Those bulbs are waaaay overpriced and nothing special. I use 26w 6500k daylight bulbs I pick up at Lowes, I think they're $12 for a four pack.


----------



## whitethumb (Feb 5, 2011)

love that cork flat. where did you get yours at?


----------



## Jgraz (Sep 1, 2013)

iRyan said:


> Don't waste your money on any specialty brand bulbs like that one unless you're going to buy a LYR LED or something. Those bulbs are waaaay overpriced and nothing special. I use 26w 6500k daylight bulbs I pick up at Lowes, I think they're $12 for a four pack.


Well I returned the bulb but only got store credit so I got the 26watt. Still looks a little weak to me. That could be my reefing eye though. My reef tanks is lit up like the sun, this just seems dim.


----------



## Jgraz (Sep 1, 2013)

whitethumb said:


> love that cork flat. where did you get yours at?


Got all my cork at pets plus near me. I really liked that piece since it was already partially covered with moss, though I don't expect the moss to come back.


----------



## Jgraz (Sep 1, 2013)

Here's a new pic with the higher wattage bulb. 








In the pics I guess it looks the same. 

A close up of that cork flat










Oh yeah, and my real obsession


----------



## Jgraz (Sep 1, 2013)

Substrate came in today. Added and added a few accessories as well. No I need some plants. I need all the ideas I can get for plants so if anyone at all cares fire away. 









As always thanks for looking.


----------



## Jgraz (Sep 1, 2013)

Really? Nobody? Nothing? Lots of views, no comments. Thus has got to be one of the most inhospitable forums I've ever had the displeasure to deal with. 

I even have other threads that nobody even bothered with. No only me but I've seen other newcomers questions go unanswered as well. You would think that the old timers would assist the newcomers. Guess not.


----------



## tgoff0112 (Apr 28, 2013)

Well I think it looks great so far. I have a couple of those same tanks and I think the regular cf bulbs will be just fine. I too am a reefer and have recently gotten into the darts. What will be going in the viv? Did you put a false bottom in there or use clay pellets? Do you have any plant ideas?


----------



## Jgraz (Sep 1, 2013)

tgoff0112 said:


> Well I think it looks great so far. I have a couple of those same tanks and I think the regular cf bulbs will be just fine. I too am a reefer and have recently gotten into the darts. What will be going in the viv? Did you put a false bottom in there or use clay pellets? Do you have any plant ideas?


Another Jersey guy, nice. Where are you at? I'm in Bordentown. I did use the Exo Terra flase bottom thingys, forgot the name though. I'm heading to Frog day tomorrow to pick up some plants and frogs. Two Leucs and Im really not sure on the plants yet. I've been racking my brain trying to figure out which ones but I guess I'll just wing it tomorrow.


----------



## tgoff0112 (Apr 28, 2013)

Williamstown. That may be a little cramped for a pair of leucs. Some thumbs would go nicely in there though. The thumbs would use the vertical aspect of the tank better IMO. I'm thinking about heading up to frog day as well. Good luck on the tank and future frogs


----------



## tgoff0112 (Apr 28, 2013)

Btw I would suggest a neo bromeliad or two in there. Some moss and a few vining plants and call it good


----------



## Jgraz (Sep 1, 2013)

tgoff0112 said:


> Btw I would suggest a neo bromeliad or two in there. Some moss and a few vining plants and call it good


Thanks for the tips. I was just checking out you threads and got some good ideas from looking at your tanks.


----------



## epiphytes etc. (Nov 22, 2010)

Jgraz said:


> Really? Nobody? Nothing? Lots of views, no comments. Thus has got to be one of the most inhospitable forums I've ever had the displeasure to deal with.
> 
> I even have other threads that nobody even bothered with. No only me but I've seen other newcomers questions go unanswered as well. You would think that the old timers would assist the newcomers. Guess not.


Whoa dude, I think you need to step back a sec. We are any thing but inhospitable around here. Sometimes you don't get a reply within the first 24 hours of asking a question, just the way it is. Now for my answer.

To keep it simple, I'd say go with 2 broms for your background, a climber for the right hand side (avoid creeping fig- except oak leaf form), and a couple plants for the soil level, maybe a fern and Peperomia caperata or Cryptanthus or the like. Next step: leaf litter and microfauna. Check out our sponsors and you should be able to get everything you need.

Welcome to very rewarding hobby, and remember this is a hobby where patience is key.


----------



## Jgraz (Sep 1, 2013)

Well I think I went overboard with the plants. Put lots in already but still have some left. Got a couple of small broms and a terrestrial brom at least that's what they said. Not sure though. It has no roots and was just wrapped with sphagnum in a pot. That's how I transferred it. I'll get some pics up later. Looks good though.


----------



## desertFrogger (Mar 15, 2012)

Nice project


----------



## Jgraz (Sep 1, 2013)

Well I came back from Frof day with more plants then I can use, I think. I also cant remember many of the names. No surprise there, it took me a long time to figure out the corals in my reef as well. Heres some new pics of the tank planted. 
FTS









Some closeups, if you guys recongnize anything please let me know I'd love to have names









This is some type of Orchid









Brom's

















I was told this was a terrestial brom. I planted it the same way it came. Wrapped in quite wet sphagum. It had no roots, Should I keep it that way?









And two more plants that my son picked

















I still have three more and a bunch of moss but I guess theres no place to put them anyway.
If you guys see anything wrong with the way things are planted plese speak up. I wanna make sure things are right.
Thanks again
John


----------



## 1.0reef (Sep 9, 2013)

Great job! I just got into this and know little plants, but the terrestrial brom may be a Cryptanthus or earth star, i've heard they're great for vivs 
You def have some orchids, possibly a begonia? Some really nice moss and a possibly Korean Rock fern.... again I'm a noob.


----------



## tgoff0112 (Apr 28, 2013)

The "terrestrial bromeliad" is what looks to me to be a "red star cryptanthus". And yes they do grow in the soil. Do you have any abg in that pot it's in or just the sphagnum? I would add some abg if not and just cover that w/ sphagnum. The one in the last photo whith the pink veins, I can't remember the name but in my experience larger frogs trample the hell out of the thing. I have two of them in my auratus tanks and they are always knocking all the leaves off of them. So you may want to make those a little harder for them to get to.


----------



## usctom (Mar 30, 2013)

Looks good. Did you get some frogs at frog day?


----------



## Jgraz (Sep 1, 2013)

1.0reef said:


> Great job! I just got into this and know little plants, but the terrestrial brom may be a Cryptanthus or earth star, i've heard they're great for vivs
> You def have some orchids, possibly a begonia? Some really nice moss and a possibly Korean Rock fern.... again I'm a noob.


Thank You



tgoff0112 said:


> The "terrestrial bromeliad" is what looks to me to be a "red star cryptanthus". And yes they do grow in the soil. Do you have any abg in that pot it's in or just the sphagnum? I would add some abg if not and just cover that w/ sphagnum. The one in the last photo whith the pink veins, I can't remember the name but in my experience larger frogs trample the hell out of the thing. I have two of them in my auratus tanks and they are always knocking all the leaves off of them. So you may want to make those a little harder for them to get to.


Thanks. It was in just sphagum but at your suggestion I did change it. Now planted in ABG with sphagum on top. The frogs are a bit small but I will keep an eye on the pink one. I have a nice cork tube that I could cut up to make little pots that way I could raise it up.



usctom said:


> Looks good. Did you get some frogs at frog day?


Picked up two Leucs. Pretty small and went right to hiding. one came out to eat but havent seen the other. Im sure it will show up.


----------



## iRyan (Feb 17, 2011)

You'll probably want a bigger tank for the Leucs eventually, they get reasonably large as far as darts go. I have three tanks that size and they all house pairs of imitators which are considerably smaller. You could certainly keep them in there for a few months though at least until they grow up a bit. 

The variegated plant in the middle of the first picture, and in the first brom picture, is ficus pumila. It grows like a weed so get ready to trim it frequently. I use the non variegated form in a few of my tanks though, and it looks really nice IMO once it starts to spread out a bunch.


----------



## Jgraz (Sep 1, 2013)

iRyan said:


> You'll probably want a bigger tank for the Leucs eventually, they get reasonably large as far as darts go. I have three tanks that size and they all house pairs of imitators which are considerably smaller. You could certainly keep them in there for a few months though at least until they grow up a bit.
> 
> The variegated plant in the middle of the first picture, and in the first brom picture, is ficus pumila. It grows like a weed so get ready to trim it frequently. I use the non variegated form in a few of my tanks though, and it looks really nice IMO once it starts to spread out a bunch.


I have every intention of getting bigger. In already in the hunt too. I think I'm gonna get a 36" and work it slowly. Keep it in my work area so the wife don't notice. Then hit her with it out of nowhere. 

That plant is one of my favs that I bought. They said slow grower. Guess I'll keep a close eye.


----------



## Jgraz (Sep 1, 2013)

Well my cousin. the same person who gave me this terrarium has just given me a 36"x18"x24" exo-terra. He had it laying around for a while and figured I could use it to upgrade. So upgrade I will, gonna work it slowly though, not exactly sure how im gonna lay it out yet.


----------

