# Mantella viridis 55 gallon habitat :)



## Mantellaprince20 (Aug 25, 2004)

Well, I had to share this as I am very pleased with the end result. It is a 55 gallon for my mantella viridis, the reason why there are no bromeliads . Tell me what you think everyone 










left side









right side












Ed Parker


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## Guest (Oct 13, 2005)

Nice tank Ed! It looks very nice. Could we get some details on the 'river'?


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## Mantellaprince20 (Aug 25, 2004)

here are a few pics of the construction of the river. I didn't get anything of it before I set it up, but basically it is the plastic knitting sheets you get at craft stores, shaped into my river base. I then siliconed the entire thing and stuck dry gravel on so it would adhere to the sheet. I then put the rock wall in, siliconed the sheets to the glass, and rocks, then made the little waterfall feature. Very simple, only important part is to make sure it doesn't overflow the banks. I was very please with it though, even if you can see where it is siliconed to the glass. 




























ed parker


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## Guest (Oct 13, 2005)

Im missing something here. How does the water not go through the cross-stitch material? And if it does, how do you still get the 'river' effect?


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## Jordan B (Oct 8, 2004)

Sweet tank man! That's something to be proud of.


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## beeswaxx (Feb 17, 2005)

Wow, nice!
Love the river, good thinking!
-Beeswaxx


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## xxll (Jul 12, 2004)

Wow that’s quite an innovative way of making a stream...I never thought it would have worked but i guess i was wrong! lol...I also love how you used manly dead leaves to make a leaf litter floor...not carpet moss that everyone has and doesn’t look natural at all imo lol 

great job!


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## Mantellaprince20 (Aug 25, 2004)

Thanks for all the compliments . 

Trey, i pretty much siliconed every tiny bit of the cross stitch sheet so that it couldn't leak through the holes. I mean, i had to silicone the rocks to it anyway, and it really wasn't that bad. This is the best way I have come up with making rivers, and it does hold up for a long time. I have used it a few times before without any problems. PLus the pump is flowing like almost 300 gallon's per hour, so what is a pin hole leak to that ???? 

I will keep it updated with growth pics, so thanks again for the compliments. I even took school off last night to finish it :roll: 

ed parker


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## bluedart (Sep 5, 2005)

I hope you're gonna get out a journal for that. Awesome tank!


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## vignolo (Mar 9, 2005)

Hi

I guess Mantella will loose themselves in this viv... it's so big for small frog 

I have some M. viridis too and I wanna know how high is the humidity in your viv? It isn't too high with the river?


Thanks
Pierre-Luc


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## Mantellaprince20 (Aug 25, 2004)

I totally would get the journal out, but, I kind of have a nasty habit of setting the camera by me when I am building, but never using it :roll: . So, pretty much what i have posted already is the journal :? . I will try to draw up a diagram of what I did though, i really have never seen anyone do this type of stream, so I really should have made a journal. Sorry guys,

As for humidity, it does get very humid in the tank with the river running, but I did allow for about 15% of the top to be vent, which is more than I usually do. Also, the river won't be flowing when they are cycling in their dry season, and I can adjust the flow to mimick the changing seasons. I haven't actually recorded the humidity, but I am guessing it is about 90 to 95 for when it is running which will make for a very happy "wet" season . 

Ed Parker


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## Mantellaprince20 (Aug 25, 2004)

Just thought I would share some photos of the inhabitants, who really love it . This species is supposed to be very shy, but they are all over the place in this vivarium, so I am very hopefull for eggs now .

male on waterfall









Male and female found good spot to settle in









Chilling with the paphipedulum









And who said cryptic coloration isn't beautiful???









Hope you enjoy the pics, I am just so pleased that I finally have a vivarium to really be proud of. I have at the moment a colony of 7 m. viridis, and another is undergoing treatment before entering the viv.

Ed Parker

oh yeah, i finally got the 6500K CF lights on it, so the colors come out a lot nicer, i will get a few more full tank shots.


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## Magik (Sep 13, 2005)

Awesome viv, Ed! The waterfall is really nice, you should be proud..  

-Rae.


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## Guest (Oct 15, 2005)

Flipping sweet man !


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## Guest (Oct 15, 2005)

That is very nice!! I almost had a shot at getting a used (therefore affordable) 55 gallon tank, and so I had no idea what I was gonna do with it. This gives me inspiration for the next chance I get. I saw a 77 gallon bow front at Petland Discounts and I fell in love. But if I buy that, there wont be room for me in my apartment.


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## Guest (Oct 15, 2005)

If you have a TV sell it and get a hang on tv fot the celing, and replave it with the bowfront. Or....... sell your bed and get a sleeping bag. :twisted: 
IMO 
-Paul


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## Guest (Oct 15, 2005)

I wish, but I would probably get thrown out of my home.


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## Guest (Oct 18, 2005)

That is an awesome setup. Did you use just a regular ol' pond pump? Also, is there a filtration system in there somewhere?


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## Guest (Oct 18, 2005)

FrogKid said:


> If you have a TV sell it and get a hang on tv fot the celing, and replave it with the bowfront. Or....... sell your bed and get a sleeping bag. :twisted:
> IMO
> -Paul


Change of luck, I managed to buy the 55 gallon tank! Im so excited! Love the pics here and they are my inspiration for future plans. Thanks.


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## Devin Edmonds (Mar 2, 2004)

Man, the tank looks great Ed. I'm definitely setting that first photo as my background for a while. Glad you posted the pics,


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## speedsport (Sep 11, 2005)

:shock: 

I LOVE the waterfall and river. That is probibly the best I've seen. Great job keep up the good work.
:shock:


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## Guest (Oct 20, 2005)

Ed, from the picture it looks great, fantastic even, but I want to know, Whats your opinion now that time has gone by? When I tried to silicone gravel to a cut out plastic bag sheet, I didnt like the way it looked, it turned out real flat. I tested it and the water flowed right over the edges leading to a soggy situation in the surrounding land. How did you get yours to work? Is the river bed bent in toward the middle to keep the water in? Does it look flat in person? 
Thanks.


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## Mantellaprince20 (Aug 25, 2004)

Devin, I am flattered you put it as your background, I will get a better pic now that the frogs are in, and I have good lighting on it . Thanks again for the comments 

My first few rivers i tried like this did look a bit flat. This one however, I sloped it toward the glass of the tank it is siliconed too. I also have it running in a not so straight slant downards to add dimension. THen, it is siliconed to the rocks of the rivers edge, so it barely leaks at all. It just takes some experimenting with and what not . I am very satisfied with the river though, no overflowing banks, or anything, and it is pushing a lot of water ,

ed parker


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## Guest (Oct 20, 2005)

Great! I have hope! What kind of pump did you use? I was thinking of getting a Mini Rio 180. But I dont know how big or bulky these things are. It says it pumps water up 2 ft. :?


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## Guest (Oct 20, 2005)

OsamaBin said:


> That is an awesome setup. Did you use just a regular ol' pond pump? Also, is there a filtration system in there somewhere?


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## Mantellaprince20 (Aug 25, 2004)

sorry, missed the pump part . I just used a pond pump that I picked up at lowes. I forget the model, brand etc, but it was rated at around 300gph I believe. I didn't particularly make a filtration unit, but the pond has a sort of mesh, as well as sand and gravel the the water has to run through to get back to the pump, and since that is the feed side, pretty much all water goes through it, and will be a bacterial filter basically . Gravel and sand make for really good filtration units. Still working on a basic sketch of it, just haven't had a lot of time to lately . take care all, and thanks again for the compliments.

ed parker


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## Guest (Oct 20, 2005)

Mantellaprince20 said:


> sorry, missed the pump part . I just used a pond pump that I picked up at lowes. I forget the model, brand etc, but it was rated at around 300gph I believe. I didn't particularly make a filtration unit, but the pond has a sort of mesh, as well as sand and gravel the the water has to run through to get back to the pump, and since that is the feed side, pretty much all water goes through it, and will be a bacterial filter basically . Gravel and sand make for really good filtration units. Still working on a basic sketch of it, just haven't had a lot of time to lately . take care all, and thanks again for the compliments.
> 
> ed parker


Thanks...I know exactly the pumps you're talking about. I have a few of them around here from old watercooling systems I made for computers. I may have to try to setup a tank like yours, but on a slightly smaller scale (20g). Once again, sweet setup.


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## Guest (Oct 22, 2005)

Hey Ed, how is that type of cork working out for you as a background? I found some 12"x12" panels in the office supply section and am thinking of using them in some smaller tanks, but wasn't sure how well plants would be able to attach to them, etc.


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## Mantellaprince20 (Aug 25, 2004)

Hey skyls,

The cork wall tiles I am using are great. THey hold up really well under moist environments, everything roots to it REALLY well, and I even have moss growing on some it it that came from who knows where. THe tiles you get at an office supply store might be a bit different, the ones I use are like cork bark chunks compressed together, and it leaves a few tiny gaps. They aren't the sawdust kind, not sure what you are looking into though. Anyway, if you have more questions, let me know, take care,

ed parker


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## Guest (Oct 22, 2005)

Unfortunately, all I can seem to find is the sawdust/compressed kind. Where did you find the panels you are using?


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## Mantellaprince20 (Aug 25, 2004)

I got my cork stuff from here. It is the charcoal insulation. IT will be on backorder for a few more weeks they told me, I am awaiting a few more packs. They are 12x12 sheets though, and work great for plant growth. I really wouldn't trust the sawdust ones, and I don't think roots will attach as well to them. Here is the link. https://209.167.253.244/cgi-bin/webcart ... S&CODE=102. Take care


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