# 75 gallon swamp vivarium build



## jturner (Nov 26, 2014)

For this build I used all materials that I had lying around. The LED light and 75 gallon tank were both from craigslist and were used for my first reef tank before I upgraded equipment. The blues and whites on the LED are adjustable with a digital dimmer. All of the bromeliads have been growing in the greenhouse and I have just been dying to use them in a viv. I found all of the wood in a forest nearby. The wood was baked in the oven and has just been siting in my reptile room and I finally decided to use it. I used sheets of filter material as a substrate and background. I still have not added any organic substrate besides some oak leaves. 
I originally wanted to get a mist king but decided to save the 100$ and try something with materials that I had. I used a fountain pump and some extra tubing to make a sort of rain/watering system. I didn't want any pumps in the tank so the pump is situated underneath the tank in a bucket. Since the tank is tempered glass drilling an overflow was out of the question so I used an aqualifter pump to pull water out of the tank and return it to the bucket. Basically the fountain pump is set on a timer and goes on for a few minutes until the bucket has emptied. A sensor on the pump turns the pump off when the water gets too low. This is a super useful feature and stops the pump from burning out. Then the timer turns the pump totally off and the aqualifter slowly refills the bucket. I also made a little preflight so that the aqualifter doesn't get clogged.
I made the viv in a day and was very pleased at how it turned out. I really tried to make it colorful with a lot of splashes of red leaves. The one thing that I thought it still needed was some moss so I ordered 2 squared feet of moss from NEHERP and it should be coming soon. Here are some pictures


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## jbherpin (Oct 16, 2009)

What do you plan on housing in there, I like the look of it. Nice job!

JBear


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## rigel10 (Jun 1, 2012)

You already know, but your light is more suitable for a reef aquarium. This LED light falsifies the colors of the plants, makes them unnatural. Not a criticism mine, because I appreciate your project "low cost" - I really like the idea - but a simple observation. After all you did a great job!


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## jturner (Nov 26, 2014)

I agree with you that the light is too blue in the pictures. The light has a digital controller on the side and I am able to either dim or totally turn off the blues. For the pictures I had the blues on and the light temperature was probably around 10000K+. If I turn the blues off the light is more natural, probably around 6000-7000K. When I am home next time I will take some more pictures without the blues.


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## jturner (Nov 26, 2014)

jbherpin said:


> What do you plan on housing in there, I like the look of it. Nice job!
> 
> JBear


I want to let it grow out a lot more but eventually I would like to house some P. terribilis or bicolor. Definitely something bold because there are a lot of hiding places and I want to be able to see the frogs.


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## Evanelectric77 (Mar 17, 2015)

Love the swamp seen. Great inspiration for my next tank.
Kudos


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## rigel10 (Jun 1, 2012)

Do you have planned internal ventilation with fans? Broms need some air circulation. About frogs, I state I do not have terribilis neither bicolor, but to my knowledge these frogs do not like soil too wet as they can have serious health problems to the legs. Be careful that the land part is always completely dry.
For the rest great choice of frogs.


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## mongo77 (Apr 28, 2008)

I agree with Rigel10, definetly too much water area for Terribilis or most terrestrial dart species. That would be a great fire belly toad tank or tree frog tank.


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## jturner (Nov 26, 2014)

Thanks for the input. I can very easily lower the water level by pushing down the tubing that leads to the aqualifter. This will make the land less soggy and give more land area. I was also planning on adding more land anyway when I put in substrate. As for ventilation I plan on having a screen section on top and a fan go on a few times a day that exchanges tank air with dry outside air.


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## jturner (Nov 26, 2014)

Just added the moss from NEHERP. I may have gone a bit overboard with the amount that I added but I just really like that nice green look. I will still be sure to leave some leaf litter when I get frogs. Any tips on how to get the moss to really take off? I have never used the stuff from NEHERP before. Here are some pictures with the blue LEDs off so the light looks more natural.


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## jcotterill (Feb 24, 2015)

From what I've been told from NEHERP is too keep the moss moist and give them good lighting. I've had mine for just a week but 2 t5ho's seem to have it greening up already. Maybe you could try african reed frogs? They would appreciate the vertical nature of your tank and probably wouldnt mind the swamp.


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## jturner (Nov 26, 2014)

I will be leaving on vacation for a few weeks but I think that the watering system will keep the moss moist while I am gone.
I hadn't thought of reed frogs. I have kept a clown tree frog and I did think about getting a bunch of clowns or red eyes. I am now leaning more towards diurnal frogs so that I can see them during the day. I will put reed frogs on the list of possibilities. What will probably end up happening is that I take a trip to black jungle and pick out something that is nice.


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## jcotterill (Feb 24, 2015)

I was considering the clown tree frogs as well but I had a couple of concerns.
-I thought I heard that their feces isn't broken down by the microfauna, which would foul the substrate.
-That they would drown in my set up (ill provide a picture)
-That there isnt enough climbing/vertical space in my tank. Coudl you give me some insight on this?


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## jcotterill (Feb 24, 2015)

Here's my current set up.


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## jturner (Nov 26, 2014)

I don't know anything about why their feces would not be broken down but I don't see why clown tree frog poop is any different than any other tree frog. If you could point me to where you heard this I would be interested. 

As for drowning I don't see that being a problem as long as there is a way for the frogs to climb out of the water if they fall in. I actually had a decent sized water section with my clown tree frog and I would find him sitting in the shallow areas at night. 

For climbing space I don't know the dimensions of your tank but I saw your thread that said 55 gallon. Nice looking tank by the way. If you add some more vines or branches to the tank it would be better for climbing and at the same time may give a bit more of a focal point to the display.


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## LobCityLA (Nov 5, 2014)

Nice looking viv


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## jcotterill (Feb 24, 2015)

Ok so the worrying about the tree frog feces being a problem is based upon a care sheet which ill attach the link with. In terms of "cleaning the substrate" I would assume that they aren't accounting for microfauna, but I didn't want to gamble on that. Furthermore, I've heard people mentioning that PDF's won't foul the water/soil with there urine/feces but I haven't heard that topic being well covered with tree frogs. I just don't want to assume anything and make the environment hazardous. Clown Tree Frog Care Guide (Look for the subheading "cleaning") Also my tanks height is 18", with 4" going towards water so I dont know if thats enough.


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## jturner (Nov 26, 2014)

I looked at the care sheet and I think that the author is assuming that the frogs are not being kept in a vivarium where an actual ecosystem is being maintained. It is actually much more simple to just throw in some coco fiber and fake plants to keep tree frogs and I think that this is what the care sheet is assuming. To my knowledge there is no reason why the microfauna will not process clown tree frog waste. As far as size of your tank clown tree frogs are small and you could actually get away with putting one in a 10 gallon tank. Just add some more branches and your viv will be better suited for climbing. I am not trying to push you either way it just seems as if you are worrying a bit much and you honestly have everything you need to keep clowns.


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## jcotterill (Feb 24, 2015)

No worries, I dont feel like your pushing for them, just clearing up my doubts. I think I'll add some manzanita branches on the land side to better suit tree frogs, as they were my original interest. Thanks for the help and again, sweet tank!


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## jturner (Nov 26, 2014)

Just a little update after a couple of weeks of growth and some minor changes and additions.


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## k5MOW (Jun 19, 2015)

Great job looks very nice. 

Roger


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## jcotterill (Feb 24, 2015)

That moss really helped it achieve that "established" look


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## jturner (Nov 26, 2014)

Thanks, and I agree that the moss really made it look nice. It is starting to grow some shoots in a few spots.


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## jturner (Nov 26, 2014)

Its only been two weeks but I though I would do another update. I did a bit more rearranging of plants mainly on the left side and I am starting to get some nice moss growth now. I also noticed that the NEHERP moss seems to have either two species of moss in it or two different growth patterns. Some of the new shoots are a bright green and have the sort of fern shape while others are a lighter color and different shape. You can see what I mean in the second photo.


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## DragonSpirit1185 (Dec 6, 2010)

I'd like to see this rain system in action


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## faspencer (Jul 16, 2013)

It looks really natural. Everything seems to be thriving!


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## kromar (Jun 6, 2015)

i have to say that i did not like it so much in the first couple of pictures, but now that it starts to grow in it starts to look really really nice.

cant wait to see how it continues to grow in


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## jturner (Nov 26, 2014)

Thanks for the compliments 

DragonSpirit1185- I could upload a video of the watering system if you want to see it.


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## smoosh (Oct 25, 2014)

Also interested in seeing the rain system


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## jturner (Nov 26, 2014)

quick clip of the watering system and higher quality photo of the viv
https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/19858299579/in/dateposted-public/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/19421729634/in/dateposted-public/


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## rigel10 (Jun 1, 2012)

The viv is very very nice, but I personally do not like this watering system because it is too visible and ruin - with its artificial appearance - the natural aesthetics of the whole.
My opinion of course.


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## jturner (Nov 26, 2014)

Yes I know it is not the most aesthetically pleasing. Like I said before I built this viv with spare materials. It would be possible to hide the main tube by putting it along the bottom of the tank and running the small tubes up and I might try this. I am also aware that it is probably not the best long term solution as fountain pumps are not really meant to run intermittently. I will hopefully get a misting system at some point but for now this is doing a great job of getting the moss and plants to take off.


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## rigel10 (Jun 1, 2012)

Misting system is the best solution, in my opinion. You can build a DIY misting system for cheap with Ulka pumps, some connectors and nozzles.
Otherwise you can hide a bit those pipes of your current raining system, which in any case, since this your tank it's primarily a paludarium, it is certainly effective.
Your viv is very nice, so I said it.


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## jturner (Nov 26, 2014)

I want to get a new mist king because the pump from my last one stopped working sadly. Thanks for the idea to use an Ulka pump. Have you used these before? do they last? After a quick search it looks like they are made for coffee machines. Will they put out enough pressure? It may be worth a shot since I already have nozzles and tons of tubing.


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## jturner (Nov 26, 2014)

Just found this thread also 
http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/parts-construction/83554-my-take-diy-misting-system.html
it looks like they are pretty effective


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## rigel10 (Jun 1, 2012)

Good thread this of Parkanz. I use Ulka pump for one of my two racks from almost two years without problems (my other rack, bigger, with 8 vivs, has a diaphragm pump). It does not just keep the pump on more than indicated (for more than one minute turned on and two minutes off). It is also important not to run the pump without water. 
My ulka pump now has three nozzles, I tried it with four nozzles with good results.
I think Ulka pump is powerful enough for 6-8 nozzles.
I paid 15.60 euro for each nozzle and about 20 Euros for the pump.


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## jturner (Nov 26, 2014)

Thanks for the answers. My other main question is how would I wire this so that it can be plugged into an outlet? I am assuming that I should use the 120V for the US but do I have to do anything special? Can I just strip the wires from an extension cord and solder these directly to the pump?


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## rigel10 (Jun 1, 2012)

Sorry for the delay I missed the thread.
Well, I used this stuff in the pic - I do not know how you call it in English. These are good on the attack in tabs pump. Easy and cheap.
I think 110 V is good, here we have 220 V. But it's better if you read the specifications of the pump.


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## Veneer (Nov 13, 2012)

What's your photocycle?


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## jturner (Nov 26, 2014)

So I thought that I would post an update on this viv. I made a bunch of changes throughout the past 6 months. I was having some problems with the LED that I had on the tank before so switched over to a beamswork evo quad. I replaced the watering system with a mist king and I added aqueon glass tops. I also redid the left side of the tank and am slowly growing some moss although it looks brown right now. I have everything set on timers and have kind of left the tank to do its thing for the past 2 months when I was away at bording school. 

Schedule is as follows
-12 hours on and 12 off for lights. 
-fan on the top goes on for an hour each day to dry everything out and this has done an awesome job of keeping the orchids and broms from rotting. 
-mist king goes on 6 times throughout the day for about 10-15 seconds each time. 
-aqualifter pump drains excess water from the tank into a waste bucket and this goes on for a few hours each night. 

I will attach a link to a quick iPhone video that I took of the tank today. Everything seems very healthy and growing. Every single brom has rooted itself into the wood. Just keep in mind that I haven't done any trimming for a long time so the tank does look a bit messy. 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/24429902383/in/album-72157660848374926/


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## jturner (Nov 26, 2014)

Another update- frogs are in! I picked up a nice trio of orange terribilis from black jungle at the Manchester reptile expo today. They seem quite healthy and bold. They have a great appetite and have been trying to eat the isopods crawling around the viv. I fed them tons of pinhead crickets and dropped a few 1/4 inch crickets in and one of the frogs was able to gobble one down. I am going to try and keep these guys on a staple diet of small crickets. This is easier than fruitflies in my case because I have to get crickets each week anyway to feed my other reptiles. I do have some fruit fly cultures started up to feed in addition to the crickets. The viv is continuing to grow in nicely. However I do have one question about some centipedes that I am seeing around the tank. I am just wondering if these can cause any issues to the frogs. They have been living in the tank for the past year or so and haven't caused any problems that I can see. Just want to make sure. Anyway on to some pictures.


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## Drewbacca (Apr 5, 2014)

Good lord, that is beautiful! Great job!

-Drew


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## deadsea60 (Sep 15, 2012)

Love it all and Im probably not telling you anything you don't know but terribs have been known to get foot rot easily in very wet environments (i.e. a swamp like environment like yours). Perhaps add some more leaf litter to the bits without water so if they get sores on their feet they can dry them out. 
Love the frogs, had to sell mine , and the setup is awesome


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## jturner (Nov 26, 2014)

Thanks guys. As far as the foot rot issue I am not too worried. There is actually quite a bit of leaf litter along the back wall that can't be seen in the pictures and the fan does a good job of drying out everything for an hour each day. I also cut back misting to 5-10 seconds 6X per day so the tank isn't exactly soaked all the time. Thanks for the heads up though I didn't know that it was a particular issue with terribs.


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## deadsea60 (Sep 15, 2012)

Okay just thought Id say because Ive seen some pretty bad cases from other peoples terribs and don't want you to get caught short


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## Lake (Jan 31, 2015)

Very nice and natural looking tank!


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## jturner (Nov 26, 2014)

Thought it was time for another update. The tank continues to fill in and look better. I added a few orchids, a bunch of ferns, some baby tears, another begonia, and I moved a few broms around. I also put a black poster board as a background. I think it makes the plants pop a lot more. I also raised the light fixture a little to get a bit better spread. I got a great macro shot a few weeks ago of one of the frogs on a brom leaf. I blacked out the background and I think it looks good. On to the pictures-


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## Gibbs.JP (Feb 16, 2016)

Wow. That's all I got... wow.


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## Eloquentidiot (Feb 28, 2013)

This turned out way better than what I would ever expect from something that started out as a quick build from leftover stuff. Great job!
What is the large leafy plant in the center of the viv (looks like red-veined sorrel to me) and the round pilea/peperomia-looking leaves growing interspersed in the foreground of the full view you last posted?
- Paul


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## jturner (Nov 26, 2014)

Thanks guys.
You are right the big plant in the middle is red-veined sorrel. The plants in the front are a mixture of Hydrocotyle umbellata and creeping jenny.


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## kromar (Jun 6, 2015)

thanks for the updated pictures, very nice photos and plant growth, i like the macro shot of the frog so cool


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## jturner (Nov 26, 2014)

Quick update on the viv. Came back after leaving the tank to its own devices for around 2.5 months. Just had my dad dump in crickets once a week. I did a big clean up and tore out a ridiculous amount of plants. Some of the broms lost a bit of color from being shaded from those begonias which just decided to take off while I was gone. The frogs are doing awesome although they may be getting a bit obese. 
I also thought I would show a sneakpeak of the progress on the next big project, the new greenhouse. I'll probably do a new thread on that once more progress is made. So far a cinder block foundation has been built a little over 4 ft down below the frost line and insulated.

first this is a pic of the viv in August.


This is what I came back to this week


after a big trim


Greenhouse foundation


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## Damon Ryan (Nov 13, 2015)

Any updates on this? 


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