# Starting on a new Vivarium



## Jellyman (Mar 6, 2006)

I'm still working on the details but for now I am leaning towards one of the following 2 options:

Option 1:
All Glass, 4'L x 3'w x 30"T, 2 holes in bottom for drainage, eurbrace around top to allow for holes to be drilled for the misting system

Option 2:
Same as above except length will be 6'

I am waiting on some pricing quotes and then it will be custom order time!!

Pic's of items such as drift wood, cypress kness, a cypress log, and other things I have been accumulating for this build.


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## frogparty (Dec 27, 2007)

no pics. Will you be doing the fabrication yourself?


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## Ed Holder (Sep 26, 2008)

I say option #2! Of course i'm not the one flipping the bill 
4' or 6' are both great sizes so whichever you choose will for sure provide some luxurious space for some lucky frogs.

Cheers and good luck with the build!

Ed


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## Jellyman (Mar 6, 2006)

frogparty said:


> no pics. Will you be doing the fabrication yourself?


I am having the tank built for me and it will not be ready for 5-6 weeks. I'm in the gathering and planning phase. Once I decide on either 4 or 6 foot then I will begin mapping out the layout of the vivarium. My wife is excited also because I told her I wanted 10-12 orchids and that she could pick them out.

I'll take some photos of the stuff I already have for the build.


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## Jellyman (Mar 6, 2006)

I've decided on the 6 foot long x 3 feet w x 30" Tall glass terrarium. It was only slightly more expensive then the 4 foot tank so I took the additional 6 square feet of floor space.

Not looking forward to carrying it down the flight of stairs. The tank will not be ready until the end of April so I better start lifting some weights!!


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## Jellyman (Mar 6, 2006)

Here is a lnk to the T5 setup I am thinking of using. It is the 48" (8) lamp version. It will probably be centered in the middle of the tank. I also plan on running (2) 6' long VHO flourescents, eiter on across the front and one across the back or both across the front.

Sun Blaze T5

Let me know what you think or any suggestions that may work better.


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## Jellyman (Mar 6, 2006)

Here are a few pictures of some of the items I have been coolecting for the build. The tiles are 16"x16":























































The log in the last pic is approx 24"L x 14"w x 30"T.


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## Ziggi (Jan 23, 2009)

A bunch of very nice pieces you have there, should make for an amazing tank.
Should be heavy once everything is done too lol make sure you have a good stand.


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## Derek Benson (Feb 19, 2004)

3' deep? Wow.... 337 gallons?


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## BullfrogGreg (Sep 2, 2008)

Holy crap that is HUGE! That is the kind of thing I aspire to make someday.


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## Jellyman (Mar 6, 2006)

Derek Benson said:


> 3' deep? Wow.... 337 gallons?


Approx dimensions 6'L x 3'w x 29 1/2"h


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## Derek Benson (Feb 19, 2004)

331 gallons


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## crw.dft (Oct 14, 2008)

I'm jealous. I made a 6x2x2' tank a few years ago for my breeding pair of beardies. Totally bummed that I sold it now, it would be a great frog tank. Have fun and good luck man.


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## Jellyman (Mar 6, 2006)

My tank is scheduled to be at the store tomorrow. I hope to have it delivered soon aftre that. I have started prep work in the infastructure of the tank. Here are a few pics:

This is the shell of the stand from my 270g reef tank. I cut the stand down about 8" to accomodate the additional height of the dart frog tank. The tub on the right is a grout mixing tub that will be used for the catch basin of my river that will run through the center of the enclosure.









This is the beginning of the false bottom. I used 1 1/2" PVC cut at about 2"'s to raise the eggcrate of the bottom. The eggcrate will be covered in garden weed prevention screen to keep the soil in place,









The picture is the tentaive placement of some of the items I have been aquiring over the past 5 months. The green block of strofoam will be the river running through the enclosure. I'll make another post outlining how I made the river(borrowed the idea from another member).


















Here is a pic of the setup with the garden cloth over the eggcrate. All I need now is the tank and I can start landscaping.


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## Jellyman (Mar 6, 2006)

Here are a few shots of the river build:

I started with a foam block that measured 4' x 2' x 6". Here it is carved and covered with black silicone.









Then I pressed in some river rock gravel and let it sit for 24 hours:









These are the rocks I used. I rinsed them first to get out any debris and remove the dust so they would stick better:









Then I covered the outer portions with the black silicone and covered it with coco fiber:


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## SmackoftheGods (Jan 28, 2009)

Kudos to the patience it must've taken to wait so long for your tank with everything else being stored somewhere. I'd go crazy!

This is your new mixed display tank, yes? I think your frogs are going to be much happier here


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## hpglow (Jun 8, 2009)

Always go as big as you can. I have never put up a salt water tank or viv and thought... Hummm, I think I should have gone smaller.

And looking good so far btw.


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## Jellyman (Mar 6, 2006)

16 coco bricks, 5 orchid bark bricks, 2 bags of rock, and a bunch of plants later.......
Here are some new pics:
Tank finally on stand!!!!






















































I have a few more items to add, I'm waiting for the top to be finished, and hopefully by this weekend I'll be able to transfer the frogs into their new home.

I have alot of awesome broms, begonias, some cypress knees, and cork bark left over. I'll probably be posting some of the extras for sale in a week or so(once I am sure I will not be using them).

Let me know what you think.


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## stitchb (Jan 26, 2009)

HOLY!!!!!!!!....I am not worthy


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## yumpster (May 22, 2009)

Maybe the most awesome tank I have ever seen. Can't even imagine what that might have cost you, nor will I ask. I saw someone ask if this was meant to be a mixed tank. Mind if I ask what will be going in it? Sorry if you already stated it somewhere else. Congrats on a job very well done!


Oh and did you do anything in terms of a background?...not like one is really needed in a tank that well landscaped. =D


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## SmackoftheGods (Jan 28, 2009)

I'm also still wondering what you're going to put in there. Don't worry, it's mere curiosity and nothing more (for once  )


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## Jellyman (Mar 6, 2006)

yumpster said:


> Maybe the most awesome tank I have ever seen. Can't even imagine what that might have cost you, nor will I ask. I saw someone ask if this was meant to be a mixed tank. Mind if I ask what will be going in it? Sorry if you already stated it somewhere else. Congrats on a job very well done!
> 
> 
> Oh and did you do anything in terms of a background?...not like one is really needed in a tank that well landscaped. =D



I did not do anything to the background. I like to hang plants attached to cork bark and by creating hills that go 1/2 to 2/3rds of the way up the back of the tank it allows me to plant things that will hide the backwall as well. I am also going to attempt to make some interesting plants holders that will be held in place by magnets. I still have a few more items to add but it is about 95% complete. Then I get to put the mohogany skin on the frame. That probably will not happen until sometime this fall. 

I currently have a mixed species tank that is about 1/3rd the size of this new tank. Yes I know how frowned upon mixed tanks are(I would appreciate it if this thread could stay away from the classic mixed species debate please). The current group of frogs have been together for over 7 years now and this group of frogs will be transferred into the new enclosure. I have built this new tank with no standing water so I will not be breeding/creating hybrids. I will be keeping the current tank ready and available just in case any issues arise when the frogs are introduced to the new enclosure. There is always the possibility that aggression could occur under the newly created conditions.

I'm also trying to find someone that can install a live feed webcam. I thought it might be cool to be able to check in on my frogs while at work or on the road??


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## Jellyman (Mar 6, 2006)

stitchb said:


> HOLY!!!!!!!!....I am not worthy


Thanks for the compliment. I have had this in my head for about a year and have been collecting items for the build for the last 4 or 5 months. Funny how it can all come together in a few days.


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## yumpster (May 22, 2009)

In all honesty, I don't think anyone will start any mixed tank debates in this thread. It may be frowned upon, but if you are going to do it then you can't build a much better viv for it than the one you have there. The craftsmanship I see around here absolutely amazes me. Far better than I could ever do. I'm not normally a jealous person, but this is an exception. 

That live feed webcam would be awesome if you could get it to work.


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## Jellyman (Mar 6, 2006)

yumpster said:


> In all honesty, I don't think anyone will start any mixed tank debates in this thread. It may be frowned upon, but if you are going to do it then you can't build a much better viv for it than the one you have there. The craftsmanship I see around here absolutely amazes me. Far better than I could ever do. I'm not normally a jealous person, but this is an exception.
> 
> That live feed webcam would be awesome if you could get it to work.


Thank you. Those are very generous comments.


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## SmackoftheGods (Jan 28, 2009)

Well, from what I understand of your old tank, your frogs are going to like this enclosure much better. Some good craftsmanship


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## Julio (Oct 8, 2007)

looks good, nice landscaping


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## Jellyman (Mar 6, 2006)

SmackoftheGods said:


> Well, from what I understand of your old tank, your frogs are going to like this enclosure much better. Some good craftsmanship


Not much different then the old enclosure except there is 3x more space available!!! Here are a couple of pics of the old tank:




























The new tank will be finished with similar trim to the old tank.


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## Derek Benson (Feb 19, 2004)

Very nice tanks, even the old one. Where are you located in kansas?


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## Jellyman (Mar 6, 2006)

Derek Benson said:


> Very nice tanks, even the old one. Where are you located in kansas?


I'm in Lawrence. I'm not a Jayhawk fan. Transplanted here from Syracuse, NY. Go Orange!

If you are ever in Lawrence stop by.


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## JohnnyRD (Sep 1, 2008)

Topeka here, its always nice to meet more folks in the area.

The tanks are beautiful, looks like you have a good sense for how big your plants will be and placed them really well for grow out!

John


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## Jellyman (Mar 6, 2006)

JohnnyRD said:


> Topeka here, its always nice to meet more folks in the area.
> 
> The tanks are beautiful, looks like you have a good sense for how big your plants will be and placed them really well for grow out!
> 
> John


If you are planning to be in Lawrence shoot me a PM and stop by.


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## JohnnyRD (Sep 1, 2008)

Jellyman said:


> If you are planning to be in Lawrence shoot me a PM and stop by.


Will do, it might be a month or so before I head that way. Thanks for the invitation 

John


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## Jellyman (Mar 6, 2006)

JohnnyRD said:


> Will do, it might be a month or so before I head that way. Thanks for the invitation
> 
> John


Anytime. If you are into saltwater tanks I also have a 120g and 58g reef plus a breeding setup for clownfish and bangaii cardinal.


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## JohnnyRD (Sep 1, 2008)

One question: In your old tank, how did you go about separating the pool in the right front corner from the rest of the bedding? It looks very natural and from what I can see there isn't much saturation on the left front corner.

John


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## Jellyman (Mar 6, 2006)

JohnnyRD said:


> One question: In your old tank, how did you go about separating the pool in the right front corner from the rest of the bedding? It looks very natural and from what I can see there isn't much saturation on the left front corner.
> 
> John


There is an acrylic damn hidden below the surface seperating the water from the soil.


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## Derek Benson (Feb 19, 2004)

Very cool about the saltwater stuff, I haveapair of royal grammas and I used to have some banggai but the male killed the younger female and then perished. Are the ocellaris or perculas? You must be the one supplying pet world with their clowns?


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## thelegend76 (Feb 10, 2009)

I love your tank by the way, very cool! Your tank looks like you could of bought it from the store. Can I ask who did you order it from? And I'm sure it was not cheap.  Keep us updated on the goings on of the mixed tank. I'm curious.

Larry

ps- It must be hard to be an orangeman fan in the middle of kansas territory.


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## Jellyman (Mar 6, 2006)

Derek Benson said:


> Very cool about the saltwater stuff, I haveapair of royal grammas and I used to have some banggai but the male killed the younger female and then perished. Are the ocellaris or perculas? You must be the one supplying pet world with their clowns?


I have a pair of true percs, a pair of ocellaris, a pair of black percs, and a pair of picasso. I just recently started breeding the clowns and only the pair of true percs has reached maturity and started breeding but the other three should be getting there anytime. I know the guy that sells to Pet World. All I'll say on that is that I would never put one of my fish in a Pet World tank. I sell my bangaii to a select few LFS around Kansas City and once the picasso clowns get going I'll be doing more online selling.

I currently have about 50 bangaii babies. I just recently sold my breeding group of bangaii to a guy in St Louis but I'm in the process of building another breeding group.


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## Jellyman (Mar 6, 2006)

thelegend76 said:


> I love your tank by the way, very cool! Your tank looks like you could of bought it from the store. Can I ask who did you order it from? And I'm sure it was not cheap.  Keep us updated on the goings on of the mixed tank. I'm curious.
> 
> Larry
> 
> ps- It must be hard to be an orangeman fan in the middle of kansas territory.


Anytime someone tries to give me crap I just remind them that it was KU that lost to Syracuse for the National Title. That shuts them up pretty quickly.

The tank was custom made by someone that my local fish store knows(overseas) and I cannot off the top of my head remember the name of the company. It turned out to be a real pain because a shipment of glass was delayed and instead of getting my tank at the end of April, I had to wait until last week. But in the end I am very pleased with the craftsmanship of the tank and the time allowed me to aquire more items and plan it out even more.


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## Tran2la (Nov 6, 2009)

Really nice setup. Impressive!


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## Rick (Apr 10, 2009)

Any updated pictures on this tank with the frogs in it and all? Really nice tank!


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## Jellyman (Mar 6, 2006)

Sorry I have not posted any updates. All the frogs have been in the setup since the end of July. There was one casulaty. One of my two luecs was hiding in a staghorn fern and when I pulled the fern out of the old tank he jump, landed about 5 feet down on a tile floor and broke a leg. He did not recover. All other frogs are doing great. I have 4 tincs, 4 azureus, 8 auratus, and 1 leuc. The tincs, azureus and the leuc are the most active and roam the tank. The auratus tend to occupy the hollow stump in the upper right corner of the tank but occassionally wander through the middle section of the tank. Alot of the mosses died back but have started sprouting back to life. I still have not finished trimming the tank but I will snap a few pics in the next day or so.


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## Jellyman (Mar 6, 2006)

Finally got around to taking some pictures:

The first 3 pics are prior to feeding time. Frogs are scattered throughout the tank:



























The next two are after flies and springtails have been added to 6 locations throughout the tank:


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## Rick (Apr 10, 2009)

Awesome, i like that spot in the front with the coco hut and the cypress knees! Great viv, thanks for the update!


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## Nate (Jan 5, 2009)

Are you still wanting to use a webcam with your tank? I'm going to be lazy and post these pretty good instruction's on how to do that rather then explain it myself 
InformIT: Setting up a Live Webcam Feed > Installation and Setup

By the way, awesome tank! The part in the front with all the cypress knees is amazing and I love all the plants and how they are arranged!


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## ChrisK (Oct 28, 2008)

How is the lid made?


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## Jellyman (Mar 6, 2006)

Peace said:


> Are you still wanting to use a webcam with your tank? I'm going to be lazy and post these pretty good instruction's on how to do that rather then explain it myself
> InformIT: Setting up a Live Webcam Feed > Installation and Setup
> 
> By the way, awesome tank! The part in the front with all the cypress knees is amazing and I love all the plants and how they are arranged!


Thanks for the link. I am still interested just have not had the time. I'm still trying to finish putting the trim work on the stand so it is not just 2x4's. I'll check it out and hopefully by Christmas I might have a live feed going.


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## Jellyman (Mar 6, 2006)

ChrisK said:


> How is the lid made?


I had three window screens custom made. They simply lay on top of the eurobracing. I use 1/8" pieces of plexi that lay on top of the screen to hold humidity at the desired level.


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## Jellyman (Mar 6, 2006)

Rick said:


> Awesome, i like that spot in the front with the coco hut and the cypress knees! Great viv, thanks for the update!


Thanks. I was really loving the cypress knees after seeing them in another members tank. They were not all that easy to come by. Most have already has their bark removed and in my opinion do not look natural without their bark. But I finally found a set of 4 on Ebay. 

Good eyes on the coco hut. There are 8 all together throughout the tank and most are really hard to find. My wife said they look like hobbit houses.


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## Nate (Jan 5, 2009)

Jellyman said:


> Thanks for the link. I am still interested just have not had the time. I'm still trying to finish putting the trim work on the stand so it is not just 2x4's. I'll check it out and hopefully by Christmas I might have a live feed going.


No problem!


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## Jellyman (Mar 6, 2006)

It has been a long time since I last posted any updates. All frogs are doing great. I have removed and added some different plants. One of the concerns for some was that I would end up with mixed frogs and yet the argument against my tank was that I was not producing offspring in the old enclosure. Well I decided to pull eggs and just see what happens. It took about 40 tadpoles to get it right. The tads kept morphing fine until they popped their front legs and then the froglets would end up with SLS. After going over everything I eventually figured out it was because I was using my filtered RO/DI water. Once I started using water straight from the tap all SLS issue went away. I currently pull between in the neighborhood of 10-20 eggs per week and of those about half turn into tadpoles. I have 5 auratus froglets about 3 weeks otw and another 10 tads at various stages. So far I have only had two hybrid froglets(cross between a tinc and an auratus). The hybrids were of the SLS froglets. Would have been an awesome frog powder blu tinc x metallic green auratus. Anyway here are a few pics from 9/4/2010 of the vivarium:


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