# First Viv 55 gallon D. auratus 'El Cope'



## Stifle (Aug 13, 2015)

I've had this viv setup for about 9 months now, I'm happy with how it's come out (execpt for the wandering jew, I go through phases where I love it but most of the time I hate it now). Frogs seem happy and healthy and I caught two courting this morning.The pictures are a few months old so I'll have to update when I clean the glass and take new pictures but I've been wanting to post for months so here goes.


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## Stifle (Aug 13, 2015)

Sorry the viv pic is upside down don't know how that happened


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## Stifle (Aug 13, 2015)

Current pics


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## Stifle (Aug 13, 2015)

some more that show it more up close


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## Stifle (Aug 13, 2015)

Here's a shot of all the frogs together that my girlfriend somehow managed to capture the other day.


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## Stifle (Aug 13, 2015)

Update after a much needed trim. Cleared out my stream so it's actually flowing again, added some new leaf litter, removed some algae and moss from my water fall, and drained a good 3 gallons of water. So much happier with how it looks now.


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## Stifle (Aug 13, 2015)

Also had a fern randomly start growing in the middle of my tank, thought about pulling it out but I'm starting to like it so I'm giving it a chance to see how it grows in.


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## Stifle (Aug 13, 2015)

Girlfriend managed to snap this pic of one of our frogs exploring


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## B-Lans (Aug 11, 2016)

Hi. This is my first post as I'm new here but I just wanted to tell you that your frogs and viv are gorgeous!


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## Stifle (Aug 13, 2015)

B-Lans said:


> Hi. This is my first post as I'm new here but I just wanted to tell you that your frogs and viv are gorgeous!


Thanks so much, I've put a lot of time and effort into it. I'll be uploading some new pics in the near future. I've made some more changes that I really like and the frogs seem to enjoy as well. 

I also have two more vivs in the works currently, both are 40 gallon breeders, one is for some tincs (haven't decided exactly what yet), and the other is for crested geckos that I currently have housed individually in grow outs. The gecko tank will actually be converted to a vertical tank which I'm slightly nervous about doing but I've done a lot of DIY stuff in the past so I feel I'm up to the task. I'll be doing build threads on both of them. Really excited to take what I learned over the past year from this build and use it in the two new ones.

I definitely won't be doing a water in any vivs for a while. I don't regret having one in my first build but it takes up a lot of space and doesn't seem to do much for the frogs at the moment. I'll also have a lot more plants that aren't bright and colorful. I initially chose a lot of colorful plants in my first build and over time found that I didn't like it. It looked too unnatural and I found that when there was less color it made the little color there was really pop and draw you eye around the tank. Also although fast growing plants are really attractive at first when you have a sparsely planted tank once the tank grows in it makes maintenance a hassle and you'll find that your tank looks bad more often than it looks good.

But that's all just my 2 cents.


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## B-Lans (Aug 11, 2016)

Would you recommend not planting Wandering Jew in a vivarium? We are in the 'planted but needing to grow out a bit' stage and I've put a WJ I the tank. Originally we were going to plant pothos as well but decided against it because it grows too quickly.


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## czpana (Aug 13, 2016)

Stifle said:


> Thanks so much, I've put a lot of time and effort into it. I'll be uploading some new pics in the near future. I've made some more changes that I really like and the frogs seem to enjoy as well.
> 
> 
> 
> ...




Is that Java moss u have in some places? The ones for aquariums?


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


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## Stifle (Aug 13, 2015)

B-Lans said:


> Would you recommend not planting Wandering Jew in a vivarium? We are in the 'planted but needing to grow out a bit' stage and I've put a WJ I the tank. Originally we were going to plant pothos as well but decided against it because it grows too quickly.


Yeah I'm personally not the biggest fan of wandering jew in my vivs anymore. It's a beautiful plant but it just grows too fast. I also don't like how spread out the leaves are but that's personal preference. I took some of my cuttings and put it in a hanging basket as a house plant about 7 months ago and some of the vines are about 6 feet long now. 

In my experience wandering jew grows much faster than pothos but I haven't used pothos in a viv yet. I used to use it in all my chameleon setups back in the day and I'm considering it in the crested gecko setup I'm going to be doing but that's mainly because it's practically indestructible and that setup will be a lower light build.

I really loved the wandering jew at first because it filled in my tank really fast but once everything else started to grow in I didn't like having to cut it back as much. I have marcgravia growing to replace it as a vine but that's taking it's time to grow in which is driving me crazy now but will be really nice down the road. If you like wandering jew then give it a chance. You can always pull it out later. I just pulled a crypt out of my viv because I didn't like the balance of the tank with it. I love the plant just not in that build. Now it's sitting in a pot under some lights until I decide what to do with it.



> Is that Java moss u have in some places? The ones for aquariums?


It's actually sheet moss I got from josh's frogs. I agree it looks a lot like java moss but I think it is actually different. I don't have java moss anymore to compare the two (used to have it in my fish tanks but I sold all my fish before I moved to Indiana for vet school) but the sheet moss doesn't seem to be able to grow fully submerged in water. When I bought it, it came as dried moss that would eventually start growing again. It would take a good month for it to get going though. Now you can buy it fresh which I would highly recommend. I have mixed feelings on it though. It seems to have very different growth patterns in different parts of my viv. I like how it grows on the central log but not on the log on the left of my viv. I'm experimenting with mood moss now to see if I like that better.

If you have java moss and want to try it I'd say go for it. I had a fish tank with some drift wood sticking out of the water and java moss grew all over it after a while. Loved how it looked, broke my heart when I tore that tank down before I moved.


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## B-Lans (Aug 11, 2016)

Thanks for the reply. I've planted some Wandering Jew in our vivarium and will let it stay until it becomes a problem. I like the colors and the shape of the leaves so maybe it'll be a permanent resident of the tank. Or not. I've got time to decide.


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## Stifle (Aug 13, 2015)

Quick update, I have two ferns that randomly popped up from from moss I planted (was obtained from josh's frogs, the dry sheet moss, don't know if they even sell it anymore because they carry the fresh stuff now). One of them has an insanely fast growth rate and fairly large flimsy fronds. I'm not really a big fan of it and keep trimming it back but I've decided I'm going to let it go for a little while to see if it grows on me (I think I briefly mentioned this in an earlier post). I'm currently trying to propogate a cutting of the rhizome in a container inside a tank I've been using to grow out other plants for up coming projects. Have't had much success yet but with how it grows I'll have plenty more chances. The other fern is much smaller, I like it quite a bit and once it grows out some more I'm going to try attaching it to another log in the tank.

I pulled the large red crypt in the left foreground of my tank, it's one of my favorite plants but it just wasn't working for me in the tank. I still have it (it's sitting in a pot right now, I feel like I may have mentioned this in an earlier post too but I'm too lazy to go back and look right now). This allowed me to rotate the large log in the right portion of my tank. It now rests against the waterfall keeping it constantly moist which is doing wonders for the moss I'm growing on it. My frogs also love the open underneath it which was formerly occupied by the crypt. There's almost always at least one frog in this area foraging for the odd insect between feedings. Because of this I decided to make this a new feeding station area (I currently have a small piece of banana and clementine there to attract flies). 

I was visiting my parents last week in MA and while out in the backyard noticed a variety of mosses growing so I collected 4 or 5 mosses and a clump of lichen. I have them away from everything else in sealed containers at moment to ensure I didn't bring an hitchhikers back with me (found one slug when I was unpacking everything). I figure I'll give these 2-3 months in quarantine to grow out before I dare try and use any of them in a tank with frogs. Anyways that's all that's been going on here in the last month or so (other than I picked up 4 green sips today but I'll make a separate thread on them another time.)

But yeah here's some pics for those of you only interested in that


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## Stifle (Aug 13, 2015)

Some frog love until I get around to cleaning glass and taking a full tank picture.


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## Stifle (Aug 13, 2015)

Quick update, took all the wandering jew out, added some moss and peperomia to the log on the left of the tank. I have a marcgravia that's finally starting to take off which I'm stoked about. My philodendron is out of control, I'll either have to start cutting it back or remove it entirely both of which are things I don't want to do.


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## Stifle (Aug 13, 2015)

Another update, I've noticed that my frogs spend most of their time on the left side of the tank since I put the big log in on that side. This has led me to believe even more in what many people say about auratus, that the more you allow them to hide the more they'll be out. I've been trying to figure out for a while how to give them more security on the right side of the tank without having to rip everything out I ended up adding a piece of cork bark over my stream in the front of the tank so plants won't grow into it and block it and placing a cork tube on top of that which goes against the back wall of the tank. I'm very happy with the results and given that I've seen the frogs over there more today than I have in months I'd say that it was a success.


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## twohoops21 (Sep 17, 2008)

That viv is stunning, great job! I am starting a 55g build myself and looking for suggestions on lighting, what kind of setup are you running?


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## Stifle (Aug 13, 2015)

twohoops21 said:


> That viv is stunning, great job! I am starting a 55g build myself and looking for suggestions on lighting, what kind of setup are you running?


Thanks I consider this my showcase tank so I'm always working on it. I have 2 24" (Medium) Exo Terra compact tops with a 22w and a 13w Jungle Dawn in each one. I've been very happy with the lights so far. However I bought some lights from tincman that seem to perform just as well as the jungle dawns and I believe they're cheaper. I have those lights on my 40g setup. If I still had all my tools I would have just built a custom top to save money but I'm in Indiana for vet school and didn't think bringing power tools across the country was worth it.

I actually think that the amount of lighting I have on it is probably overkill but the plants love it and the tank temps are perfect so I'm not complaining.


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## rigel10 (Jun 1, 2012)

If I can give you some advice, I would put some ficus cuttings in the background. I love green ficus walls!
I have pothos in almost all my vivs. I do not love it so much, but it grows also in the dark corners and - the most important - my frogs love it.


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## twohoops21 (Sep 17, 2008)

Stifle said:


> Thanks I consider this my showcase tank so I'm always working on it. I have 2 24" (Medium) Exo Terra compact tops with a 22w and a 13w Jungle Dawn in each one. I've been very happy with the lights so far. However I bought some lights from tincman that seem to perform just as well as the jungle dawns and I believe they're cheaper. I have those lights on my 40g setup. If I still had all my tools I would have just built a custom top to save money but I'm in Indiana for vet school and didn't think bringing power tools across the country was worth it.
> 
> I actually think that the amount of lighting I have on it is probably overkill but the plants love it and the tank temps are perfect so I'm not complaining.


I appreciate the reply. I myself am happy with my exo with jungle dawns on another tank that I have, and am contimplating on going the same route at you, however I as well don't know if the cost of that setup is worth it.


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## Stifle (Aug 13, 2015)

rigel10 said:


> If I can give you some advice, I would put some ficus cuttings in the background. I love green ficus walls!
> I have pothos in almost all my vivs. I do not love it so much, but it grows also in the dark corners and - the most important - my frogs love it.


Thanks for the advice, I however am personally not a huge fan of how ficus looks. I do have some marcgravia growing out for the background though. It just likes to take its time. But yes I agree the background could use a vining plant of some sort I just happen to think marcgravia is a more attractive plant.


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## Yazz (Oct 30, 2016)

It was neat watching your viv grow and change. It's looking good!



Stifle said:


> The more you allow them to hide the more they'll be out.


Thank you for the above information. I'm on my first viv right now and was wondering why my previously bold frogs are hiding so much now. Too much open space? Ordering some neos tonight.


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## Stifle (Aug 13, 2015)

Yazz said:


> It was neat watching your viv grow and change. It's looking good!
> 
> 
> 
> Thank you for the above information. I'm on my first viv right now and was wondering why my previously bold frogs are hiding so much now. Too much open space? Ordering some neos tonight.


Thank you I've enjoyed watching it grow and evolve as well!

I will say that these guys were super bold when I first got them and then they went through a period of about 9 months where it seemed like I never saw them. But then once they reached maturity they started coming out more. It was then I noticed they hung out it areas where there was cover so I gave them more and subsequently saw them out in more of the tank.


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## d_mill24 (Jan 22, 2017)

Great looking long tank! I've been searching here for the past few weeks for some inspiration on long tank builds. I really like this one!


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