A few ?'s from a noob

[D Roc]

First of all, thanks to all that have been a part of this site. Over the past few weeks I have been lurking around the boards gathering lots of info about PDF's and their enviroment.
I have been keeping freshwater fish for almost 10 years now, and have raised about everything(Guppies, Loaches, Cichlids, Oscars, & Arowanas).But I have recently started to look for other forms of wildlife to raise. Then I stumbled onto this site and all of you wonderful people.

OK on to the qustions.

1. I have a 29 gal ready to use and have decided on leuc's as my first adventure. Will they prefer the tank vertical or will they be fine in a horizantal setting?

2. Will 3-4 leuc's be to many for this size viv?

3. Of course being an aquarium person I would love to have a water feature in my tank. My question is, can I use a peice of driftwood from one of my aquariums in this feature? (Is there any sterilizing that needs to be done to the driftwood before using it?)

4. Can I use stale water (tap water in container for 48 hrs +) or do I need to use distilled, spring, or R/O water for water features and misting?

5. I have always grown live plants in my aquariums, which is one reason I am interrested in viv's. I know that broms are a great choice for PDF's, but which will not out grow a viv of this size? (species, sub-species, ect.)

5. Are there any other plants that you recommend for a viv this size?

Thanks to all that can answer any of these questions.

[reggorf]

First, welcome. I can answer a couple of your questions. I have 3 leucs in a 29 gallon (horizontal). I had four in there and they were fine. I have some broms on the background, a bunch of pothos and wandering jew, some large magnolia leaves on the ground, a maranta leuconeura(big leaves), and some type of fern. I have a small tupperware dish buried in the substrate with water in it. I do not use tap water for misting because it leaves calcium and other things on the glass when it dries. We used RO water. Good luck. Leucs are a great choice for you first frogs.

[Jencylivez]

Welcome to the site, you have picked a great hobby. I'll try to answer your questions to the best of my ability.

1. Leucs are terrestrial frogs so horizontal would be your best bet.

2. 3 or 4 is the max for a 29 gal, depending on who you talk to. Just make sure to provide plenty of hiding places and leaf litter for them to feel more secure in.

3. Yes you will need to sterilize the wood before putting it in with your frogs. Theres various methods out there but the three ive used are letting the wood dry out completely, baking it at about 250 for 20 mins or soaking in a solution of 2 oz of bleach, 2 oz of vinegar per gallon of water.

4. I say use distilled because its super pure and doesn't leave calcium deposits on the glass of your viv.

5. I haven't gotten scientific names down yet so i can't help you out there. I can tell you blackjungle has tons of plants and all of their stuff is made for viv conditions.

[lacerta]

Welcome aboard.
I think your 29g, horizontally placed, will be quite sufficient for a trio or foursome of leucs. As was mentioned, make sure it is planted heavy enough to provide visual barriers. My favorite broms are the Cryptanthus species which can handle wet conditions. Also the Neoregelia (fireball and others) are great broms for both planting and as epiphytes on the background. Don't forget some Tillies (Tillandsia spp). Place them high and dry on the background where they can get plenty light.
Other favorites of mine are Oxalis (Silver and Gold). It has nice foliage and is constantly in bloom with pretty little yellow flowers. Along with leaf litter (either magnolia or Indian almond (Almendra)) try some of the Selaginella mosses. For quick ground cover, Ficus pumilio will quickly grow over everything. It will need to cut back quite frequently as it will litterally take over a viv.
For hand or auto misting it is recommended to use a pure form of water to prevent mineral buildup and prevent clogging of mist heads. I use aged tap water for most of my misting. But every couple months I wipe the glass down with a mild vinegar solution and break down my mist heads (mostly to remove dead fruit fly parts).
Have a piece of glass cut for the top to help retain humidity. And don't forget to provide enough light for all those plants. Compact flourescents are awesome but make sure to mount them a few inches above the top glass otherwise they can heat a tank up pretty quickly.
Have fun with it. I started with an interest in the frogs and now I enjoy the plants almost as much.

George

[D Roc]

Thank you all for being so quick to respond, I appreciate all of your insight.

I am looking forward to building my tank this weekend. I'm pretty sure that I'm going to use the GS/Silicone meathod. I've been reading many of the construction journals on the site (what a valuable resource) and think I have a good idea on how to apply it. Actually, I think I may start drawing up the plans tonight (can't wait).

I was thinking of doing a construction journal, until my camera had an unfortunate meeting with the inside of one of my aquariums this afternoon, maybe next time.

Thanks again for all of your help, if anyone else would like to offer suggestions it would be appreciated.

[Dartluv]

Well you could always tell us how your doing it step by step anyways and we could/might be able to help you out by saving you time (with tips, ect) otherwise... welcome to the board and hope you have fun with your first pair (whenever you get them)

[D Roc]

Sorry guys, I forgot to add this question earlier.

In your experience what is the best substrate/soil mixture to use for a planted viv?

I am trying not to use any type of potting soil as I've heard that it can bleed into the water features making them look "dirty".
Also are there any PDF breeders in the AL area that have frogs for sale? I would prefer to pick them up locally as not to stress the frogs with any shipping. I've called all of my local pet stores and fish suppliers that I know of, with no luck.

Thanks again for all of your help.

[Baltimore Bryan]

What I use for the soil in my tanks is coco fiber stuff. You should be able to get it at most reptile/ fish stores, even petsmart or petco. It comes in these chunks that are the size of bricks, and they are just as hard to cut :lol: . So I find its easier to use the whole chunk at one time, instead of spending 30 minutes trying to saw it in half... All you do is put it in water and after about 30 minutes it expands a ton and is great for tanks. Good luck

[roxrgneiss]

Hi D Roc,

I'm new here and to PDFs. Hello to everyone! Fantastic hobby you all have! I recently set up a viv and used an ABG (Atlanta Botanical Gardens) type of mix for the substrate. After searching online and checking out what others are using, I found I liked this mix best. It's about 100% organic, so as it breaks down, the ammonia, nitrates, trace elements, etc are utilized by the plants, so there's no real need to fertilize, I think. Also, the drainage of this mix is very good, while retaining some moisture, as well. It won't last indefinitely, but it should last for ~5 years from what I've read.

The components are tree fern fiber, bits of sphagnum, peat, orchid or fir bark, and activated charcoal(this absorbs some excess nutrients & chemicals/provides drainage). I don't know if this mix can be found for sale online, but it's pretty easy to find each element and mix it yourself.

Some amount of leaf litter is above the substrate in places to give the frogs extra hiding areas and provide habitat for springtails, etc.

In addition, I used a layer of LECA(clay balls) beneath, separated from the substrate, to provide extra drainage and keep the water table from saturating the substrate. I also have a false bottom below the LECA; it's a bit redundent, but effective.

Don't know if my explanations are enough, google ABG, LECA, and "false bottom", if you're interested.

My viv has been up for a month and many of the plants have new growth -some have doubled in size! Except for the ones that didn't make it.. :roll: :lol:

Hope this helps,
Mike

[D Roc]

Thanks a lot for all of the help everyone.

I have to say, of all of the forums that I have been a member of (mostly fish related), this one has a lot of truely great members. With some of the other forums, they will pass right over questions from the new guy, so that the can argue among each other over trivial junk. And to get so many answers back so soon after I posted is amazing to me, it would have taken me a month to get this much info elsewhere.

I can really see that each and every one of you cares about this hobby and the people that are involved in it.

To say that I appreciate the help is an understatement, so I'll just say thank you again.