FIRST DART TANK: 29g construction journal [PIC HEAVY]

[tedthefrog]

Hello All, I have been lurking for some time, but this is my first post. ,

I have about a years worth of experience with Red Eyed Tree Frogs which got my into the hobby.
Ive always wanted to get into darts, so I made my friend sell me one of his "Chocolate Leucs" ...can anyone clarify if she is actually a chocolate? I'm just going by his word.
I did months worth of research while she [Cathy: just guessing shes a girl] sat in her quarantine tank.

I went through 3 different size tanks before I settled on a 29 gallon [freebie=awesome]
and i built this terrarium with a trio of leucs [hopefully breeding] in mind.

PLEASE, give me your criticisms, pointers, suggestions, etc that anyone has to offer as they can only be helpful.
and I'd just like to say thanks in advance for posting all of those little hints in the forums,
it made it much easier to gather research and to start building knowing exactly what I wanted.


on that note:
here is a pretty in depth, step by step journal of my build...enjoy!

First off, I smeared black silicone over the back and sides of the tank


I then made an eggcrate column in the back right to house a water pump.
Then covered it all with the first coat of GS leaving it open at the bottom of the column for waterflow.
This area will be at the back of my planned "cave" portion of the tank.

Left side

Right side

Space for pump


I then built a raised platform, where the ground will go above the cave,
I manged to find a perfect piece of driftwood for the retaining wall/cave entrance.



The next coat of GS involved a balcony type land mass from the back wall,
to make up for the land area lost underneath the cave. I also tried to get a "tangled tree root" type of look on the background. I think it came out well considering GS isnt exactly cooperative.


Light Test-The lighting I am using is a dual 24inch fixture with two Hagan LifeGlo bulbs.

I then Great Stuffed the driftwood into place


My next step was to create my water feature.
My goal was to create a sort of "water wall" that would stream in front of a recessed part of the great stuff where I will place a cocohut:to offer a cozy, constantly-damp option for the frogs to go and hide.
I gathered a bunch of slate chips and boiled tem to kill anything that might be hiding on/in them.




With the waterfall complete and testing just fine, the next step was to cover the background with the typical silicone and coco fiber mess.


I also attached slate to the inside of the cave to add a bit more realism.



intermission...stretch it out.
sorry for all of the pics.
but maybe this will help someone planning their first dart tank, like I was.

back into it.

NOW, I began to dived the land and water section using leca as well as gravel seperated by some stream stones that I found, and again boiled to sanitize.

I began to test out some plants that I picked up at lowes.
side note: [if you live in New Jersey, the Lowes in Holmdel has the best selection of any miniatures, and terrarium plants of any home goods store I have ever seen, from creeping figs to bromeliads. I live 30 miles away, and went back just to get more plants]

I got this piece of driftwood off of eBay from "sandys" If i remember correctly,
it was exactly what I was looking for, and she even through in an extra piece for free.


after alot of trial and error, I finally did my landscaping to produce hills and valleys.
I planted all of my plants and mounted my Broms and other Epiphytes.
I ended up adding even more leca and gravel to make the water level higher and and I also made a screen vent with a 1 inch opening based off of alot of vertical tanks I have seen, to prevent condensation on the front glass. Everything fit perfectly after some playing around, the pump and waterfall is flowing exactly how i wanted it to, and here is the finished product.







natural aeration from the waterfall.

shore

here is the waterfall & CAVE:



some top views


after 3 weeks of stabilizing the temps and humidity I introduced her into her new home.
she showed no timidness, and instantly went to the her how typical feeding spot, and began eating.




see her?

cliche [but great] pose.

I was so surprised about how much of the tank she explores.
I dont think there's one area she hasn't been.
Here she is at the top of the tank.


These are shots after about 2 months of growth and a few more plant additions.
At first some plants seemed as if they were gonna die, but came back.
Everything is now growing, and rooting, and spreading like wildfire, I couldn't ask for better results.


New chutes and leaves

the large brom dead center, instantly starting growing new roots, and establishing into the background.[Ive found its best to use no flash, but it was necessary to show the roots]

and the smaller one to the left did the same, as well as develop two new pups off of its sides.


...that's all for now, I will add updates whenever I take photos/get new frogs.
I hope I didn't put anyone to sleep with all of those pictures.
please let me know what you think.

Thanks!

[Nubster]

Gorgeous is all that comes to mind.

[ramos93352]

Beautiful tank, really like the water feauture.

Is that a chocolate leuc? I can't really tell from the pictures. Im not sure If you mentioned it or not.

[barnes]

i think your tanks is amazing :shock: ,but the plant to the far left w/ the red and yellow type spots on it (not sure on the name) gets very big, i could be mistaken but im sure some one eles will chime in. (also, to me can never be to many pics :lol: )

[tedthefrog]

I believe that it is a chocolate Leuc. at least thats what my friend said when he sold it to me!!!
all I know is that her coloring is not black at all, it is more of a muddy brown and her yellows go from dark on top, to light on the sides.
Can anyone def I.D. it as a chocolate?

That plant is a Codiaeum variegatum or "bush on fire"
how big are we talking!!?! uh oh.

[ramos93352]

Yea, I've seen that plant before at lowes too. Not sure exactly what it is, but I've seen it range in size from small like that one to a couple of feet wide and tall from what I remember.

[tedthefrog]

oh, great!!!
i guess time will tell.
might have to pull the old swaperoo with another plant!

BTW, could someone explain the 0.0.0 system to me?
i don't understand it entirely.

[gretchenellie]

0.0.0
male.female.unknown

GREAT tank!!

what type of moss(es) did you use?

[tkromer]

WOW! First tank or not that looks gorgeous. Very few first-timers are on that level, and honestly the vast majority of people who have already built a viv or two won't make anything nearly as nice as what you've got there. Plus a nice series of pictures to really show the progression! Turned out very nice. I'd give a 90% towards that being a chocolate, the colors are not 100% in the photo but I'd say that's what you have there.

[tedthefrog]

thanks Tkromer,
ill try to get a better picture to show her colors and put it up.

the moses I used were mosses that i found at Bushkill waterfall park.
some were terrestrial and some were growing on drip walls and waterfalls,
so i just pulled them off and ziplocked them.