Here is my first attempt at a viv.

[gooch]

[Jeremiah]

Hi,

I like the waterfall a lot. Very nice.

Some helpful criticizem: I'd plant some creeping ficus near the waterfall and let it grow up over the waterfall to make it look more blended in and natural.
Also, dirt dirt dirt everywhere. Get some leaf litter and cover up that dirt Frogs dont like it when it sticks to them. Maybe moss instead of the leaf litter, but the frogs will appreciate the leaf litter more.

Whose gonna be the inhabitants?

Your off to a good start!

-Jeremiah

[gooch]

Yeah, I told my wife I need to fill it in a little and add more dirt. I plan to add some leaves and hope the moss I added spreads across the water feature. I made the water feature out of ceramic and it turned out pretty nice. I know it needs work. The ceramic is unglazed so it is very porous and I expect/hope the moss spreads across it. I need to put a smaller pump on it before I add frogs. The water feature gets shut off at night and it dries out a little keeping the humidity around 90 percent at night. I want to add one more light as well. Temp gets a little low but I have not put the glass top on it yet either so I am hoping that will be enough.

This tank is actually for my daughter. She has been in love with the frogs since she saw a book I was reading about them a couple years ago. She turns 13 this month so I finally decided to do this for her. I am a reefer myself but have found this to be kinda fun. The only frogs I am allowed to put in it are the Costa Rican Green and Black Auratus. Those are the only frogs she wants. I think it will be a month at least before I add frogs. Still some things I want/need to do. I learned as a reefer that nothing good happens fast in a set up like this so I am gonna take my time. Heck it took two years for me to pull the trigger on this.

[nburns]

Please let me know if I am wrong but from what I can tell it looks like the soil is very close to the water level of the tank. The first picture makes it look like the soil is pretty wet already. I'd worry that the soil is not going to drain properly thus causing problems with the plants. Other than that it looks pretty good.

[gooch]

Thanks,

At the time I took the pictures, yes the water level was on the high side. I wasn't exactly sure what level I needed to keep the pump from cavitating. The level is lower already but still needs to evaporate a little more. Right now it is about an inch below the soil and I think it could go down another inch maybe two and the pump will still work. The water feature has a built in little pool that fills up making it look like there is actually more water than is really in there. I am going to add more soil today and actually fill in the pond I had built. The pond was originally lined with clay also to create a barier between the the soil and the running water. I am hoping this helps the water travel where I want it to go. It seems to. When I turn the pump off the water quickly drains from the pool. Takes about five seconds. I am planning to put a smaller pump on that will let me keep the water level even lower and reduce the stream to a trickle. The water moves to fast right now.

I am sure I will make more than a couple mistakes with this tank. I have so far enjoyed this set up enough that I may do a much bigger tank down the road.

[gooch]

Did just a little more work today. Built up the soil a bit more and made it so the soil should drain better. Also packed some more dirt onto the water feature. I have to run to the LFS to get a bucket of salt for my reef tank so I will pick up some dried leaves while I am there to add to the floor.





Here is the pond with the pump off.



Here it is with it on. Like I said it takes seconds to drain.


Gonna scrape up some more moss if I can find it but other than that I am just gonna let her grow for awhile.

[ian]

That broad leaf plant on your water fall will get really big. I have one and have clipped it three times all ready this year. The good news is when you clip the top of it off you can actually get it grow in a cup of water thus increasing your plant count.

[tkromer]

Looks really good, and I think a little leaf litter would finish it off. I saw the waterfall structure in the first picture and wasn't fond, but after planting and finishing up, it really looks great. A little ficus or something growing around the waterfall will really make it look blended.