Large Vivarium Construction

[Energy]

Hi everyone I have a 15 foot long by 5 foot wide by 33 inch tall acrylic aquarium. I was heavily into saltwater for many years and the tank was set up as a reef. In fact it has been featured in Books and Magazines and was featured on Reef Central as Reef Tank of the month January 2008.

I am switching directions and going back to my roots. I will be converting the tank into a vivarium with a large black water lagoon and rivers edge that will hold a freshwater stingray. The land section will be for Poison Dart Frogs which I have had for quite a few years before they became popular, haha.

My question- considering the amount of space I have to fill- what is the best substrate to consider for both water and land. Details would be appreciated and if you make a recomendation if you could also list a source for the material that would be great!

What are the benefits to a false bottom and why should I consider one?

Thanks

Stan

[ChrisK]

A false bottom allows the water to drain down and not soak the substrate, same as LECA or any of those types of ideas. What substrate you use depends on your goals - use the Search feature here and all your questions will get many types of answers and decide from there.

[Energy]

I have used the search forum and gotten many different opinions. I am trying to get the basic pro's and con's of the different types figured out and then apply that to my system.

[melas]

First off - that reef was absolutely STUNNING! Amazing job! I'm going to post the link here just so others can get an idea of what you are talking about . . . massive!

Tank of the Month - January 2008 - Reefkeeping.com

So are you just burned out with saltwater? I have to say with results like that I think it'd be tough to give it up!

[Energy]

There are many reasons I quite with saltwater. At the moment I don't miss it - but I may. I am excited to start down this new venture.

[Energy]

How does this sound:

For the bottom layer I was going to use inch and half sized river rock,

then the next layer would be down to 3/4 inch river rock

and then over that place pea rock,

the top layer would be coconut fiber about 1.5 inches deep

and then plant

Would it be wise to use some hydroton in place or mixed in with the pea rock?

Do I need anything else?

[slaytonp]

That's an awesome task, but you are obviously up to it. My only suggestion is that you might want to look into the hydroponic fiberglass slabs as your base for supporting the land area, which the water area will circulate under, and the land portion will drain into. This would need to be lined with something like weed cloth all around. You will need the usual canister filters for water circulation, and any waterfall or drip wall features you may design. Otherwise, you may need to separate land and water areas with glass walls and have two separate systems for each going. I'm very curious about how you will eventually do this, because there is such potential here for a spectacular habitat.

I've done a couple of smaller aquarium/land habitats that have worked well, but nothing of this size. My aquarium residents are mostly tetras of various sorts, which have oddly thrived for years in my frog tanks, when I was never able to keep tropical fish alive for more than a few months before this.

I'm mostly posting a reply because I really want to follow up on what others have to say and what you end up doing with it. What dart frogs are going to eventually enjoy this space?

[hpglow]

That is about what I did but I placed a layer of fiber glass screen between the river rock and pea gravel to isolate any stray substrate from getting into the rock and water.

[HunterB]

1. That tank is amazing

2. Your plan is good but I wouldn't do straight coco fiber for bedding, mixing in orchid bark, sand, soil, and coco fiber or other such mixes are better. I always do mixes and it seems to be better for the plants

[Energy]

Where is a good source for coco fiber in bulk?
Also what is the benefit to orchid bark and where would I get it?