Hello friends, I'm a new member and wow! What a resource you have here. I have been captivated by paludariums & vivariums on Instagram and Pinterest for months and am preparing to build my own for the first time. I've been doing my research via YouTube and this forum and feel like I have it...

Hi guys, I had been planning all along on using a leca false bottom, but read some comments from Tihsho in another thread indicating it tends to wick too much and make things soggy. Do others have this experience? I also have some egg crate, probably enough to do a false bottom as well as...

Context: I'm building a setup in another thread, and I want the dominant part of the drainage layer to be an eggcrate-based false bottom platform. But I don't particularly like the way it looks from the side of the tank (this is an Exo Terra), and I don't want to spray paint the interior to hide...

Okay, I've looked all over, but can't figure this out. I like the idea of making a corner pond for drainage and aesthetic, but I do not understand how to go about constructing one. I've seen "slope the false bottom" but that's it. What do you do with your substrate, or substrate barrier? is...

Hello! I am new to frog keeping but I manged to get a pair of Mozambique rain frog over the weekend. The guy I bought them from assumed they were around two years old and because of the size difference I am assuming male and female. The 10 gallon set up they were given to me in doesn't currently...

Greetings all. So I seem to have jumped right off the deep end. After acquiring a juvi Frilled Dragon I repurposed a 35g tall aquarium for him. Although it came out pretty decent for a first time builder I really started to feel like he needed his permanent and much larger home sooner rather...

Hello everyone, new guy here with a few silly questions. Firstly, I'd like to just say that reading through this forum has really taught me a lot and I've learned a great deal of new things. I'm hoping to construct a false bottom (egg crate / light diffuser method) in my 150 gallon tank. One...

Hey everyone! I'm in the "planning" and "purchasing" phase of my first build. I'll be converting a 28 gallon (estimated) hexagon aquarium into a dart frog vivarium. As for my background, I'm familiar with the care and lifestyle of fish and reptiles - and now I'm taking the dive into...

Hey everyone, It's been a long while since I posted on here, but I've decided to give this another shot. This is my second attempt at building a vivarium. The first one I built, I used the "kitty litter clay" method, and it did not turn out so well :(. I was satisfied initially with the...

With all the egg crates from Easter eggs leftover, I like to reuse and recycle stuff. Normally I get the cardboard and use it to start seeds for outdoors, but I had to get the foam type this time... Trying to find things to do with it got me wondering if it can be used beneath substrate to help...

Hi, Just getting into the dart frog scene here. been lurking for a month now. I'm finally about to begin my first vivarium (29g wide). bought all kinds of stuff and it's time. let me tell you, there are so many options/accessories/techniques it makes my head spin (background, substrate...

Hi all, I'm new to dart frogs and am going to attempt a fluval edge build. I have read about a few people who have given up but I'm not giving up on this one. Having built may vivariums for high humidity reptiles in the past I've learnt that where there is a will there is a way :). Anyway I...

I am new to building vivariums and have a couple questions. I'm using egg crate to create my false bottom and using filter medium density filter foam 3" thick under the egg crate. My question is what's the best way to use a external filter, I was looking towards some of the zoo med...

Hi guys I'm about to build a tank for a groupd of Phelsuma Klemmeri. The tank dimesnsions are 60x40x80cm It is an E.N.T. Terrarium with a false bottom in place. It has a small resevoir at the the front of the tank. I am wanting to have a waterfall in the tank from the top corner to the bottom...

I am going to slowly start building a 20g viv and I am seeing many ways to do the bottom. I don't plan on having a water feature so do I need a false bottom? If so how high should it be and should I use egg crate or hydroton. For substrate I plan to just use ABG so does that influence the bottom...

Hey Everyone, I recently did a water change in my tank with a false bottom because the water looked rather brown. When I pumped the water out it smelled horrible. I was hoping the eheim filter would keep the water clean but maybe not. Any idea why the water smelled so bad? Do I need to add...

I am working on planning my first viv, and was wondering if I should use a false bottom or hydroton clay. The viv will be in an Exo-Terra 18"x18"x24" terrarium. I plan on having a waterfall that is pumped through a tube that is hidden in the background, and then on down to either a small pool...

hey guys. well i am most likely gonna get some leucs for my first try at keeping dart frogs. I'm setting up my ten hex and hopefully gonna house 2 of em in there. That's besides the point tho haha. The other day i picked up some eco earth compressed coco fiber and zilla brand "jungle mix lizard...

Hey all, Trying to remember the ideal of "keep it simple stupid" I've designed, redesigned and then dumbed down multiple times what I'd like my paludarium to look like. With that in mind, I have a few questions that will help me narrow it down on how to actually build it. I want a space for...

I've got my egg crate supported by PVC pipe, on top of that I've got landscape fabric, then coconut mat, then a soil combo in some areas (where ground plants are) then moss and finally, leaf litter. My question is, why would I need gravel or Leca or anything else in the water reservoir? I...