Hi everyone. This is my first post. My wife says that I have a tendency to be long winded, so I apologize ahead of time.
I have been lurking around here for some time now, and other sites as well, gathering info and ideas as I go along. This is my situation. I was wanting to make a DF setup. Never had them before but have wanted to get them for some time now. During my researching I was trying to determine what type of setup that I wanted. False bottom, leca/Feather-lite, etc. The usual dilemmas that I would imagine we all go through.
Then it hit me. I have 2 Fire Belly Toads in a 20 gallon long. It is a basic setup using gravel as the only substrate. I have Java moss, Xmas moss, Java Fern and Anubias for plants. 2/3 water @ approximately 2"-2.5" deep with the 1/3 land elevated. I made two water features/falls out of acrylic sheet and covered them with river pebbles. Doesn't sound like much, and honestly, it isn't. But they seem happy. I've had them for 3 years now and they have veracious appetites and they call every day. Especially at night.
So I want to make them a new home first and then make the DF vivarium using the gained knowledge from this build.
Here's where you guys come in. I need suggestions on what to do. Going to use a 29 gallon tank. I believe that the FBT would do fine with a smaller pool of water. One sits in it quite often, while the other likes the land better. Looking through pages and pages of pics, I would like to add terrestrial plants also. Epiphytes, pothos etc. But I don't know for sure. I watched this video here I do not need that amount of water at the bottom. Not going to have fish. But I like the fact that the enclosure has water dripping from the walls and utilizes quite a bit of moss as well as other plants. I'm guessing those might be considered terrestrial.
I like the idea of making my own background with GS. Is this ok with the amount of water we're talking about? Design wise, having space for my FBT to move vertically would be ideal. Even if just a little. I know they can't cling like some DF, but I am pretty sure that they would appreciate the leg stretching. Anyway, I like the looks of the above video but would like more land for my FBT to walk around on. Looking for a good balance between vivarium/paladarium. If there is such a thing.
Here's my thinking. Please correct me if I am way off base. I would think that putting 2.5-3" of leca would be needed for bio-filtering the water. At least it couldn't hurt. Would I still need to put an egg crate over that to help with wicking water? I mean, to help keep water away from the soil. Would having a damp environment like in the video be a bad thing with a setup that has ABG for land?
I'm beginning to think that maybe I should wait for feedback from you before I ask any more questions. That way I don't ask unnecessary questions.
I have been lurking around here for some time now, and other sites as well, gathering info and ideas as I go along. This is my situation. I was wanting to make a DF setup. Never had them before but have wanted to get them for some time now. During my researching I was trying to determine what type of setup that I wanted. False bottom, leca/Feather-lite, etc. The usual dilemmas that I would imagine we all go through.
Then it hit me. I have 2 Fire Belly Toads in a 20 gallon long. It is a basic setup using gravel as the only substrate. I have Java moss, Xmas moss, Java Fern and Anubias for plants. 2/3 water @ approximately 2"-2.5" deep with the 1/3 land elevated. I made two water features/falls out of acrylic sheet and covered them with river pebbles. Doesn't sound like much, and honestly, it isn't. But they seem happy. I've had them for 3 years now and they have veracious appetites and they call every day. Especially at night.
So I want to make them a new home first and then make the DF vivarium using the gained knowledge from this build.
Here's where you guys come in. I need suggestions on what to do. Going to use a 29 gallon tank. I believe that the FBT would do fine with a smaller pool of water. One sits in it quite often, while the other likes the land better. Looking through pages and pages of pics, I would like to add terrestrial plants also. Epiphytes, pothos etc. But I don't know for sure. I watched this video here I do not need that amount of water at the bottom. Not going to have fish. But I like the fact that the enclosure has water dripping from the walls and utilizes quite a bit of moss as well as other plants. I'm guessing those might be considered terrestrial.
I like the idea of making my own background with GS. Is this ok with the amount of water we're talking about? Design wise, having space for my FBT to move vertically would be ideal. Even if just a little. I know they can't cling like some DF, but I am pretty sure that they would appreciate the leg stretching. Anyway, I like the looks of the above video but would like more land for my FBT to walk around on. Looking for a good balance between vivarium/paladarium. If there is such a thing.
Here's my thinking. Please correct me if I am way off base. I would think that putting 2.5-3" of leca would be needed for bio-filtering the water. At least it couldn't hurt. Would I still need to put an egg crate over that to help with wicking water? I mean, to help keep water away from the soil. Would having a damp environment like in the video be a bad thing with a setup that has ABG for land?
I'm beginning to think that maybe I should wait for feedback from you before I ask any more questions. That way I don't ask unnecessary questions.