[Athom]

So here it is! After months collecting informations and things... i'm building my first "real" viv. I would say first serious one in fact.
I don't know how many gallon it is as i'm french (living in London, UK) i have no clue in those matters. excuse me for that!

So this tank was basically used for a turtle got it for a mouthfull of bread off a school. and converted it as a viv. I'm quite tempted to put tinc or azureus but still don't really know... would also love to put some really tiny newts inside but don't know if it can work (hoping for some advises..).

Dont really know by what to start to explain; but basically there's still loads of plants to go in (broms, orchids maybe), preparing a yogurt/moss mix tomorrow and gonna cover the clay background wiv it. Aswell ordered some flat mushrooms to make a kind of "stairs" around the pump "case" and a lil piece of Mangrose to put in the water part aswell as the aquatic plants....

if any questions (cause i'm not really detailed, it's late here right now!) here are the pics!

Gonna upload more step by step..

 

[azure89]

Its a great start but I would add some leaf litter and it'll look great once you add more plants

you may want to reconsider the water feature if your going to keep tincs or azureus in there especially if you buy them as juveniles, dart frogs are not incredible swimmers and they have been know to drown eachother from wrestling even in shallow water.

and as far as newts go, its best not to mix species for many different reasons but in my opinion the biggest reason would be that newts and pdfs require fairly different enviroments and housing different species together can stress both species

 

[Youngherp420]

This is looking good so far , NIce big tank for your frogs.I have a few question or adive

-On the left side is that a waterfall?
-What are those two bins in the pond feature going on?
-Now its up to you or not thats a big water pond area and i would fill some of it up to add more land for your frogs

But so far I like it and hope you keep posting

 

[Athom]

thanks a lot azure89... i was planning on putting some oak leaves (actually ordered some with the flat shrooms ^^), it's just a start! i basically setted up the water feature, the gravels and substrate few hours ago!

i red a lot here about the water problem... i was thinking of putting a lot of aquatic plants to make kind of a vegetal barrier... i don't know if i'm makin myself being understood.. fortunately one guy workin in the local petshop is a really amasing viv builder and advised me on loads of plants and as i'm quite of a "head in the cloud" i can't remember the names of them (but for sure i'll ask him as soon as i see him).

i think yeh i'll definitly forget about my idea of mixing species...

 

[Athom]

This is looking good so far , NIce big tank for your frogs.I have a few question or adive

-On the left side is that a waterfall?
-What are those two bins in the pond feature going on?
-Now its up to you or not thats a big water pond area and i would fill some of it up to add more land for your frogs

But so far I like it and hope you keep posting

-yes on the left side its the waterfall, water running through oak pieces. i'm gonna add more vegetals and moss around it in the future.

-the two "bins" are culture of moss. keepin them here till tomorrow i'm gonna blend that wiv yogurt for covering the clay background and some pieces of stuff as pebbles and bark.

- the tank is actually pretty big... i have to confess that (holy crap) water pond is looking so nice..... unfortunately.....

 

[freaky_tah]

Looks good! Toss some leaf litter in and you're well on your way. If you happen to have any substrate material left, you should see what it looks like if you give the floor some topography, I think tanks look a lot better when the ground isn't perfectly flat. From the pics it looks like you have a screen top. If so, do you have glass to cover it up? You'll want to cover most of it as it will be much much easier to maintain a higher humidity with only a small amount of ventilation.

 

[Youngherp420]

-yes on the left side its the waterfall, water running through oak pieces. i'm gonna add more vegetals and moss around it in the future.

-the two "bins" are culture of moss. keepin them here till tomorrow i'm gonna blend that wiv yogurt for covering the clay background and some pieces of stuff as pebbles and bark.

okay makes more sense now .One more thing are going to get a glass top for your tanks to replace that screen?

 

[fieldnstream]

Is the substrate you are using cypress mulch?

 

[BethInAK]

tell me about moss and yogurt....sounds..umm weird, but yummy.

 

[mordoria]

tell me about moss and yogurt....sounds..umm weird, but yummy.

Its a way to gross moss. Buttermilk, beer or yogurt blended with dried moss. it becomes like a paste and you put t where you want it to grow. The moss likes the ph. It can be a bit stinky.

Athom,
It looks good. you should try and hook up with some local froggers there in the UK that are on this board. Look up STU&SHAZ they are in the UK too and have an amazing thread on here "da dart room....slow". Maybe you guys can swap stuff? As for the water, if you like it, keep it. Thats a pretty big tank. Just make sure its not too deep bc our type of frogs dont swim.period. just put some wood in your pond for them to climb on. Get a nice tall piece and stick it in the pond. Over time, the wood will wick water up to the ends and moss will grow great!!
Your tank looks like a 55 gallon. You should be able to fit a few auratus or leucomelas in there. Add some height with branches and make some hills from extra substrate. Think about what nature is. Nothing is flat. Also dont worry too much. I spent days working on my first vivs. I added all this details and cool wood. After 3 months of growing, I cant see anything. My background could be made from barbed wire and i wouldent be able to tell from all the growth.

 

[Athom]

tell me about moss and yogurt....sounds..umm weird, but yummy.

ok, basically you blend moss and yogurt together, the spores are gonna spread and the yogurt is gonna "feed" the moss, so it's growing faster. you use a paintbrush and apply a thick layer on whatever you want to cover in moss. Spray water twice a day to keep enough moisture and in about 2 weeks you'll see the moss growin.

i red a lot about it here but i knew that technic from my mother... yeh yeh my mother! she got amasing "green hands" as we say in france and she covers rocks and decorations like that!

By the way just applied my mixture in the viv.. don't know if i should post pictures, it look like someone had a wank in the tank! ahahahaha sorry for this bad joke (can't help the south french sense of humour!)

 

[Neontra]

Is the substrate you are using cypress mulch?

It's deifinatley cypress, looks just like what I'm using. Nice and airy, and I believe it lasts longer than orchid bark... If you don't have tree fern fiber, it's always an option....


TO THE OP:
About the substrate, I used 2 parts cypress (what you have now)
2 parts tree fern fiber
1 part sphagnum
1 part peat moss
1 part charcoal

I had trouble getting rid of the look of the cypress mulch, but it's still a great substrate. Not sure if yogurt is viv safe though?!

 

[Athom]

ok so.... i've redone the waterfall earlier cause of a problem of backgroun takin water and fallin into it, so making it muddy; then changed the substrate (soon leaves on top), added a Begonia and an other pice of oak and added the mix of yogurt/moss (the white stains all over)! pix!

 

[Athom]

Not sure if yogurt is viv safe though?!

i don't see why it wouldn't be... it's sterile (at least pasteurised) and it's only good bacterias.

Why do you think it wouldn't be Neontra?

 

[Neontra]

i don't see why it wouldn't be... it's sterile (at least pasteurised) and it's only good bacterias.

Why do you think it wouldn't be Neontra?

I don't know, i've never seen someone use it maybe. I wonder if it is, it probably is, I don't see anything harmful.

Edit: The only problem I see is mold, i've dug up a few older threads and haven't found anything bad besides mold.

 

[Athom]

I'll post the evolution in my viv! like that you could check how well it works ^^

 

[WendySHall]

Edit: The only problem I see is mold, i've dug up a few older threads and haven't found anything bad besides mold.

I've frequently heard of people utilizing yogurt in their moss mix. If it were to mold...even then it would not be a "problem". Unsightly maybe, but not an actual problem. You commonly hear of mold popping up in a viv for one reason or another. Often, they go away on their own and if you have springtails in there...they'd be happy to take care of it for you.

 

[Athom]

Often, they go away on their own and if you have springtails in there...they'd be happy to take care of it for you.

oh thanks for the notice WendySHall! by the way i'm still not understanding everything about springtails... when can i add some? how to feed them? how much do i put in? mmmm right can you just simply tell me more about springtails please!!

oh and aswell... here is the lil temporary build of my cuban tree frog girl (Hare) waiting for her new big column tank!
(yeh yeh exoterra... i know, i know )