[Markw]

Hello all! I'm new to the forum, obviously. My name is Mark. Im a frequenter on many different forums around the web. Enough so to know that the regulars here are probably going to hate me for posting this the of thread. So, I apologize in advance.

Any who, I've just acquired a 47g bow front aquarium. It came with a lighting setup suitable for t5 bulbs and a normal strip light. I know the lights don't really matter, but I figured I'd include that for the plants' sake.

Well, I was thinking of setting this tank up as my first dart frog tank. If the tanks not suitable, I won't even consider it. But, that's the question I have. Is there anything about the tank that would make it not suitable to house dart frogs in? I don't know which species I like in particular, but im in no rush at all, so there's plenty of time to decide.

Any who, I can't set this tank up with a background that is silliconed, so that's out of the question. The tank will have to make due with wood and other features in there.

I don't want to get into too many details right now, first I have to make sure there's nothing wrong with using this tank as a habitat for a few dart frogs.

Thank you so much in advance.
Mark

 

[Dendroguy]

sounds great to me,I dont know anything that would be wrong with it

 

[james67]

pretty much any watertight box will work, so your good w/ the tank

james

 

[Markw]

Perfect! So is there any reccommended methods to build up surface area without using an artificial background (foam..etc)? I was thinking maybe using some big river rocks, maybe 3-7" and binding them together with something, maybe aquarium sealer? Then mounting some plants and mosses and such on those. Think that may work?

Mark

 

[james67]

backgrounds arent necessary at all. i currently have about 1/2 a frogroom w/o backgrounds, and the other 1/2 are simply tree fern or rocks which have been secured.

dont just pile rocks, as a move of the tank, for instance, could lead to the frogs demise. driftwood placed in the tank can be just as effective and allows epiphytic plants the same oppurtunity to climb or be mounted.


james

 

[Markw]

I wasn't going to just pile the rocks. They would all be glued together with aquarium sealant, similar to the way live rocks are mounted in reef saltwater tanks. But I mean, that's fine. No biggie..just an idea. Do you happen to have any photos of your tanks without backgrounds of some sort? I'd love to see them for inspiration.

Mark

 

[james67]

theres a 29 gallon. it has black paper taped to the back outside

james

 

[Markw]

That looks great to me. What is the big dark thing n the rit? It looks like there's the same thing in the back in the middle. Maybe big pieces of bark? I desperately need to look more into planting methods. Everything I've ever kept has had plants planted, not mounted, so I don't know much about them. But, like I said,i have nothing but time.

Mark

 

[james67]

its driftwood!

james

 

[Markw]

Well that looks great to me. I'll start looking into planting the tank tonight. So I'm debating on which species to get once I get the tank up and running with fly cultures going. I'd like something bold, so I can actually see them, but I don't want a species that have to be limited to 2.1 trios in this big of a tank..

Suggestions?
Mark

 

[Markw]

Oh. And I will be purchasing all the materials I need to cover the tank bottom shortly. I was wondering if there is any way to figure out how much abg mix and sphagnum moss I will need to cover the bottom of the tank? I'll be getting 25L of hydroton for the bottom, covering that with either a thin layer of sphagnum or screen, then comes the bag mix, then sphagnum moss. The tanks footprint is 36x17".

Thanks in advance.
Mark

 

[james67]

ok i just did the math and you'll need aprox. 9-10 L of hydroton per inch of height on your tank. so 25 L seems like plenty to me. then screen then ABG and finally leaf litter. i'd skip the LFS if your using ABG mix. its designed to drain much better and last longer than the sphag.

with 20" of height i'd say 3 inches of substrate and drainage is pretty darn adequate.

james

 

[Markw]

Okay, well the hydration only comes in 10 and 25L bags, so nothing in between. The 10l would be too little, wouldn't it? Either way, how much bag mix do you think I'll need to cover the bottom adequately? I can't seem to find how much space it covers per bag..

Thanks so much so far.
Mark

 

[frogmanchu]

just a suggestion, but the weed block cloth that i use to seperate substrate from false bottom works great and a background for the plants to climb if you don't want to build a background. i'll find a pic and post for you.

 

[Markw]

Yes, please do. Thank you.

I emailed Joshsfrogs and they said it will take roughly 21-31Q of abg to cover the bottom. I ought that sounded like a lot, but that's that they told me. Does this sound about right?

Mark

 

[Markw]

Based on my calculations, 16Qt will get me 1.6" of substrate. 20Qt will give me 2.0" even. Also, because the tank is a bow front and not perfectly rectangular, these numbers are probably a little low. Would 1.6" be entirely too shallow?

Also, would there be anything wrong with just going to a local beach and picking up some driftwood? I figure about 15 mins in the oven at 450 degrees will sanitize it enough to be completely safe. That's what I've don't for all of my lizard tanks.

Mark

 

[Markw]

Here's my shopping cart from Josh's Frogs - Largest online herps feeders and reptile supplies store . Is there anything major Im missing?

2x ABG mix (8 quart)...$23.98

2x Hydroton 10L (8/16 mm)...$23.00

Deluxe Hydei Culture Kit with Flies...$55.99
(Everything you need to make 20 cultures. 3.5 lbs of Josh's Frog's world famous*Hydei fly media, 8 oz. Natural Chemistry Mite Spray, Herptivite, Rep-Cal Ultrafine with D-3, 1/2 LBS of excelsior, and 20 cups and lids! Also includes two 32 oz cultures of Drosophila*Hydei that will be ready to feed from or start new cultures with.)

Exo Terra Mini Mister...$3.99 (until I get the cool mist/fogger running)

Reptology Reptile Combo Meter...$6.99
(thermometer and hygrometer)

1 gallon bag of Magnolia Leaves...$4.99

Pilea involucrata "Friendship"...$2.49

Krauss' Gold-Tip Spikemoss...$2.99

Pilea 'Tiny Tears'...$2.99

Cryptanthus ''Black Mystic''...$6.29 (thinking about getting rid of this one..)

Neoregelia Hot Pink...$5.29

I've got the tank, some vines and some wood, and lighting already. I'm hoping to get a little more wood before the frogs come. There's a reptile expo on July 10th in Havre de Grace, MD and I may pick up some darts there, so I'd like to have this up and running well before then.

So,any help would be greatly appreciated.
Mark

 

[james67]

go with melanogaster. all frogs eat them, they are quicker producing and smell less. just all around better for starting.

also hydroton (LECA) is available from any local hydroponics store. and its still heavy stuff so shipping on that has to hurt.


james

 

[Markw]

Okay, switched to melanogaster, and 2-day shipping for the entire order is $16.99, $12.99 without the hydroton. It would have been free had the flies and plants not been included. Free shipping on dry goods over $50.

Okay, so if that's it, would there be anything wrong with my driftwood scavenging method?

MarK

 

[johnyrocks]

Perfect! So is there any reccommended methods to build up surface area without using an artificial background (foam..etc)? I was thinking maybe using some big river rocks, maybe 3-7" and binding them together with something, maybe aquarium sealer? Then mounting some plants and mosses and such on those. Think that may work?

Mark

A very attractive, yet expensive method would be using cork bark. Thought it looks amazing and you can easily mount broms and orchids to it, oh boy is it expensive. My second tank I no longer have had cork. It was a 55g. To cover up the back and sides costed 160$. But if you can scrape up that much, it's well worth it! Good luck,

Johnny