[imsoazn]

So I've been working on this 75gal (that's what i call it, and my friend said it was 100gal but it seems too small. too lazy for the math) for red eyed tree frogs for a while. rearranging and such. Most of my plants are doing really well but two of my ferns (one is a rabbits foot and I'm not sure about the other), they're browning and wilting. and my peacock spike moss hasn't spread at all and seems to be dying. Again, i don't get it too wet but i try to keep the humidity up for it. Anything would help

I also would like suggestions for big leaf plants for the frogs to chill on and where to maybe find them.

any help is appreciated

 

[Noort]

pretty lazy myzelf, but I'm suspecting you don't give the plants enought light.
Moss really needs a lot!

what is you % water (H2O in the air /saturation; sorry, I can't think of the right word right now)? 80% 60% ?

 

[imsoazn]

Firstly, thank you for posting. I've been waiting for a response for a while. The plants get plenty of light. I have two exotic terra full spectrum bulbs running row about 11 hours a day and I think you're asking about the humidity lol but I try to keep it between 75%-85%. Im misting about every other day until I can install a rain system.

 

[epiphytes etc.]

Looks too wet for tree frogs, try adding a vent. For broad leaved plants you can't go wrong with spathiphyllum.

 

[imsoazn]

Thanks for the suggestion. I have vents but I covered them with cut pieces of glass. Ill see how things go for a while without them. Ill look into spathiphyllum.

 

[EvilLost]

what is your substrate exactly?

it looks pretty shallow

and what are the dimensions on the tank?

what wattage are the bulbs you are using? I agree it seems weak on light

also, what is the temperature inside?


EDIT: Misting every other day and no other forms of water? How long are you misting? I would mist more often, but less time per misting (mist like 2x a day for 10-15 seconds at a time instead of 1x every other day for 1min, for example)

 

[Freeradical53]

RETF need plenty of height in a tank. The higher the better. Philodendron are easy to grow and can get very large. They are also very common. You can get them pretty much anywhere. Rabbits foot fern is sorta hard to grow. I don't think they like really high humidity unless you have good drainage and a lot of bright indirect light. Get some creeping fig. That stuff grows wild.

 

[imsoazn]

So I went and did some measurements and its 48x18x26. I have the Exo terra full spectrum bulbs and they're 26 watts and 2.0 uvb. I used a mix of coco husk, coco bark, economic earth and sphagnum moss for the substrate. Hope that gives you an idea.
That's interesting. I was going with an opposite opinion. I was trying to avoid over watering and misting. So I might need to do more. I do water, maybe once a week.

 

[DemonicalEnvy]

So I went and did some measurements and its 48x18x26. I have the Exo terra full spectrum bulbs and they're 26 watts and 2.0 uvb. I used a mix of coco husk, coco bark, economic earth and sphagnum moss for the substrate. Hope that gives you an idea.
That's interesting. I was going with an opposite opinion. I was trying to avoid over watering and misting. So I might need to do more. I do water, maybe once a week.

The bulbs are useless if you're using them to give UVB since it won't go through glass best substitue for this is supplements. Also misting is not going to harm anything it's going to raise the humidity in the tank which is what you want. What you don't want to do is saturate everything that you end up with pools of water that will build up bacteria and possibly give the frogs skin infections misting more but in shorter increments will build up humidty. Also with the substrate i think they were getting at that you don't have a drainage layer such as Leca or gravel something were water will drain into and keep the "soil" from getting saturated. I used Exo Terras Large Compact Canopy with the same bulbs on a much small tank then yours and grow was horribly slow even on the low light plants do yourself a favor and buy a single bulb T-5 or T-8 fixture and you won't run into any plant grow problems. also your friend is right it's about a 100 gallon tank.

 

[imsoazn]

Thanks ill go run and grab somebody those and I should grab a larger mister for this. I have a little 16oz bottle and its falling apart. Also, I've checked some vivs out that were 90 gallons and looked much bigger than mine. Nice to know its a 100 gal.

 

[EvilLost]

So I went and did some measurements and its 48x18x26. I have the Exo terra full spectrum bulbs and they're 26 watts and 2.0 uvb. I used a mix of coco husk, coco bark, economic earth and sphagnum moss for the substrate. Hope that gives you an idea.
That's interesting. I was going with an opposite opinion. I was trying to avoid over watering and misting. So I might need to do more. I do water, maybe once a week.

you can use a basic 6500K CFL bulb to get full spectrum; you don't really need the UVB (and it doesn't travel well through glass anyway).

Make sure you supplement properly


Your "other" opinion on not watering too much is correct BUT ONLY BECAUSE your substrate is wrong. You need a drainage layer.

If you water more you will flood out your setup. You have, as I suspected, no drainage layer under your substrate. You need to have 1-2" of gravel/hydroton/false bottom to let all that water drain out (the idea is you water alot, but the plants dont *SIT* in it)

I personally prefer false-bottom setups, esp in larger tanks, as the weight makes a huge difference and its much easier to clean/disassemble. Setup is much harder than just pouring in a ton of gravel of course.

I believe your tank is a 90gallon btw.

 

[imsoazn]

I do have a false bottom in there. Its hidden behind some rocks. Sorry the picture is a bit dark. I started misting more regularly and in shorter bursts. You've said supplements a few times. what do you recommend?