There are several things to consider before you begin.



1. Are you planning to build a water feature of any sort, such as pond and falls, drip wall, which with a cage the size of this, certainly deserves and could accommodate a nice water feature? In this case, your "drainage layer would probably consist of a false bottom separated from the substrate, which will drain into it and be recycled. (There are many ways, some easier then others, of building false bottoms for the water.) You can either use an internal pump to circulate it or do something outside with a canister filter.



2. If you want to keep it simple, all you have to do for a drainage layer is put in 2-3 inches of gravel or some people like the Hydroton and other types of clay pellets. Put a layer of either weed cloth or polyester batting on top of this to filter out the soil from the gravel, then add your substrate material on top of that. You can simply sump out any excess water from the drainage layer with a length of airline tubing from one corner of the tank with a syringe to start the siphoning, if an when needed.



3. There are as many formulas for substrate as there are dart keepers. They all seem to work, but my favorite is a mixture of coconut fiber (slow to break down), organic compost (more rapid break-down) and long brown sphagnum moss--(antibiotic, rot-preventing properties and sometimes comes alive and grows.)

I buy all of it in bulk, because I have a lot of tanks, but I think your best bet for coconut fiber is to do an internet search for coconut fiber. I can't remember where I originally got mine. Organic compost can be found in bulk at any nursery or even Walmart or Home Depot. The plants, if you chose them right, will do just fine in this mixture. What you want to strive for, is an eventual biologically recycling system, where the frog wastes fertilize the plants, and various molds, fungi, insects, microbes, etc. all act together and prevent any toxic build up, and last for years without a major take down of the tank. Other than plant trimming and a bit of glass washing, feeding the frogs, etc. you don't have to fuss much with it.



For such a nice big vivarium, I would personally go for doing something like a paludarium section with some small fish, such as tetras, and a land section with a colony of the larger, bolder, more group-oriented dart frogs. Look into the galactonotus, especially the orange morphs. They do great in relatively large groups, are bold and very entertaining. If you like leucomelas, they would do well, too. Some of the Phyllobates, such as P. terribilis and P. vittatus are also good groupie frogs, although in my experience, not as active or inventive as the galactonotus. (Of all the frogs I keep, I think the galactonotus are the closest to bordering on true personalities and intelligence, but perhaps this is only because their paludarium is located between my kitchen and living room, so we see them all of the time and they also see us from all directions.)



My advice about plants is to stick with the miniature tropicals as much as possible and eschew the house plant stuff like pothos and philodendrons that tend to grow over acres in the wild. You are less likely to have trouble getting the plants to grow than you are to keep them from over-growing. Always think "miniature," because this is not a vast rain forest you are creating, but a miniature version of it.
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Patty

Pahsimeroi, Idaho



Dendrobates: auratus blue, auratus Ancon Hill, tinctorius azureus, leucomelas. Phyllobates: vittatus, terribilis, lugubris. Epipedobates: anthonyi tricolor pasaje. Ranitomeya fantastica, imitator, reticulata. Adelphobates castaneoticus, galactonotus. Oophagia pumilio Bastimentos. (updated systematic nomenclature)

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