Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I finally have my bow front 46 gallon tank up and running for some dart frogs that haven't been purchased yet. I want to moniter the tank for a bit first. I am going to get a few more misting nozzels for my misting system and some springtails to seed it with this coming friday. I took some pictures and would like to post them but I have no clue how to do this. Also I didn't add a heat source and seems to be staying in the low to mid 70s is this a good temp?? My humidity is around 96 percent as long as the top is on and not making any adjustments. I am also using distilled water in the misting system but used regular tap water for the pond and waterfall. Anway just thought I would share. Thank for listening and for any advice in advance!

That sounds great. You shouldn't need an internal heat source as long as you keep your ambient room temperatures above 65 degrees, and more important, below 80 in the summer. Depending upon the type of lights you have and how close they are, they will add some heat.

This is one of the easiest sites from which to post pictures. Check out the photo gallery and start one of your own. You can upload your photos directly from your computer if you have a program on it for this and a digital camera or scanner. From there, you can just go to the Photos options at the bottom of the page where you are posting. The photos you have uploaded will be listed there, and you can choose up to three to post at one time. From other photo hosts, you can copy and paste into the Image URL.
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Patty
Pahsimeroi, Idaho

D. auratus blue
D. galactonotus pumpkin orange splash back
D. imitator
D. leucomelas
D. pumilio Bastimentos
D. fantasticus
P. terribilis mint and organe
D. reticulatus
D. castaneoticus
D. azureus
P vittatus
P. lugubris

Thank you very much! I will try to figure it out when I get home from work either tonight or tomorrow night. The temp seems to be staying in the 70-75 range. I din't check it this morning before I turned the lights on. I can't figure out the darn timer I bought for the lights. But I will keep messing with it until I get the darn thing right.I will have to check the low for the temp of the tank. The humidity is high around 95-98. I have the misting system timed for one minute every three hours or so up until 11 at night after that it doesn't go off until 6 in the morning. Not all the plants seem to dry between the mistings. Is this a bad thing or should I not worry about it?? I have three lights that I glued into a hood that I made for the top. They are compact lights one flouresent and two grow lights; I have that sitting on top of the glass. Also one last question do plants serve as hiding places? I didn't wnat to really add and huts to the tank. I guess after I post my pictures you will be able to give me a better idea on that. I really apperciate your imput and fast responses to my posts and your patience with all of my question!!!! THANK YOU!!

Your misting schedule sounds fine. I'm assuming you have a drainage layer that you can siphon or sump out so the substrate doesn't get too saturated.

What specie of dart are you planning on getting, and how many? (I have forgotten if you already answered this question earlier.) Once the plants are growing well, most will find their own hiding spots under plant leaves or in leaf litter. Do you have a background that you plan to plant with epiphytes such as bromeliads? The thumbnail frogs and many other frogs, especially as juveniles, like to use the axils and central cups of these for resting places or hides. I have one vivarium with blue auratus, which are notoriously shy. They have established little hides in the cork bark background that is now covered with vines, as well as in a coco hut that is now totally covered with green moss so blends in perfectly. But this did take a couple of years before it stopped looking like a coco hut.
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Patty
Pahsimeroi, Idaho

D. auratus blue
D. galactonotus pumpkin orange splash back
D. imitator
D. leucomelas
D. pumilio Bastimentos
D. fantasticus
P. terribilis mint and organe
D. reticulatus
D. castaneoticus
D. azureus
P vittatus
P. lugubris

I am not sure yet but I am leaning towards getting 5-6 luecs for this tank. I had wanted to get the Azures but they can only be kept in mated pairs. This tank is too big for just two frogs in my opinion. I have put some broms on the background in the foam. I also have a couple of spiders in there as well. Just wanted to see how they would do in there. If they start getting to big and I can't keep them under control I will take them out and replace them with some broms. I have planted the tank with a fittona, different kinds of permonia, I have some ivy that I planted at the back of tank (I am hoping that it will grow up the back wall) I have two selaginella kraussiania gold tips moss in there, 3 plants of the same type but have no idea what they are called and a Cryptocoryne Lucens as well as some bamboo growing in the water area of the tank. My soil is a mix of bed-a-beast, tree fern fiber and some jungle mix soil all mixed together. This mix sits on top of the false bottom that I put in the tank. I didn't drill the tank for a siphon but I can use a cup to get water out of the water area, it won't take the water out completely but I should be able to get enough of it out. I am going to try to post my pictures real soon. Thank you for all of your advice.

Here's just a hint about siphoning off your water for water changes. I use a section of the 3/8" tubing that fits on most water pumps, and push it down into the substrate to the gravel bottom in one corner of the tank, leaving just a portion exposed that can be covered with a rock if it warrants hiding. Then when you need to siphon off water, all you need to do is fit a section of aquarium airline tubing into this to the bottom, run it up and over the edge into a jug and start the siphoning process with a 60cc cannula syringe. The cannula tip fits perfectly into airline tubing. Then just suck the water up and over the top and let it drain off. I water my house plants with this.
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Patty
Pahsimeroi, Idaho

D. auratus blue
D. galactonotus pumpkin orange splash back
D. imitator
D. leucomelas
D. pumilio Bastimentos
D. fantasticus
P. terribilis mint and organe
D. reticulatus
D. castaneoticus
D. azureus
P vittatus
P. lugubris

COOL!!! I will have to give that a try. Much better then useing a cup!! THANK YOU!

Sorry, I just looked back through the posts and found that you were building a background with Great Stuff. That will hold bromes and vines nicely, and frogs that don't do much climbing will probably rest near the bottom of it if there is some overhanging leaves there.
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Patty
Pahsimeroi, Idaho

D. auratus blue
D. galactonotus pumpkin orange splash back
D. imitator
D. leucomelas
D. pumilio Bastimentos
D. fantasticus
P. terribilis mint and organe
D. reticulatus
D. castaneoticus
D. azureus
P vittatus
P. lugubris

I would say use distilled water for the pool and waterfall instead of tap water. Tap water can create mineral deposits and lines on the side of the tank. I always used "treated" tap water for my fish tanks and had that problem. Now that I've switched to distilled water I get no water marks!

I used tap water because I got advice that it was best to use tap because of the minerals in the water. I used the distilled in the misting system because tap water according to what I read would eventually cause the misting nozzel to clog. You are right about the mineral depostits though. I have a ten gallon fish tank set up and I use tap water for that and I am having to wipe the minerals of the glass all the time. Pain in the neck. I have two filters running in the darn thing and the water won't stay clean either. The amonia and ph are right where they should be. Thank you for the tip I might just start using it my fish tank see if it will help the water clear up as well as stop the mineral deposits. I thought that distilled water was bad to use for the frogs. I have to buy distilled water anyways so I will give it consideration. Thank you!

We appear to have posted at the same time. I think I answered the concern about distilled water vs frogs. I obtained this information from some people who have done some studies on this, because the osmolarity effects on permeable frog skin leading to electrolyte imbalance has always been a concern to me.
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Patty
Pahsimeroi, Idaho

D. auratus blue
D. galactonotus pumpkin orange splash back
D. imitator
D. leucomelas
D. pumilio Bastimentos
D. fantasticus
P. terribilis mint and organe
D. reticulatus
D. castaneoticus
D. azureus
P vittatus
P. lugubris

Distilled water can be rather expensive, if you choose that route, as well as having a lot of plastic bottles. Another alternative is to use an RO (reverse osmosis) water filter system under your sink. I believe you can purchase a system for around $150.00, which in the long haul will save you money. This also removes the chlorine and chloramine that may be added to municipal water systems. You can also use the RO for misting.

There have been questions about the distilled water possibly causing problems with even terrestrial frogs that occasionally like to splash around in it, because it may cause an electrolyte imbalance due to osmosis over the frogs' permeable skin membranes. However, unless it is in a totally isolated system, the water will again pick up some minerals from your substrate and gravel to alleviate this problem. It does need to be re-mineralized for use with tadpoles, but this doesn't take much--a little substrate, floating moss such as Java, and/or Black water extract will do the job.

While I use distilled water for misting, I still use my well water, which is very hard due to calcium carbonate compounds and does leave heavy deposits, for the ponds and waterways. I clean up the deposits by wiping the glass with paper towels dampened with straight white vinegar, a chore that must be done regularly, anyway. If you're on a municipal system that adds chloramines, which don't dissipate with ageing as chlorine does, you should use an aquarium water conditioner to the tap water.
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Patty
Pahsimeroi, Idaho

D. auratus blue
D. galactonotus pumpkin orange splash back
D. imitator
D. leucomelas
D. pumilio Bastimentos
D. fantasticus
P. terribilis mint and organe
D. reticulatus
D. castaneoticus
D. azureus
P vittatus
P. lugubris

I think I will stick with the disstilled for the misting system and use the tap water with the pond area and the water fall. The water system is not secluded and runs the entire bottom of the tank below the false bottom and behind the shore line. I live in Philadelphia and have no clue as to what they put in the water to be honest with you. I use the tap in my fish tank and only add the declorinator to it. I will do the same with the frog tank. Thank you for the tip on the white vinager. I didn't know that you could use that to clean the glass nor would I have considered it safe for the frogs. I would have just wiped it down with water and maybe a little scrubbie destined for just that purpose. Why do you have to do that regularly? I know that outside of some minor maintence and feeding the frogs that it should be a self sustaining system. Am I correct in this thought? (sorry about mispellings, I can't spell to save my life)

The vinegar fumes are safe, although they are rather strong, so I blow a small fan through the tank to clear them before I close it up. You will find especially on a new tank, that the glass will tend to harbor some spidery appearing fungi and some algae will grow on it, which needs wiping off. You may see little white "worms" wandering around on the glass,(harmless, but leave trails), and fruit flies will climb it and smudge the glass when they die in the condensation. Many frogs will climb the glass and poop on it, even some of the larger adults of just about any species will occasionally climb glass, including leucomelas. Also, just the tank animal activity, falls, etc. tend to splash some dirt around. It doesn't take but a minute to wipe this off, but in any event, the glass is going to get dirty and smudged.
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Patty
Pahsimeroi, Idaho

D. auratus blue
D. galactonotus pumpkin orange splash back
D. imitator
D. leucomelas
D. pumilio Bastimentos
D. fantasticus
P. terribilis mint and organe
D. reticulatus
D. castaneoticus
D. azureus
P vittatus
P. lugubris

Oh okay! I just wanted to make sure lol. I will make sure to get some white vinager just for that purpose. THANK YOU!!!!

I didn't know that about the distilled water. The water portion of my tank is loaded with plants - java fern, a large anubius, and some riccia. Hopefully that will help like you said. But I actually switched from distilled water to ionized (sp?) water that an aquarium store near me offers for $.50 a gallon. I only buy about 3 gallons every two weeks so the money isn't a problem. Do you know if there are potential problems using ionized water?

I don't think there are actual problems using ionized water, except that it doesn't stay "ionized" for long. Here's a link that debunks claims that it is beneficial to health, along with some information about exactly what it is.
ionized water

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Patty
Pahsimeroi, Idaho

D. auratus blue
D. galactonotus pumpkin orange splash back
D. imitator
D. leucomelas
D. pumilio Bastimentos
D. fantasticus
P. terribilis mint and organe
D. reticulatus
D. castaneoticus
D. azureus
P vittatus
P. lugubris