Reptile & Amphibian Forums

HI GUYS, The tank is almost finished (26 gallon bowfront) and I would like some oppinions on right, and wrong. "FLAME" me if you must, as I would rather be told "YOU DUMB A*#" now, and fix it before I add my frogs (3 Tincs...PALLIDS). The lighting is a power compact (65 watts). There are 3 3" holes in the glass lid for ventilation, and humidity is still upper 80's low 90's! I have a fan that will be on tomorrow. The only thing left to do is put more Tillandsias on the back coco's panel! I am knew to planted vivariums (I built one 5 years ago, but BOY TIMES HAVE CHANGED LOL). I have owned PDF in the past, and am not worried about them, it's the plants that I am uncomfortable with! It is a false bottom, and the water feature isn't running in the pic, you can see the hole on top of the log where it flows from. So here are the questions I have, please feel free, to comment on anything though! THANKS IN ADVANCE!
1. Power compact bulb...5500K, 10,000K,?? there's a 50/50 now
2. Is humidity usually higher at night, or in the day? I am thinking night, as I have never come out in the middle of the day with dew on my windshield!

Thanks,
MIKE

Estimated
55 geckos (Amel leopards, Amel fat tails, cresteds, and Viper tailed geckos)
14 Snakes (1.2 Tri colored hognose, 1.3 Silver subocs, 1.1 Alterna gray bands, 1.1 Anza Borrego Rosy Boas, 1.0 Western Hognose, and 1.1 Black Milk snakes)

Make sure you humidity is staying above 80% all day, and above 90% is better. Be very careful with the fan, as it can drop the humidity from 100% to 50-60% in a few mins if not placed right and turned down.

So far the tank looks good, though the tincs will not use the broms much. Some more leafy plants may have been better for cover and hiding.
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Kyle
www.kylesphotos.com
Dart Links - still a work in progress
1.2.0 D. leucomelas
1.1.0 D. azureus
1.0.1 D. imitators

I didn't think 90% humidity was OK for the broms, and the tillandsias. Since I put the live moss in the humidity has dropped to around 90%. Do I need the fan? Thanks again. Any thoughts on the bulb?

MIKE

90% humidity is fine for the broms in my experience, just make sure the substrate drains well. The setup looks fantastic, and the Coco hut and driftwood (nice piece) should make a nice hiding spot for the tincs. Your Tillandsia's might be in trouble with the high humidity, depending on the type. I used a CPU fan for a while, but found that while it did help keep the Tillandsia's alive and well (and did not drop my humidity much due to the way I had it set up), I could keep my T. ionatha and T. pencifola without worrying about the fan. My Neo's and Vriesea are doing FANTASTIC.

By the way, I'm guessing you ordered from Alex at Custom Ecos. Is that right? I really like your setup. However, if you have problems with the moss, I'd get some Java moss and put it in the wet area of your water feature. In about 6 months, it will have spread out to cover about 1/4-1/2 of the tank (and will quickly climb up the wood in the water feature), and I think it looks pretty nice.
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Homer W. Faucett III, esq.
Purveyor of Trivialities and Fine Nonsense

Thanks for the feed back Homer. I ordered from Black Jungle, T & C Terrariums, and Custom Eco's. In the pond I planted Lilaeopsis Brasiliensis (The stuff that grows in water and looks like thin grass). There is also Selaginella Plana planted behind the water fall. Is there anything easier to keep on the back wall (Coco's Panel) other than Tillandsias? Again, thanks for your input and help!

MIKE

In referance to the broms, mine dont seem to use them a lot. but they use them often. And they do like to sleep in them at night. So i do think the broms are good for it. as too are leafy plants.

aj
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Here is my new image hosting site! I have made it Bigger, Stronger, Faster!
kungfu28181: My god. You are insane. -Mon Jun 30 21:41:05

I was curious what kind of timer you use for your fan, and how do you have the timer set? Also how did you slow your fan down?I just tried it, and it took the humidity from 97% to 71% in about 20 minutes. Thanks for your help

It goes on with the light timer. So it runs for 12 hours. If you notice I let very little air in the tank, and block the rest. I use a universal power aadapter that has a power selector on the front. I run mine at 4.5V. I hope this helps a little. I also use very small fans. That one is a 40mm, and only moves 7CFM at full speed. That tank stays at about 92% humidity, and then goes up to 99% at night when the fan and lights are off.
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Kyle
www.kylesphotos.com
Dart Links - still a work in progress
1.2.0 D. leucomelas
1.1.0 D. azureus
1.0.1 D. imitators

There is a timer availible at the Home Depot or other hardware stores that allows for up to 6 cycles at intervals of 1 minute or more. One my tanks there are 2 2" diameter fans running at a reduced speed for 5 minutes every 2 hours during the day, and they are off all night. Its a little more expensive for this timer than a normal one ( about $25 ) but my plants and frogs seem to have no problems with it as the humidity never really drops below 90%.

Rob

I love the tank set up, one of the best i have seen! I have a few questions for you if you wouldn't mind. First I was wondering how you make sure that there are no pesticides on plants. I have asked many plant stores and they all use pesticides or are not sure whether they have or not, which makes it very hard to find plants that are safe for frogs? I was also wondering if you could give me a rough price breakdown of the setup (I would really like to start one of my own but i dont have a clue as to how much a finished setup would cost)? thanks and good luck

Thanks, I'm glad I'm not the only one who likes the tank!! LOL As far as plants go, buy from places that specialize in Vivariums. Most plant stores, and green houses have no idea when you tell them what it's for. Try black jungle, Fantasticfrogs.com, peaceofthetropics.com, customecos, or tropiflora.com. I have plants from all of them except tropiflora.
As far as price goes it's nickel and diming me to death. Honestly the tank is a bowfront so it's quite a bit more than a normal 29, or others of the same size. After that, it's all in how you choose to set it up, I would imagine I have somewhere in the ballpark of $500-600 in it so far, and I still have more plants for the back wall. The tank, stand, and powercompacts I got at cost from a friend who owns a fish store. they were $55, $90, and $65. Other than that, the pump was some where around 15, the coco's panel $20, and the rest is pretty much plants. The pillow moss is quite expensive, but I think it was well worth it, as long as it lives LOL! Hope this helps answer some of your questions!
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MIKE
4.14 Leopards (SHTCT, and Jungle Albino Trempers)
2.13 Fat Tails (Amels, Hets, and Normals)
1.1 Teratolepis Fasciata
1.3 Crested geckos
0.0.3 Dendrobates Tinctorius (Pallids)
1.0 Diamond Back Terrapin
14 Snakes (Tri colored hogs, subocs, alterna, rosy boas, and black milks)