Reptile & Amphibian Forums

ok well im tryin to set up a 10gallon tank for a dart frog or a mantella. i was wondering i wanted to make a pool area by sloping the gravel and just filling the tank with water and puttin sphagnum moss or carpet moss at the top of the gravel. if this works, what type of filter would be best for the pool area. im only goin to make the pool 6- 8inches so what type of filter will wor best. under gravel? do undergravel filters need false bottoms? Do I place any plants in pots or can I just plant them into the gravel? Please point me in the right direction. iv been doing some research and jsut wanted to know the best way. Also i highly doubt it but do I need a filter for the pool area?
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0.0.1 beardie 1.0 curly tail lizard 1.0 whites tree frog 3.0 rabbit 0.0.1 chipmunk 0.1 dog 1.1 cat 1.0 RES turtle 0.03 red back salamanders

AIM: LilJim24W

I am in the same exact situation. I'm trying to set up a 10 gal with waterfall/stream, but dont know how to do it. I know that an underground filter wont work.

I just set up (okay, I set it up around November) a very similar vivarium (10 gallon) to what you guys are contemplating. It's really not that hard, and doesn't cost that much. If you are planning on having a waterfall, using a simple 70 gph fountain pump or better will allow you to circulate the water, and that in and of itself should allow for adequate filtration (after all, you are letting gravity act as your action system for an "undergravel" type action).

I would recommend using a false bottom that is sloped toward the front. I'll post pics when I get home. I used coconut husk chips as the substrate, and used a little pea gravel in the stream bed at the front . . . but you can't see anything now that the Java Moss has covered it all (and that didn't take long at all). With a 10 gallon, you are a little limited on the number and types of plants you can use, but I have a small maidenhair fern (the leucs love it), a pothos cutting (which will probably become a nuisance before long), an earth star, and some tiny Drosera sp. to go along with the Java. There's also a little coco hut and a small piece of driftwood in there, besides the flat rocks which form the waterfall.

Seriously, I bought the pump from Quality Captives for something like $10, I already had the egg crate, screen, planting media, etc. So, other than making the top from some scrap glass, plexi, and screen (which is a little frankensteined at the moment), this setup only cost about $20 to setup, as I used mostly plants from cuttings from my other setups.

This will be a fun project. You'll love it, and then you'll be hooked. Of course, it's probably going to cost you guys a bit more unless you have some of this stuff just laying around. Let me know if you have any questions. I'm such an enabler when it comes to getting into darts . . . they're just too great not to enjoy.
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Homer W. Faucett III, esq.
Purveyor of Trivialities and Fine Nonsense

Hi thanks for all of that info. Pics will be greatly appreciated. I do have a 10 gallon plants lights gravel, i think all i need to do is make a fals bottom and put some substrate in. I am also thinkg og gluing cork bark tot he back of th wall
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0.0.1 beardie 1.0 curly tail lizard 1.0 whites tree frog 3.0 rabbit 0.0.1 chipmunk 0.1 dog 1.1 cat 1.0 RES turtle 0.03 red back salamanders

AIM: LilJim24W

Did the pics help at all, guys? Let us know if you need more direction. I know that there are a lot of people with plenty of experience in setting up tanks around here.
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Homer W. Faucett III, esq.
Purveyor of Trivialities and Fine Nonsense

This was taken about 3 weeks after setup. Some things have been changed since then. I'll take some pics today, but it's hard to get a good shot of a 10 gallon that looks good.

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Homer W. Faucett III, esq.
Purveyor of Trivialities and Fine Nonsense

Here's a second pic taken today. Obviously, it houses some leucs.

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Homer W. Faucett III, esq.
Purveyor of Trivialities and Fine Nonsense

Here's a final pic that shows the waterfall area a little better. I set this up by slanting the egg crate toward the front and slightly from right to left. Then I placed the waterfall rocks in place, added the coco husk chips in the back, and added pea gravel along the "creek bed." The water sits about 1/2" deep in the bottom left hand corner, but you can't see the gravel or water because the Java is a little thick.

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Homer W. Faucett III, esq.
Purveyor of Trivialities and Fine Nonsense

What kind of fern is that?
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0.0.4 Blue Dendrobates Auratus
4.2.0 African Dwarf Frogs (Hymenochirus boettgeri)
2.3.0 Asian Floating Frogs (Occidozyga Lima)
1.1.0 White's Tree Frog (Litoria caerulea)

It's some species of maidenhair. I can't remember what type, but it's one of those Angel Exotics I got at Lowe's. You can check Angel Exotics website for the different varieties that they have, but I just saw this one on sale and thought I'd try it out.

It has grown really well and has stayed relatively compact. I'm pretty impressed, and the leucs really love it. I'm just convinced that they'll lay eggs in there rather than on the petri dish.
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Homer W. Faucett III, esq.
Purveyor of Trivialities and Fine Nonsense