Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I've always been interested in darts. I have also been involved with saltwater fish and reefs. I am kind of short on money, seeing as I'm 15, but whatever. I have a 135 gallon, drilled with an overflow for my saltwater tank. However, I keep seeing it as a SUPREME vivarium, with tons of darts. I'm buying a complete reef system from a fellow "reefer", and selling parts of it to other people, and I'll be keeping some items for my reef. I'll receive around $1,500 worth of stuff, for around $300. Sweet deal, right? Lol. Anyways...I haven't found anyone to buy this tank/stand that is with the system. Its a 90 gallon drilled with overflows. I'm just wondering which would be cheaper/better for the vivarium? I'm thinking the 90 because its smaller, but long tanks are SO thrilling. Please help me with my debate. And tell me some cheap ways to keep a nice one running (around $500 without frogs or cheaper).
Thanks
Tyler

ps - i can remove the overflows on both tanks, so thats not a problem for a false bottom or something for a pond/waterfall.

$500 would be a lot of money for a tank. You could get some high cost plants and some really expensive lights. I always stick to cheaper plants and regular shop lights with plant lights in them. Seems to do fine for me. If this is your first tank, I would make a smaller model tank (similar design, but a lot smaller) to practice setup on and practice keeping frogs. Better to see a design flaw in a smaller cheaper scale. Also, a 90 would provide a lot of spots for frogs to hide so you would want some frogs that do well in groups, but more about that when youg get the tank setup.
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Josh Willard
www.joshsfrogs.com

Being new myself, I'd suggest starting much smaller until you get used to the feeding/everything else involved with keeping the frogs. I know I had a difficult time with my first frog and I dunno what I'd do if I had a 90 gallon tank to deal with as opposed to my 10.

b

Thats what I was thinking too. I had researched these guys before I got into reefs, so I have some background knowledge. Could I get a little 10 gallon at the same time as setting up one of the larger ones, and keep him/her in the 10 until I got good at this? Then I'd move him/her up to the 90/135?
How much did you spend on your tank? I guess my price ideas are high; reefing will do that to you (my setup will be worth over $3,000!)
For lights, I was thinking VHO fluorescents. Coral gets decent growth from them, so why not plants? They're cheap too, especially if you find some used ones. www.reefcentral.com is a great place for used reef stuff, so I think I could use some lights and pumps from there...and a filter too.
I want the big tank to be heavily planted with a nice water/pond/waterfall feature.

I did quite a bit of research before i got my dart, but there's alot of things that you just have to witness to learn. such as regular behavior of your frogs. You have to watch them to make sure they're eating properly and to know how much to feed them. You also learn their personality when you can just sit and watch them. I have a simple 10 gallon that cost me about 25 dollars to set up. If you're smart, you shouldn't have to spend much at all to do what you want. Plants are very inexpensive. You can get your own river rocks/etc.

I think I know what I'm going to do. I'll get the reef setup and stable. I'll wait until my financial situation gets a little better, and then I'll set up a little 10 gallon, and get the hang of darts. While the reef is getting stable, and my money gets stable too, I'll keep researching. I think this sounds pretty good. I'm going to have a really cool basement lol. I was thinking about getting Phyllobates Terribilis for my first dart. Since they are big, I figure if my fruit fly culture somehow dies, or I can't feed fruit flys for some reason, he will be able to take pinhead crickets. How are the terribilis as beginners?

heres a picture of the 135
you can see the overflow in there encompassing the 3 holes. the overflow would be removed, and two holes plugged; the other would have a 1.5" bulkhead.

I say if you have it, go big or go home. Start building your 135 gallon up, and keep your froglets in a 10 gallon tank. When they are big enough to put in the big tank in 4 months, your tank will be grown in, and you will know if you have any obvious issues with the tank.

My first tank was a 60 gallon, and that's how I approached it.
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Purveyor of Trivialities and Fine Nonsense

Well, I'm having second thoughts now. I'm a little over budget on the reef, and I have a sale pending on the 90 gallon. I do have a 20 gallon in the garage, and I can find big (for darts) tanks cheap. I really don't have the money to do both now; I've realized this. As I set up the reef, I'll keep learning about these guys, and if I really can't sell the 90, then I'll keep darts in there (after I get the hang of them of course). Urgh, being 15 and not allowed to have a job really stinks LOL. My funds will increase in the spring; that's when I get my reffing job ($30-$40 a weekend). So I'll keep darts in mind, but for now, the reef is priority. Drats...