Reptile & Amphibian Forums

im sorry,i posted this in the caging and enclosures section but i havnt gotten a responce in 5 days.this one problem is holding up construction so id really like some advice.im thinking that maybe not many people are reading the subforums so im gonna post here.ok my problem is,id like to construct a waterfall out of styrofoam and that spray foam insulation,but dont know what to cover it with that looks real and that will hold up.i dont want to use concrete or cement because it looks excatly like concrete and cement and i want something that looks a bit more like rocks.its going to be taking up a whole corner and its going to be one pool spilling into a lower pool type of waterfall.im also gonna try and build a cave and cliffs into it as well and an added bonus would be if it was something that moss may eventually grow on.any ideas?oh yea,while im posting i also have another simple question.its summer time and i know from my smaller vivariums,when the AC is on and my apartment is colder than the vivarium,the glass tends to fog up.any ideas on how to prevent the glass from fogging? i used to scuba dive and i remember a product they sold that you could spray and rub on the inside of your mask.it prevented your mask from fogging.anyone think this stuff is safe,or is there something else you guys do? i just hate when the glass fogs.it ruins the whole display in my opinion.oh if it matters,im intending on housing darts when the enclosure is complete and seems safe after running for a couple weeks. also,is there a safe gloss that vivarium wood can be treated with to make it seem,well glossy? i just hate the way dry beach wood looks in a tropical vivarium.it just seems out of place in my opinion.i spend a summer in ecuador and all the wood in the jungle looks wet and shiny.id use polyurithane type gloss but im not sure if its safe when dry.

The sub-forms weren't very active because there really isn't much activity going on in the entire forum anymore--although it's picking up again. I don't even see them on my display anymore.

I just wipe the glass off with paper towels every morning, but I do have more time than most people. The anti-fog stuff one uses for scuba diving (and in my case, snorkling) is probably not toxic, or it wouldn't be approved to use near your eyes, but I've never read of anyone trying it.

I know a couple of people who have put a thin plastic strip across the front of the enclosure with small holes for venting, but it seems that this would work only in the top portion of the glass unless you had something additional to circulate the air. On a couple of my tanks, I have a screen as well as a hinged glass on the front portion, and this can be cocked up a bit for some air circulation, which clears the glass within about five minutes. Also, in hot weather, I can open up the entire front half of the hinged glass top and mist the screen for cooling the inside of the tank. Another thing that may work, although I have it only on the back portion of some tanks, is a Tropic-Aire humidifying air exchanger. If you put the air wand at the bottom of the glass, even though the air blowing through it is still humid, it might tend to equalize the temperatures inside and out and prevent some of the condensation right on the glass. It's pretty difficult to keep the glass clear at all times without sacrificing some of the humidity that all dart frogs need. The condensation is usually a dew point problem when the temperatures on the outside of the tank are lower than the inside of the tank, and the water tends to condense on the relatively cooler glass.
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Patty
Pahsimeroi, Idaho

4 D. auratus blue
5 D. galactonotus pumpkin orange splash back
5 D. imitator
6 D. leucomelas
4 D. pumilio Bastimentos
4 D. fantasticus
4 P. terribilis
4 D. reticulatus
4 D. castaneoticus
2 D. azureus
4 P vittatus

I'd not try the anti-fog stuff. I'm trying to remember where I heard it from, but I heard it was toxic.

I have heard of windex killing fish when windex was used on the outside of the glass. Not sure if they are similar products or not.
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Josh Willard
www.joshsfrogs.com

Windex contains ammonia, so probably the arosols get in the aquarium water, and I know it can be toxic if used on the inside of a frog tank. I've asked my son, who is a scubba diver if he would check out the formula on the anti-fogger he uses, but haven't heard back yet.
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Patty
Pahsimeroi, Idaho

4 D. auratus blue
5 D. galactonotus pumpkin orange splash back
5 D. imitator
6 D. leucomelas
4 D. pumilio Bastimentos
4 D. fantasticus
4 P. terribilis
4 D. reticulatus
4 D. castaneoticus
2 D. azureus
4 P vittatus