Dart Den

Well, I am posting a bit early but I just cannot contain myself any longer. Wes is delivering 4 new custom vivs to me tomorrow morning. I also have some goodies coming from Dev at Folius as well. I am really looking forward to replacing some of these old 10's I acquired from Marcus. Pictures will come tomorrow!

Wes delivered the new vivs and we talked frogs for a while today. Thanks again Wes! They look great and I will commence construction tonight.

A quick picture of them before I start...

Looks like you got a nice project to keep you busy for a little bit. I can't wait to see how they turn out and I'm sure their future inhabitants will be thrilled too.

looking good ! What are the dimensions /gallons ? They look...deep.

Those are 11.25 (w) x 23(d) x 17(h). Dustin decided to have me run double vents on the top due to the width/depth ratio and I think it's gonna work out nicely for him.

I got the cork bark mosaic attached to the back on 2 of them. If all goes well, the other two tomorrow. My supplies from Folius should arrive tomorrow and I can get a better idea how these are going to get set up.

Dustin let's se the pics...I need to steal some ideas as I am not happy with my 2 big tanks set's up from Wes, too much open space has seemed to make my frogs like Toomes 5 man crew in the Chronicles of Riddick....skittish.

Mark, are you close enough to the swamps to be able to find some nice root structures to increase surface area? I have a couple extra pieces of driftwood up here if you're interested, and with it being flooding season there's going to be a more along the river. *hijack done*

Dustin, are all of those going on another rack? I saw your frogroom thread. How many tadpoles do you have in those cups now? It looks like you're having a lot of fun down there right now! I can't wait to move back to the south, it's supposed to snow here today!

I could actually get a couple of big cypress knees, easily done here but I am thinking of just filling the back wall with more cork bark to make it more enclosed, should give the frogs some added security as well. It just get a little expensive with these 36" high tanks, I am anxious to see what Dustin has done.....the suspense is killing me!!!

Mark, unfortunately I did not take any pictures last night after attaching the cork pieces. It's just small pieces on the back glass that I will stuff sphagnum between. These 4 little vivs do not even compare to those 2 big ones you have as they are only 11" wide and only 12" or so of the height is used due to substrate.

I will take pictures tonight when I get home and get the sphagnum stuffed between the pieces.

Here is the start of one with the cork and sphagnum back. These are going to be difficult to plant and make look good because they are so narrow and deep. These 4 vivs will house pairs of D. auratus, so they should work out okay if I can figure out a layout that I like.

I see you got the ABG.

IEatBugs Wrote:Here is the start of one with the cork and sphagnum back. These are going to be difficult to plant and make look good because they are so narrow and deep. These 4 vivs will house pairs of D. auratus, so they should work out okay if I can figure out a layout that I like.

I sure did Justin, thanks! Sure beats the heck out of mixing it myself lol I should have plenty to go around for a little while now.

Dustin- call me tomorrow. I have an idea you might like but I'm finding it difficult to convey with the written word, haha...because I'm tired, not stupid

It's always easier making it 100 gallons at a time.

IEatBugs Wrote:I sure did Justin, thanks! Sure beats the heck out of mixing it myself lol I should have plenty to go around for a little while now.

Will do Wes!

This is what I am working with right now. I was not sure how or what I was going to do with these EpiWeb branches I got from Folius, but I think this is going to work out okay. Shame these things are a purple color, would be nice if they were a darker brown.

Crappy phone pictures in the dark...


Top down...

Those epiweb branches look like coral. LOL

You could smear a light layer of silicon and powder over w coco fiber. It holds up well and would hide the purple.

Sealing them up with silicone kind of defeats their purpose I think. Although a light coat of silicone and some coco probably would not seal them completely and would still allow the roots to make use of it. I don't know, they are kinda funny looking but I know in time with the right plants they will get completely covered.

Here is what I am working with now. It's not so bad with some greenery. Needs more plants, but a good start I think.

I was able to mostly finish another viv yesterday. I am looking for some cool, interesting plants if anyone has any ideas.

For you folks that are well seasoned, what are your thoughts on separating the vivs from each other as far as viewing goes. I have always done it that was previously, but I like the look of being able to see into the next one over. Thoughts?

Here is what I have now:

I was able to spend a little time on one of the vivs tonight. My plant selection is running really low so I have quite a few holes to fill in. I am really starting to dig the EpiWeb branches even though they stand out like a sore thumb. They are quite flexible and plants are already starting to root into the first one.

Here is the one from tonight.


And here are the 3 side by side. Apologies for the blurry cell phone pics.