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175 gallon display for a day care, need info for setup
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175 gallon display for a day care, need info for setup
#1
Hey everyone, this is my second dart frog tank but I'm very into all herps and think i can handle it. A friend of mine has a day care which he wants me to set up a 175 gallon bow front tank for dart frogs. I have many many questions but research is answering many of them. I am not trying to do anything to complicated as this needs to be as low maintenance as possible. Please comment anything you think i may need to know and answer as many questions as you can.
1. Substrate, what is the best substrate that will be low maintenance and allow for the best viewing of the frogs?

2. Frogs, He wants atleast three kinds of frogs and I know how mixing species is a hassle and frowned upon usually because of hybrids and bullying. So I am asking what frogs could be mixed together if I put them all in at the same time so they can establish territories, are similiar sizes when put in, and am not too concerned about hybrids as I won't be distributing any of the frogs and dont plan to breed any? The three species I have picked out are, D. leucomelas, Highland Bronze D. auratus, and a dart frog that is blue with read legs or red with blue legs (any good suggestions)? Is this possible and if not what are some species i can successfully combine?

3.I have led lights that are from a old salt water tank, they can be dimmed so will they work for the plants and frogs?

4Whats a good automatic mister?

5. I have read about springtails and fungus gnats being added to the tank where they will eat leaf litter and waste, reproduce, and provide tasty snacks for the frogs, is this true?
6. Any other considerations?
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#2
1. Make sure the tank / lid has a lock on it.

2. "ABG" is the simplest substrate - a couple different vendors here sell it pre-mixed. MUCH better than coco-coir or 'bed a beast' ect found at Petsmart ect.

3. Zoo's get a 'partial pass' on mixed species enclosures for many different reasons but for something in the home / office setting and not maintained by zoo personal and biologists....please stick with just one species in this situation. Stress is a silent killer. You are most likely going to buy unsexed animals to save a bit of $$, I'm guessing, so that is another reason to stick with not only same species but same 'morph' or population, i.e all of one "kind" of Tinctorius.

4. LED's are good..especially since they put off a lot less heat. Use a temperature gun to get final readouts when you are set up. I cannot imagine anything other than HO or Metal Halide as being too bright, but it HAS been a while since I was into reefs.

5.Mist King and Exoterra Monsoon (make sure you get the 2.0 version) are both decent and slightly different - so you may want to research them both. The monsoon is a little more plug-and-play and self contained.

6. Yes...you want springtails and Isopods (both referred to as 'microfauna) in the tank for janitor and snacking. No need for gnats. You MUST still provide dusted FF as the staple though. No getting around that. You will have sick and dead frogs without regular dusted FF.
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#3
Great reply Phil, but you forgot one thing. Leaf Litter!!! I would recommend that you have 2-3 inches of leaf litter in this tank. Not only does leaf litter provide food for the springtails and isopods but can also provide hiding areas for the frogs which will help reduce some stress as well.
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#4
As evryone knows I keep mixed tanks and have done so for a long time. That being said I would not suggest you try this in the application you have mentioned. It sounds like you are setting this up for some else and that they will be the ones doing the daily maintanence. Unless you plan on monitoring the tank personally several times a day I would not recommend mixing in this situation. I do suggest a large group of luecemela. I would shoot for a group of 7 to 9 in the tank you describe. I have two leuc setups that are about half the size you are planning that have groups of 5 in each and they are very active and visible. As far as leaf lttier goes I would not recommend it in your application. It is beneficial to the isopod population in the tank but it is not essential to keep the frogs healthy and will hinder the visibility of the frogs. I would just use a handful of leaf liter scattered throughout the tank or just and some mushroom pieces for the springtails to much on.
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#5
I agree with everything Phil and Jellyman said. However, definitely put a bunch of leaf litter in there. It won't hinder their visibility at all, in fact providing more hiding places will bring them out more. The health of the vivarium will all around be better anyway.
Adam Hess
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#6
Thanks everyone and sorry for the late reply, this has given me much to consider, and you are correct in that I am setting it up for someone else who will take care of it, I will only check occasionally as I go back to college I'm August. I was wondering last night if I couldn't put in plexiglas dividers to make three sections that would be similar but house a different set of frogs, the guy is set on more than one color frog. What do you all think?
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#7
Junter1111 Wrote:Thanks everyone and sorry for the late reply, this has given me much to consider, and you ate correct in that I am setting it up for someone else who will take care of it, I will only check occasionally as I go back to college I'm August. I was wondering last night if I couldn't put in plexiglas dividers to make three sections that would be similar but house a different set of frogs, the guy is set on more than One color frog. What do you all think?

That will be very difficult on this tank since its a bowfront. If it was a regular tank I would say go for it but use glass as plexiglass will warp if you don't get the right acrylic and glue
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#8
I've considered the bow front and I think I can use cardboard to cut a template, but you may be right about the plexiglas glass, I wonder if glass would work better. Then just a little silicon should hold it in place and keep the frogs separate
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#9
With dividing the tank, you will have multiple new problems...misting and feeding and maintenance now must also be divided.

It's a novice...understandable, but novice idea to wish for a 'vibrant' enclosure with all sorts of shapes and colours, but keep in mind the average timeframe for interest in keeping dart frogs seems to be on the....short....side. Some keepers discard their frogs after only a year. Some even less. There ARE of course, long term hobbyists - 8,10, 15 years, but they are the rare 10-15%.

That said...I have had frogs given to me in a will and now due to my moving and going back to school...they are on their THIRD owner in 3-4 years. The hobby must care for these frogs in the future. The best thing to do here, is go "easy" and 'simple" with this day care enclosure.

A group of 3-5 all blue azureus...OR a group of 5-7 Yellow and black Leucomelas should serve well to be considered 'striking' and magnificent all by themselves without any more 'colour" IMO.

Some thoughts.
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#10
These seem easy fixes, now three dumps of the flies instead of one, three heads for the mister, and after I graduate from college in 2 years I will take the tank and be one of those lifetime hobbyists if he decides he doesn't want it. I have a lot of respect for these magnificent animals and just want an awesome tank. Thanks for your concern
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