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Exo Terra Conversion, help needed
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Exo Terra Conversion, help needed
#1
Hey Guys, my name's Joe and I was directed here by a very helpful guy I know (don't know what his username is is on here).

Basically I'm looking at converting my exo terra vivarium, basically like a european style one. The One's that have a sloped glass panel inside the viv that drains off into a little gunnel at the front of the Viv, I'm wondering if this at all possible ?

cheers
Joe
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#2
Hi Joe,

I'm sure it can be done, but with the false bottoms that we use, I'm not sure it's needed.

How do you think it will benefit you/the viv?
Glenn
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#3
aha we get around hey fella (im off reptile forums uk), well with me having to make a new viv, i've been looking at many things, i'll say now i'm getting Milk Frogs

1) heat - i use a heat mat on the side to get my viv temps around 28 on mat side and its around 23/22 on the cooler side, the mat however takes up 11inches of an 18inch side, so i lose angles from which i can put branches, makes it all kind shoved in one corner going across, same goes for plants, cant put them too close my staghorn fern felt like it was wilting in the direct heat so had to move it. My problem is, living in the UK, i cant get my room up to 25+ degree's without nearly dying lol. I've been told i can put a heat mat underneath with some polystyrene behind it to direct heat through my drainage layer and soil, however i hear all kinds of horror stories about this cracking the glass

2) When i built my last viv i found getting my substrate divider in proper place a bit of a nightmare, aswell as placing my siphoning tube. regarding hte siphon tube, my original was place just inside the viv on the side where my heat mat was, as i knew i could keep that side a bit spare and get to it easily. I'm thinking of running some aquatic airline up the back of the viv and out those handy wire holes, however dont fancy sucking on the tube. So this brings me to the idea of having that gunnel, easy to get to and if i put some decent sized pebbles in, my frogs could use it to bathe in.

3)the other question is between false bottom and leca, i opted for the leca last time as it seemed to me better for the plants etc. but i'm pondering the egg crate route, but tbh probably would go leca again

cheers man
Joe
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#4
Haha! Cheers!

Would this work for you, instead of the sloped glass?

[Image: 006nhd.jpg]

Or this?

[Image: 055pm.jpg]
Glenn
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#5
i'm guessing you mean a pool in one corner or a channel at the front ? could be worth a look actually. how do you do it ?

i'm guessing you make a little dam but leave gaps between the pebbles, leca under the substrate in the other section ?

any advice on the heating ? i worry about cracking the glass, i dont have any issues with the side getting too hot, even when its 28c on that side, the glass doesnt feel too warm, would sitting water make it hotter ?

Cheers. btw i'm starting to get ready to start culturing isopods and springs to seed and feed lol desperately want some of those orange guys tho
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#6
i found your method http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/forums/a ... ons-2.html

so, once you've folded back the screen on top of the leca, could i silicone pebbled ontop of those bottom ones to stop soil getting into the pool ? maybe even a bit of cork ? another pondery is about changing the water, i know you've talked on that thread about it, but, as far as im told i have to change out the waterbowls every day. to stop my froggies drowning i'd need to put pebbles in, so this would mean they'd be tempted to go down for a nice little dip, so surely i'd have to drain this all every day aswell, or am i being mental ?
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#7
Cool! I was looking for it. lol

I don't silicone anything in place. You could I suppose, but I don't see why it would be needed. No soil falls in the water but plenty of leaves do, which I pull regularly. No worries about the frogs drowning, in my opinion. I've seen them dive in for cover and stay submerged for quite some time. They can get out very easily. Water changes daily is nuts! lol I've let it go for 6 months and tads still grow up in the water. :?
Glenn
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#8
so no worry about salmonella tea ? lol
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#9
Meefloaf Wrote:so no worry about salmonella tea ? lol

Only for us. lol
Glenn
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#10
i only ask because i'll be opening it up and spraying each day, so i'll be fine aslong as i dont start drinking it ?
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#11
Meefloaf Wrote:i only ask because i'll be opening it up and spraying each day, so i'll be fine aslong as i dont start drinking it ?
It'll be fine for the frogs, but I do wear disposable gloves when in the vivs. More about passing crap from tank to tank.
Glenn
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#12
cool man, i get a box of 100 powderless gloves for £2. mmm more planning to do now, awesome
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#13
Meefloaf Wrote:cool man, i get a box of 100 powderless gloves for £2. mmm more planning to do now, awesome
Yeah, they're dirt cheap and beats dish pan hands. lol
Glenn
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#14
Glenn, can you check this out (tried pasting it over here but wouldnt)

http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/forums/a ... st11401454
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#15
glenn, i did the water test, sat a good inch and half below my substrate layer would be, however i've now got mold on my wood in the water, i've currently no sub or custodians in as waiting for things to turn up. also seems the water leeched or has evaporated up to my sub divider and made this damp, also the two cork tubes bottoms are wet asif whicking it up. eeek. tapped some custodians onto the wood in the hope they'll clear it up
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