My 90 Gallon Build

[Oanomochi]

Hello,

I just registered here and I'm working on a 90 gallon build. I'm nearing completion but am waiting to get the last pieces of this build together.

As you can see, I was having difficulty with the background on the right side. I didn't want to use foam as I am experimenting from the South American Cichlid hobby and this is my primary tank.

There are currently no inhabitants. The tank used to have a large portion of water in it but has since been removed because I heard darts cant deal with a lot of water. Is this true? I do want a set up that allows for breeding as well.

Here's a photo of my current set up.



I plan on investing in a monsoon rain system to help keep the humidity up.


Issues with tank:

1. No wire cover. Can darts climb that high up and escape?
2. No primary heating source. I was using a heated water column to keep the humidity and temp up. That's since been removed. What can I use now? It's summer now so I don't need to worry about heating until fall.
3. I'm fertilizing while I don't have any tank inhabitants; how sensitive are darts to fertilizer? I'd assume very sensitive since there's currently a world wide mass extinction going on for amphibians.

[Philsuma]

On water:

Dart Frogs do not live in/near water (for the most part). There are several diseases and illnesses that arise from substrate that is too wet / waterlogged and the frogs having frequent contact with water or soaked terrain.

Dart frogs do climb glass quite easily. You must have a lid on your enclosure. I'd recommend 90% glass top with @10% screen ventilation.

Heat - 65-75F range is excellent. Night time or seasonal drops in temp and humidity are fine and even useful. I always worry that small 'in tank' or near tank heaters are going to overload or somehow cause an overheat and kill everything. I prefer ambient 'room' heating.

Do NOT use fertilizers. The plants don't need it. Dead flies and frog poop are more than enough 'help'.

I would stay away from wandering jew plants, creeping fig and pothos - they all grow too fast and tend to take over and squeeze out other plantings.

The 'Monsoon' product has had a LOT of negative feedback and most people say the timer fails and the unit flood the tank.

I would recommend buying a starter 80.00 'Mist King' automatic misting system instead.

[Oanomochi]

Understood and thank you for the feedback! I'll make the necessary changes to get this enclosure more to their liking.

My tank hovers in the 80-82 f range as my roommates dont like running the AC. Will this kill the darts?

Thank you for the feedback.

[Philsuma]

80 to higher 80's F temperatures are actually 'ok' for pumilio and other tropical species. The pre-montane and 'highland' dart frogs are going to suffer with mid to high 80's though - Tincs and some thumbnails and epips ect.

The thing you really need to be careful with is that some lighting adds up to 10 degrees of temperature by hot bulbs and fixtures. Make sure your lights are not throwing off a lot of heat. A small fan will also help.

There are about 6 good threads here on Dart Den that deal with 'high temps' and how to deal with them. A lot of these threads are 'sticky-ed' and easy to find.

[Oanomochi]

Here're the changes I made last night.

View video of Dart Frog Enclosure