Gope's first vivarium

[Gope]

Hi all. Not sure if this should be here or Enclosures, Setup and Construction as I found similar in both. Since I'm a newby I chose here. Feel free to move if necessary. I've been moving at a snails pace but have made some progress and not far off from choosing inhabitants. This is a 25 gal aquarium, 24"x12" footprint 21" high. Eggcrate false bottom. There's a tube running down the left corner for inserting a siphon. ABG substrate. Pond great stuff/silicone/Genesis background mix for the walls. I bought glass and made a silicone living hinge. I would suggest shopping around for glass. The first glass shop quoted me $32. After a few more calls I got the same glass for $14. I made a 1" screen vent for the left side. Originally planned on one for each side(and I may yet) but I decided to try just one as they take 2.5 inches of top space each and encroach on access & lighting area. At the moment I have an old aquarium light fixture with 2x 13w 6500 CFLs. From what a read this is minimal but I really wouldn't want it any brighter. Hopefully the plants will grow. Plants are from a small package I recieved plus 2 nice mini palms from Hydrophyte on DB. I'll be ordering a few more broms and looking for a large leaf plant or two for the center, it's far too open now I think. Looking at Philodendron ornatum, ANTHURIUM RADICANS,Monstera siltepecana as options. I love the look of philodenron verrucossum but it's scarce and expensive. Feedback and suggestions welcome. Thanks for the help along the way!
Full tank

Vent

Palm

Cave entrance. There is a lot of space behind this wood and in the corners under the walls.

[joneill809]

Looks great! I like what you did with the lighting levels. I think we tend to keep our lighting levels up a bit higher than our frogs would like. Those palms look interesting. You'll have to keep us posted on how they grow in. I don't think I have any suggestions...nice job!

Looking forward to seeing what you pick for the lucky inhabitants!

[Gope]

Thanks Jim! I use these lights a lot on my aquariums, though I don't grow any difficult plants. As for inhabitants, I'm having a difficult time picking from the many many amazing frogs available. I've been watching the classifieds and everyday something else catches my eye. Initially I was leaning toward Brazilian yellowhead tincs, then I saw your robertus, wow! But I began wondering of this tank is big enough for tincs? So I've been looking at some amazing ranitimeya & pumilio sp thinking a group of these may be better???? I'll just have to make a choice and make some room for more vivs!

[joneill809]

There are quite a lot of frogs to choose from If you like tincs I mentioned my approach to "sizing" in another thread. BYH and Robertus are pretty big and you would have to take their needs into modifying the enclosure to make it easier for them to climb (e.g. more branches / ledges). If you want to go the tinc route, IMO this tank is better suited to dwarf tincs like Bakhuis, Oyapok, Nominant, Lorenzo that run in the 30 to 35 mm SVL range rather than 40 to 60+ mm for larger tincs.

Always go with the frog that you really like, then plan your viv(s) around that. You could always start with some larger tinc froglets and grow them out in this viv and see how they do. So if it's Robertus, then get a few froglets, start growing them out, and see if you need to plan a different viv. If you are looking at the WC pairs currently being offered, I'd consider a larger viv, and the risks / testing / QT regiments required with them.

I'll leave the thumbnail question to more experienced tiny frog folks. I just have my lamasi / Tingo Maria, which are a lot of fun and a family favorite. They are likely a good choice as well. You really need more vivs

[Gope]

Thanks for that Jim. That's pretty much what I was thinking. I was considering a trio of robertus froglets to grow out. I have some larger tanks to build but no room for them at the moment in this apt. Too many fish tanks! We're hoping to buy a house but in the mean time this is it. I could maybe squeeze in a couple of ten gallon verticals.

[DianeCarter]

Tank looks really nice! I'll chime in about the smaller species. I have ranitomeya imitators, and they would do great in this tank. I don't have pumilio (yet), but my understanding is that they do better with a lot more space. Ranitomeya are often recommended for more experienced breeders, I think because they are so small and fast! But they were my first to breed, and I had great success with them, so I highly recommend them, so long as your reflexes and vision are good! It's fascinating to watch the parents feed the tads throughout their development--lots of fun!

[DianeCarter]

If you decide on ranitomeya, you should get a couple of larger sized bromeliads--they often deposit in the plants!
Good luck with whatever you choose!

[Philsuma]

My suggestion on occupants. Be patient and bide your time. In due time you will meet someone nearby or local. When you find local people to buy from and enjoy the hobby with, you will make friends and eventually trade or swap stuff... even get frogs for free. Happens all the time. Meet fellow hobbyists close by. Oh, and the species? Either thumbnails or pumilio for that tall tank.

[Gope]

Thanks Diane, I'm hoping those neos grow a bit and I have a few more on the way.
Thanks Philsuma, it's already happening. I've contacted a few locals and look forward to more.
It's unusually hot here the past week or so and more forecasted so I've been monitoring the heat situation. The tank was getting up over 80 in the afternoons and the glass was always completely fogged. I had the light resting directly on the glass so I raised it 1.5 inches with some 2x4 scrap. I also put a small fan about 5 ft away and above and blew it along the top of the tank.This cleared the glass almost immediately and dropped the temp a few degrees. I was surprised how much difference this made with top closed and only that 1 inch vent. I do this to cool my fish tanks but I open the top with them. I should have bugs next week!