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Journal My first exotic 'arium

john6

john6

Member
Joined
23 Mar 2022
Messages
312
Location
Scunthorpe
So I have decided to delve into the world of Amphibians while I wait on my Rainbow tank to get started. I thought I would start a Journal for those that are interested.
Things have not got off to a good start, as the terrarium I ordered arrived smashed so now have to wait 15-20 days for a replacement. so will update as soon as new terraium arrives,
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In the meantime I have decided to go with a bioactive terrarium which will house a pair of Red Eyed Tree Frogs'
This is a list of everything I have so far:
Exo Terra Tree Frog Terrarium (smashed)
Bio Drain Clay Balls
Bioactive Sub Stratum
Drain Mesh
Equatorial Forest Floor
Rainforest substrate
Forest substrate
Sphygnum Moss
Dried Leaves
Terra Sky terrarium light
Monsoon misting system
Thermostat/Hygrostat
UVB Lighting kit
ProRep Infrared Heat Projector
Various supplements
I will decide on plants nearer the time. I have also decided to go with Springtails and Orange Woodlice for CUC.
All questions, comments and criticisms welcome.
 
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though it might help before you commit to using. The monsoon misting system, is incredibly noisy. (Could just be the one I have) but it really drones on when the pump is going.
Most in the hobby use mistking systems.

You may come across plenty of people who say not to use sphagnum moss, certainly not as a substrate anyway. I’m not sure why as I actually used it as a carpet and it grew in really well.

Looking forward to seeing what you set up for the frogs.
 
seedoubleyou said:
though it might help before you commit to using. The monsoon misting system, is incredibly noisy. (Could just be the one I have) but it really drones on when the pump is going.
Most in the hobby use mistking systems.

You may come across plenty of people who say not to use sphagnum moss, certainly not as a substrate anyway. I’m not sure why as I actually used it as a carpet and it grew in really well.

Looking forward to seeing what you set up for the frogs.
Click to expand...
I only went with the monsoon as it is all set up to fit in nicely with the tank, apparently from what I have read the sphagnum moss makes a nice soft substrate for the frogs and is easy for rooting plants to root down through, alot of the setups I have seen on you tube use it.
 
Yes sphagnum moss is perfect for wrapping around the roots of epiphytes like bromeliad.

The good folk on dendroboard (if you haven’t come across that forum before, I recommend it) however will not recommend it for any other purpose i.e. substrate or carpeting.
As I say, I used it as a carpet and it wash lush and green. However I did not house anything other than springtails, isopods and the odd millipede.

With the misting system. Thankfully they only run for around 1 minute or so a day if you’re misting for 20 seconds or so several times, so the noise isn’t constant.

If you were closer I’d give you mine as it’s sat doing nothing and used for a month only.
 
Will be a fun project when you get it going! Will follow... Good luck!

john6 said:
Things have not got off to a good start, as the terrarium I ordered arrived smashed so now have to wait 15-20 days for a replacement. so will update as soon as new terraium arrives,
Click to expand...
That sucks... no one cares about s*it anymore... the wife received 6 wine glasses recently - 4 was broken...

Cheers,
Michael
 
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So at last, the new Terrarium is arriving tomorrow, hopefully it comes early so I can crack on getting it set up, if not will definitely be Friday.
Anyway here is a list of plants I have ordered for Friday,
Nerve plant (Fittonia sp.)
Heartleaf Philodendron (Philodendron Scandens)
Pilea sp.
Bromeliad (Nidularium 'Fireball')
Bromeliad (Vriesea sp.)
Polka Dot Plant (Hypoestes sp.)
Garden Croton 'Petra' (Codiaeum Variegatum)
Satin Pothos (Scindapsus Pictus)
Purple Heart Tradescantia (Tradiscantia Pallida).

Edit
Garden Croton 'Petra' is out of stock so added some more,

Peace Lily (Spathiphyllum sp.)
Spiderwort (Tradiscantia sp.)
Devils Ivy (Epipremnum Aureum)
Swiss Cheese Plant (Monstera Delicoisa)

Bioactive Custodians are,
Springtails
Giant Orange Woodlice
Bean Weevils
 
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So the saga continues.
Ordered a cabinet from Pets at Home, It came Friday, got excited at finally being able to start terrarium and opened box and nothing in it to put the cabinet together with, just the bits of wood.
Phoned Pets at home and told they couldn't get just the bag of nuts and bolts, it would have to be a replacement cabinet, fine I thought, then told it wouldn't be here until Tuesday, so after some choice words they said they would get one on a 24 hour delivery for Saturday morning. That one sorted.
Next one, I bought my plants from 2 places, one came just after dinner with only 4 plants instead of the 6 I ordered, I was told it was an error on their packing side so would send them out immediately but will not be here until Monday as the parcel pick up has already left.
Second delivery hasn't even arrived and everywhere is shut over the weekend so cannot even phone up to find out what is going on.
So I am starting with what i've got.
 
I then installed the misting system which is an Exo Terra Monsoon 2 solo, the terrarium has clips and holes to place the tubing out of sight which is a good thing, the Monsoon fits nicely in the top of the cabinet too as seen in the pictures. Also I installed the Thermostat/Hygrostat to control the temp and humidity but haven't set it up yet. Lastly the background has also gone in, it's a ready made one that fits the tank nicely and looks pretty good too.
Thats it for now, tomorrow I will be putting in the drainage layer and substrate, will also be putting what plants I have too.
Will also be installing the Terra Sky light for the plants and a Heat projector and UV light.

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The drainage layer is in. I used Bio-Life Drainage Medium 10 Litre, I used about 7-8 litres to get a 2 inch layer. Covered with Exo Terra Bio Drain Mesh as it covers perfectly without having to cut it.
Time to get hands dirty and make my substrate and hardscape.

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Substrate is all mixed and ready to go in.
I've combined 2 4kg bags of Exo Terra Sub Stratum, 10L bag of Bio-Life Active Substrate, 1 bag of Exo Terra Equatorial Forest Floor, Exo Terra Rain Forest Floor, given it a good mix and it's ready to go.
I've alot because what I have left i will use the tub to plant the plants Ihave got while I'm waiting for the rest of my plants.

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Substrate is in, hardscape is in (might change it yet). Lights are put in.
Hardscape is just some old wood I found in my ever so full fish cupboard which I put some bits of moss dotted around.
Light is the Exo Terra Sky, which is fully programmable from a remote control (nice piece of kit)
Let me know what you think of the hardscape (from a practical view rather than aesthetically)

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Its finally finished, just the leaf litter to put in but that's not going until the Frogs will be going in.
Frogs will be going in in about 2 months, give the plants time to settle and get a good solid root system.
Lights are on a 12 hour on 12 hour off and misting is 8 seconds every 4 hours, might need to change that schedule, depending on how the plants do, so it's just a starting point.

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I’m not well versed on tree frogs if that’s the intended inhabitant. But I’d be worried that the hardscape is a little limiting and a lot of open ground space has been left.

Are waterbowls necessary? I know with Dartfrogs they can actually pose a risk of drowning and they drink droplets from leaves rather than a water source like bowls.
 
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