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Vic's 180 Gallon Vivarium (previously a paludarium)


Withers

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Onboard this looks awesome!

 

Looks like there has been quite a bit of planing on this already.

 

Didn't see it mentioned but what silicone and glass thickness did you go with?

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The glass is 1/4" thick, and I'm using Dow Corning 999-A silicone since it's so big. Normally I use GE Silicone I for my vivariums but since this is going to hold so much more water I decided to use some aquarium grade stuff.

 

And yeah, I've been planning this for months :D

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Good deal thanks...any pictures of these frogs you're planning on for those of us who have no idea? I know snakes and monitors but not frogs. I love the zebra danio idea they're active great fish. Considered kuhli loaches?

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This'll be the main inhabitant. They're called Ranitomeya vanzolinii and are about the size of your thumbnail.

vanzolinii7.jpg

 

Once it's built if I think there's enough room I'll add a group of these as well. They're a bit larger.

pepperi6.jpg

 

They like a lot of leaf litter in their tanks and this tank will not have a large area of land, but it still might be enough. I won't know till it's up and running.

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Awesome build Jason - 2 pages in and you have me thinking that I NEED on of these. But I don't know anything about frogs.

 

How many frogs can you keep in something that big? The tank seems pretty large and as you mentioned the Ranitomeya vanzolinii seem very small - seems as if a pair would dissapear in there pretty easily.

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With a tank this size it's really difficult to tell exactly how many frogs it could house. I'm going to start with a group of 6 vanzos, and they'll eventually breed to make a large group (hopefully). They raise their own tadpoles so I won't have to intervene. Even though they're monogamous in the wild, they're often found in close quarters to each other so they're a perfect candidate for this tank.

 

The other guys (Amereega pepperi) are also group frogs but I don't know as much about them. I'd probably have to raise tadpoles for them but both frogs are very bold and would be out all the time.

 

Normally it's a bad idea to keep multiple species of frogs together in one enclosure due to, well, a number of issues, but mainly aggression between frogs and potential interbreeding. It takes a lot of experience, and a lot of planning to be able to create an enclosure that is suited for it. You have to create different niches for the frogs to live in so they don't feel threatened by each other and you have to make sure to choose frogs that can not breed with each other. Both of these frogs are found close to each other in the wild and both are communal frogs so I've got a pretty good shot at making this work. If they don't get along I'll separate them and just keep the vanzos in there.

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That's the only reason, actually the offspring would theoretically be hardier, but since a lot of the frogs in the hobby are endangered in the wild, we try to keep the lines separate. There is so much variation between different locales for some of these frogs that it would be very easy for hybrid morphs to get into the bloodlines, and there's really no need since there are so many great looking frogs out there already.

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Wood comes in next week and my parents are bringing the stand my uncle made down next weekend, so hopefully I can have it up on the stand so I can start on plumbing and set up the light. The fan system should be finished then too. Then I have to save up for the misting system, a return pump and a cannister filter and we'll be ready for plants :)

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this is a seriously awesome build

 

hurry up and finish it already!!

+1

 

Very cool. What kind of freshwater fish will you put in there? Also, what do the frogs eat?

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So far the plan is killifish and some danios, that's about as far ahead as I've thought :)

 

The frogs eat fruit flies and other small bugs. I'm going to add a bunch of different types of springtails and isopods (pill bugs) to the tank as well for the froglets to eat.

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Do you constantly have to feed them or do the isopods and springtails maintain a breeding population? Also where do you get them from?

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Amazing build you've got going there Jason! and shhhh... don't tell anyone on DB you're planning on mixing! I'm okay with it though since it's a big tank, the frogs can't breed with each other, and they inhabit different areas of the vivarium. Can't wait to see how this turns out.

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Also I was thinking what about doing discus for the fish? Perhaps some of the most beautiful FW species IMO and would probably (as far as my knowledge goes) be safe with your frogs

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Do you constantly have to feed them or do the isopods and springtails maintain a breeding population? Also where do you get them from?

 

A little of both. The isopods and springtails will maintain their own population, but it wouldn't be enough for the frogs to live on.

 

Amazing build you've got going there Jason! and shhhh... don't tell anyone on DB you're planning on mixing! I'm okay with it though since it's a big tank, the frogs can't breed with each other, and they inhabit different areas of the vivarium. Can't wait to see how this turns out.

 

Thanks! I'm more than prepared to separate them if it doesn't work out. I don't forsee any issues with those 2 species in this tank though. I could probably put this on DB and be fine, but I'd just rather not deal with it, know what I mean?

 

Also I was thinking what about doing discus for the fish? Perhaps some of the most beautiful FW species IMO and would probably (as far as my knowledge goes) be safe with your frogs

 

My water won't be deep enough for discus :(

 

That is one cool....car!

 

Thanks!

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A little progress this weekend. I installed the background, mocked up some plumbing bits and tested out a couple of fans with the controller :)

 

5677454762_c0ba38c6f3_z.jpg

 

False bottom mocked up

5676896957_d099979ca8_z.jpg

 

Fan controller :D

5677457024_e00e1114bd_z.jpg

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Thanks! I'm more than prepared to separate them if it doesn't work out. I don't forsee any issues with those 2 species in this tank though. I could probably put this on DB and be fine, but I'd just rather not deal with it, know what I mean?

 

Yea, totally. There's always going to be that one guy who's gonna go ape sh*t haha.

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Ok, question.

 

Does anyone forsee a problem with using my overflow as one of the supports for the land area like I have it set up now? There really shouldn't be much weight put on it, but I'd hate to somehow crack the glass. The other potential issue I see is if I need to do some maintenance to it, but hopefully that will be avoided by me not covering any of the openings with mesh. I'll easily be able to reach under there and grab it if need be, but if it's supporting weight and I have to remove it for some reason...

 

Thoughts?

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I would not risk it. You are putting allot of work into this to risk a crack in the glass just to save one piece of pipe if anything remover the 90 and put a T and run a length down to the bottom, This will make it a real support and then you can drill 2-3 holes along the bottom to keep the sediment from building up on the bottom.

 

 

 

 

 

Also I love the controller....Newegg from the box right.....and you can us this pump on that controller also.

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