Crazy project idea

[jus85411]

i rehomed my bearded dragon to a friend of mine, his little brother really wanted one as well as he did and i was giving him the run down of tank supplies etc. he made his own cage with built in strip light for uvb, it was a nice setup and i felt comfortable rehoming him with him. he is also making an outside cage for him too as i explained how much they love the outdoors but you have to watch out for certain things

after my fish tank going down and breaking it down completely for sale, i was kind of rethinking keeping animals with how little i am home. i am home most nights of the week but its not til late like 10ish, most of the time my bearded dragon was asleep by the time i got home, so his name became "the dude" from the movie "half baked" . i figured i am not home enough to have an animal as demanding as a bearded dragon. most people dont realize how demanding they are because they are not taught the proper care from pet stores. after a week(not even actually, im just rounding up) of no animals and an empty 75 gallon tank and almost full setup sitting in my bedroom i decided i am going to conquer a project with it. i will have an image below that i came up with in my head please dont be jealous of my paint skills lol.

i want to have a 3/4 land, 1/4 water setup. i want the water to be a decent volume in the tank. but heres the catch, i want possibly that water area to be drilled on the bottom in two spots so i can link it to a tank under in the stand that i will possibly do like african dwarf frogs or something really small but neat and have it act as a filter. i have a 10 gallon currently i want to use but i am willing to upgrade to like a 20 long. i want that pond look in the display tank so im going to get some fake lilly pads, possibly real ones over time of doing the correct lighting and real plants but i will probably do fake for the time being as i know nothing about plants and keeping them in terrariums yet.

for animals in there, i just want some anoles maybe with a tree frog or two. i dont want anything that i need to take out and hold or be too personable with, this is more for visual appeal. i have always wanted to do a tropical type terrarium with a water section. it will be a while before this is done, and i will use this as a build thread as well. so i guess these are my questions:

in a 75 gallon AGA tank, can i drill the bottom? thats the most important question here, because if it cant i have to rethink the filration system on this pond area. i may rethink drilling anyway because drilling glass is scary

what is your input on this tank? any thoughts, ideas, concerns, questions are appreciated to help me through this

anoles and green tree frogs are insectivores, so i dont think and i havent seen anywhere that they eat fish, so thats why i would like some small fish for visual effects. do you think over time the anoles will become curious enough to try to eat them?

im sure i have more questions i just cant think of them now of course while im sitting here writing this. and now for the part you have all been waiting for....

obviously i will have lots of decor and fake plants through it, but i couldnt be bothered to go that into detail. i know its awesome though, thanks guys

[Lil' Swimz$]

FAKE? Fake plants? Come on, real real real real real!

[jus85411]

lol i will once i learn more, i will probably just go straight into real because its going to take a while for this to be complete and i can research in that time and hopefully know enough. and as much work as this could possibly take i shouldnt cheap out in the end with plants. do you have any good links for plant care in terrariums? i have been searching around a little, but i would like to get a link from someone i somewhat know from a forum than random google searches

[Lil' Swimz$]

Here's link: http://www.lil'swimz$'sbigfatbrain.com



You'll want a well draining substrate, an ABG mix: The ABG mix is 2 parts tree fern fiber, 1 part peat moss, 2 parts cocofiber, 1 part charcoal, and 2 parts orchid bark. (tree fern fiber is kinda hard to find and orchid bark is kinda expensive, so I just skip those.) You'll also want a false bottom underneath the substrate. Pieces of PVC cones (laid so that they stand up) with a layer of eggcrate supported by the PVC pieces with fiberglass screen over that. You want the substrate a good 4-5 inches above the bottom glass, so that the water that drains collects in the false bottom, away from the substrate and easy to suck out (you can drill the tank or have tubes going down.) Plants like a well drained substrate, otherwise they rot. Use a mister or get an automated misting system ($100) from MistKing to keep the air warm and the leaves of the plants from being scorched by the lights. The background, I use clay. Unscented kitty litter mixed with water, let soak, then mix with a bit of milled peat to give it a more brown color then push on the back pane.

EDIT: Oh and by charcoal I mean Cowboy charcoal, like the organic stuff that's just burnt wood. Put them in a bag and smash witha hammer. You want the pieces to be like the size of an almond or smaller (but not dust)

[jus85411]

thanks for the link

so basically i want in this order from bottom to top for substrate:
pvc cones or something similar to prop up to make a "trap area"
fiberglass screen(like windowscreen right?) acting as a debris catcher on top of eggcrate sitting on the cones
probably 3-4 inch layer of the mixture you listed above
and a layer of eco-earth or similar substrate

is the mixture for easy rooting also as well as draining? i am really liking the idea of this style tank, i just have a lot of research to do. and i found information a lot easier to come by searching for "plaudariums" rather than "planted/aquatic terrariums" or similar items i searched for lol

[jus85411]

another question is cleaning. if i do what you suggested i will probably drill a 3rd hole on the land side so i can easily drain into a bucket as it gets through everything. but what about cleaning inside the substrate? does it need to be done? or am i making this mixture to allow enough drainage so i wont have problems in the future? humidity is a must for the anoles and tree frogs so a mister is in the plans and it will also make my life easier by not having to spray them for the anoles to drink

so the background, you made it out of those items and just slapped on the back wall to dry? do you have it anchored somehow? i was thinking about just a regular background put on tight and wrapping around, but the thoughts of a DIY background sounds good. do you put the clay on and then slab the mixture on there, smooth to your liking and then let dry? man i probably sound like an idiot lol. this is all new though

[Lil' Swimz$]

Yup that's the purpose of the charcoal and other parts, to allow drainage. No need to clean the substrate. I use it in my dart frog vivariums with 100% humidity and 3 times a day misting, I have to siphon out x2 a week, I'm sure it will be good.

[jus85411]

dart frogs i was also considering for this tank thanks for your help so far swimz! care to post a picture of your viv? i love seeing peoples setups!

i also have to find out if my glass bottom says its tempered. if it doenst say, i dont know if i should drill. your not supposed to drill tempered and they say that if you are unsure if its tempered or not dont drill as a precaution. so i might drill two on the side of the tank with one to act as a overflow/water height control if i can

[Lil' Swimz$]

How big is the tank? I think bigger tank like above 55 gallon don't have tempered bottoms.

My current one, no. I will get some up soon when I get a camera!

[jus85411]

this tank is a 75 gallon. sounds good man, i would love to see it

no one else has any insight/ideas/concerns?