Subtrate, Aquarium, and Water

[meow_mix450]

hey
Im planning on getting some auratus for a 10 gallon. Now im gonna put a couple of live plants and i have several questions.

1.As for substrate should i use soil or bed a beast. Or should i put soil at the bottom and then bed a beast on top or the other way around??? But on top will be leaves moss sticks etc.

2.If i use an aquarium, and i have live plants wont i need holes at the bottom of my tank so my plants wont drown???What should i do???

3.O.k ive been reading about water. Some people use reverse omois(r/o) to spray there enclosure. Some use chemicals to take out the cholrine in the tap water. But cant you use bottled water??? If i do use chemicals to take out the cholrine what should i use???

Thanks for taking the time to answer and read

Meow

[spidergecko]

1) Use just bed-a-beast. It is a growing medium. Soil is alright to use but it is heavier and tends to hold water "too" well. The moss/leaves will retain moisture.

2) You won't need holes. Holes are in flower pots because you flood the pot. In a vivarium, you are just doing regular spraying.

3) I prefer not to use RO water. I don't mind the mineral deposits and minerals are good for the plants, too. RO water also "pulls" minerals out of surrounding media depending on the ability of the mineral to dissolve and saturate the water. You can use bottled water or water that has been standing for 24 hours. You can even use tap water or whatever water you use to water plants. Just remember to add fertilizer to your vivarium to help the plants grow.

[Double J]

As far as soil mix goes.... comercial mixes are garbage. The mix that I use is as follows:

1 part eco-earth/bedabeast
1 part peat moss
1 part sand
1 part crushed oak leaves
1 part fir/orchid/reptibark
1/2 part sphagnum moss


On the bottom of the tank, have about 2 inches of pea gravel. On top of this, put your soil mixture. POlant the plants directly in the soil. if youi use the proper plants uin your tank, you will not need to worry about them "drowning." Stuff like pothos, philodendron, peace lilites, calatheas, fittonias etc etc will do well in moist conditions. To drain off the excess water in the gravel draiange layer, you can use a turkey baster or an aquarioum siphon.
As for water, you can use distilled or RO water. I use treated tap water (dechlorinated and dechlorinated). Make sure you do not use treated tap water if your water is softened.
AS far as getting your frogs, get them from Mark Pepper at www.understoryenterprises.com
Mark produces the finest frogs in Canada, and if auratus tickle your fancy, he has a variety of color phases and localities.
Marks frogs are certainly the finest. check out his website at www.understoryenterprises.com and you will need to look no further.
Good luck, dart frogs are proven to be more addicitive than heroine and nicotine combined.
Double J

[Double J]

Stay away from fertilizer..... using it improperly can kill your frogs. The best fertilizer is a combination of frog poop and the stuff in the soil mix that I posted.
Good luck.

[meow_mix450]

Thanks a lot, do you know if goes to reptile shows???

Meow

[Matt_K]

Mark is at all the Shows..

[meow_mix450]

Thanks, i never really looked into frogs:p

Meow

[meow_mix450]

i got another question, do you know the best palce to get plants??? Where would be the cheapest, near Scarborough, Pickering and Toronto. Or maybe you can suggest some plants:)

Meow

[Kyle Barker]

not that they are good plants, but box stores sell many plants that do really well in wet tanks. The names given above are great. sometimes i just bu $20 in $2 plants at various box type stores and jsut wing it. most survive. I often add worm castings as well, they get the plants growing. i have also been using a neat fertilizer for the last year for all my indoor plants. its all organic and is a watered down type. i think is 4-2-3, made by rain grow in a green bottle. i have been growing vegie's, herbs, flowers, cacti, and tropicals using only this fert for the last year, and i really liek what i see. i also never burn the plants this way.

[meow_mix450]

lol whats a box store???

Meow

[Kyle Barker]

wall mart, super store, zellers, can tire etc...

[meow_mix450]

o ok

Meow

[Brock]

What I use, and find works EXTREMELY well, had worms breeding in this dirt, and sow bugs (the ones that roll into balls), crickets, superworms, plants growing like crazy, everything loves this dirt:

What you want to do is put an inch or two layer of gravel of your choosing on the entire bottom of the aquarium, then you'll want to buy the finest mesh screen you can and lay it on top, this is so you do not mix your soil with gravel, I had to take the tank apart because of a waterfall leak and I got all the gravel mixed up and I didn't want anything to choke on the gravel so I had to throw it all in the garden, which might I add wasn't a bad thing for the garden. Then on top of that you'll want to sprinkle some charcoal, this will sweeten the water the passes through, and it's ok to get mixed into the soil. On top of that you'll want to put a layer of live peat moss, you can buy a big bag from flower stores for about 10$, on top of that you will want to put a mix ooofff:

2 parts that expandable coconut fiber
2 parts peat moss
1 part sand
1 part maple leaves
and however much sphagnum moss, either live or dried, but you'll have some left over if you buy a bag of live stuff that you laid on the ground, just tear it up into pieces and mix it in.

And there you'll have it. When plants in the enclosure die, just take the leaves off and mix them into the soil, you'll want to find some rotting wood too, you know those ones in the forest that fall apart in your hands? Those are good for the bugs and bacteria and stuff. If you add about 10 or 20 of those sow bugs, you'll have a colony going in a few months, and it will be self sustaining. You can also buy springtals that will breed, and worms will breed in this, I put about 20 in one night when it was raining and they were on the road. I also use sticks from the forest with lots of different types of moss growing on them, you can easily find them at a beach near a forest. Also, drift wood is awesome as well.

Plants I use are: bromeliads, all tropical reptiles love bromeliads, especially dart frogs, ficus, scheffleria, pothos, some ornamental grasses, ficus pumilia (creeping fig), croton, jasmin, hibiscus, spider plant, african violets, some miniature plants I don't know the names of, and anything with nice big leaves, I love foliage. Along with a few other plants I don't know the names of, I plant them all and then cover around them with moss that I get from my uncles place at the lake. And I find this combonation of things works extremely well and can be self sustaining, I had one 80gallon tank going for about 5 years without even having to clean it, but I sold the inhabitants and converted it to a leopard tank :S

-Brock

[Bartman]

This sites good too. Maybe it could help you out. Ive been talking to this guy for a while now and hes REALLY nice. He could probably answer any specifics you have.

www.terra5designs.com

[Brent Strande]

you could try checking out www.blackjungle.com