My classroom viv

[shyland83]

I started my vivarium in my classroom for dart frogs, thought some people might be interested. I started a thread on dendroboard.com if anyone wants to check it out here if you want

http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/parts-construction/32766-40-breeder-build-thread.html

for those of you like me that are too lazy to go there, here's a quick pic and a link to where i got the idea for the stone waterfall.

http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/members-frogs-vivariums/22002-60-gallon-construction.html

 

[greggnyce]

That is crazy. My brother keeps water dragons and has a similar look to his set up. He built an enclosure over a 200gl pond in his basement, I going to have him look at this. . Best of luck Scott, its great that your students have such interesting displays to veiw and care for.

 

[jejton]

Id love to see a photo of your brother's setup.

 

[imlocke]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13504060#post13504060 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by greggnyce
That is crazy. My brother keeps water dragons and has a similar look to his set up. He built an enclosure over a 200gl pond in his basement, I going to have him look at this. . Best of luck Scott, its great that your students have such interesting displays to veiw and care for.

holy cow you should post a pic of that (sorry to hi jack)

the tank looks good so far shyland I'll be following along

 

[nate82]

WOW that's freaking amazing! it looks so real mind if i ask the cost adn upkeep? i'm thinking about starting one of these prolly not to that level but they look so cool

 

[Muscle Reefer]

interesting cant wait to see the lizards inside the tank.

 

[greggnyce]

I will take a pic this weekend.

 

[shyland83]

just to be clear the second link with the rock background is not mine. thats just a link to the thread where i got the idea for the rock. this is my first viv.

 

[shyland83]

heres a pic where i'm at now. not happy with the cement product i bought thats made for this purpose. but it looks ok and the kids wont know the difference. right now theres vinegar and water being flushed over the stone to neutralize the ph.

 

[Corpus Callosum]

Looks good Scott, are you thinking about painting it after you neutralize it?

Also got some indirect good news, after 6 months of laying bad eggs my variabilis eggs are finally developing into tads. They are the same size as the tarapoto I showed you but have a quieter call. Just another species for you to pick from as far as what I can donate in a few months.

 

[shyland83]

awesome mike. I can't decide if i'm going to paint it, i'm afraid i'll end up make it look worse. i might just let it age.

 

[shyland83]

just one more quick update, i'm posting most of the updates on dendroboard, just seems to be more relevant. All i really have left to do is setup the minijet for the waterfall, make the glass and screen top, get a light, add substrate, and plant it. seems like a lot more when you list it like that. anyway, here are some pictures.

 

[billsreef]

Looks like it's coming along nicely.

 

[shyland83]

Ok it's time for an update. Thanks to a lot of help from Mike, the tank it looking good and has it's first inhabitants. I have 5 tads, and one of them just recently morphed out. I know the pic is blurry, best i could do through the glass.

here is a pic of the tank.

I just thought it was funny that with the saltwater tank and the dart frogs, these 3 kids thought the pregnant molly i spent 3 dollars on was the most interesting thing around.

 

[Corpus Callosum]

Tank looks great Scott.. I'll come by and give you some more plants in Feb when I have time. That variabilis should leave the water in a few days and venture out of the cup.

 

[shyland83]

sounds good mike. Here is a pic i got of the new pup growing off the brom. it's growing pretty quickly. I also got my wingless melanogasters in the mail today and started another culture. I did a lesson with my accelerated class the other day about the wingless and flightless melanogasters and if you cross them they have functioning wings. they loved it.

 

[bigsink]

Looks Cool Scott

 

[greggnyce]

Scott and Mike, What kind of lights and heaters are you guys using? My real question I guess is do these systems consume much power? The reason I ask is because my brother has a couple of setups similar but much larger with water features and he is complaining about the electrical costs. I am trying to find him a viable alternative to his current systems.

 

[shyland83]

i don't have a heater at all, and i'm using a 6 bulb t5 fixture, but i'm only using 2 of the bulbs. They need MUCH less light than a reef tank does. The light keeps the tank warm so that's the only electric i'm using. Mike knows much more than I do hopefully he'll chime in.

 

[Corpus Callosum]

No heater.. tank at room temperature with a light on top will do. Humidity also tends to warm up the tank a little bit. I use one or two T5 bulbs, plenty for most plants.