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Hank
Pondweed
1 Posts |
 Posted - 09/11/2009 : 10:47:04
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| hey lewy how would u go about cleaning the tank? |
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lewy
The Amphibian Administrator
United Kingdom
1356 Posts |
Posted - 12/11/2009 : 15:38:43
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Hi Hank, Welcome to the forum.
I do partial clean outs every few months, spot cleaning when needed, add custodians (woodlice, springtails etc ) to help clean up any thing missed.
When doing a full clean out the plants are put to one side and cleaned around, the clay balls removed and soaked in clean boiling water in a bucket. new soil and weed barrier is added and custodians afterwards. it doesn't need doing often, th pacman doesn't make much mess and when he does it's pretty solid and can be spot cleaned easily. He uses the waterbowl to urinate in so that makes things a little easier too. |
Lewy
THE AMPHIBIAN.co.uk Team
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Ade
Tadpole
United Kingdom
153 Posts |
Posted - 29/03/2010 : 20:08:17
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Heh lewy, lovely looking tank. Re the plants though, they don't really need UV or specialist plant lamps either. If you want a cheaper option, your standard household 6500k tubes will do the job very nicely, without the odd purple colour. I have a fair bit of experience with plant growing from my 180 litre high tech planted aquarium, where I use 2 5700k tubes, 1 6500k tube and 1 8000k tube, all perfect for plant growth without giving a surreal pink/purple light. :)
Ade
PS. Sorry for the thread necro, but a lot of folks waste money unnecessarily on expensive plant tubes, and thought this info might be useful.  |
Edited by - Ade on 29/03/2010 20:10:49 |
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lewy
The Amphibian Administrator
United Kingdom
1356 Posts |
Posted - 30/03/2010 : 09:36:44
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Thanks Ade,
Yeah, I've found this myself since posting this thread - I've done 4 more plant ups since, all of which are using just normal florescent tubes or energy saving bulbs - Yes the diffence in price is amazing. A screw fit UV bulb was £25 in one of the rep shops we looked in for an exo terra hood. We got a low wattage bulb from wilkos for 64p pence and the plants are growing just as well.
As long as the animal doesn't need the U.V light then you can get away with cheap bulbs for the plants :D |
Lewy
THE AMPHIBIAN.co.uk Team
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MrCairney
Pondweed
8 Posts |
Posted - 30/05/2010 : 18:41:36
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| This looks amazing. I plan to do something similar but with a taller tank for tree frogs. If a normal bulb it ok for the plants, would a household 6500k be ok for a white's frogs or do they need the UV aspect? |
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Kehhlyr
The Amphibian Administrator
United Kingdom
264 Posts |
Posted - 30/05/2010 : 21:00:51
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I've actually been involved with a debate on whether or not whites need UV (a or b) lighting, and some think they do, others don't.
Eitherway I've heard of them being kept for years with and without it.
The UV will most definitely help with plant growth, but even a standard tube helps them to grow quickly. I didn't use a UV when I had my whites, and he survived longer than he was supposed to as well.
Do a bit of research on the UV and form your own opinions on if you think it's needed or not, that's what I did. |
-=Kehhlyr - The Resident Loon
SOME OF MY ANIMALS
 
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jon.e5
Pondweed
United Kingdom
14 Posts |
Posted - 13/08/2010 : 08:15:32
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I'm hoping to start my first naturally planted set up very soon (Exo terra 45x45x60, Whites tree frogs), I'm still not clear on how often this kind of set up will need to be fully cleaned.
Would there be much difference in making a false bottom instead of using this method?
Thank you for your time.
P.S. Nice setup |
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Ade
Tadpole
United Kingdom
153 Posts |
Posted - 14/08/2010 : 21:05:33
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I have UV for my White's, principally as a safety net as my wife is a sod for forgetting to dust their food regularly. ;) They've grown really nicely. I repeat though, you don't need UV for plants, most mainly use the visible red wavelengths, and some of the blue. UV is mainly useful if you have red plants and want to keep them red, the red is a reaction in the plant to protect it's cells from UV... lol So if you are going to use UV, do it for the frogs, not the plants. ;)
Jon, I don't know about these folks, but I rarely touch my White's viv, it's loaded with dwarf woodlice and tropical springtails that keep it spotless, I use the flush system for everything else, spraying the walls and leaves until the water runs off, through the substrate and into my drainage layer, I then just siphon out the water from the water area that this drains into, and replace with clean water. Plants use most of the other wastes.
As to a false bottom, the main difference is they take more work to put in than just pouring in a drainage layer. However they also give you the option to add a DIY water feature... They're still pretty easy to make though, I put one in my latest viv, with a water feature.
Oh and another hint, I use Gorilla glue now rather than silicone. It cures much faster and doesn't have the nasty odor. It also cures fine if you have moisture near it. Oh and you get more for your money with it and it goes further than silicone.
Ade |
Edited by - Ade on 14/08/2010 21:07:03 |
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jon.e5
Pondweed
United Kingdom
14 Posts |
Posted - 15/08/2010 : 08:15:47
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| Thanks for the advice Ade. |
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Topic |
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How to plant up a Terrarium
