# exo terra modifications



## James_Scott (Apr 15, 2014)

hi Guys,
Its been a while since I posted any new enclosures. I redid my frog tank on the weekend. I still have a lot more plants to put in but you will get the idea.









All the plants are alive and the waterfall flows warm water constantly.
Cheers
James


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## taz5189 (Apr 15, 2014)

what plants did u use?


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## Wild~Touch (Apr 15, 2014)

Well done !

The Frog Quartet look happy


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## James_Scott (Apr 15, 2014)

The plants are all indoor plants from Bunnings. Most are ferns, and orchids. I just wash all the soil off and dip the roots in seaweed solution before wrapping them in sphagnum moss.


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## SamNabz (Apr 15, 2014)

Looks good, James. Where did you get the hydro-balls from?


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## Reptiles101 (Apr 15, 2014)

That's really amazing James, and those green tree frogs are just beautiful  how'd u get that big branch that the frogs are on in there?


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## Cypher69 (Apr 15, 2014)

Niiice!!!

I was curious about using sphag moss in my frog enclosure but was worried it would cling to the frogs & get stuck on the glass sides...

Is that an issue with your enclosure at all?


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## jamespitter (Apr 15, 2014)

I really love green frogs, they are just beautiful.


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## James_Scott (Apr 15, 2014)

The hydroballs were from eBay. The branch is from the garden and the sphagnum moss packs down well if kept moist. I'm going to add a couple of low wattage heat lights over the winter period.


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## steampunk (Apr 18, 2014)

Do you use a filter for the pond? Or just do water changes?


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


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## rockethead (Apr 18, 2014)

I like the look of your set up. 
Do you have any photos of the steps of in stalling the water fall and/or plants. just to show everyone how its done
Looks like a heater in the water
If not does not matter good job


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## Cypher69 (Apr 19, 2014)

steampunk said:


> Do you use a filter for the pond? Or just do water changes?
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk



Kinda looks like a small pump (not filter) in the back right corner then I think I can see the tip of the tube under the flat pebbles...


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## James_Scott (Apr 24, 2014)

Cypher69 said:


> Kinda looks like a small pump (not filter) in the back right corner then I think I can see the tip of the tube under the flat pebbles...



Sorry no pics of the construction process. It is an easy setup using a hair dryer to bend clear acrylic from ebay and silicon it down with aquarium silicon.
Its not the way I usually like to do things and was an experiment from years ago. I prefer egg crate and an external canister filter but this does an ok job. There is a water pump in there and a water heater. I have added two heat lamps for winter as well. It turns out that when I was cleaning the silicon I must have created a leak, as water has gone into the ride side of the enclosure. Because I used hydro balls and built it up so high it has no ill effect except maybe some stagnant water over time which will need to be monitored. The plants on the rights side with the added water are all thriving and the fern on the left which didn't leak started to die off so I have had to remove it and let it recover. Obviously with the added heat lamps it was sucking too much moisture out. I could either flood the bottom to compensate or choose a more tolerant plant species. I have gone for the later choice. 
I have tried using both pumps and filters in this setup and found it is easier to use a pump and clean the water more regularly.


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## ThatGuy (Apr 24, 2014)

That looks amazing!

Does humidity stay around the right level just from having the water in the enclosure or do you have to mist/use misters through some parts of the year to keep your athletic friends happy?

I remember playing with tadpoles as a kid, might get myself a few amphibious room-mates when I have gotten used to my python when I finally feel ready to get one


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## 0Kms0 (Apr 24, 2014)

James_Scott said:


> Sorry no pics of the construction process. It is an easy setup using a hair dryer to bend clear acrylic from ebay and silicon it down with aquarium silicon.
> Its not the way I usually like to do things and was an experiment from years ago. I prefer egg crate and an external canister filter but this does an ok job. There is a water pump in there and a water heater. I have added two heat lamps for winter as well. It turns out that when I was cleaning the silicon I must have created a leak, as water has gone into the ride side of the enclosure. Because I used hydro balls and built it up so high it has no ill effect except maybe some stagnant water over time which will need to be monitored. The plants on the rights side with the added water are all thriving and the fern on the left which didn't leak started to die off so I have had to remove it and let it recover. Obviously with the added heat lamps it was sucking too much moisture out. I could either flood the bottom to compensate or choose a more tolerant plant species. I have gone for the later choice.
> I have tried using both pumps and filters in this setup and found it is easier to use a pump and clean the water more regularly.



The enclosure looks amazing! Just wondering how you went about bending the plastic/perspex with a hair dryer and if you bent it over anything as i'm making my own DIY turtle dock.

Also wondering where you got your perspex container from too as I can't seem to find one anywhere.


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## jakeyizle (Apr 24, 2014)

looks good!

Do the frogs swim in the water often?


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## James_Scott (Apr 25, 2014)

0Kms0 said:


> The enclosure looks amazing! Just wondering how you went about bending the plastic/perspex with a hair dryer and if you bent it over anything as i'm making my own DIY turtle dock.
> 
> Also wondering where you got your perspex container from too as I can't seem to find one anywhere.



I just placed one end of the Perspex on the bench, heated the middle with a hair dryer and pushed down. Nothing too complicated about it. Youtube has some good videos on how to do it as well. 
The Perspex was around 3mm thick and just did a search on ebay to find it.

The humidity is much better now with the sphagnum moss substrate, but I still spray every second day just to water the plants.


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## Cypher69 (Apr 26, 2014)

jakeyizle said:


> looks good!
> 
> Do the frogs swim in the water often?



Personally, mine don't "swim" in the water but they don't mind jumping in the water if they spot a cricket floating pass.


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## James_Scott (Apr 26, 2014)

jakeyizle said:


> looks good!
> 
> Do the frogs swim in the water often?



They tend to sit in the water and absorb it into their skin. It's imperative to keep the water clean with frogs.


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## ash24 (Apr 28, 2014)

Nice setup you have it looks fantastic. I'm on the hunt for some expanding foam that's water proof and non toxic. Any suggestions??
would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers
Ash


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