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 #1319974

 Help With Setting Up My Exo Terra Tank!!!

Well I was looking at some pics of Riley james Exo Tanks and WOW was I amazed! How do I go about setting up a tank like that? What type of substrates would I need and what type of filter?
Thanks!!!

-Jon-

 #1320243

 Help With Setting Up My Exo Terra Tank!!!

 #1320553

 Help With Setting Up My Exo Terra Tank!!!

It is very nice! How much do underground filters cost, any ones you prefer? The thing that gets me is how do set it up so that the water and substrate don’t mix? Do you just use large gravel pieces with the plants burried under in pots with soil or what?

-Jon-

 #1320634

 Help With Setting Up My Exo Terra Tank!!!

Hi koi,
I have to confess the pics aren’t of my tank they are just pics I found in a magazine hahahahah tricked you. (Sorry that was for greentreefrog lover) No they truly are mine.. I will give you a quick overview or how I set them up.
The larger tank,
I have placed large rocks in the tank ( I tried to place them in a circle that would suround the pond area )then fitted my filters in around the rocks, I just used pond pumps with I made a filter for them myself by covering them in stocking then putting some filter wool The sort that is used in aquariums) and some charcole and then cover again with stocking and tie the stocking off.(around the pump)

I find the pond pumps a lot smaller and easier to use than the filters. There is nothing wrong with useing filters if you have the room.
I then put my aquarium heaters in the tank around the rocks(had to move rocks around a bit to fit all this in) after that i decided which plants I wanted to use and how I wanted the tank to look (it’s my belief that how you place your plants makes the whole difference to how your tank looks, I like the high impact look, but you just as easily go for the simple not so planted look, just depends on you like)

After placing the plants I used aquarium gravel to fill in the area’s that needed filling in eg around the plants and where I wanted land area (to make the pond area I just left that area empty) then all I had to do was add the water. ( JUST MAKE SURE YOUR GRAVEL IS HIGH ENOUGH THAT THE FROGS ARE NOT SITTING IN WATER ALL THHE TIME THERE MUST BE LARGE AREA’S OF LAND)

There is no dirt, soil or eco earth of any sort in this tank, it is just rocks, gravel and river stones
I have used plants that are happy to have there roots in water all the time and all seem to be growing extremely well (at this point anyway)
Then I just put some river stones over the gravel (just to make sure there was no impaction issue’s although I feed my frogs outside the tank, you can never be too safe)
And that is pretty much how it was done.
But on a side note you need to make sure you remember where you placed your filters and have access to then for when they need to be cleaned. Mine are just covered in the gravel as I said so I just have to dig the gravel out a bit and pull the pumps out clean then replace the filter wool ect then place them back in.

To clean the tanks all you really have to do is siphon the water out, pour water over you gravel area’s and siphon out again continue this till the water is clean, should only take a couple of go’s.
I dont clean the poop out of the tank as I find it tends to break up (I use a pressure sprayer to break it up) and fertilizes the plants but I also have 3 filters in the tank which I clean quite regularly so they take up a fair bit of the slack for me.
And I find my frogs dont poop in the water much at all.
You can also use the pumps/filters to run waterfalls or water features if you want. I have a drip backwall and a driftwood waterfall, which really helps with the humidity levels.

If you have any more questions I can answer for you please let me know.

But the best bit of advice I can give is surf the net. I spent hundred of hours researching what look I wanted and how to set it up. I am no expert at this as these are my first tanks, you just have to find what works for you and what look YOU want and of course what suits your frogs.

There are plenty of tank on this forum that look fantastic but with out the gravel/water (water covering the whole bottom of the tank) that you should have a look at, that might be a far bit easier to setup.
Cheers Janet

If you want to know about the smaller tank setup also, let me know as that is a different setup as well (it is half false bottom half gravel)
LOL SO MUCH FOR THE QUICK OVERVIEW hahahahahahahahahahah Hope I havent bored anyone sensless
Cheers

 #1321023

 Help With Setting Up My Exo Terra Tank!!!

I’m gonna have to start getting my supplies! I have the 12x12x12 Exo(small), you think I can set-up all of that? Can I get the pond pumps at Petco? I know I have some charcoal and stuff lying around,there extras from my turtle filter so all I need is the Pumps and stockings. What types of plants are safe to use? Right now all I’m using are some Pothos and fake plants. Thanks alot for the help Riley!

-Jon-