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Newbie looking for ideas

My family and I are starting a new Terrarium made from a 29 Gallon Fish Aqurium.
What I have invisioned is a platform that is raised abou 8" from the bottom of the tank, and stretches about 75% the distance in length across the tank. This platform is where I would like to place my "land" inhabitors. I would like both animals (Anole, dart frog,or Chameleon) and plants (VFT, moss, and ferns).
Under the platforn is a running stream that is pumped to the open side of the tank and replentished via water fall. In the Moving Stream I am looking to place some aquatic plants and possibly a few other creatures.
I would love to hear what you have done with yours and possibly some pics. Sorry I don't have any pictures, mine is stilll well let's just say under construction.
 
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Hi Dude,

Thanks for Posting. I'm sure you will get many people who will be offering lots of advice and help. ;)
 
the dart frog and chameleon would probably drown

the vft need a dormancy.
 
If you mix animals with VFTs you're going to run into the problem of the critters triggering the traps to close if they run across them.  In such a confined space, that's probably going to happen more often than it would in a more open, natural setting in the wild.  Sometimes mixing CPs with critters isn't a good idea.

Maybe some other folks here have done it successfully and can offer tips.  Sounds like a neat set up though.

Welcome to the forums, BTW.  
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Oh yeah...and we have a forum devoted totally to Terrariums...you might want to search around in there too.
 
Hi Dude -

I have a CP tank with the plants raised up out of the water - they sit in pots on a plastic grid supported by mini milk crates. It's more functional than a thing of beauty.

In the bottom of the tank there is about 2 to 3 inches of water circulated by a submersible pump. The tank is lit fom above by two fluorescent light fixtures (4 bulbs). It can get hot in there so I crack the glass open about 1/2 inch on either side. The lowland Neps and Cephs do extemely well in there.

The critters in there now are guppies and a fire bellied newt ("Smeagol"). There was also a fire bellied toad in there but he escaped last winter. After I water the plants from the top, the water gets all dark so I change it out afterwards. Also, I feed the newt worms (red wigglers) but only when I can watch since I don't want the worms creeping up into the plant pots.

You might try to get some ideas from Black Jungle's website. I was at there store and their terrariums are really beautiful and naturalistic.

WildBill
 
Thank you for the input. JustLikeAPill that's exactly what my wife said! So I like Wild Bill's idea of Fire Newts and Fire bellied Toads. That a way I can kinda control where the lil creatures can go,or at least where I can grow the CP's although I do love Chameleons the last thing I want to do is drown the lil guy. I am gonna look at the sites suggested and look around for ideas. Thanks
 
I havnt heard good things of the live things Black Jungle  ships. Poor condtions and such. Can anyone support or debunk that assesment?
 
never ordered from there but you can get similar plants from Harry Whitmore at Cloud Jungle Epiphytes. he is a good guy to deal with. Jungle Supply(our wonderful host) also sell terrarium stuff so i would check there first. if Phil doesnt have what yah want, get in touch with Harry.
 
oh and to the new guy, WELCOME TO THE FORUMS! i have never done anything larger than a 10 gal terrarium. the only CPs i have used so far are terrestrial Utrics and Genlisea. Nepenthes apperantly do well with frogs but i have no personal experiance. the ten gal i have finished is all plants from Harry and my personal Utrics and genlisea. the one under construction is mainly plants from Harry but has a few orchids from members here and a few other things. both should be housing dart frogs before this winter.
 
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I've never ordered by mail from Black Jungle, but have purchased things at their store, their setup at The NY Reptile Expo, and at the NECPS annual CP Shows. They are a NECPS sponsor. Somewhere on their website is a very informative step-by-step slide show of how they built and put together their stunning orchidarium.

Dude - I couldn't find a pic of my terrarium to post. I forgot to mention a couple of things. Make sure you leave room to get access to the pump. Also, most of the glass uderwater in mine is impossible to get to. To clean it, since it's under the plants and grid, I got one of those double magnet things for cleaning algae. I have a really long string on the magnet that goes inside the tank just in case...

If you are going to grow Neps in there, you might need to rotate or move them from time to time. Sometimes when the traps are forming up against the glass, they'll rot from the wetness/condensation. One time I removed a nep in a 6 inch pot to bring to a talk, and Smeagol poked his head out from under the leaves near the crown. He was trying to stowaway!
 
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