# General Topics > Vivarium, Terrarium & Enclosure Discussion >  MrZoggs first RETF tank build (pic heavy)

## mrzoggs

Hello, i would like to start off by saying that you can give me all the advice you want seeing as this is my first build  :Smile: 
The dimensions of my tank are 12x30x18ish. I am going to construct a false bottom and use live plants and GS foam etc. I'd like to start off with my materials. 
If you see anything im missing or have any advice on something else i should get feel free to let me know. Also, if you see something that will be harmful to the frogs PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE let me know  :Smile: 
note: everything i have will be washed off thouroghly (plants, rocks, wood, etc)

one thing i can say ive learned on this site "always wear protection with GS foam "  :Stick Out Tongue: 

just normal top soil, some eco earth and some sphagnum moss

some pond pebbles, LECA, shop towels, and some more moss.

certain various tools i might need, some flukers super scrub, and a couple small pots im thinking about breaking in half and siliconing to the back wall for small plants.

my sister holding my screen (im guessing its ok to use this for screen? its brand new..)

eggcrate....boy was this a pain to find.. and more expensive than i was expecting

more pvc

pothos

pothos

neon pothos (assuming this is ok? )

color difference between the neon pothos and the regular.

so far so good???? hope so  :Big Grin:

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## nighthawk

Can't wait to so the finish product everything looks good to me. I am also making my own frog tank this summer your tank build will be very helpful to me.

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## mrzoggs

thank you  :Smile:  im hoping for it to be helpful and easy to follow. thats why im taking a lot of pictures. scratch using the LECA...didnt realize i only either needed leca or a false bottom. and since im going false bottom i dont need it.

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## mrzoggs

ok so i went out and got these. i was in the middle of cutting my pvc and said screw it and went out to get a pvc pipe cutter...and seen these. perfect size. drilled holes for the zip ties and put knotches in the bottom. $.50 a piece...screw cutting lol. 


also went and bought a new pump. with some hose. for draining. any advice on a easy to remove cover incase the pump needs maintnance? i was thinking tupperwear cut out to fit the corner. then silicone it and pop a hole through for the hose. then when i need to change the pump i can just razorblade the silicone....cheap and easy.


also, from what you see in my pictures do i have the substrate i need? im going to buy leaf litter to cover up the soil. but what should go first on the top? soil then moss then leaf litter?

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## nighthawk

Make sure you wash off the roots and get rid of the soil in the pothos pots and use the substrate as the soil. Also i was thinking about using theses instead of breaking a pot in half Dynamic Design® - 16 inch Terra Cotta Medallion Half Wall Planter hope this helps you with your project.

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## mrzoggs

yes i was going to wash off all the roots and leaves. and use my own soil. and i want to use something like that but couldnt find them small. if you could find those but only really small that would be amazing. im not going to put much plant in each one so there wont be much roots. so i just need something small. thanks for the info man. im cuttin out the eggcrate and zip tying the pvc on there now. i will post pictures in a minute

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## mrzoggs

ok. i cut out the size i need and started putting on the pvc. 


the corner without the pvc will be cut out for the pump. will start working on that when i wake up.

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## Lynn

Have fun !!
Great plans.

Re-pot your nice pothos( they are perfect !) in new and clean tropical soil ( rinse the roots as well ) The pothos grows very well in the eco-earth you purchased. You might call the 800 # of the topsoil company and pick their brains as to the possibility of any "so called natural" exposure to fertilizers or pesticides?  

 :Butterfly:

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## mrzoggs

yes i was going to pull it out and rinse it all off good. and probably pull it apart and make it into some smaller ones if i can. im going to ditch the moss. and probably the soil. im going to mix hydroton with the eco earth so it doesnt get too soggy, and check out some orchid bark and someone told me to use natural charcoal but im still checking in to that. then put large leaf litter on top.

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## mrzoggs

also on my list of things to get
clear plastic tub for a temp home for the frogs.
suction cups.
heres my false bottom. all ready to go in once i get my babies out the tank

cut out the corner for the pump

used zip ties. im sure there was something easier to use but...this is what i had

the full thing. 
still need to figure out what im going to do to cover the hole for the pump.

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## mrzoggs

and now a very nice person ive met is sending me some dwarf white isopods, gian orange isopods, and springtails  :Big Grin:  very excited

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## mrzoggs

been bust for a couple days. but not its time to get back to work. made this for the frogs to live in for a while. i honestly think they liked it better than what they were in before.............

the lid was a pain in the butt to cut. it just cracked and looked horrible. but i threw some tape and screen over it. then put my metal screen from the tank over top so the lamp wouldnt melt the plastic

then my uncle calls me and asks if i want another tank. (i figured itd be a 10 gallon or something since it was free)
this is what he comes home with

lucky me  :Smile:  same exact tank that i already have. any ideas anyone?
oh and i grabbed this. only ingredient is "western fir bark" this stuff is ok right?

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## mrzoggs

went to the pet store and the dollar tree to see if i could pick up a few things to help me out. between the frogs and making this, its been a pain in the butt  :Stick Out Tongue:  i grabbed a cork bark background that im going to cut in half then caddy corner it over my plumbing so it blocks it all. also bought a bunch of different size cups and stuff to put into the GS foam to pot my plants. and i heard GS doesnt stick too well to just glass so i silicones the back wall and now im waiting on that to dry. once that is finished i will start the background.






grabbed this too....just incase the pump dont work  :Roll Eyes (Sarcastic): 

caddy corner this after i cut it in half







back side

front side

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## J Teezy

you know if you have a hydroponics store around they should have 2 and 3" net pots for sale for like 25 cents a piece

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## mrzoggs

wish i would of tried. i looked everywhere. even been to a hydroponics store. no biggie though. covering up everything anyways.

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## mrzoggs

ok so this was my first attempt at anything like this...and its not as easy as it looks. but i gave it my best. i have a feeling next time im gonna just silicone some net pots to the back and use hydroton on the bottom....anyways. cant stop now....so heres what its coming out to look like. no criticism please rofl :Stick Out Tongue: 
girlfriend did these

they can suction cup to the front and side.





i will be using rocks and stuff to cover up a lot of the other stuff. i have some big nice ones that will look great.
just going to let it dry now and vacuum it tomorrow

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## mrzoggs

snuck these pictures of my babies sleeping when i changed their water this morning. still trying out the feeding dish. cant tell if theyve eaten because i dont see poop yet. but they seem pretty happy. the dish doesnt have as many crickets in it but i know one got out...i just think the ones that got out may be hiding under the paper towels somewhere. i hope to find some feces soon. (as gross as that may sound)  :Big Grin: 
this is my first one. ive had him for about 7 months.

this is my newest one. had her about 1 month. shes still kinda iffy sometimes.

tipped the tank over to see how much substrate fell off and a lot did. one of my pots didnt stay in either. i think its because it was plastic. so im going to let it dry some more and buy some more silicone. it seems to stick a lot better to the black silicone. i had ran out and used some clear and thats where it fell off at. 

you can see where the pot fell out also

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## Yusil

Gee, I wish I knew how to do all of that... I had a hard time just growing vines in my enclose[the current one, which is 2-3gallons tall], though my frogs are partly to blame, cause they kept sitting on the new growth. In retrospect, I probably should've put them[my frogs] in after they grew some more, but oh well, it's growing fine now.

It's looking pretty good so far. I think I want Pothos now after seeing how nice yours looked... or maybe even elephant ears[if I can fit them in a 10gallon]  :Smile:  .

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## mrzoggs

if you ever need any help let me know  :Smile:  i tried to make this as easy to follow as i could with a lot of pictures. i can help you with anything you need though.

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## Yusil

> if you ever need any help let me know  i tried to make this as easy to follow as i could with a lot of pictures. i can help you with anything you need though.


Oh, it's easy to follow all right, I'm just not so good with actually making things. My Frogs only have untreated soil from my Grandmother's Flower Garden[Which I had to boil to remove parasites] and the Vines that are slowly but surely growing.

I'll probably try to get adventurous soon when I move my frogs to the 10gallon I have, in which case I'll probably[most likely] ask for help, but for now, I'm getting ideas from you lot and experimenting until I'm ready  :Smile:  .

Thanks though, though It probably won't be as hard as when I had to set-up a tank for my RES[Red Ear Slider], who was a rescue. She's quite happy now though  :Smile:  .

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## mrzoggs

yes im horrible at it. hopefully it will come out better than i think it will. im just trying to keep my froggies happy. i will keep posting pictures so you can follow  :Smile:

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## mrzoggs

picked up some more things. and tried to get some more substrate on my background.

this might not work. tubberwear seems to be working at the moment. but girlfriend picked it up just in case.

to start gut loading my own crickets. so i KNOW they are gut loaded.


a few of these smaller ones. i had already used them for something else thats why there is paper towels...but these are for the bugs  :Smile: 

bugs and substrate mix. i think this is the right stuff. correct me if im wrong.

had to pick up some more of this

scared to tip it over and see all the spots i probably missed  :Frown:  hahaha. hopefully not many. no rush though

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## mrzoggs

the finished product (minus the plants). thanks to the lovely girlfriend



and i tipped it over...came out great  :Big Grin: 

still gotta vacuum it. gonna let it dry some more. says 3 hours but...im procrastonating

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## mrzoggs

so i was expecting some bugs to come in sometime in the next few days. every time i heard the dogs bark i would run outside thinking it might be the mailman. well today i ran outside and saw a ups truck. i got all excited and ran out to the mailbox to notice that he was walking to my neighbors house with a box not my house  :Mad:  so i grabbed my mail and walked back in to notice that i ran right past the box sitting on my porch  :Big Grin:  :Big Grin:  :Big Grin:

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## mrzoggs

ok. so i got to work today. i dont know if i really like how it looks. im happy with it for now and i guess it gets better every time. but it looks nothing like the ones i see on here. but here it goes...
still needs some work. ill probably just keep the other pothos in the pot. as long as it can keep the frogs happy im not worried about the look. as frogface once said, 



> You'll encounter much trial and error. Then, just as they're getting used to this one, you'll start their next one, with all the tricks you figured out on the first one

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