Frog Tank

[Talvari]

Yesterday I posted about a free 20 gallon high tank that I received for free. I brought it home, cleaned it up, and realized that it has a huge crack on the top potion where a muddy patch had been.

I cleaned it up, sanded any rough spots off, and then applied aquarium sealant around the crack to prevent it from cracking further.

I don't trust it to hold water, so I decided to turn it into a home for the tadpole I rescued from work. (They usually end up as feeders!) He is a Northern Leopard Frog, I do believe.

Anyways...

I am planning on doing a half land/half water do-it-yourself vivarium, with egg crates, pvc, hydroballs, eco-earth, etc.

I was thinking about doing duck weed in the water since I can get that for free and its a native plant.. What other live plants would be good?

Also, has anyone ever used the zoo med cork background for a vivarium before?

I'd appreciate any and all tips and suggestions!

 

[bettaowner]

If you could have a waterfall I would love to see it.

 

[Easyaqua]

Duck weed is really good for removing excess nutrients and the tadpoles might even eat some. WARNINGS it is hard to get red of. Also try elodea just one to three long stems or a whole bunch of short stems are really good for fully submerged plants. If you are looking for bog plants eg 3-5 cm deep water with only roots under water then go look in your roofs gutters. I got a grassing plant for free of my roof that I found out was $20 at my petstore. I know I went on a bit but I hope I helped. Below are pics of some duckweed.

 

[Wy Renegade]

Nice thing about N. Leopards is that they are native, so you don't have to worry about a heater. If you do go without a heater, I'd look at native plants rather than tropical ones, but there are a couple of things you need to be aware of before collecting. First, check laws and country ordinances before collecting from any body of water, doing so may be illegal. Secondly, when collecting natives realize that some species require a cold weather dormancy period so they will not thrive in an indoor aquarium. To my knowledge there is no list of what does and doesn't require dormancy unless you get into some botanical texts, so you'll probably have to figure it our via trial and error.

Once you make some progress be sure and post up some pictures of your build.