# 40 gallon Riparium.



## shrimpo (Aug 2, 2009)

I just got a 40 gallon breeder tank: All glass/black trim.
Substrate: active flora mixed with sand.
Plants: java moss, Christmas moss, java fern,water sprite, dwarf grass, sword...
Lighting: i will either buy a 36'' fixture or try a DIY.
Filtration: elite power head and whisper 10 intank filter.
Heater: 50 watt submersable.
this is going to be dwarf inverts tank( shrimp, snails, crayfish).
I have 2 drift woods (about 12''x5'')and rocks(4'' to 6''), any suggestion on how to arrange them?


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## Craigthor (Sep 9, 2007)

How about some pictures of the hardscape and tank, without seeing them giving you suggestions is impossible.


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## nemosreef (Oct 19, 2007)

Is the 50 watt heater going to be enough? It really just does not sound like it eill be big enough.


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## shrimpo (Aug 2, 2009)

Craigthor said:


> How about some pictures of the hardscape and tank, without seeing them giving you suggestions is impossible.


The water is so cloudy right now, i only have a picture of the empty tank and stand..i am about to post it now.


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## shrimpo (Aug 2, 2009)

nemosreef said:


> Is the 50 watt heater going to be enough? It really just does not sound like it eill be big enough.


I will not fill the tank all the way up.


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## shrimpo (Aug 2, 2009)

The flat TV stand is now for holding the aquarium & light, it seems to be sturdy though and it perfectly fit.


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

Gosh that TV stand was a perfect fit.

How high can you raise up that light? If you can get it up a bit you could get some especially nice plants going in there.


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## nemosreef (Oct 19, 2007)

It's like it was made for the tank.


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

Before you fill the tank be sure to consider the back of the tank. A riparium looks best when the back is black, in my opinion, and that can be done by painting the back, or using a black window film on it. If you only cover the portion of the back that goes up to the water line, that is the ultimate for looking good. This is much easier if done before the tank is full of water, substrate, plants, etc.

What bracket is that at the back? It looks very promising for a light support bracket.


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## shrimpo (Aug 2, 2009)

hydrophyte said:


> Gosh that TV stand was a perfect fit.
> 
> How high can you raise up that light? If you can get it up a bit you could get some especially nice plants going in there.


That's the max hight for holding a flat TV. if i get i light weight light, i can raise it more by using 2 blolts only to hold the metal bracket instead of 4 bolts thats holding it right now.


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## shrimpo (Aug 2, 2009)

Hoppy said:


> Before you fill the tank be sure to consider the back of the tank. A riparium looks best when the back is black, in my opinion, and that can be done by painting the back, or using a black window film on it. If you only cover the portion of the back that goes up to the water line, that is the ultimate for looking good. This is much easier if done before the tank is full of water, substrate, plants, etc.
> 
> What bracket is that at the back? It looks very promising for a light support bracket.


I will use the same black background that i used for the 55 gallon riparium.
The bracket came with the stand for holding flat TV..brows walmart TV stands to get more info.
the other thing i like about this stand is the small shelves on both sides, in addition to the large shelves in the front.


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

Do you have an idea yet of what kind of lighting you might use? If you opt for moderate-bright light you can get some nice carpeting emersed stems going in there. Stems growing like that and combined with grassy stuff like _Cyperus_ is my favorite kind of riparium planting and that is what I had going in my 50.










A 40 breeder would also be a good shape for that kind of thing.


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## AoxomoxoA (Apr 22, 2010)

hydrophyte said:


> Do you have an idea yet of what kind of lighting you might use? If you opt for moderate-bright light you can get some nice carpeting emersed stems going in there. Stems growing like that and combined with grassy stuff like _Cyperus_ is my favorite kind of riparium planting and that is what I had going in my 50.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Wow that's beautiful! Tell me what the star looking grass stems is now please. I'm officially letting all my tanks grow out as of right today with all you guys' riparium posts/threads.


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## shrimpo (Aug 2, 2009)

hydrophyte said:


> Do you have an idea yet of what kind of lighting you might use?


I want to get from mid to high light, if i have enough time i am going to use a DIY with 6 screw in light bulbs.


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## Craigthor (Sep 9, 2007)

dirtyhermit said:


> Wow that's beautiful! Tell me what the star looking grass stems is now please. I'm officially letting all my tanks grow out as of right today with all you guys' riparium posts/threads.


That would be a Cyperus Gammineaus(sp?)



shrimpo said:


> I want to get from mid to high light, if i have enough time i am going to use a DIY with 6 screw in light bulbs.


Have yo ufigure out how much your DIY will cost compared to getting the Hydrofarm T5HO fixture that is pretty cheap?


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## RipariumGuy (Aug 6, 2009)

A 24" T5HO Jumpstart light fixture is around $30-40. They also sell 48" fixtures.


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## AoxomoxoA (Apr 22, 2010)

JakeJ said:


> A 24" T5HO Jumpstart light fixture is around $30-40. They also sell 48" fixtures.


A 40b is 36".


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

I was also going to suggest hydroponics T5s as a more economical, easier and energy-efficient choice in comparison with spiral Cfs.


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## RipariumGuy (Aug 6, 2009)

dirtyhermit said:


> A 40b is 36".


Ahhh... I shoulda Googled that.


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## shrimpo (Aug 2, 2009)

Thanks for the suggestions, while searching for the right light i am going to use a 48'' that i bought for my previews 55g.
I randomly put the rocks and drift woods in the aquarium, the same goes for the plants.
Some Riparium plants and planters are in order, i will post 2 set of pictures: one without riparium plants, and the other with the plants when they arrive..
I am runing out of attachments, how can i post more pictures?


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## RipariumGuy (Aug 6, 2009)

Get a Photobucket account. It is really cool how you can toy with pictures through them.


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## shrimpo (Aug 2, 2009)

Testing some pictures.


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

I don't see anything. This is what you have in your img tags...

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/<a href=


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## shrimpo (Aug 2, 2009)

hydrophyte said:


> I don't see anything. This is what you have in your img tags...
> 
> http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/<a href=


I just got account at photobucket, i never posted picture through that site before.
can you see the pictures now?


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

Yep they are crystal clear now. That already looks great--nice shrimp!


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## RipariumGuy (Aug 6, 2009)

I see them, and the tank looks great! It looks really natural.


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## shrimpo (Aug 2, 2009)

More pictures while waiting on Riparium supplies.


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## nemosreef (Oct 19, 2007)

The tank is really looking good. Nice shrimp as well.


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## benon (Feb 18, 2010)

I like...

That snail is huge


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## luke20037 (Jan 24, 2010)

looking great, love your diy light stand, have you ever thought about using riparium planters and rafts? This is mine and you get a really nice effect from using them.


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## shrimpo (Aug 2, 2009)

luke20037 said:


> looking great, love your diy light stand, have you ever thought about using riparium planters and rafts? This is mine and you get a really nice effect from using them.


I used planters and rafts before for my 55 g Riparium, and there is more planters on the way from Devin.
I see that you trying parlor palm in your set up, i am doing the same thing in this 40 g, let see if they are going to make it.


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## globali (May 29, 2010)

Beautiful.


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## luke20037 (Jan 24, 2010)

i think the palour palm is doing well! no signs of dying back so far!


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## shrimpo (Aug 2, 2009)

Riparium supplies came yesterday, here is an update:


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## nemosreef (Oct 19, 2007)

The tank is looking great. love the plants.


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## shrimpo (Aug 2, 2009)

nemosreef said:


> The tank is looking great. love the plants.


Thanks, i think will look better in a rimless aquarium :icon_neut.


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## Craigthor (Sep 9, 2007)

May want to move those planters up slightly, most of those plants will do better if you keep the top of the planter about 1/2" or so above the water line.

Craig


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## shrimpo (Aug 2, 2009)

Craigthor said:


> May want to move those planters up slightly, most of those plants will do better if you keep the top of the planter about 1/2" or so above the water line.
> 
> Craig


I see, Thanks for the tip.


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## RipariumGuy (Aug 6, 2009)

Craigthor said:


> May want to move those planters up slightly, most of those plants will do better if you keep the top of the planter about 1/2" or so above the water line.
> 
> Craig


I agree. Other then that, the tank looks awesome! Will you be adding rafts at all? In my opinion, rafts are esential to creating a beautifle riparium.:bounce:


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## shrimpo (Aug 2, 2009)

JakeJ said:


> Will you be adding rafts at all? In my opinion, rafts are esential to creating a beautifle riparium.:bounce:


Maybe not, i want to get enough light for the underwater plants, that is why i choosed Riparium plants that doesn't have large leaves.


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## Ariel301 (Sep 7, 2009)

Looking nice. The more ripariums I see, the more I want to go that way with my tank.


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## luke20037 (Jan 24, 2010)

> Thanks, i think will look better in a rimless aquarium .


I agree, The without the rim the tank is seamless from the submerged ro the emmerged


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

This is looking very good! Doing without the rafts gives it a different look from the other ripariums we see here. Just one more variation that demonstrates how flexible the whole concept is. Hydrophyte does such a beautiful job with his ripariums it is always tempting too assume his is the only way to go, but you are proving that not to be the case.

But, I like the rafts because they let me use so many other plants in my ripariums. My "collectoritis" disease drives a lot of what I try!


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## shrimpo (Aug 2, 2009)

Removed the front section of the rim:


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

Wow that looks great. I never thought of removing just that section of plastic rim.


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## sapphoqueen (Feb 9, 2010)

good one,

nice work !

keep us updated


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

Did you take any photos of the rim removal process? This looks like a great idea, but a tricky one to do - photos would help a lot. Or, can you describe in detail how you did it and cleaned up the silicon?


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## shrimpo (Aug 2, 2009)

Hoppy said:


> Did you take any photos of the rim removal process? This looks like a great idea, but a tricky one to do - photos would help a lot. Or, can you describe in detail how you did it and cleaned up the silicon?


I didn't take photos while removing the rim.
here is a set of photos that i took after reading your comment :icon_lol:.
Tools:








Cutting the edges (showing one side only here): better to do it with empty tank... a lot of mess.

























Cuting along the rim:








Separating the silicon from the rim: carefull with the blade.








What you going to end up with:









I cleaned the silicon using the same blade above.


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## luke20037 (Jan 24, 2010)

shrimpo what are the plants growing submerged to emmerged in the middle of the tank? are they in the substrate/


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## intermediate_noob (Jan 23, 2007)

shrimpo said:


> Removed the front section of the rim:


I think this is a great idea, but in this picture it looks as though the front glass is bowing. Was it just the photo or is it actually bowing out like that?


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## shrimpo (Aug 2, 2009)

luke20037 said:


> shrimpo what are the plants growing submerged to emmerged in the middle of the tank? are they in the substrate/


 I have no idea about the plant id, yes the roots are in the substrate, i got this from a local lake side. here a close-up picture so someone can help to give an ID.


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## shrimpo (Aug 2, 2009)

intermediate_noob said:


> I think this is a great idea, but in this picture it looks as though the front glass is bowing. Was it just the photo or is it actually bowing out like that?


I think is just the photo, even before i took the rim(the second picture @ post #34) looks like the glass is bowing,don't believe everything you see
Here is another long side photo:


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## intermediate_noob (Jan 23, 2007)

I will make sure to always question what I see from now on 

Thanks for taking this shot and great job on this Riparium. I really like the new plant addition as well, but I have no idea what it is.


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## luke20037 (Jan 24, 2010)

shrimpo said:


> I have no idea about the plant id, yes the roots are in the substrate, i got this from a local lake side. here a close-up picture so someone can help to give an ID.


 
yes please some ID this is exactly what im after!


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## jinx© (Oct 17, 2007)

Nice looking tank.

I really like the looks of partial de-rimming job you've done. I've never thought of doing it that way, but it actually looks pretty cool.


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## shrimpo (Aug 2, 2009)

Any ID for the plant in the last picture?


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## shrimpo (Aug 2, 2009)

Update:
Apple snail laid some eggs one group hatched already , dwarf crayfish is breeding as well.


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## shrimpo (Aug 2, 2009)

Another apple snail eggs hatched, but the assassin snails were waiting in the bottom of the tank for fresh food.:icon_neut


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## shrimpo (Aug 2, 2009)

Updated pictures:


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## Da Plant Man (Apr 7, 2010)

Gah! I wish you would stop posting pictures! I absolutely love this tank! It is making me want to get a riparium....I may have to make my 15g a rip...Gah! 

Looks great!

-Caton

Sent from my computer using a web browser.


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## shrimpo (Aug 2, 2009)

Caton said:


> Gah! I wish you would stop posting pictures! I absolutely love this tank! It is making me want to get a riparium....I may have to make my 15g a rip...Gah!
> 
> Looks great!
> 
> ...


Go for it .


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

Hey it looks like your plants are doing pretty well.

Did you have baby panda bamboo in this setup? That is such a nice little plant, but it is slow. Mine are finally starting to fill out more.

What is that spiky plant in the last shot there?


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## shrimpo (Aug 2, 2009)

Yes I had baby panda bamboo plant, and the last picture is for a spider plant, it looks much better after introducing it into the tank.
the Lucky bamboo also grow really fast that I have to raise the light fixture, but now I can't raise it anymore. do you think it is a good idea to trim the luckybamboo?


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## shrimpo (Aug 2, 2009)

Quick update:
I removed the lucky bamboo and added other house plants that I want to try, Pilea mollis, Anthurium and Begonia saxifraga stolonifera.
I also got black tetra and golden tetra fish.


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

Hey that's looking great Abdelkrim. How long have you had that little palm tree that I see on the left side going in there? Does it have good root development in the planter?

Hey I have your box ready with the mangroves ready to ship tomorrow. I am short a couple of items so I will have to send them in a second box.


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## shrimpo (Aug 2, 2009)

hydrophyte said:


> How long have you had that little palm tree that I see on the left side going in there? Does it have good root development in the planter?


Been there since 5/2010, the roots developing slowly but the plant it self is doing great.
The palm and spider plant both seem to be hardy.


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

So you can actually see the roots growing inside the planter? 

I have been meaning to try that plant but haven't gotten around to it.

It is a _Chamaedorea elegans_, often erroneously called "_Neanthe bella_" and with the common name "parlour palm".


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## shrimpo (Aug 2, 2009)

hydrophyte said:


> So you can actually see the roots growing inside the planter?


 Yes I can see new roots inside the planter, unlike peace lily roots that grows outside the planter heading to the substrate.


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## shrimpo (Aug 2, 2009)

New bloom update:


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

Hey that looks great! That is better picture quality that you got with that last couple of shots. That bloom is a _Anthurium_ spathe. Are those all plants that have been in thre for a while?


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## RipariumGuy (Aug 6, 2009)

WOW! Beautiful setup! I love all the textures and colors.

Question for you though: Is there a reason behind you not using that many Trellis Rafts?


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## shrimpo (Aug 2, 2009)

hydrophyte said:


> Hey that looks great! That is better picture quality that you got with that last couple of shots. That bloom is a _Anthurium_ spathe. Are those all plants that have been in thre for a while?


Thanks Devin. Yes all those are the same plants.


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## shrimpo (Aug 2, 2009)

RipariumGuy said:


> WOW! Beautiful setup! I love all the textures and colors.
> 
> Question for you though: Is there a reason behind you not using that many Trellis Rafts?


Thanks. one of the reasons not using too many Trellis rafts is to provide enough light for the underwater plants.


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## RipariumGuy (Aug 6, 2009)

shrimpo said:


> Thanks. one of the reasons not using too many Trellis rafts is to provide enough light for the underwater plants.


Ah. OK! Makes sense.


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## aretreesfree (Jun 19, 2011)

Is this tank alive?


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## shrimpo (Aug 2, 2009)

aretreesfree said:


> Is this tank alive?


Took it down and donated to local school teacher.


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## rawalstrom (Jan 14, 2013)

*Late to the party*

I know this is an old thread and a now defunct tank, but I was browsing for "rip-spiration" and I found it here. Well done. The partial removal of the rim was perfect. Thank you!


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

rawalstrom said:


> I know this is an old thread and a now defunct tank, but I was browsing for "rip-spiration" and I found it here. Well done. The partial removal of the rim was perfect. Thank you!


Yeha this was a nice setup. shrimpo had the A_nthurium_ and other tropicals growing really well.


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## johnson18 (Apr 29, 2011)

I'm sad now that I realized this is an old thread. Just know that this tank is going to be a huge inspiration for my 20L!


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## shrimpo (Aug 2, 2009)

hydrophyte said:


> Yeha this was a nice setup. shrimpo had the A_nthurium_ and other tropicals growing really well.


Sorry for the late reply, yes the plants did well in this setup I guess because not too much humidity.


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## rowdaddy (Jan 20, 2012)

Well done. Shame it's gone


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## shrimpo (Aug 2, 2009)

rowdaddy said:


> Well done. Shame it's gone


It's gone but I still have the stand, and this is what's on it right now:


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## Hobbes1911 (Mar 2, 2009)

Did your vampire project get off the ground.


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## shrimpo (Aug 2, 2009)

Hobbes1911 said:


> Did your vampire project get off the ground.


Not yet, do you think they are safe to keep with the above frogs?


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## Hobbes1911 (Mar 2, 2009)

Nope. After everything I've read, I wouldn't keep anything with darts. 

However, the tank set up would pretty much be the same. I would probably say check dendroboard but it seems like you could move the crabs into the above tank and build a tank with a lot more floor space for the darts since the frogs don't necessarily need water but do need floor space. That's though all i've read about it. I don't have frogs, nor did I ever keep them, nor am I planning on it.


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