A biotope idea...

[chexie]

Following on from Kioka's idea http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=125682&highlight=diy+vivarium, I've thought up a biotope vivarium to house Australian Natives... I'm thinking of Archers or scats with some Bell Frogs or Red Eye Green Tree Frogs...

The idea is to have enough water / land to house both in the same area... The filtration system will sit underneath the "land" and the idea would be for an inline sump (I think that's the name) system. Sliding mesh doors on the front for access to both and two viewing panels for the water side... and a false front on the land side to access the sump.

Wood hanging from everywhere and rocks/shelves mounted on the walls would help create the environment with the right selection of plants.

Aiming for a fully self contained unit... Quick sketch up below... Whaddaya think?

 

[swede]

pretty cool, but i would place the hole for drainage/filtration high up. It will save you some headaches and lessens the risk of coming home to an indoor pond. hold will you be lighting the setup? its a very cool idea!

 

[chexie]

Don't know if my physics is wrong but the water on either side of the wall can only be as high as each other if on a level surface... Meaning, it's not "draining" anywhere, only will the water level rise in the tank and first baffle when the return feeds water back to the tank...

 

[coura]

Insted of scats and monos you should use rainbow fish because the others are brakish water and the frogs wouldnt like that one bit

 

[Noto]

I agree with Coura. Rainbows and gudgeons would be better tankmates for the frogs. I'm not familiar with the Litoria species you listed, but their cousin Litoria caerulea is said to be prone to drowning when kept with deep open water. You should ask some experienced keepers of those species what they think.

The setup itself seems workable to me.

 

[coura]

Oh yea and drowning is also a very serious concern