I went to a yardsale saturday and picked up a compleat 30g setup minus the filter and stand for $10. Yesterday I cleaned the whole thing out, was in the middle of moving it out of the bathroom when I ramed my back into the door knob which bounced me foward and slammed the bottom corner of the tank off my sink. When I heard the crack I just about cried, such a sweet deal down the drain! After looking over the damage I grabbed some aquarium sealant and filled in the cracks. I was going to patch the tank up with plexi glass but my girlfriend said no because she doesen't want the tank to break and send water everywere.

So now I'm stuck with a semi patched 30g that I dont know what to do with. I'm open to suggestions with a few limits no hamsters, gerbils, rats, guinea pigs, spiders or snakes. The last two arn't coming from me I like snakes and spiders but the Mrs doesent.

How about a land turtle.

Hummm. I wanted a nile monitor but the whole 5' thing kinda put an end to it.

Thats a bummer dude...

You could create a nice Leopard gecko, or toad habitat out of it.

I agree with toad habitat. Maybe a dart frog habitat? Or even a pac man frog. (I'll stop now)lol

Couldn't resist!lol

OMG kygrl thats awesome. Dart frogs arn't they deadly?

Well I don't really know!lol I've read that captive bred frogs don't secret deadly amounts of toxins. I also believe they are illegal in some states but I don't know which ones. (Wonder if Saint knows) I know several people that keep them.
That picture isn't mine. I saw some beautiful d. frog's at my local LFS. It was really tempting! My darling hubby was there to remind me that I don't have enough room for another tank.lol They are beautiful.

Since you are the "DIY guy" I would suggest replacing the broken piece of glass. Unless the frame cracked too.

The dart frogs are poisonous in the wild due to what they eat. In captivity they won't be a problem for you.

Check these out

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/diy_background.php

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/diy_aquarium_background3.php

This one is on a larger tank.
http://www.aquariumlife.net/projects/diy-decoration/17.asp

I took the bottom outta the 29 I broke here a coupla weeks ago. Gonna mount it on top of a 55 and have a waterfall droppin' from the top of the 29 into the 55.

WYite

Wyite: That's a sweet idea. Next time I run across a busted tank I may do that.

Kygirl: Any other state besides my own I'd have to look up for ya. I don't really keep track too often in my own state though either for that matter. I have wildlife and endangered species permits that I've never actually tested the extent of what I could get away with.

Detroit: Land turtles for the most part aren't good in tanks. The air flow ain't so great for 'em. You'd be better off getting a rubbermaid tote.

As for stuff that could work:

Tokay Geckos - I like them because they make the cute little lizard to-kay noises. You may be able to hand train them (one I had here I could, one hated it) but anyone who has them (myself included) has at one point or another used the word douche to describe them. Think the lizard equivalent of a surly SA Cichlid. Averages 10 to 12 inches.

Leopard Geckos - Cute as well and a little smaller than the Tokays (8 to 10ish). My 5yr old manages one of these guys about 95% by himself. (I don't let him get mealworms out of the fridge) Also very very easy to breed, just make sure there's two or three females to one male if you go that route.

Halloween Crabs - Can't hold 'em or try and touch 'em really thanks to the big meaty claws, but I've sat and watched 'em for a good while digging around, making tunnels. Watching them eat is pretty entertaining too. My one friend thinks they're the transformers of crabs.

There's also hermit crabs, and if you can fill the tank a few inches there's fiddler crabs and newts. Frogs work too, if you want to go that route. I prefer the Pixie frogs to the Pacman frogs and don't forget toads, crested geckos and green anoles.

Oh and Mike, it ain't the 5 feet of it you need to worry about. Nile monitors are absolute bastards. Put a hyperactive serial killer in the body of a 7 year old, give it the power to climb near anything, and watch it crush your cat and then swallow it whole. If I had to pick between one of those and a komodo dragon, I'd take the dragon.

Can ya tell we had trouble with one of these once?

Anyway, there's quotes that they're more evil than most crocodiles except for Nile crocodiles. Go figure on that Nile part..

Thanks for the suggestions everyone!

I've done the 3-D background before and it was a pain in the ass.

DD the frame is cracked as well so I cant replace anything.

I like the" Put a hyperactive serial killer in the body of a 7 year old, give it the power to climb near anything" part but the eating of my cat not so much. I have access to importation and possession permits so I dont have to worry about it being "legal". The dart frogs have peeked my interest is there any sights I could do some research on?

Oh saint remember the truck load of reptiles you took in and I asked you kind of frog was the one you took in? It was a dart frog.

Hope this is okay to do here.


There's a lady over at AC that breeds them. I found some of her post for you.

http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=181535

http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=181609

She has a awesome room set up for breeding. The pictures in that thread had been removed. I'm sure you can search her post and find out a lot of info on them. She's a nice lady and i'm sure you could shoot her a pm and she could answer any questions for you.

Whatever you learn about them please bring it here so we can learn too!!!

Pictures came up just fine for me.

I agree on the rock wall thing. I know some people that make stuff like that for gaming, and that takes *forever*

Mike: I never took those dart frogs, someone else took them in when we were emptying that house. I've never done much of anything with them. They are neat looking but you'd need a regular supply of some tiny bugs to feed 'em.

Sadly I think nile monitors are mostly legal in the northern states. I'd be surprised if Florida doesn't ban 'em but I'd be surprised if there weren't already wild populations of 'em down there as well.

I'm surprised if you have importation/possession permits you're not plotting to get an asian aro.

The permits for the aro are Federal. The importation/possession permits are for my state. Maine has some strict laws on wildlife so if I want any cool fish like Koi or RBP's I need to have those permits. Saint the permits you have are they state or federal permits? If they are Federal could you point me in the right dirrrection.

kygrl all of the info I find I'll post here in the amphibian/reptile section, I might make it a sticky.

those poison dart frogs are cool

Mike D wrote:

DD the frame is cracked as well so I cant replace anything.

That sucks!