Jandre2k3's Cardboard Flower Box - Test 4: ScrOG

[jandre2k3]

What strain is it? Purple Mr. Nice
Is it Indica, Sativa or Hybrid? What percentages? 100% Indica
Is it in Veg or Flower stage? VEG
If in Veg... For how long? Since Cloning
If in Flower stage... For how long? N/A
Indoor or outdoor? Indoor
Soil or Hydro? Hydro
Size of light? 400w HPS + 2 35w UVA/UVB HO-T5
Is it aircooled? Yes
Temp of Room/cab? 80F
RH of Room/cab? 35%
PH of media or res? 5.8 +/-3
Any Pests ? Sometimes
How often are you watering? 3x / day
Type and strength of ferts used? Crazy Growth

Up in the next experimental run there will be new additives, completing the Blue Planet Nutrients High Yield Feeding System

• 3-part Elite base nutrients: Grow, Micro, Bloom
  
• Vita Blue
  
• Liquid seeweed
• Early Bloomer
  
• Liquid Blue
  
• Root Magic

I am now proud to announce that I will soon have all of the Blue Planet Nutrients Elite Series of nutrients.

I just got tracking information from FedEx Home Delivery. It should be here 2/22/2013.

Everybody cheer!

 

[jandre2k3]

As stated in the last test, I will also transfer over all of the Frog Vivarium posts for continuity.

Alright folks, my glass finally came in for the vivarium, so I thought I'd post the start of the build with you guys.
It's 16" x 16" x 24". It will feature live plants and poison dart frogs (dendrobate azeurius). I will be planting it in and letting them grow a bit before adding in the froglettes.




Oh, and YES IT'S DIY!! That's all I do! This enclosure alone would cost me $250 if I didn't make it myself. just the glass and adhesive/seal only cost me $50.


So to go on next is the top, after I get the holes drilled into the glass, and the front door, once the other seals around the enclosure can hold it. I'll be building a faux rock wall with a water feature in the back with places to plant bromeliads and moss, and ferns, and vining plants. I'll let those grown in, and get settled before I purchase the frogs. This will be a 4-frog enclosure and will have about 10 plants total.


I needed to do something else with my building talents, and growing talents, and animal husbandry talents... you get what I'm saying.


Anyway, here's the start of it.

Dendrobate azureus

• Difficulty: Novice.
  D. azureus are some of the most common, colorful and charismatic frogs available. Such characteristics make them one of the best display animals the hobby has to offer.

• Location & History:
  D. azureus (Hoogmoed, 1968) – Southern Suriname. (1) Azureus is a rather young (geologically speaking) species that was seperated from D. tinctorius during the last ice age and is found on a "rainforest island" surrounded by tropical savannah, keeping it seperated from its parent species. While it still holds a great many similarities to its parent species (and thus included in the same caresheet). D. azureus is considered a true separate species, although closely related.
  
  D. tinctorius (Schneider, 1799) - Distributed thru Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana, and part of Brazil. (2)

• Descriptions & Behavior:
  Note: These morphs represent unique subpopulations in the wild that share general physical characterisitics, and for that reason different morphs should not be mixed. Morphs of tincs can often be confused as certain patterns and colors are repeated throughout the range of D. tinc, and there are some morphs - most noticably New River/Koetari River/Kutari River tincs and Sipaliwini tincs - that can be confused with Azureus. This does NOT mean these animals are the same morph/species as there are similar populations that live kilometers apart, and may even occur in different countries! For this reason if you are not sure on the lineage of your animal, please do not breed it, even if you think you've accurately identified what the animal is.
  
  Azureus are bold outgoing frogs that tend to spend the day out in the open feeding, before retreating to a hiding spot for the night. The pattern on many of these frogs is unique, and do not change once the animal is an adult. They can be used as a “fingerprint” to identify individual animals in collections.
  
  There are no true morphs of azureus, although some breeders may refer to “sky blue” or “no spot” “morphs” of the species. However, these are not true morphs, but rather individuals displaying mild variations in the common patterning. While this variation does tend to occur more often in some bloodlines than others, it is still not a true morph and some frogs have been line bred for this trait.
  
  Due to the large geographic range of D. tinctorius, many morphs exist.

• General Care:
  Temperatures of 70-80º F during the day with drops as low as 65º F at night are recommended.
  
  Being larger frogs, Azureus and Tinctorius require a good amount of floor space. Pairs of frogs should not be kept in tanks smaller than 10g, with larger tanks preferable (20, 20L). Small groups of frogs consisting of 2-3 males to a single female are ok. But multiple females are discouraged as female-female aggression, perhaps the most intense of all dendrobatid species, is a serious problem. Housing two sexually mature females can lead to the death of the non-dominant animal. This may not be the case in individual situations without the presence of a male, but is not guaranteed. Female aggression is much stronger than male-male or male-female aggression. Care should also be taken when introducing (or reintroducing) mature animals into established groups, when aggression can be greater.
  
  Individuals can generally be sexed based on the size of the frog (females generally display greater length and girth) and the size of the forelimb toepads (the forelimb toepads of males are usually at least 2 times larger than the forelimb toepads of a female). Please note however, that these are generalizations, and may not always be the case with every frog. Froglets or sub-adults may be difficult to sex using these criteria as the differences may not always be present at younger ages. It has also been noted that some morphs of tinctorius do not clearly show these differences. Males do also call, which has been described as a soft buzz, but this may or may not be audible outside the tank.
  
  Although large and stocky, these species tend towards smaller prey items, rarely eating anything larger than Hydei FFs.

• Breeding & tadpole Care:
  Azureus require approximately 10-12 months to become sexually mature. Initial attempts at breeding typically result in unfertilized eggs or weak tadpoles. After a couple of rounds of “practice”, the problems with producing viable progeny generally resolve, although it may take longer.
  
  Courtship typically involves a calling male and a female that will follow the male around the tank, stroking his back with her forelimb when the male pauses to encourage him onward. The courtship may go on for a couple of hours before the male will lead the female to a bower where the eggs are laid and fertilized.
  
  Eggs and tadpoles are typically black (with the exception of albinos), with the tads gaining color only just before the front legs emerge. Tadpoles can be raised communally or individually. If raised communally, it should be noted that these species do exhibit hormone limiting. Tadpoles should be fed a varied diet, including tropical fish flakes, frog and tadpole bites and specialty mixes distributed by breeders (Ed's Fly Meat Tadpole Food, MJM Tadpole Food, AZDR tadpole food, Josh's Frogs Tadpole Food). Do not use completely algae based diets as these result in smaller froglets. Instead algae should be used as a supplement to the above listed base diets.
  
  Tadpoles typically require about 3 months to morph. They morph looking similar as they do as adults, although the amount of change in pattern with age varies according to morph. Coming out of the water, the froglets should be able to take melanogaster FFs, though springtails can be supplemented for variety. Froglets should be raised in groups (5+) of similar size or alone, and fed constantly. It is generally observed that they do not do well when raised in pairs or smaller groups, when it has been noted that usually at least one will develop serious problems. Young froglets can be quite skittish, but they gradually develop boldness as they age.

• Links to related information:
  Tinctorius Morph Guide
  Note - the morph guide refers to many morphs that exist in the wild but are rare or absent in the hobby

Vivarium is coming along. Started the backdrop, and water feature. Keep in mind, this is only the underlayment and meant as structural support only. This will be decorated, and painted to look natural.

Also, I went with a grid-type false bottom for drainage, instead of the expanded clay that is on the market until I can use some of the new Hydroton replacements to see how well they stack up to the original.


On the right side, the rounded part will house the pumping equipment. It will be removable to provide access to parts if needed. it will be decorated to look like wood bark, and the top will resemble a rock. The top right (washed out) is 1.5" deep and will be the top of the waterfall. The whole waterfall will be decorated to look like rocks, and painted different sandy/slate colors. The left flat side and the right flat side above the "bark" will be treated with Great Stuff and sculpted to look like rock/tree/wood, and will be painted, and sealed, and have coco attached to it to grow mosses, and provide a climbing structure for the frogs, hold a few plants on the walls that are flat right now. The bottom horizontal piece is the "river" and it wall be the catch basin of the waterfall, and flow to the front of the enclosure and down through the substrate to the basin below.

the false bottom will be covered with weed block fabric and organic soil will be placed on top of that and inoculated with springtails (natures janitors) and I will also be starting a culture of wingless fruit flies for food for the frogs as the time gets closer to bring them home.

The ledge on top left will serve as a platform to grow trailing vines and mosses to run down the back wall. That will also be filled in underneath with Great Stuff and textured with coco for froggy climbing pleasure.

More Background complete. Got the waterfall rocked in and grouted. Got the moss/bark wall foamed, and it's curing now. Weed Block is in. Gap between waterfall bottom, Rock wall, and moss wall and false bottom will be filled with substrate and have vegitation planted. Holes will be cut in the foam to receive net cups with vining/clinging/trailing plants. Empty side on right is access area for pump assembly for waterfall.

Grout and foam above are still wet. Will need 24 hours to dry before I can continue.

 

[jandre2k3]

Now, I'll post some past pics of Purple Mr. Nice to whet your appetite.




Those plants suffered a little bit of mite damage, so you might have noticed they were a tiny bit "off". This round I'm hoping not to have this happen.

 

[jandre2k3]

And now: the reset.

The Screen is in, and pthe plants have been transferred over.

These suffered the least mite damage. They will benefit from the stronger light. They look unhealthy now, but that will change in the coming weeks. As these were clones and under 24/0 light, I have started them out in this box under 18/6 from the 400w, and the UVA/UVB lights will kick on 2 hours after the 400 and go off 2 hours before.

I will be treating with a mild mite treatment throughout to keep the mites out of the box, hopefully. It's cold outside, so there is still the elevated danger of mites finding their way into the very warm Cardboard Flower Box.




I still have a little cleaning to do, but this box has been sitting idle for almost a week while I concentrated on finishing the harvest from the third test journal. I'll get that done in the next day or two.

 

[CronicHempHog]

hell yea im first in line WOOHOO

 

[CronicHempHog]

i need to take some lessons on picture taking from you and X

 

[jandre2k3]

hell yea im first in line WOOHOO

i need to take some lessons on picture taking from you and X

Xlr8 takes some amazing pictures. He and Twelve12 are who I try to mimic when taking pictures.

 

[Evo-Rat-93]

I,ll be reading along with this one also.Lots to learn around here.

 

[jandre2k3]

I,ll be reading along with this one also.Lots to learn around here.

 

[jandre2k3]

Okay, got the foam cut for the netcups to hold plants onto the walls, and got the drainage drilled through the wall. Also in the top right of the first pic is the hole for the wire to the pump that will pump straight up into the square basin and spill down the right side of this vivarium. Will be adding the final layer of grout tonight, then adding the coco coir to the foamed pieces, and adding in my home-made Repti Vine. But before I add in the Repti Vine, I need to spray on the sealer for the grout water fall.



I really like how the foam came out on the left side. Sort-of like a rough bark/tree look. That will all be covered with grout, sealed, and then coco coir attached to it and the foam left, and right. The center (waterfall) will be painted, and sealed.

 

[CronicHempHog]

nice progress on the frog enclosure

 

[jandre2k3]

Okay. Mixed up some more grout with 150% water called for on the box. Squirted 1/2 bottle of black into it, and mixed it all up.

 

[jandre2k3]

nice progress on the frog enclosure

 

[CronicHempHog]

looking good very nice
moving quik too i cant wait to see the thing running and getting all mossy for the frogs

 

[OldMedMan]

You are frigging amazing Jandre. Sure wish you had a big place and a big budget. You would change how we grow!

 

[jandre2k3]

Okay, Got the third and final coating of grout over the Styrofoam and spray foam. I removed the pump housing cover piece to show the difference in coats. This is the reason I dyed the last two coats a different color: it makes it easier to tell the difference in the coats when they are being applied to make sure total coverage is achieved on every coat.



Next will be painting for detail, and 3D depth effects for enhanced reality. Maybe a bit of weathering on the "rocks" and some algae and mosses painted on the margins of the waterfall. Adding sterilized rocks from my local river I found interesting in the stream bed, will be after everything is painted and then sealed.


I have a lot of glass cleaning to do, I got grout and silicone inside the glass.

 

[CronicHempHog]

some cleaning to do but your moving along nicely

 

[canabinerd]

Wow, it took me a minute just to figure out what the heck was going on here. Kinda reminds me of an old Saturday Night Live skit,......you grow your weeeeeed in it! Very inventive, but do the poison arrow frogs make your week neurotoxic?

 

[CronicHempHog]

Wow, it took me a minute just to figure out what the heck was going on here. Kinda reminds me of an old Saturday Night Live skit,......you grow your weeeeeed in it! Very inventive, but do the poison arrow frogs make your week neurotoxic?

lol i think your confused
this is a little side project thats going on along with his grow that most of us are interested in knowing the progress

 

[jandre2k3]

lol i think your confused
this is a little side project thats going on along with his grow that most of us are interested in knowing the progress