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Outdoor setup in Scotland (lots of pics)

peter5930

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Here it is. Should be fairly self-explanatory.

This big tank doesn't have any caudates in it, and I'm just using it as a giant daphnia culture at the moment. I might use it for something large and territorial, or just fill it with hundreds and hundreds of something smaller:

peter5930-albums-outdoor-tanks-scotland-picture21760-a.jpg


Each of these tanks is 3ft by 1.5ft. I got 50 of them at £12 each from a guy who got them second-hand from a commercial fish breeder. I'm planning to get more soon.

peter5930-albums-outdoor-tanks-scotland-picture21761-a.jpg


I have axolotls in the pond and the pondquarium in this picture. The pondquarium had a leak, which I've hopefully fixed, but I haven't refilled it yet. There's still plenty of room for the axolotls though, since it goes down to a good depth below ground and that leak was at the bottom corner of one of the panels, where the ground had subsided and pulled the liner away:

peter5930-albums-outdoor-tanks-scotland-picture21762-a.jpg


Time will tell if I put enough concrete under these shelves to prevent them from slowly sinking into the ground:

peter5930-albums-outdoor-tanks-scotland-picture21763-a.jpg


As you can see, I'm incredibly neat and tidy in everything I do:

peter5930-albums-outdoor-tanks-scotland-picture21764-a.jpg


About half the tanks are empty, waiting for things to fill them:

peter5930-albums-outdoor-tanks-scotland-picture21765-a.jpg


Those newspapers will eventually be converted to newts and salamanders, via an intermediate stage in which they're converted into worms in my compost bins:

peter5930-albums-outdoor-tanks-scotland-picture21766-a.jpg


An air distribution manifold. It's connected to a garden hose with liberal amounts of hot-melt glue, and the hose is connected at the other end to a large air pump in the garage:

peter5930-albums-outdoor-tanks-scotland-picture21767-a.jpg


peter5930-albums-outdoor-tanks-scotland-picture21768-a.jpg


peter5930-albums-outdoor-tanks-scotland-picture21769-i-used-hot-melt-glue-join-hoses-air-distribution-system.jpg


A closeup of one of the tanks. This one has banded newt juveniles in it:

peter5930-albums-outdoor-tanks-scotland-picture21770-a.jpg
 

Azhael

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If you let me live in your garden i promise to help and keep the cats away.
 

Martin21114

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That's quite a set up. My condo association would completely freak out if I did that outside:D
 

xxianxx

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Always nice to see an obsessive at work ! Somebody else's collection I can point to when my wife is whinging about the number of tanks I have, it may shut her up for a bit.
 

peter5930

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If you let me live in your garden i promise to help and keep the cats away.

Will you defend the whiteworm cultures in the garage from the mice, too? You can have a guard tiger salamander to help you.
 

donny

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You are nuts...looks like a (glorious) full time job keeping that lot in order. I see you are in Glasgow which is a bit milder, but does freezing cause any problems?
 

peter5930

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Last winter was particularly mild, so there weren't any problems, but if we have another severe winter like the couple before that, I think I'll do my best to insulate the tanks with bubble wrap and polystyrene sheet to minimise the risk of the ice cracking the glass. Time will tell if I'll win out over the weather.
 
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