Is This Tank Suitable?

I have this tank that I was hoping to put fire belly toads into but my girlfriend was not thrilled about noise making animals. So, I hoping to put something like fire belly newts in it, but I did not know if it would be a good set up for them. The gravel is black diamond sand and the water area is about 5 inches deep. The water area is completely still, they could get behind the pots but I think they will be fine because I blocked the intake so they won't get sucked into it or stuck. They also cannot get behind the filter at all because it is blocked with sponge media. If it's not a good environment please let me know what I should do.

The betta has another home, he is just keeping the tank cycled while I decide who should live here. I was thinking of putting in more crypts since I hear that everyone says plants plants and more plants but I didn't want to do anything until I was sure what creatures will live here.

Thanks for advice.

Well if you buy them from a petstore, theyre most likely wild caught and in bad condition. Anyway about the setup,I would add plants and raise the water lol my newts don't use land so they don't have any anymore lol Some good plants for cold water tanks would be like Java fern, Java moss, etc. And with a ton of plants are you really need is a sponge filter and partial water changes lol

I have kept frogs and toads before, so I am pretty confident in the filter in this tank. It is for a 40 gallon aquarium and is surrounded by a bit of sponge media.

As far as the set up goes, is there a newt that would like this tank or am I pretty locked into raising the water level for any newt? I was hoping to get something that spent at least a visible amount of time on land.

How high should I raise the water? I was thinking that I could just put the pots on a false bottom so they could still be "land" and raise the water to the top of the filter which would make it 10 inches deep. Would that be sufficient?

Thanks for the advice.

That's an awesome setup, and it looks like you have a very good amount of live plants.
What size is the tank? I think that really determines whether or not you would have to raise the water level.
Also what temperature is inside the tank?

It is a regular 20 gallon aquarium. 12 inches deep, 14 inches high, 24 inches long. I believe there is 8.5 gallons in it as it is. I had a thermometer in it for a little bit, but it wasn't really an aquarium thermometer. It seems to stay around 68-70F.

Fishumms said:

I have kept frogs and toads before, so I am pretty confident in the filter in this tank. It is for a 40 gallon aquarium and is surrounded by a bit of sponge media.

As far as the set up goes, is there a newt that would like this tank or am I pretty locked into raising the water level for any newt? I was hoping to get something that spent at least a visible amount of time on land.

How high should I raise the water? I was thinking that I could just put the pots on a false bottom so they could still be "land" and raise the water to the top of the filter which would make it 10 inches deep. Would that be sufficient?

Thanks for the advice.

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Well, all the newts I can think of are all terrestrial or all aquatic, someone else may think of something though.
Easy aquatic species are H. orientalis(if you can find Captive bred) and P. waltl. All of my H. orientalis(Firebelly newt) and my P. waltl tanks are just filled pretty much to the top. If the water is good and nothing else is wrong, they rarely ever come out of the water, unless there is a need to of course.

Okay in that case your water level is probably fine, but raising it up a few inches would be beneficial. As for newt species I would recommend some cynops ensicauda popei. They're commonly available as captive bred juveniles, and they do well at room temperature year round. I have a group of three in my 55 gallon paludarium, and they stay terrestrial for long periods of time as well as in the water.
Honestly I think your planter pots look great where they are.

Thanks guys. You have given me some options and some things to research. Well, I guess I will post when I decide what is the next step for this tank.