30 gallon project

[BreenV]

Hello there, before I ask my questions I would like to offer a little background info. While I am not completely new to caring for newts I do not know everything and would always like to learn more. I have been caring for two Cynops phyrrhogaster for around two years now and I am discovering how little I actually know about caring for them the more I read on this site, but I digress. I currently have my little buddies in a 10 gallon tank and I would like to upgrade their home to a 30 gallon (long) tank that I have laying around. From the information I have gathered on the site I have a pretty good idea on how to go about doing so but I would love any and all input from you guys. So I suppose I should start asking questions now.

- As I am completely new to having live plants in my tank I am not at all sure what species are good to have in the tank and what a good way to obtain them would be?
- I am pretty sure that I am going to go with a sponge filter as it seems that with plenty of live plants plus snails this will be all that is necessary to keep the tank relatively clean (along with regular water changes of course). I however, have never dealt with these so any recommendations on the size/strength/brand would be much appreciated.
-I know that cycling the water is very important to keeping a healthy tank and that cycling will work a little quicker in a new tank if I add items from an existing, stable tank. Lets assume however that I don't have a stable (newt) tank available. Would items from a stable/cycled goldfish tank (Fluval Biomax filter media for example) be acceptable for this purpose or do I have to completely start from scratch? If I do have to start from scratch any recommendations on this would also be much appreciated.
-Last question I swear. I am pretty sure that 30 gallons is more than enough space to happily house four newts if I plan on adding some other passive critters (snails, maybe a shrimp) as well. I was wondering if it would be at all possible to increase the number from four to maybe even six?

Well that's about all I can think of now and I am sure I'll come up with more questions as I proceed with this project. I apologize for writing so much here but I just want to cover all my bases to ensure I build the best possible home for these little guys we all love so much. Thank you in advance for any and all help provided and I will be sure to upload progress photos along with the final product if you guys want.
Thanks! :grin:

 

[Chinadog]

Hi, welcome to the site.

To begin with, I've posted a link to my thread for a pyrrho tank, hopefully there's something there to answer some of your questions.
I run an eheim ecco pro external filter, but a sponge filter would work just as well. The ones I buy are just the cheap ones you see on ebay for five bucks or so. It is also perfectly possible to run a weedy newt tank without any filter at all as many people do, if there are enough plants they will keep things sweet on their own. Whatever you use, just make sure any currents from the filter outlet are diffused completely, newts hate water movement.
You can help the cycle no end by adding cycled media from another tank, live plants would also help no end.

My pyrrho tank is thirty odd gallons and I had eight adult newts in there at one time with no problems at all, fast growing plants like duckweed or Hydracotile work wonders by sucking up nitrates.
All my tanks have snails and shrimp, they help get rid of dead leaves and other waste.

http://www.caudata.org/forum/f1173-...tc/92023-new-home-my-cynops-pyrrhogaster.html

Hope this helps.

 

[BreenV]

Hi, welcome to the site.

To begin with, I've posted a link to my thread for a pyrrho tank, hopefully there's something there to answer some of your questions.
I run an eheim ecco pro external filter, but a sponge filter would work just as well. The ones I buy are just the cheap ones you see on ebay for five bucks or so. It is also perfectly possible to run a weedy newt tank without any filter at all as many people do, if there are enough plants they will keep things sweet on their own. Whatever you use, just make sure any currents from the filter outlet are diffused completely, newts hate water movement.
You can help the cycle no end by adding cycled media from another tank, live plants would also help no end.

My pyrrho tank is thirty odd gallons and I had eight adult newts in there at one time with no problems at all, fast growing plants like duckweed or Hydracotile work wonders by sucking up nitrates.
All my tanks have snails and shrimp, they help get rid of dead leaves and other waste.

http://www.caudata.org/forum/f1173-...tc/92023-new-home-my-cynops-pyrrhogaster.html

Hope this helps.

Thank you very much for the input. And that link to your thread was also very helpful!

 

[JackyBlu]

Hey there! I'm a newbie to caring for newts, but I did post a thread a few days ago asking about plants for a tank. I'll link it below, but I was given a ton of great options and I think it'd help to read it through. The ebay seller "extraplant" is mentioned as well and from what I can see, they're a great resource for plants.

You can find the thread here.

Hope this helps!