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My Vivarium Project

Sculpin

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Hey guys, I've been ghosting this forum for months now trying to gleam as much info as possible. While doing that I've also been working on a vivarium off an 18x18x24 Exo Terra. I've nearly have it complete and I just felt like showing it off and I'd love any pointers you guys may have.

To explain in-depth (and pictures), I did a drift wood barrier between the water and land. My LFS had some sweet flat drift wood that nicely split the tank base diagonally. I use ex terra's bio drain and put a rio pump in the far corner feeding a waterfall system on that side.

I used landscaping foam and sprayed the back and to create a texture and the water fall system. In the waterfall I put small reptile food trays as tiers to catch the water as it goes down (I'll put small plants in the trays when the system is established). I also glued cork halves to the back to use for places to put plants as well.

After all that I was going to get it set up in my front room (its been in my basement while I'm working on it) but then I stumbled on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eX2Tb5NLSIQ]this video using this stuff called Hygrolon and I had to buy some. I couldn't figure out a good way of glueing the Hygrolon to the landscaping foam so I just bought some stainless steel screws and that secured it great. I tell ya that stuff is very absorbent. I have the water coming off of the water fall channeled into the water portion as well as a tube feeding water along the back to keep the Hygrolong moist.

I'm thinking with all the water passing through the moss, plants, and the bio drain it should provide ample filtration. I have an RO filter so I'll be using that to top off the water so there shouldn't be any threat of hard water.

At this point all I have to do is it some trimming and prep to the bottom floor of the vivarium land side, blend some moss up, apply it, and set it up to cycle. After that is all done I'll be adding a ton of plants, some guppies (for show/food) and I think I'll start with eastern newts. This is my first attempt at newts so I thought I'd start simple and go from there.

Anyways have a look at the pics. It's not a complete step by step of what I've done but I'm sure you get the general idea of where I'm at and where I'm going.

And also feel free to give some advice. This is all very new to me and my feelings won't get hurt.

Glueing the wood and top tray of the waterfall in:
http://s41.photobucket.com/user/Mic...53/Micah_Orvis/IMG_0745_zpstikk1zru.jpg[/IMG]

Just after spraying the landscaping foam and trying very hard to sculpt it


First wet run


Taken tonight. I still need to trim the bottom up a bit but it's almost done.





Micah
 
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packsfan

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It looks good so far. I have never heard of that stuff before it looks really cool. Keep up the good work can't wait to see the finished product!
 

Asevernnnn

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It's a nice tank, but I don't know how ideal it would be for newts. Eastern newts are generally aquatic, other than the eft stage, and ideally you would want 10 gallons of water, and in a tank like that, water volume is very restricted, and healthy eastern newts will more than likely only need a small land mass. Also, most eastern newts you will find will be WC and I dont think CB are offered very often
 

Sculpin

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Well I'm open to suggestions on what I put in there. What do you think would be good for this particular set up.

My preferences:
I'd like something that inhabits both water and land, stays small (5-6" max), can thrive between 68-75 degrees, and is somewhat easy to care for. I like both newts and salamanders and I do frogs as well but their not my particular preference.

thoughts?
 

Asevernnnn

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You will probably have a hard time picking good inhabitants that meet those requirements, most caudates can be fully terrestrial or fully aquatic given the right conditions, and the newts they I could potentially see using both are some Tylototriton, but those get fairly large and I have been searching for some for months with no luck. And with most caudates, you're going to want to still have a minimum of 10 gallons of water to maintain good water quality.
I could possibly see a type of tree frog do okay in there with less water, but I dont know a whole lot about them either.
 

Chinadog

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These kinds of set ups usually look great, yours is going to be a work of art by the look of it, but the truth is, as Aaron said already, they aren't really ideal for most salamanders. Its very easy to provide ideal conditions for many, if not all species, with a simple aquarium or terrarium.

As a general rule most newts are either seasonally aquatic, or fully aquatic, so its a misconception that they venture between land and water with any regularity. When they are in an aquatic phase they develop smooth skin, tail fins for swimming and often webbed feet or other adoptions that are of little use on land. When terrestrial, their skin becomes dry and their tails loose their fins and become more rounded like the tail of a lizard. Its quite possible for terrestrially adapted newts to drown in open water, so depending on their stage of life either the land or water section of a land/water terrarium won't be used at all and is really just dead space.

The other down side of using these kinds of vivariums for newts is the low volume of water. Newts like it cool and with less than ten gallons of water the temperatures can fluctuate much quicker than a nice size aquarium would so once again a simple aquarium scores over more complex designs. If the temperature of the water is to be maintained above room temp like it is for tropical amphibians, them the ten gallon rule isn't as critical because the heater will stabilise the temp if it starts to fall, but there are very few salamanders that could even loosely be called tropical and the ones that spring to mind get much too big for a tank of that size.

I can understand why you would want to build a waterfall style terrarium like that, after all it will look beautiful on display in your home, but I would urge you think again before trying to keep caudates in there.
 
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Sculpin

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Fail to plan, plan to fail I guess.

I was thinking of a few possibilities though. I could do a tiger salamander. I know those can live in both water and land. We have them all over the mountains by my house. They get pretty big though, that would be the downside.

I know mixed species tanks aren't most peoples thing but what if I did an axolotl in the water and a few land frogs for the land. I was reading last night that though it is not recommended, dart frogs can live by and even occasionally swim in water features. They are fine as they are provided with a easy way out (which my vivarium has). I know there would be the threat of the axolotl trying to eat them but I doubt they'll go into the water often anyways.

I'm probably up in the night on that though. Thoughts?
 

Autumncrossing

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Have you thought about dart frogs? I'm not sure of their requirements but they might be worth looking into, your vivarium looks similar to ones I've seem them in


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Chinadog

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As far as I know, Tiger sals are highly terrestrial apart from a short period at the beginning of the year to breed. They are mole salamanders, so they spend most of their time terrestrially buried in the substrate. They do make good pets, but again a simple woodland terrarium with a small water dish is really what they need, also I think their burrowing habits would wreck a decorative moss vivarium.

Axolotls get just as big as Tiger sals, if not bigger and make a lot of mess, they do best in large cold aquariums with a filtration system that will cope with the large amounts of waste they produce They would also start to struggle with the upper end of the temps you give. Once things start getting into the mid 70's they will often develop gill fungus and other issues related to thermal stress.

I did wonder if lungless salamanders would be suitable for your waterfall terrarium, but I have no experience with them. Maybe someone who has will chime in?
 

Sculpin

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I would think the filtration of the bio media along with what the moss and plants provide should be ample for an axolotl. Besides I'm in the habit of monthly water changes (I've been doing reef tanks for 7 years now) so that is no big deal. I have an RO/DI filter I'll be using for the water changes as well.

With the natural filtration of the vivarium plus monthly water changes, do you still think it would be a concern for an axolotl?
 

Rupert

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Not sure that would be enough water volume for a axolotl.

Since most salamanders save the Arboreal Salamander will climb anything, the space in the vivarium above the waterline is pretty much wasted for whatever will be living in there.

It's a beautiful terrarium, but most of it will not be of use to a salamander.

it'd be much better for Tree Frogs. In fact, I believe tree frogs are the only candidate that would appreciate your hard work.
Or you could take out the water and fill it with a good substrate and put arboreal lizards/dart frogs in there.
 

Asevernnnn

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In a small water volume the water quality will be difficult to maintain, monthly water changes wouldn't be nearly enough.
You're also not going to want an axolotl in the water section and dart frogs in the terrestrial portion, it would only lead to a disaster.
If you really want to get an aquatic newt or salamander, you're going to want at least a 10 gallon tank using as much water that can be possibly used.
 

Sculpin

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Well maybe I'll just stick with doing fish in the water section and a few dart frogs on the land. I have a 40 breeder I used to use for a QT tank for my salt water fish (I've downsized it to a 29) that I'm not doing anything with. Maybe that would be a fun axolotl tank. I was thinking I could build a low stand so you could look down into it, like a tide pool or something.

Another future project though. What would you guys recommend for filtration if I started a new one. I was thinking an eheim canister filter. Would a heater or a cooler be necessary? I keep my house around 72 in the summer and 67 in the winter (though I know pumps and lighting would heat the tank up a tad).

And once again thank you for all the advice. Keep it coming.
 

Chinadog

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That sounds a good size for Axolotls, the more water, the better as far as they are concerned!
An external cannister filter will also be good, just defuse the return pipework with a spraybar or some aquarium sponge to prevent too much water movement. I use eheim ecco pro filters on my larger tanks, they are very good for newts/Axolotls because their gentle turn over rate means there's not too much current from them to begin with.
Axolotls should be ok with short periods in the low 70's, if the weather is warm for extended periods, you can use bottles of frozen water to keep things bearable for them.
 

JoshBA

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In my experience, gold dust newts (Cynops ensicauda popei) behave semi-aquatically as adults. They are pretty hydrophobic as juveniles though, and my female only went into the water once I placed them in a fully aquatic tank.

Edit: They also thrive at room temps.
 

tammyaxie

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The axolotl would need a a good enough amount of water in order to control and maintain water quality. The water height should be as high as the axie is long. The filter plus the waterfall would probably cause the water flow to be too stressful for the axie.
 

pygmycory

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What about Firebelly Toads? They are semi-aquatic, and that is about the temperature range for them, though if it goes a bit higher they wouldn't mind.

Mantellas might work, but you wouldn't want much water as they can't swim.

An Amazon milk frog might work.

It's a gorgeous-looking tank. Is that tall plant with the odd-shaped leaves Hydrocotyl? Interesting to see it being grown emersed, if it is. Best of luck with whatever you choose to go in it.
 
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