New setup for CFB or Eastern's / canister filter, sponge filter, or no filter?

[ctenosaura]

I'm planning on getting some CFB and some eastern newts. Setting up two tanks or two sweater boxes. If a tank is better, is it best to have a filter? If so which one is best for these species? If no filter is best then a sweater box with daily water changes?

Thanks
MM

 

[minorhero]

I'm planning on getting some CFB and some eastern newts. Setting up two tanks or two sweater boxes. If a tank is better, is it best to have a filter? If so which one is best for these species? If no filter is best then a sweater box with daily water changes?

Thanks
MM

A filter is definitely better. I prefer canister filters by a wide margin but which you go with probably depends on your diy ability. Newts can climb glass. Not well, but well enough to escape a tank that doesn't have a lid. Most people buy a standard sized tank then use a off the shelf mesh lid. They can poke an airline tube through the mesh so they end up using a sponge filter.

I make my own lids then drill a hole for the Lily pipes. If that's beyond you, using a sponge filter is likely your only option. Just be sure to clean it weekly as newts are prone to eye problems when debris builds up in the water and sponge filters are not great at gathering debris as baseline and mostly useless when clogged.

 

[Niels D]

Keep in mind that Cynops/Hypselotriton orientalis doesn't like a strong current.

 

[Peter Cynops]

I have always kept my aquatic newts in fish tanks with wire mesh lids and often without a filter. It depends, however, on you you feed them. I usually take the newts out to feed them or watch while they eat their nightcrawler to ensure that there is no dead or rotting food left behind. A tank with gravel and plants becomes it's own ecosystem that can be stable over long periods of time. I just add water as needed and clean out the tank a two / three times a year. My newts have been doing well with that for many years, some for decades.