"okinawa" Gold dust newt tank

[Ben Krysa]

 

[evut]

The tank looks fantastic. What is the substrate and what plant species did you use?

 

[Niels D]

Beautiful!

 

[JoshBA]

That's an great setup! Is that a 55 gallon tank?

 

[Ben Krysa]

Thanks for the feedback,

The substrate is seachem fluorite "dark". It's my first time using it and im a little apprehensive about it. it is a type of fracted clay and looks a little sharp. I have added some fine sand along the front for a feeding area so as to avoid accidental ingestions.

The plants are Hemianthus callitrichoides (cuba) foreground
Hygrophila polysperma "dwarf" forground /middle ground
Pogostemon helferi middleground
Rotala indica background
Bolbitis heudelotii background
and a few random stem cuttings

 

[JoshBA]

I really like the drip bar you made for your canister filter.

 

[grius]

Awesome! Dark and green goes so well together and this is close to some habitats I¨v seen on pics from the wild.

 

[jpmtotoro]

That's gorgeous. When the plants start growing, you'll have some beautiful color contrasts!


I think you won't need to worry about the fluorite substrate and the newts. the substrate is very heavy... I've had mine in fluorite and also onyx with no trouble.

 

[Ben Krysa]

https://24.media.tumblr.com/64b578ee84d236a3957ff63291e9a108/tumblr_n47mxfUbCv1s0h6lso1_1280.jpg

Updated pick of "Okinawa," my gold dust newt tank.

Thanks for all the comments people!!

 

[Chinadog]

That back ground works really well, I think it finishes the tank off a treat.

 

[JoshBA]

Looks amazing! Really natural rock and plant layout! How well has that umbrella plant been growing on the islands?

I also am keeping my popei in a 55gal paludarium, with nearly exactly the same water depth!

 

[Ben Krysa]

Many thanks!

I grew the umbrella plant from cuttings off of a larger parent plant. Once they had established roots,I tucked the end into natural holes in the lace rock , and filled in the empty spots with substrate. then i tied them down with fishing line to give the roots time to grow onto the rock.
I also tucked in some pillow moss around the bases of the plants. Only time will tell how well they do in the long run.so far they are growing well and putting out lots of new leaves and roots.

That's a very nice tank joshBA.

Cheers

 

[sde]

Dang people! How do you make such good tanks? Well, I guess you just take your time and stuff, but I cant be that patient I put my Cynops ensicauda popei tank together in about a day. A few hours more like. I guess its just about how much time you put into it. Great looking tanks!

I too am using about that amount of water, mine is for juveniles though, and when they are adults and its the breeding season I suppose I will raise it. But it seems to work well.

Here's a picture of my tank, not as good as either of you guys' but I also didn't take much time on it :lol: -Seth

 

[AnimlEnthusiast]

Ben, this is so beautiful. I really love the contrast of colors, and the arrangement of the island area, . . . . honestly everything.

 

[Stupot1610]

Just wondering how this is going now? It's a lovely looking tank.

Stuart

 

[Cliygh and Mia]

Sorry for my derpness, but what species of caudate do you keep in there?

 

[sde]

Sorry for my derpness, but what species of caudate do you keep in there?

It says in the title, Gold dust newt. That is the same as Cynops ensicauda popei.