Vivarium Project

[JoeRags3]

I've been wanting to set up a new tank for a while now, and didnt know what to do until I read a thread on here about Fire-belly Newts and fell in love with those little guys! After doing some research and some advice from Emg, I started putting together my new tank!

Styrofoam was used to make a river and waterfall effect using silicone and Spectra Stone Shallow Creek. Cave was made out of stacking stones found at petco in the reptile department and glue with silicone. The ledge was made out of an old cracked 5 gal hex acrylic tank and the sides were perfect for this project, and is supported by 1/2 in plexi-glass dowls siliconed in place. Filter is an Whisper 10i Internal and works PERFECT for the river and waterfall, and a Whisper 10 air pump with air stone beneath the gravel. Tank substrate is Specrta Stone Shallow Creek Pebble. I'm still waiting for an order of Eco-Complete Substrate for the Land portion of the tank which will house some live plants.

I will be putting 4 White Clouds, and 2 Chinese Firebellied Newts (maybe later on 2 or 3 Ghost Shrimp).

Joe

http://img347.imageshack.us/img347/1750/vivariumproject0012sk.th.jpg (http://img347.imageshack.us/my.php?image=vivariumproject0012sk.jpg) http://img157.imageshack.us/img157/5977/vivariumproject0028em.th.jpg (http://img157.imageshack.us/my.php?image=vivariumproject0028em.jpg) http://img157.imageshack.us/img157/6835/VivariumProject009.th.jpg (http://img157.imageshack.us/my.php?image=VivariumProject009.jpg) http://img157.imageshack.us/img157/3725/VivariumProject003.th.jpg (http://img157.imageshack.us/my.php?image=VivariumProject003.jpg) http://img157.imageshack.us/img157/1980/VivariumProject004.th.jpg (http://img157.imageshack.us/my.php?image=VivariumProject004.jpg) http://img157.imageshack.us/img157/1088/VivariumProject005.th.jpg (http://img157.imageshack.us/my.php?image=VivariumProject005.jpg)

[JoeRags3]

http://img157.imageshack.us/img157/2286/VivariumProject006.th.jpg (http://img157.imageshack.us/my.php?image=VivariumProject006.jpg) http://img157.imageshack.us/img157/1442/VivariumProject007.th.jpg (http://img157.imageshack.us/my.php?image=VivariumProject007.jpg) http://img157.imageshack.us/img157/8107/VivariumProject008.th.jpg (http://img157.imageshack.us/my.php?image=VivariumProject008.jpg) http://img157.imageshack.us/img157/6835/VivariumProject009.th.jpg (http://img157.imageshack.us/my.php?image=VivariumProject009.jpg) http://img157.imageshack.us/img157/7578/VivariumProject010.th.jpg (http://img157.imageshack.us/my.php?image=VivariumProject010.jpg) http://img157.imageshack.us/img157/8397/VivariumProject011.th.jpg (http://img157.imageshack.us/my.php?image=VivariumProject011.jpg)

[JoeRags3]

http://img157.imageshack.us/img157/5760/VivariumProject012.th.jpg (http://img157.imageshack.us/my.php?image=VivariumProject012.jpg) http://img157.imageshack.us/img157/8297/VivariumProject023.th.jpg (http://img157.imageshack.us/my.php?image=VivariumProject023.jpg) http://img157.imageshack.us/img157/8457/VivariumProject013.th.jpg (http://img157.imageshack.us/my.php?image=VivariumProject013.jpg) http://img157.imageshack.us/img157/8595/VivariumProject015.th.jpg (http://img157.imageshack.us/my.php?image=VivariumProject015.jpg) http://img157.imageshack.us/img157/5918/VivariumProject016.th.jpg (http://img157.imageshack.us/my.php?image=VivariumProject016.jpg) http://img157.imageshack.us/img157/9679/VivariumProject017.th.jpg (http://img157.imageshack.us/my.php?image=VivariumProject017.jpg) http://img157.imageshack.us/img157/8928/VivariumProject018.th.jpg (http://img157.imageshack.us/my.php?image=VivariumProject018.jpg) http://img157.imageshack.us/img157/4035/VivariumProject019.th.jpg (http://img157.imageshack.us/my.php?image=VivariumProject019.jpg)

[led_zeppelin]

Very cool looking

[JoeRags3]

http://img157.imageshack.us/img157/2261/VivariumProject020.th.jpg (http://img157.imageshack.us/my.php?image=VivariumProject020.jpg) http://img157.imageshack.us/img157/3219/VivariumProject021.th.jpg (http://img157.imageshack.us/my.php?image=VivariumProject021.jpg) http://img157.imageshack.us/img157/4194/VivariumProject022.th.jpg (http://img157.imageshack.us/my.php?image=VivariumProject022.jpg)

[MidnightPyro]

That's a really cool project. :p:

[led_zeppelin]

Is that purple and yellow plant real???

[04cobratorchred]

Thats a very nice set up you have there Joe. Looks like you put a lot of time into it and you can really tell. It looks great. Have you found the FBN's yet? I had a really hard time finding a pet store that had some i finally talked one store into ordering me some.

[JoeRags3]

No Led the plant is not real, infact none are. I'm still new the hobby and I dont know if I feel experianced enough to tackle live plants yet... maybe in the future.

Thank you for the compliments Cobra, I've been working on this and researching for maybe 2 months now. I have found a LFS that will order them for me no problem, They were the first one I tried and I guess I got lucky with them. They are pretty knowledgable better than Petsmart or Petco. And it helps to know the reputation at this place sisnce my best friend used to work there.

[minnesotagal866]

great looking set=up!! Mine is a little more boring, no waterfall. I have a 20G long that I just built up one side with river rock, a pagoda rock on each side, and live plants throughout the middle. Someday when my camera is working I truly will post a pic, right now I have too much on my plate to deal with the camera (selling house, going back to grad school, moving across the country. . .).

Just for your information, the first time I put white clouds in with my CFN's two mysteriously disappeared . . . The second time it was fine but I thought the white clouds were a little cramped (10G with 4G or so of water) so I moved them. On the other hand, I had a hitchhiker molly fry in the tank for weeks and they ignored it. So you never know. I would like to eventually redo the tank with more water and try white clouds again and maybe shrimp or clams. I also keep a FBT in there which is not recommended but I have had zero problems, my toad is extremely meek and lazy! There are also a few snails and they are ignored as well.

Just a heads up for you to watch the interaction between the two species. Sounds great and I wish I was setting up another tank!

jackie

[JoeRags3]

great looking set=up!! Mine is a little more boring, no waterfall. I have a 20G long that I just built up one side with river rock, a pagoda rock on each side, and live plants throughout the middle. Someday when my camera is working I truly will post a pic, right now I have too much on my plate to deal with the camera (selling house, going back to grad school, moving across the country. . .).

Just for your information, the first time I put white clouds in with my CFN's two mysteriously disappeared . . . The second time it was fine but I thought the white clouds were a little cramped (10G with 4G or so of water) so I moved them. On the other hand, I had a hitchhiker molly fry in the tank for weeks and they ignored it. So you never know. I would like to eventually redo the tank with more water and try white clouds again and maybe shrimp or clams. I also keep a FBT in there which is not recommended but I have had zero problems, my toad is extremely meek and lazy! There are also a few snails and they are ignored as well.

Just a heads up for you to watch the interaction between the two species. Sounds great and I wish I was setting up another tank!

jackie
Thanx For the compliments Jackie, I'll be honest I was disappointed when I first filled the tank. I thought I set it up for 5.5G and once it was all set up with sustrate and everything I was only able to put 4G as well. maybe oneday I'll upgrade to a 20L and convert this one to a FBT tank. Thanks for the advise about the White Clouds, I'll keep a close eye on them.

[JoeRags3]

Here are some pics of the my white clouds 5 in total:dive2:
http://img78.imageshack.us/img78/6158/0419061601a2mf.th.jpg (http://img78.imageshack.us/my.php?image=0419061601a2mf.jpg)http://img392.imageshack.us/img392/4034/04190616010hg.th.jpg (http://img392.imageshack.us/my.php?image=04190616010hg.jpg)http://img392.imageshack.us/img392/8003/04190616007nq.th.jpg (http://img392.imageshack.us/my.php?image=04190616007nq.jpg)http://img505.imageshack.us/img505/9549/04190615592os.th.jpg (http://img505.imageshack.us/my.php?image=04190615592os.jpg)

[JoeRags3]

Here are some pictures of my land portion with Eco-Complete (sorry the picture quality is low took these with my cell phone). I'll be hopfully getting my FBNs tomorrow and a few terrestrial plants.
http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/975/cid04250622130sc.th.jpg (http://img132.imageshack.us/my.php?image=cid04250622130sc.jpg)http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/6919/cid0425062213a4ft.th.jpg (http://img132.imageshack.us/my.php?image=cid0425062213a4ft.jpg)http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/4163/cid04250622147wx.th.jpg (http://img132.imageshack.us/my.php?image=cid04250622147wx.jpg)http://img193.imageshack.us/img193/4325/cid04250622285qz.th.jpg (http://img193.imageshack.us/my.php?image=cid04250622285qz.jpg)

[tricksterpup]

Any updated photos? Would love to see more pics of your tank.

[fiske]

Don't know if you've gotten your plants yet but peace lilly works the best for me. Alot of plants, even tropicals, can't take the high humidity and rot.

[JoeRags3]

Sorry Trickster the set-up is the same. I opted not to put any terrestrial plants, I like the look of how it is now. I agree with Fiske, I dont know if the terestrail plants will with stand the humidity. I'm hopefully getting my FBN tomorrow, everytime I go they sell out. I put some ghost shrimp in; I am really enjoying the white clouds as well. I think my next step is going to upgrade to a MUCH larger tank. I have an old 55 Gal sittin in my basment the would make an awesome vivarium project :devil: (just need to find space and money).

As soon as I get my newts and get them settled in I'll be sure to update!

[mtiller]

my local petsmart used to have FBN's but now they haven't had them in since a little after september i guess. i'm not really experienced in asking them to order stuff, as i don't know who to talk to or what. someday i'll get some more as i never really understood their full potential. maybe i'll even do a FBT, as i found those quite interesting too from experience.

[tricksterpup]

Sorry Trickster the set-up is the same. I opted not to put any terrestrial plants, I like the look of how it is now. I agree with Fiske, I dont know if the terestrail plants will with stand the humidity. I'm hopefully getting my FBN tomorrow, everytime I go they sell out. I put some ghost shrimp in; I am really enjoying the white clouds as well. I think my next step is going to upgrade to a MUCH larger tank. I have an old 55 Gal sittin in my basment the would make an awesome vivarium project :devil: (just need to find space and money).

As soon as I get my newts and get them settled in I'll be sure to update!
actually there are some plants that would work. I would go to your local nursery and try some Bog plants. :) There are tons of smaller plants that are usually sold around the water lilies. I would take a look in the up coming weeks. There are many I think would work for you. Just go and ask around. People at Nursies tend to be knowledgable people.

[JoeRags3]

actually there are some plants that would work. I would go to your local nursery and try some Bog plants. :) There are tons of smaller plants that are usually sold around the water lilies. I would take a look in the up coming weeks. There are many I think would work for you. Just go and ask around. People at Nursies tend to be knowledgable people.

I will look into those, thanks trickster! I'll be sure to keep the photos coming with any updates.

[JoeRags3]

Here are some updated pictures that I said I would take of my vivarium (I would like more coverage for Java Moss:
http://img152.imageshack.us/img152/4810/picture006de8.th.jpg (http://img152.imageshack.us/my.php?image=picture006de8.jpg) http://img147.imageshack.us/img147/5167/picture005zk7.th.jpg (http://img147.imageshack.us/my.php?image=picture005zk7.jpg) http://img224.imageshack.us/img224/1324/picture004lh0.th.jpg (http://img224.imageshack.us/my.php?image=picture004lh0.jpg) http://img174.imageshack.us/img174/5312/img0266eh8.th.jpg (http://img174.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img0266eh8.jpg) http://img168.imageshack.us/img168/9311/picture001jy6.th.jpg (http://img168.imageshack.us/my.php?image=picture001jy6.jpg)http://img168.imageshack.us/img168/4303/picture002zb6.th.jpg (http://img168.imageshack.us/my.php?image=picture002zb6.jpg)

[JoeRags3]

http://img168.imageshack.us/img168/6926/picture005dh0.th.jpg (http://img168.imageshack.us/my.php?image=picture005dh0.jpg)http://img179.imageshack.us/img179/3797/picture011at6.th.jpg (http://img179.imageshack.us/my.php?image=picture011at6.jpg)http://img201.imageshack.us/img201/5332/picture017lb9.th.jpg (http://img201.imageshack.us/my.php?image=picture017lb9.jpg)http://img201.imageshack.us/img201/2434/picture018ms9.th.jpg (http://img201.imageshack.us/my.php?image=picture018ms9.jpg)http://img176.imageshack.us/img176/1880/picture019qc8.th.jpg (http://img176.imageshack.us/my.php?image=picture019qc8.jpg)
My Personal Favorite
http://img176.imageshack.us/img176/2708/img0310fp3.th.jpg (http://img176.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img0310fp3.jpg)