20 Gallon - River Manifold Tank - Build Thread

[Bluntsalot]

Update

Hey people,

So I waited a little under 24 hours for the paint to cure and got right back to work at around 1 am, Not that I work best at night but I seem to be more motivated. I'm really satisfied with the paint, glad I didn't use garbage bags..

So I tested my manifold and it worked great, i'm getting a bit of back flow as i expected with a 30" tank, but i'm very happy with the stream effect. Stream + oxygen should equal an overall happier paddle tail.

I arranged the rocks and gravel until I got a look I was happy with. I had to add some more from an older set up but I'm considering buying more gravel to create more hill effects and possibly some egg crate to raise the center stone, we'll see how I'm feeling about it tomorrow. I tried to use the driftwood I acquired, but the whole thing looked cluttered and cramped so I left the large pieces out and used some smaller branches as accents. The power head is pretty unsightly, but I can live with it. I managed to cover up the intake sponge with a rock, somewhat. I'm not a pro at this, but i'm doing my best.

The tank is starting to clear up after a couple of hours, PH is at 7.6, temp is around 68F, the tank is in a basement and it stay's pretty cool down here which Pachytriton appreciate. I'm eager to get him in there but I will wait it out. I added a bit of java moss to a floating piece of cork. From what I have read these newts typically live in plant scarce streams, but eventually I want this tank planted. I have some dwarf baby's tears but i'm concerned that the LED's will not provide enough lumens, any thoughts on that or other plants to consider for lower light?

I have to get some sleep.:thud:

Thanks for viewing & reading.

Please do comment! Feel free to ask any questions!

 

[Guybrush]

I'm intrigued by these river manifold tanks, I really like moving water. Looks good!

 

[Sunn]

looks awesome..bluntsalot huh . lol. anyway, those rocks are sweet, i'm jealous. and that last pic looks so cool with all the bubbles and ripples from that low angle. comparing this to what he was living in before..well, there's no comparison.

 

[mykidsmylife]

Nice! Let us know how your little guy likes it. I really like how your rocks look and the little bit of wood in there has a natural feel as well.

 

[Bluntsalot]

Update

Thank you for all the wonderful comments, @Guybrush, this was fairly easy I would give it a try if interested.

So the newt is in the tank! He is loving it, adventuring all over the tank. It's really wonderful to see the little guy in a larger space. I think he is happy as well, his name is Albert by the way. The tank was looking a little murky and had some surface film, so today I bought some foam pads and biomax for an old FLUVAL U2 and installed it. I had it kicking around so I figure why not add it to the tank. I might take away the U2 when the tank clears up, as I think it over kill for one newt in this size of a tank. I also added some more java moss to the branches. Didn't end up buying more gravel today but I may still add some. I'm pretty satisfied with the look I have now, I will post pics soon.. I got some cleaning up to do, my room is a mess from the build.

Please do comment and feel free to ask any questions.

 

[Bluntsalot]

Another update + pics

Hey everyone,

So he escaped from the tank yesterday! I found the poor guy on the ground, luckily I found him soon after he escaped, it's a long way to the ground and i doubt he climbed. I put him back in the tank and he looked shocked, I kept a close watch. After a couple of hours i fed him some frozen blood worms and he was back at them as usual. This morning he molted, which i found exciting. I don't know if that's because the new tank or the shock of falling out the tank. Here are ALOT of pics.

 

[rufioman]

Pretty awesome little dude! Might want to get him on anti-depressants if he keeps trying to kill himself kidding. Really neat tank though, in all honesty. Not something I can say I've seen around before.

:cheers:

 

[Sunn]

sweet. i like the moss on the wood, it makes it look like a little bonsai tree between some mountains lol

 

[finsNfur]

That is gorgeous! Does he have somewhere dry to lie around on? He's not in the water full time, is he? I find little newts in damp places around here, like underneath rotting leaves or wood chips. Are you going to put a cover on it? I was just reading about them and read that they are jumpers. LOL, sorry for all the questions, I'm just trying to get a better mental image. He's so freaking cute!

 

[Bluntsalot]

Thank you! @ rufioman and Sunn

@ finsNfur: No, He does not have any dry land. His species, Pachytriton Labiatus, commonly know as the paddle tail newt, are 100% aquatic and need no land. I was not so surprised to learn this, because in the 8 years he was in his old tank, he never really left the water expect maybe once or twice There is a floating piece of cork wood that he can rest on, just in case, but I haven't seen him on it yet. I have a glass cover but he managed to somehow slip through a 1/4 inch gap. I closed the gap and lowered the water level, so there is little chance of him escaping now. He likes to climb the rocks and bathe in the stream, it's wonderful to watch. I think he is gaining muscle mass from being so active, possibly why he molted?

Thanks for the comments everyone!