My new 20 Gallon Long "Paludarium/Riparium??" inspired by !Shadow

[benon]

tank : Aquarium Masters 20-gallon long
substrate : ADA Sarawak Sand
filter : Zoomed 501 + small sponge filter + air-pump
hardscape : 1 Redmoor Branch
fauna : 9 Cynops Orientalis (Fire Belly Newts)
flora : Bolbitis, Mini Java Fern, Water Spangles (From my 20-gallon tall)
lighting : Coralife 2-strip 1 T5NO 10k, and 1 actinic (going to get rid of both bulbs eventually and just get some normal T5NO lights)
inspiration : Shadow's octopus branches!


May 3rd, 2010

Just wanted to share some photos of the latest plant additions : more java fern and bolbitis + some smaller rocks.

Also decided I hate this lighting (it came with the fixture). I'm going out and getting 2 30-inch 6500K T5NO today. Anyone want one 10K bulb and one actinic bulb, both T5NO for free? :O

I ordered some nano-trellis rafts + riparium cups from Riparium Supply. I don't know what to put in the cups, but I know I want bolbitis on the rafts. I am open to suggestions and advice about emmersed plants.



Full tank shot.



Spray-bar + small penn-plax (basically a plastic box with a sponge and some charcoal) hooked up to an air pump. It creates a small current and filters out some additional funk.. The newts are really messy.



Too many?



Forgot one...

I still have that 60-F to setup. It's going to be heavily planted, possibly with pressurized CO2, definitely with emmersed plants.

April 30, 2010

I just setup a 20 gallon tall paludarium. I have this love for fire-bellied newts, so I wanted to create a haven for them. I have 9 of them in this 20 gallon long, and so far they seem to be ok.

This is officially my fourth planted freshwater aquarium. I love this hobby, too bad it's making me broke :P

Here are pictures :



I skipped the "I am filling my tank with sand... I am filling my tank with water..." portion, and went straight to the full tank shot. Obviously the tank isn't finished yet, but I do plan to pack it full of java fern / bolbitis / java moss, while creating some more terrestrial areas. (Can you spot all the newts?)



From the front view. I began filling this tank 2/3rds of the way, thinking about ratios and gold and what not, but decided it looked pretty good and stopped it there. Eventually I might plan to do a half-black background, but I'm digging the no-background look.



A close-up Such cute little creatures...

[msnikkistar]

Stop sucking up to shadow, he sucks

J/K, good start.

[benon]

Thanks!

Shadow is like one of the few people that complemented my tank postings :P

[benon]

Sweet! 100 posts!

[Amazonfish]

Nice tank! The wood is awesome. Can't wait to see it fully planted

Edit: 20 long!? That tank looks waaay bigger!

[benon]

Nice tank! The wood is awesome. Can't wait to see it fully planted

I love it too... I paid 35$ for it though :]

Wish I knew a secret spot with all kinds of free driftwood lying around.

20 long!? That tank looks waaay bigger!

Bigger than a 20?! Thanks Amazonfish!

[luke20037]

looking good! makes a change to see something other than fish! cant wait to see it planted up!

[plantedpufferfreak]

I LOVE this! i cant wait to see it fill in!

[speedie408]

Nice start. What do those newts eat?

[benon]

live bloodworms. It's kind of time consuming to feed them. considering buying one of those bloodworm cone things.

[msnikkistar]

My niece that use to live with me, had newts. Those guys are escape artist, I swear.

[goddessjen]

Nice! Really nice wood too! That's all one piece? You should probably sell it to me...

[benon]

My niece that use to live with me, had newts. Those guys are escape artist, I swear.

I've had an escape before, so now I have 2 holes drilled for the filter intake/outflow. I swear they are intelligent. They actually dry themselves off and dip their feet in the water to climb.

Nice! Really nice wood too! That's all one piece? You should probably sell it to me..

I bought mine for $35.99! Expensive piece, but it was the best one at the shop.

----

April 30, 2010

So I checked up on the newts and they seem to be good. Two are out of water and on the branches, and the rest are submerged and swimming around.

I wanted to promote natural foraging behavior and muscular growth, so I'm happy with a lengthy tank (wouldn't mind an even longer and wider tank now). Some of these guys have been in a very tiny enclosure (about 1 foot by 1 foot) at the pet store.

I'm trying to get em to have babies!

[garuf]

Very nice indeed, it's begging for some emerged plants on that wood.
The wood by the way is called "redmoor" I don't know the exact specie but it's a very very popular wood on this side of the pond.
You could use some riparium planters or a partition to add more land if you hid it well. I'll be watching though, marvellous.

[benon]

Thanks for the clarification. I've been hawk-eyeing it everytime at my LFS.

What do you call those floating things that hold the planters? They're black and look like foam. Do you think those floaters would support some rocks or gravel covered in moss? I could spraybar across the back on some moss.

Lots of possibilities...