Cynops Cyanurus Tank Journal

[Elliriyanna]

I will be the proud owner of a Cynops Cyanurus in about 1 1/2 months So I am currently working on my tank. Its still in the very beginning stages. I will update as it progresses.

Tank ( No lights on)

White LED light ( YAY they don't put off heat)

Blue Light

Both

The lid is escape proof

The driftwood ( Its in my betta tank right now and I know it looks a little ugly )

Closer up of the driftwood

Just one question ... Is that smallest hole on the driftwood too small?

 

[Bellabelloo]

I would swap the gravel for sand, it would be much easier to keep clean. The drift wood will look lovely. What else are you planning to use in your tank?

 

[Azhael]

I strongly second Julia´s recommendation. What´s the volume of the tank? It looks small...If it is less than 10 gallons you are going to have trouble maintaining stable conditions.
The lid is secure, but it also allows for too little ventilation.
To be honest, it´s not a tank i would use for any caudate, seems to be designed with Betta fish in mind. The blue light is pointless too...I´ve seen this type of "fancy" tanks at pet-shops and they are too expensive and can barely hold a guppy...it´s all flash and no practicality.

 

[Elliriyanna]

This tank is just temporary ... Probably less than 6 months.... At most I will upgrade around Christmas.

It is a 5 gallon for one cyanurus ... I have done my research and yes I can get playsand here but I only need 10 lbs I do not have room to store 30 lbs.

Yes I know the blue light is pointless I was just showing the tank.

Btw I had a giftcard and got it free lol if I had a giftcard for petsmart instead of Amazon I would have gotten a 10 gallon but I am happy with my tank

As for what else will go in ... LOTS of plants, A cichlid stone, and a piece of corkbark to give them the option to get out of the water.

When I upgrade this will be an ADF tank Its perfect for that.

just curious why do you say sand is easier to clean? I have always had gravel and with a gravel vac its super easy and runs no risk of damaging a filter ... ( though I will probably switch to a nice sponge filter when I upgrade)

 

[Elliriyanna]

Stable conditions as in ammonia, Nitrites and nitrates?

Thats part of why I am planting... I accidentally over planted my Betta tank and now he has 0 of all 3 , Also I plan to have the tank fully cycled and established before she gets here

 

[asfouts]

just curious why do you say sand is easier to clean? I have always had gravel and with a gravel vac its super easy and runs no risk of damaging a filter ... ( though I will probably switch to a nice sponge filter when I upgrade)

Sand is more stable than gravel which doesn't allow much gas exchange (unless water is constantly running through it). Also you can use a gravel vac to skim the top of sand for particulates, you lose some grains of sand but overall very minor loss during cleanup. If you are using plants you can go with the Walstad approach talked about in many threads here. I do something similar using plant substrate under a layer of playsand.

Playsand seems to be the best grain size for sand, I made the mistake of buying really fine sand and it is just a mess, I would not recommend it to anyone. Maybe for a hermit crab or something, but nothing else

Here is a thread for potted bare bottom tanks that I found insightful and helpful:
http://www.caudata.org/forum/f1173-...ensely-planted-bare-bottom-tank-tutorial.html

 

[Elliriyanna]

Does everything else sound good? I was going to go ahead and order everything for the tank... I can switch to sand later .. Or when I upgrade.

I can also gravel vac the gravel lol

 

[Elliriyanna]

Just realized it will only cost like 40 to upgrade so it shouldn't be TOO long until I can.

 

[Kaysie]

If you do keep the gravel, I would remove about 3/4 of it. There's no point to having a deep layer of gravel; it will just cause problems.

 

[Elliriyanna]

You need a decent amount for planting but I just picked up some playsand

 

[AaronK]

Congratulations on your new tank and Cynops cynanurus are very cool little newts.
My favorite page to read on them is Caudata Culture Caudata Culture Species Entry - Cynops cyanurus . I find myself rereading it often.
I agree with removing a little gravel. In my experience the high gravel allows more tank waste to settle underneath. I now use bare bottom and a planted tank.
I also use screen lids on my tanks. Your newt might need some air flow.
I am looking forward to more updates on your Tank Journal and thank you for sharing it with us.
Aaron

 

[Elliriyanna]

There has been a slight change in plans ... I think I need just a little more experience before getting the cyanurus ... Is there a way to retitle this? Looks like I will be getting Orientilis ( cant spell)

 

[SimSallaBim]

I'm so confused...are you really putting a newt in a 5 gallon tank, everytime I see people and these small tanks I shake my head and look to my 40 gallon and laugh. That tank is really to small for you to be able to mess around wit the tank without messing wit the newt, I really think you should upgrade much earlier than 6 months

 

[Elliriyanna]

other than waterchanges why do i need to mess with the tank?

 

[Rubes]

You'll have to mess with the tank, and in turn the newt because the volume of water is so little and hard to maintain. It would probably be easier to begin with a larger tank before you get the newt.

 

[Elliriyanna]

I thought several posts ago I had mentioned I am thinking of upgrading before I even get the newt? Maybe I told a friend that lol

 

[Kaysie]

How are you going to vacuum the substrate? It will definitely get all sorts of **** in it with animals and plants in the tank. Bigger is always better. If you can't provide adequate habitat, wait to get the newts. Why get them now just to have to move everything in a couple months (it takes a lot more than you think to change tanks!)?

 

[Azhael]

Couldn´t agree more with Kaysie, if the upgrade wouldn´t take long, why not wait? It will definitely be for the better. Also, i would consider a CB H.cyanurus to be a much easier and better choice than a WC H.orientalis. If you are going to begin with something, i´d choice the cyanurus over the orientalis for sure.

 

[Elliriyanna]

Are you guys reading my messages? I bought sand and I am buying a 10 gallon ( not due to the pressure but Sue to me ordering 2 firebellies)

Also I am getting both ... Jen said that one cyanurus would be fine in a 5 gallon I will just have to custom fit a mesh top for this tank.

Its just a matter of which to get first and from a financial standpoint it makes more sense to learn with the cheaper ones.

 

[Coastal Groovin]

Better to learn with 2 newts for 4 dollars than 2 newts for 30 dollars.