Well, I can't seem to figure out how to edit my post, but I have a few additions to add to what I said above.
I am planning on buying a Zoomed 501 mini canister filter. Is this a worth wile investment? I have read that they are not necessary, but I would rather be safe than sorry, and as far as I can tell, a spray bar would eliminate any problems caused by current. I plan to plant one or two pothos cuttings under water, and maybe one on the ledge (see link in above post) - would that be enough to eliminate the need for a filter? Would a canister filter be useful for cooling if I were to run the output (not sure if that's the right term, help me out here) tube through a container full of ice water? Would a simple pump be effective? Could a pump be hooked up to a spray bar to avoid stressful currents?
I'm actually rather confused at this point about the actual size of my aquarium. I was told that d12"xw24"xh12" were standard dimensions for a 10 gallon tank, but after finding a link to a calculator, it told me that my dimensions were closer to 15 gallons (14.9-something).
And also, if I were to create a permanent gravel substrate (link in above post), would I be able to create little hills/bumps large enough to work as haul-out points while the newts were juveniles (with water at 1/2" or so)? Would it be practical? Would I be risking the juveniles climbing up onto the ledge and then falling to their doom?
And finally some questions on the newts themselves. (In all below questions, I am referring to Cynops cyanurus) I assume that if someone is intentionally breeding newts that they would be able to control their tank temperature fairly well. The question is, do breeders keep their season cycles (warmer/cooler periods to mimic natural seasons) in time with nature? Do you/they cycle seasons at all in this particular species? Would this create a pattern (in terms of time of year) of times when juveniles are available?
Since I hope to avoid dealing with eggs (for fear of killing them, and also because I don't think I can handle more than 2 or 3 animals PERIOD), are there any particular conditions that the animals must be kept under to induce breeding? Is there any particular way to AVOID breeding?
Of course, the obvious solution is to get all one sex, but I believe that that would be too difficult if I plan on acquiring them as juveniles.
At this rate, I don't think I'll end up getting the newts for several months now, especially since I haven't even cleaned the tank out yet, or bought any gravel, or sealant (I got the tank used, and I'm testing for leaks - none so far, but I'll need sealant anyway for the gravel project), or even started looking for material for the ledge. Then I need to get plants established (I'm hoping to get some java moss, but may end up skipping it). And since I want to cycle the tank for at least a month before adding newts, I'll be lucky to have it ready before it starts to get warm again, which would mean that I'd have to wait until next fall if I want to avoid risking over-heating in transit (which I definitely want to avoid).
Thanks for any help you choose to provide. I already owe this site a great debt of thanks. I originally found it just to figure out what type of newt I'd seen on vacation - if I'd used any other site I would never have got interested in keeping newts as pets.
