T. karelinii setup

[sean]

Alright,as of late I guess I have been a 'posting machine' of sorts. But I promise I will quit hogging the forum for awhile after this. I just wanted to share some pics of my recent project which is a 20 gal long setup for T. karelinii. I originaly had this in mind as a morphing tank for another species but decided it would probably work for the juvie Triturus I am getting. I CAREFULLY took a 2.5gal apart and used the glass walls and bottom for land platforms. I then purchased a 8ft flourecent bulb protecter(cut in 6inch pieces) from home depot to use as clear supports for the land mass.I then used a small side glass as a ramp for the newts to crawl up on and siliconed gravel to it for grip. On the right hand side of the tank I left a glass bottom as a feeding area surrounded by rock to keep the black sand from creeping in. The filter is a Fluval-One hid with rocks under the ramp which is removable for easy access. The sand is tahitan moonlight sand from petsmart and I must say it looks very strange. The upper level has rock,moss, and wood and I plan on misting the right hand side heavily and leaving the left side dry as a gradient. The only thing I have left to do is add more plants. The things I dont like about this tank is the water level is pretty low at about 5 inches and it may just not be big enough for 3 adult Triturus. I will be receiving Juvies so this should provide a decent home until I come up with something bigger.

 

[jennifer]

That's very cool! It has a very efficient use of space. The idea of using those tubes to hold up the land area is truly inspired.

You probably already considered this, but be sure any gaps around the electrical cord are sealed with tape.

 

[leanne]

Nice! How did you take the 2.5 gallon apart? I have one that I might try to take apart for this purpose, if I can---

 

[sean]

Thats a good question and something I should warn people about. You need to wear THICK gloves and take your time. The sidewall glass is very easy to break and being as careful as I was I still broke two pieces. I used a small box cutter (the size of a pen) and carefully cut of the top and bottom plastic rings. Then it was just a matter of cutting off the silicone and getting the blade in between the two pieces and cutting them apart. DO NOT try to pull the pieces apart even if only a little bit of silicone is left because it will probably break. The bottom piece is thick however so it can stand a little abuse. I should note that the side pieces and bottom piece lenghts are the same as the width of the 20gal so it could possibly be used as a devider.It is a tight fit though so rather than forcing it completly straight against the sidewalls of the larger aquarium I would leave it slightly slanted so as not to break the side glass of the larger aquarium. You can see on mine that I let mine slope down in the rear and high in the front which is good because it drains where it meets the other piece of glass. I also should note that I only put heavy rocks directly over the supports so as not to break the glass. Biggest thing though...wear the gloves,I still have a glass splinter in my pinky that I have yet to dig out.

 

[jennifer]

I have disassembled glass plates that were previously siliconed into position, and it's an tedious and rather dangerous job. Given the safety issue, it may be better to get the glass pieces made for you. Most glass shops will cut pieces to any size, though prices vary widely so it pays to call around first.

 

[leanne]

Yeah, Jen and Sean, maybe I would be better off getting a custom-sized order from a glass shop, although it's sure tempting to do it myself, heh. Makes me wonder what kind of glass-cutting tools they have---it would be interesting to be in the custom-built aquarium business, I bet. I still might try my (gloved) hand with the 2.5, though, and probably even wear goggles!

 

[mark]

and gloves might be a good idea
mark

 

[josh]

sean, that design is incredible! i really like that...alot! im gonna have to do something like that for my marmoratus when i try to breed them next spring. very cool sean!

-josh

 

[khanh]

WOW.....your one of very little people with a creative mind for vivariums! keep the hard work going sean!