Vivarium for C. Pyrroghaster

[deborah]

Pardon my cruddy camera, but thought since I have it I'd take a few pics of my vivarium to share.

This is a 40-gallon bowfront. There are a couple of caves just above the water line which don't show up too well. The background is hand made using great-stuff and driftwood, sealed with silicon and coco-fiber.

There are also eight small waterfalls running down the background which may be hard to see. There are two slightly larger intake hoses (screened) which continually pull water out of the lower, aqua-portion. The water is sucked out into an external filter and pumped back in through the waterfalls, which keeps the plants watered and fertilized.

The setup is inhabited by 6 fat Japanese fire-bellies who are crazy about bloodworms but are rather camera shy, as they are hiding at the moment.

 

[dane]

thats one amazing set-up

why is it so steamy looking, is it hot?

 

[deborah]

Thanks

Its actually not steam - its just dirty

Water deposits and calcium buildup which won't come off. I've had this set-up for 4 years now. Do you know any tricks for removing calcium deposits that won't hurt the newts?

 

[jonathan]

what are the plants on the back wall growing out of? It's a great looking setup.

 

[dane]

you can scrape it off with a razor blade

I also think you can clean off with vinegar, but you would have to empty the whole tank

 

[deborah]

Dane, thanks for the vinegar and razor blades idea. The tank is long overdue for a thorough cleaning, so I may for sure give the razor blade a shot. Not sure about the vinegar, don't want to chance anything that could potentially hurt the newts.

Jonothan, the plants are growing out of tiny pots embedded in the "great stuff" and grape-wood/driftwood which we sculpted together to form the layer on the back wall. Everything was then coated with black silicon and dusted with cocoa-fiber while it was drying.

The plants are fertilized via the little waterfalls which draw from the tank.

I actually got the idea from a vivarium step-by-step guide posted at blackjungle.com.

 

[rachel]

Black jungle is a really good site. I actually only live about 80 miles from the store but have yet to visit. I plan on doing so to get some plants when I set up new Dart Frog tanks.

 

[deborah]

Kewl Rachel, I wish I lived near a place like that. We only have one guy in town that sells amphibians and he only started a couple months ago, deals in dart frogs mostly but he does sell plants...