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



## benon (Feb 18, 2010)

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 

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...


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## msnikkistar (Mar 23, 2010)

Stop sucking up to shadow, he sucks:flick::flick:

J/K, good start.


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## benon (Feb 18, 2010)

Thanks!

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


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## benon (Feb 18, 2010)

Sweet! 100 posts!


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## Amazonfish (Oct 20, 2009)

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

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


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## benon (Feb 18, 2010)

*asdf*



> 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!


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## luke20037 (Jan 24, 2010)

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


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## plantedpufferfreak (Feb 2, 2010)

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


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## speedie408 (Jan 15, 2009)

Nice start. What do those newts eat?


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## benon (Feb 18, 2010)

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


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## msnikkistar (Mar 23, 2010)

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


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## goddessjen (Mar 9, 2008)

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


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## benon (Feb 18, 2010)

*adsf*



> 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!


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## garuf (May 30, 2007)

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.


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## benon (Feb 18, 2010)

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...


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## benon (Feb 18, 2010)

Some new photos :










I love these guys. They stole the show. I had to capture him poking his head above the water. Helps that some of these newts like to stand still for hours at a time.










The dynamic duo once again.










Left side of the tank.










Lots of areas to place some mini java ferns and bolbitis.










I like the surface shots.





















There's a newt I've been trying to capture. His name is Titan, and he's the largest one of the bunch. They're surprisingly good swimmers as well.


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## benon (Feb 18, 2010)

*May 3rd, 2010*

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

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.


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## luke20037 (Jan 24, 2010)

looking brilliant, what filter do you have for your riparium tank? Ive got a fluval 105 external and it said to put it underneath because its gravity fed, do you think this matters as id prefere it next to the tank.

there are so many plants for riparium planters but be aware! i had trouble converting submerged to emmersed, lost two plants in the process so given up now and am just using marginal plants and house plants, like spathilium.
Im going to try to use some smaller marginal pond plants see how they go.

Dont let me put you off though if you fancy converting your plants, im sure you'll do better than me!!


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## benon (Feb 18, 2010)

*gravity fed*

Hey Luke,

I've never used a fluval filter, so I don't know about an ideal location for it.

I have a Zoomed 501, and it is suggested to be level with the aquarium.



> Dont let me put you off though if you fancy converting your plants, im sure you'll do better than me!!


Trust me when I say that I've never converted aquatic plants to an emmersed state.

If I have any luck, the plants that are currently in there won't wither off and die.

These newts are extremely messy, and I don't know anything about keeping newts with java moss or java fern. I broke open the 501 filter yesterday to add some more bio-media, and saw a whole bunch of brown nasty gunk in there.

I'll probably have to take the bio-media and dip it for a second with the tank's dirty water from a water-change every week or two.


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## luke20037 (Jan 24, 2010)

sounds like a good idea, what medias do you have in your filter? 

do you have carbon or do you think thats over kill and strips to much from the water?


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## benon (Feb 18, 2010)

*carbon*

I use carbon right now, but only use it to clear up the water.

For media I use most any aquarium media that I have left over. As long as it is porous and has some surface area, it seems to work fine.

Eventually I take all the carbon out and replace it with filter media.

Right now in the zoomed, I have a small nylon bag filled with activated carbon halfway, and the other half with the ceramic rings that the zoomed comes with.


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## luke20037 (Jan 24, 2010)

oh cool, also whats your floating plant? looks cool


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## benon (Feb 18, 2010)

The floating plants are water spangles (I think).

They multiply very quickly since they have open access to CO2. Really nice if you wanna provide some shade for your animals.

I'll probably be getting rid of some eventually (they're already growing, and I put them in a few days ago), however I don't think I can send them out to england :O


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## !shadow! (Jan 25, 2010)

l'm honored that l inspired you, it's not everyday you get that privilege to do so. oh and wow was l away for that long? l can't believe l missed this thread... shame on me. l'm really liking the spraybar and the current it gives. This is going to look very nice once you get the riparium planters in there. Do you plant on using moss or just leaving the branches exposed? Another thing, on the background you could go black up until the water line kinda like how hydrophyte does it or cover the back completely either one would give it a nice touch with the light colored sand.


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## benon (Feb 18, 2010)

Hey,

I had a hiatus too... Been struggling with my tanks too much to post anything I'm proud of.

I am def. considering a water-line black background. So many choices...

Branches and moss - I'm trying to avoid covering the branches in moss for now. That way I don't have to tear it off if I hate it. I also need to change these bulbs to 6500K T5NO instead of the actinic/10K combo I have on there.

I tried putting some moss in but it just didn't look right. Perhaps it was the type of moss, or the color of the lamps. I want a very natural look, and not too well-kempt looking.


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## luke20037 (Jan 24, 2010)

I know its so annoying everyone is swapping/buying plants and I cant with you guys! lol


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## benon (Feb 18, 2010)

*New photos*

Snapped some new photos of the guys at feeding time.

They're really entertaining to watch.

As you can see the bloodworms like to burrow, and I've had experience with them destroying plants. If I keep a thin layer of substrate and keep it clean, I suppose they can't bother too many of the plants hanging from the branch.

I've placed some moss in various areas to prevent a huge mold outbreak.


























It's very entertaining watching them congregate like this and feed together. I've seen one dispute over a patch of worms, but they stopped after a few bites. They're generally peaceful with each other.


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## phoenix44 (Feb 7, 2009)

wow, that's fantastic. very inspiring!


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## Digital (Apr 4, 2008)

That wood is awesome! Great start!


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## Craigthor (Sep 9, 2007)

These guys are great, wonder how they would do with fish in the tank as well? Tehy would love hanging out in my Riparium on all the wood and planters.

Craig


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## RipariumGuy (Aug 6, 2009)

Those little guys are so cool! For riparium planter plants, how about some peace lilys and/or _dieffenbachia?_ Both are widely available, and are easy to care for.


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## !shadow! (Jan 25, 2010)

l agree about the peace lilys they look like they'd go well in your tank. l did come across this interesting thread jake, check it out: 
http://greenbuttercups.com/wordpress/2009/09/peace-lily-may-be-bad-for-you/

l thought you,hydro, and craig might be interested.

Anything else you plan on doing to the tank benon?


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## benon (Feb 18, 2010)

*asdf*



> wow, that's fantastic. very inspiring!


Thanks Phoenix44, it's really good to hear "fantastic," regarding my tank.



> That wood is awesome! Great start!


Thank you IC3D. The wood was not a bargain at $35.99. Purchased at AFA in San Francisco. I just hope it works out with the half full water-level.



> These guys are great, wonder how they would do with fish in the tank as well? Tehy would love hanging out in my Riparium on all the wood and planters.


I think the white cloud mountain minnow would be OK. It's quick enough to avoid predation, and supposedly very peaceful. The spinal column of the fish would create a really huge problem if the fire-bellied newt were to swallow one.

They would definitely love all the space of your magnificent riparium. The more water and surface area, the better. I designed this tank to be a species tank--easy to clean and feed, etc., without being too small (footprint being the most key choice).

http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/Mixing_disasters.shtml



> Those little guys are so cool! For riparium planter plants, how about some peace lilys and/or _dieffenbachia?_ Both are widely available, and are easy to care for.


Those peace lilies are becoming really popular in aquarium setups. I had a look at them in a lot of the tanks here, and they definitely look great. I'm mainly concerned about the leaves growing too large - would my tank be too small?




> l agree about the peace lilys they look like they'd go well in your tank. l did come across this interesting thread jake, check it out:
> http://greenbuttercups.com/wordpress...e-bad-for-you/
> 
> l thought you,hydro, and craig might be interested.
> ...


Well, if two people mention it, I can't go wrong with peace lilies.

I ordered some riparium planters and rafts from hydrophite's riparium store, so I should have some nice new effects going on this thing.

I may also add some grey rocks - not too round, not too jagged, somewhat geometric and weather-worn - about 2-3 inches in size, with a couple of 4-5 inch rocks, these dark rocks would make a killer background, not to mention moss would look nice on them.

I'll probably check AFA for rocks - theirs are always great. If only I had a bit more knowledge on where to forage for rocks, I'd be there in a heartbeat.

AH, forgot to mention, did you check out my 60-gallon long that I've started? This one is sitting near a cold window, as the axolotl is in an area with a lot of heat and dead air. Not ideal. Plus, I finally have the enormous real-estate that I've always wanted.



Thanks for the comments all. Really appreciated.


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## benon (Feb 18, 2010)

*asdf*

I just had to share this...

My newts, they were posing, or just plain naturally comical. I had to grab my camera and take a few shots.










Here they are from the side.










Must be nice to just hang out like that. This shot is a clearer.










Maybe they weren't posing, but this looks like some kind of glamour shot. It's not altered in any way.

I have a good laugh whenever i stare at them conducting their daily business.


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

This project is coming along great. Those newts are super cute.

Peace lilies could look good in there. I wouldn't worry too much about volatile organic compounds. I understand that many plants can produce such substances and any effect of them would probably be minimal. Just don't eat them or feed them to your dog--the sap of peace lilies is a strong irritant. 

I like those pieces of wood it looks to me like they were worth the investment. You might see some cruddy algae and stuff form around the area of the waterline, but that will not look unnatural.


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## !shadow! (Jan 25, 2010)

Glad hydro cleared that up, it's always nice to get some useful information as l don't know too much about these type of plants.


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## benon (Feb 18, 2010)

*asdf*

Converting Crypts...

Anyone have some good information on converting crypts to land?


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## Craigthor (Sep 9, 2007)

benon said:


> Converting Crypts...
> 
> Anyone have some good information on converting crypts to land?


 
Lots and lots of humidty, frequent mistings, top covered 90-100%. You can follow my Journal as my Riparium is setup for Crypts.

Craig


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## benon (Feb 18, 2010)

*asdf*

Craigthor-

Have you ever tried an auto-mister? I've never used one, but am considering buying one.

What were your tricks for fighting off mold and fungus?


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## Craigthor (Sep 9, 2007)

benon said:


> Craigthor-
> 
> Have you ever tried an auto-mister? I've never used one, but am considering buying one.
> 
> What were your tricks for fighting off mold and fungus?


For an auto mister I would look at a Mist King. I just ordered mine and it should be here in a few days. They aren't cheap but take all the work out of making sure you don't forget to mist. I haven't had any issue with mold or fungus in my tank so I have no tricks there.

Craig


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## benon (Feb 18, 2010)

*Mist King*

Very nice.

Which system did you end up going with?

I'm not sure exactly what needs to be ordered. I was hoping their "starter kit" was all inclusive, but that doesn't seem to be the case.


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## Craigthor (Sep 9, 2007)

benon said:


> Very nice.
> 
> Which system did you end up going with?
> 
> I'm not sure exactly what needs to be ordered. I was hoping their "starter kit" was all inclusive, but that doesn't seem to be the case.


I went with a modified Ultimate System, I spent a bit more then the stock Ultimate system but I got exactly what I needed to fit my tank. You could probably do the ultimate system and get away with just 2 misting nozzles on a 20g along with 2 of the screen top wedges for mounting hte nozzles.

The Ultimate System with 2 wedges and 2 Nozzles would run about $167.00

Craig


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## benon (Feb 18, 2010)

That sounds awesome... Constant moisture and plants, the newts will love it.

Did you include that zip drip thing? Timer? I think I'm going to get one and try it out. If that works, onto the 60-gallon long.


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## Craigthor (Sep 9, 2007)

benon said:


> That sounds awesome... Constant moisture and plants, the newts will love it.
> 
> Did you include that zip drip thing? Timer? I think I'm going to get one and try it out. If that works, onto the 60-gallon long.


 
The timer is included which is a second timer so you can run it for as short a period as you need; but I did the Zip Drip upgrade as it is susposed to help keep the lines primed with water.

Craig


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## Jonimusha (Apr 15, 2007)

The tank looks great - your newts must be loving it. Makes me miss the firebellies I used to have before they decided to do a little 'exploring.'

White cloud mountain minnows would be a nice addition if you're up for it since they'll do great in the lower temps which newts like. They should also grow too large and be too fast for your newts to eat. They are fairly greedy eaters though and could create a problem during feeding time.

And good luck with the breeding. I'd certainly love to hear if that all works out.


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## sewingalot (Oct 12, 2008)

Now I want some newts! I love these little guys. I love all the thought that went into this tank.


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## rushr (Jan 11, 2010)

Me too! I never even thought of having newts in a planted tank and may get some or one of my own someday. Very cool setup, subscribing


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## garuf (May 30, 2007)

Someone posted this on UKaps and thought it might be interesting to you. It's pretty much what I tried to describe when I said about adding plants.


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## benon (Feb 18, 2010)

*Wow..*

Wow, that's beautiful...

I wonder what they do to maintain it?

Looks like that mist king might be a good purchase after all...


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## garuf (May 30, 2007)

Nothing but misting it and a water change every month. it's essentially a wabi kusa with some wood added. It's not even trimmed.


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## Craigthor (Sep 9, 2007)

Benon- Mist King is AWESOME!


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## benon (Feb 18, 2010)

*asdf*

Awesome you say? Post some pics!

I've been thinking about it for nearly a week now, and I still want it.

I don't know if I should get a larger system and route it to both of my tanks, or just get two separate smaller ones...


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## Craigthor (Sep 9, 2007)

benon said:


> Awesome you say? Post some pics!
> 
> I've been thinking about it for nearly a week now, and I still want it.
> 
> I don't know if I should get a larger system and route it to both of my tanks, or just get two separate smaller ones...


The ultimate can run upto 20 nozzles. Here is my setup:

Ultimate System with no nozzles, no screen wedges, yes zip drip
2- Quad Head misting assemblies
2- Deluxe 'L' misting assemblies
7 port manifold

10 nozzles total. The seconds timer is relly nice as well as it can run as short as 1 second. I'm set at between 10-20 seconds depending on time of day. You can set upto 8 on/off settings.

For yours you would probably want the screen wedges and nozzles. If you did a manifold and 4 nozzles you could setup 2 on each of 2 tanks. You can send Marty over at Mist King and e-mail more then happy to help get the right things ordered. 

Craig


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## benon (Feb 18, 2010)

*Mist King*

I went ahead and ordered the ultimate system with two screen wedges and 2 nozzles, with zip drip.

I'll probably call them later though to see if I got everything I need...


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## Craigthor (Sep 9, 2007)

updates?


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## benon (Feb 18, 2010)

*asdf*

Hey Craig,

No updates... Waiting on the mist king before attempting emmersed.

I think they forgot about my order. I'll have to give them a call.


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## Craigthor (Sep 9, 2007)

benon said:


> Hey Craig,
> 
> No updates... Waiting on the mist king before attempting emmersed.
> 
> I think they forgot about my order. I'll have to give them a call.


 That sucks, maybe they were out of a part for your order. Send Marty an e-mail and you will probably get a quick reply.

Craig


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## benon (Feb 18, 2010)

*mist king*

Speak of the devil, it arrived today.

The system looks quite simple to use. Hopefully by Friday, I will have this running in my newt tank


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## Craigthor (Sep 9, 2007)

benon said:


> Speak of the devil, it arrived today.
> 
> The system looks quite simple to use. Hopefully by Friday, I will have this running in my newt tank


:biggrin: We need pics! And yes this is super easy to set up, let me know if I can help out at all.

Craig


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## benon (Feb 18, 2010)

*asdf*

Thanks Craigthor.

Needless to say, I am "pumped" 

Emmersed plants will be :

crypts, anubias, and moss.

Any advice on getting these plants started really well?

Also, what have you done for ventilation on your setup?


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