# Jon's Newt Riparium



## RipariumGuy (Aug 6, 2009)

Another ripariumnist! (Muhahahah!) Congrats on taking the plunge, you will never regret it! For adding hight, why not get a larger piece of driftwood and put it in the empty left hand corner? Just a though.
Regards,
Jake

BTW, you probably already know this, but that _Pilea carderei_ can be trimmed and the trimmings then planted. So once you get those growning good, you can fill the rest of you Rafts.


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## mistergreen (Dec 9, 2006)

the newt is pretty sweet.


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

Hey that's looking great. Nice picture-taking too. I am glad that everything got there OK. Stubbs is super cute! If that peace lily is crowded you can lower its planter in the tank. That is one plant that will tolerate having its crown down below the water level.


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## Da Plant Man (Apr 7, 2010)

Looks good!


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## VincentK (Dec 16, 2009)

Nice tank dude! I also like that newt, the first picture and the picture where it's just staring at the shrimp is funny.


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## benon (Feb 18, 2010)

Hey,

Nice newt tank. How old is your newt? Good luck on this project.

It's strange, because people tell me that newts are better off alone, but they seem to be very interactive and communal. Maybe it's because of the limited space.

Check out my 20-gallon long. I just started up a newt tank as well. So far, it's pretty low maintenance.


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## luke20037 (Jan 24, 2010)

hey hows your bacopa doing converting to emmersed conditions? I had no luck what so ever and gave up!


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## Jonimusha (Apr 15, 2007)

Thanks for the comments everyone!

*JakeJ*: I was actually meaning to increase actual tank height rather than visual height at the moment. That problem has been solved now though. I definitely do like the idea of having some driftwood coming up out of the water though...something like some nice, branchy manzanita.

*hydrophyte*: Thanks again. Budget permitting, I may be in the market for another set of planters very soon.

*benon*: Age, I have no idea...but I've had Stubbs for around 9 months now. I've seen that communal behavior in Chinese firebellies like yours, but the warty newts are a bit more territorial. I'm assuming the stub foot on my newt has something to do with that.

*luke20037*: My bacopa is doing well, putting down new roots and putting up new stems. I received them in emmersed condition from the beginning and were planted just as hydro suggested. I don't know if it helped but I topped my tank with a glass lid to up the humidity for a few days while my plants were getting established. I also don't use a heater for this tank, so the temp stays around 66-70F.


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## Flippy (Apr 19, 2010)

Looking forward to seeing this unfold! :thumbsup:


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## rushr (Jan 11, 2010)

You've got me pondering keeping newt(s) somewhere down the road. Loved the pictures of Stubbs with the ghost shrimp and looking forward to see how the tank is. Cool stuff.


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## stingraysrule (Apr 4, 2010)

Stubbs is so freakin cool. 
I want one.


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## Jonimusha (Apr 15, 2007)

Update with Pics!!!

As I mentioned before, I spent a bit of time last week trying to figure out how I could increase the height of my tank while keeping it newt proof. Buying a standard 20H would have solved everything easily but I was limited on space and didn't have any equipment that fit its dimensions.

Well, my mind was so stuck on the typical standard sized tanks (10, 20L, 20H, 29, etc…) that I didn’t even think of something less common like a 15 gallon tall. It has the same footprint as a 10g but the height of a 20H – just what I was looking for. My search for the elusive 15T came up empty, but I made out with something even better:


My new 18 gallon tank:









Made by:








(Visio also makes another tank with an identical footprint, but is another 2 inches taller – a 20 tall. It had to be special ordered though, and I didn’t want to wait any longer)

I slapped a background on it, covered the bottom with PFS, filled the tank 6 inches high, transferred the planters, furnished it with my old newt tank’s hardscape, and boom,

New newt riparium:



























Tom Aquarium Mini Internal Filter




































There's obviously some work that needs to be done with the submerged portion of the tank. I like the driftwood, but the moss cocohut definitely has to go - Stubbs hardly ever uses it. I think a few small piles of round stones and some plantings of java fern should round that area out. The lighting will probably see an upgrade to my Current Satellite 40w PCF, as I currently have a Coralife 24w PCF on the tank. I also bought a nice looking pot of polka dot plant (var. Splash), which I’ll plant on the empty raft on the left. Pics to follow once I get all that done.


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

That looks great all set up. With your light upgrade that _Bacopa_ will probably grow into a nice carpet. I bet that Stubbs likes that overhanging vegetation.

This kind of setup is probably easier to put together (and clean, and maintain) than most sorts of paludariums that people use for newts and similar critters. 

Polka dot plant is a good choice too.


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## yikesjason (Jul 2, 2008)

That is a great tank for a riparium. This should turn out very nicely.


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## luke20037 (Jan 24, 2010)

looking great!! 
Have you any plans for more emmergant plants?


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## Jonimusha (Apr 15, 2007)

I recently made another order with Devin for some more planters and some of the new nano trellis rafts, allowing me to finally add some new plants to the scape. 

Before rescaping:






















































And after:





































In addition to the Tahitian bridal veil that Devin included with my order, a trip to my local nursery scored me some creeping jenny 'gold,' a monster pot of Acorus gramineus 'Pusillus,' and an unID'd dracaena. Aside from some growth troubles with the polka dot plant and the bacopa, I'm really enjoying the look of the more filled out tank.

As far as the submerged portion of the tank goes, I just received a shipment of manzanita branches and plan to fit some of those into the scape. I also needed to up the filtration as I'm getting very little water movement at all now. To remedy that, I ordered a Duetto DJ100 internal filter, which I have seen quite a few people use in their ripariums to good effect. I'll be sure to post more pics once I make the new additions. Until then, see you later!


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

Wow! That looks spectacular now! You have a beautiful layout there. I wouldn't change anything in it.


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## RipariumGuy (Aug 6, 2009)

Hoppy said:


> Wow! That looks spectacular now! You have a beautiful layout there. I wouldn't change anything in it.


I agree! You have caught on to this stuff alot faster then I did. Great work!


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

Wow this looks really great. I love this picture. 



Jonimusha said:


>


I wish I could find a "monster pot" of Acorus gramineus 'Pusillus'. That stuff is really great.

MrJG had a Dracaena like that one in his riparium setup and it grew really well for him. It goes nice with the other plants that you have in there.


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## Jonimusha (Apr 15, 2007)

Thanks for the encouraging words!



hydrophyte said:


> MrJG had a Dracaena like that one in his riparium setup and it grew really well for him. It goes nice with the other plants that you have in there.


His setup was actually the reason that I put that particular dracaena into the tank. I loved its red accents but wasn't sure it would work. But once I saw it doing well in his riparium thread, I was dead set on using it in my tank as well - so thanks go out to him for experimenting with it.

I got my manzanita in the mail a few days ago and now it's just a matter of picking the appropriate pieces, finding out how to work them into the scape and soaking them until they sink.










I also got my Duetto DJ100, and I must say it's a strong, little filter. I kind of wish I got the smaller model because I can't mount the DJ100 vertically without raising the water level, which is not an option. And since this filter seems to be best suited mounting to the left side of the tank, I may have to make a few adjustments - perhaps placing the creeping jenny on the right side of the tank, pulling all of the bacopa and replacing it with another planter full of acorus. After all, I still have plenty to work with...


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

That does look great. Awesome job so far- love the newt


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## EntoCraig (Jun 7, 2010)

This turned out AWESOME


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

Wow look at all of that _Acorus_ in that pot. :drool: One could make a killer layout in a smaller tank with that stuff using it as the whole background.

Be aware that _Acorus_ is highly susceptible to spider mites. It is a good idea to dunk sweetflag overnight every ten days or so to make sure they don't get a foothold, especially during the summertime when they are around more.

Nice manzanita you got too.


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## Centromochlus (May 19, 2008)

Wow, that's an incredible setup! The colors of the plants are great and your newt is awesome. :thumbsup:


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## Jonimusha (Apr 15, 2007)

hydrophyte said:


> Be aware that _Acorus_ is highly susceptible to spider mites. It is a good idea to dunk sweetflag overnight every ten days or so to make sure they don't get a foothold, especially during the summertime when they are around more.


Thanks for the heads up. When you say dunk it, do you mean to remove the planter from the tank and submerge the entire thing or do you mean to just sink the planter so that the base (+ a few inches) of the plant is submerged in the tank? As you can probably tell, I know nothing about spider mites and how/where they affect the plant.


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

I don't know if you would even have much trouble with spider mites in your area, but around here we get them a lot in the summer. They go after tomato plants and other outdoor plants and then find their way indoors. Sometimes they get on houseplants too. If you do a Google search you can find out what they look like and what sorts of damage they do. Generally they cause leaf splotching and drying.

It is real easy to treat _Acorus_ for bugs. Just dunk the whole thing underwater right in the planter and leave it there overnight. Unlike many plants _Acorus_ can withstand being under water for several days with no trouble. Really I wouldn't worry about it too much and you might not need to do this treatment, but it is a good idea to have a close look at your riparium plants every once in a while to make sure that pests haven't gotten in there.


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## RipariumGuy (Aug 6, 2009)

How is this riparium comming Jon?


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