View Full Version : Half land half water terrarium
I need some help and or tips on how to make and setup a half land half water terrarium. I have two young cornsnakes and i wanted a living terrarium with real plants and filtering water. I need advice on plant types, water filtration setup, a step by step guide on how to set up the tank, and types of bulbs used to grow the plants. Pictures of already setup terrariums would help too. How big of a tank is recomended for two young snakes so i will not have to get a larger tank and re-do all the terrariums.
DanDanUK
06-12-2005, 12:21 PM
Hi There fella unfortunatly i can't tell you but if nobody else can help you try doing a Google search.
already tried it to no avail
beblondie
06-12-2005, 5:29 PM
Tanksize a 75 gallon or bigger tank should be fine for them from what i just read
have a link it shouldn't be hard to figure from there
http://www.kingsnake.com/rockymountain/RMHPages/RMHnewpage11.htm
wirick21
06-28-2005, 6:27 PM
Just wondering if you fighred it out or not
Brian
guppy
06-28-2005, 11:14 PM
There are some rather spendy set ups made by RIVERTANK for sale in a lfs. They include false rock shelves and backwall, as well as a stream bed and can be set at varying hieghts in your tank. They come in several sizes and combinations. They include pump, circulater, and filter as well. I saw a nice 150g with waterfalls at both ends that contained water dragons, a turtle, and some giant dianos, balas, and some catfish. As for lighting, standard aquarium lights work for most plants. I wonder about the snakes warming stone/pad though.
repair
07-13-2005, 12:26 PM
I've had corn snakes and my concern is if the snake pooped in the water what a mess ( see a play on words....he so smart ) but back to the set up. I think you might get away with it if you didn't try to keep fish with the snake but with the warming pad and a heat light what temp would the water get to? I know that the snake would love the water and I've come up with a filter that might work for you but you would need an acrylic tank to use it.
The more I think about this the more I would like to see you make it work.
The filter system would consist of a tank for a sump and you would filter the water through filter bags that I've found and you might have to change the water after a big poop but I'll bet it would work. Heck you might find that the snake wouldn't poop in the water and then you could keep fish in with him. If you want to try it I'll help as much as I can.
AtingaEel
07-13-2005, 9:56 PM
They are tricky to maintain.
cenecker
07-13-2005, 11:06 PM
keep in mind the snakes WILL crap in the water, probably every time they have to go.
cenecker
07-13-2005, 11:08 PM
Moreover, you're talking about a two snakes that get 4 feet or so. A bare minimum tank size for any snake is at least the length of the snake. So you would need at very least 4 feet of land area for the snakes, so if you actually wanted enough space to put enough water to support a fish population of more than a few guppies you are going to need a pretty freakin big tank.
Miles
07-13-2005, 11:10 PM
You will need a good sized tank and a lot of lighting if you wan't to do live plants. It is indeed tricky to maintain these things.. I would go with atleast 75g because of the footprint. I would then try to have about 220w of lighting, or possibly a 250w halide. Short intense growth periods are important. If you could set the lighting system up 'Amano' style, so it would have 3 hours of 90w lighting, 6 hours of 220w lighting, and 3 more hours of 90w lighting.. This is suppose to help plant growth, especially if combined with a source of co2.
I would go with as many 'hardy' plants as you can find. I have even seen some people use houseplants found at Lowe's that grow well in or out of water. When designing your layout, try to make sure you have as much gallon capacity as possible. Use a network of half driftwood/climbing branches for the snakes and fish to hide in, this will make up for 'land space' sacrificed for 'gallon capacity'. The snakes won't need as much land as you think.
Use a floating plant to shade the water and hide the view of fish from the snakes.. I am thinking of those mini-water lilys that are a nuisance. Get some plants that will grow out of water, and some vines as well. Possibly stock it with large fast moving fish, that aren't too expensive. If you could some smaller sized Cichlids possibly, such as Convict or Firemouth. You could use giant danios for dither/movement, depending on the size of the snakes. Jewel Cichlids perhaps would be a nice addition to the snakes. If the tank is big enough, peacock bass :)
sorry for rambling..
Miles
Miles
07-13-2005, 11:13 PM
Oh yeah, and get a misting machine and keep your humidity up.. That is important too :)
Go to Aquahobby.com, they have info on Palidariums (sp?)
swhiting
07-15-2005, 6:08 PM
This is a hot topic on the cornsnake forums, but I would really recommend you not keep the two snakes together.
www.aquariumdesigngroup.com is website for a company here in Houston. On there site they have some pictures of a paludarium (what your building) with an emerald tree boa in it.
Also I would look up more on requirements for your plants and snakes to make sure they are compatible (if that makes since).
Good luck and post pics if you make this work.