300 Gallon Newt Pond

[krichardson]

Laotriton are genetically rather similar to tylotriton (emperor newts) and pachytriton (paddle tail newts).

I also keep three species of tylotriton and a single species of pachytriton. Would love to get more but with the ban on all newt imports, that’s unlikely to ever happen.

If anyone is interested, I founded the laotriton working group on Facebook and have uploaded every study into their natural history I know of there.

What's this ban on newt imports?

 

[NathanKS]

Fish and wildlife placed Caudata on their injurious species list under the Lacey Act.

So just like I cannot import Wels catfish or black carp, I can’t import newts or salamanders.

 

[krichardson]

Fish and wildlife placed Caudata on their injurious species list under the Lacey Act.

So just like I cannot import Wels catfish or black carp, I can’t import newts or salamanders.

Oh wow,I wasn't aware of that.I guess frogs and toads will be next.

 

[krichardson]

Edit.

 

[NathanKS]

It is one of the major reasons for this project. To ensure the long term success and availability of the species.

The ban means that every laotriton that will ever be produced in the US will come from a founding stock of 62-78 animals (16 of the originally 100 imported animals are unaccounted for, the rest are in Canada or Korea).

And there is currently a petition to ban a large number of frogs due to ranavirus

 

[SantaMonicaHelp]

Laos newts hatch, spend 6 months or so in the water and then after metamorphosis spend a year or so on land before returning to the water. When they return to the water, they are only 1.5-2" long and would easily be eaten by the adults.

This setup is designed to house terrestrial phase newts in the flood table, young adults in the 100 gallon and adults in the 300g main pond. The metal rack you can barely see in the most recent photo normally has 12 20g Rubbermaid bins that I use for eggs and hatchlings, as it is not plumbed to the main pond, it isn't a part of this build thread.

The 100 gallon pond on this setup will eventually (next year about this time) be moved to its own system of 5x100(or150) gallon ponds and a similar sump to what I am building for the main pond (laos newts take about 5-7 years to reach sexual maturity, so one for every year of hatchlings)


The motivation for this project is I just got married at the beginning of the year and was "ordered" to move the newts out of the house (I had sirens in a bath tub for a period of time during our engagement). So I bought a commercial building, established a trust for the upkeep of my laos newts, and am now building out a setup to maintain a population for decades to come.

Thanks for the info. It'll be interesting to see how this plays out.

-Kamran

 

[NathanKS]

A few pics
Detailed explanation forthcoming

 

[NathanKS]

Well, that was a fail, pictures keep failing to upload properly. thanks for the like anyways twentyleagues

Anyways, Sundays are really the only day I have more then an hour to work on this project. I have been trying to glue up small pieces when I get home from work mon-sat but just don't have enough time. I am planning on going in and building more after work a few nights this week though.

I was able to get the flood table mostly plumbed in. I still want to add a union to the outspout (that weird 2" t in the middle) so that It doesn't just hang there in the future and can be removed/replaced if needed. I tested the tray with a little water and the overflows (just 3/4" pipe with a cap and holes drilled) worked well, now to finish the pluming to see if it is enough to keep up with the pump. Other then that, just need to build the frame and tie the outspout to the pump.

I started plumbing in my return lines but broke one of the bulkheads tightening it too much. The PVC has all been cut and glued up, just need to buy another bulkhead and install it.
Not liking the placement of my UV on the return lines so will probably move it closer to the sump (is currently planned to be behind the main pond, but is super hard to access if left there. Will likely attach it to the flood table stand now.


I started plumbing in my pumps to hardline, unions will be installed at 1' from the bottom of the sump and then a bit of flex PVC to allow the flood table to slide and make moving things around easier in the sump. I ran out of 3/4" fittings so this is only half done.

 

[twentyleagues]

Well, that was a fail, pictures keep failing to upload properly. thanks for the like anyways twentyleagues

Anyways, Sundays are really the only day I have more then an hour to work on this project. I have been trying to glue up small pieces when I get home from work mon-sat but just don't have enough time. I am planning on going in and building more after work a few nights this week though.

I was able to get the flood table mostly plumbed in. I still want to add a union to the outspout (that weird 2" t in the middle) so that It doesn't just hang there in the future and can be removed/replaced if needed. I tested the tray with a little water and the overflows (just 3/4" pipe with a cap and holes drilled) worked well, now to finish the pluming to see if it is enough to keep up with the pump. Other then that, just need to build the frame and tie the outspout to the pump.

I started plumbing in my return lines but broke one of the bulkheads tightening it too much. The PVC has all been cut and glued up, just need to buy another bulkhead and install it.
Not liking the placement of my UV on the return lines so will probably move it closer to the sump (is currently planned to be behind the main pond, but is super hard to access if left there. Will likely attach it to the flood table stand now.


I started plumbing in my pumps to hardline, unions will be installed at 1' from the bottom of the sump and then a bit of flex PVC to allow the flood table to slide and make moving things around easier in the sump. I ran out of 3/4" fittings so this is only half done.

I don't know there's a few pics there. Some progress with pics is better then none!

 

[NathanKS]

Yeah, I can see them now too. I think my work network likes to mess with photos on this site. I can see them just fine from my phones.

Progress is always important, and pics help keep things organized (plus bring out the much needed cheerleaders) which enables further progress.

I only am posting a fraction of the total pictures I take, I figure the group doesn't need to see 30-50 pictures of the same k1 reactor through various stages of development before another 30-50 of the sump. (the pictures help me keep track of where I am since this pond is located in a commercial building I own(see complaint about when I can work on it). If it was at my house, I probably wouldn't need to take so many pictures as I could do the work looking at the real thing.)