vivarium Tank Ideas

[T-Hbrand]

Hey my 110gallon tank has started leaking and have had to sell off all my fish. I wasn't sure what I was going to do with the the tank. But I decied since
It was in a school I should keep it because the kids really love it. I am almost compleatly set on the Idea of doing a vivarium tank. I think they are such a
Fantastic Idea but I have no real clue how to do them properly and need some help with how to build it well and what fish and plants and other living things
I should put in.

My tank is a showler 110gallon but it is 6ft long. I considered doing a river style vivarium but I want to get more Ideas and some feedback tanks

 

[davdev]

do you want a vivarium (animals and plants, no water), or a paludarium (all three). If you search on youtube there are a couple of great ones, though i don't recall many with natives. You could probably base it on a few native toads, with some minnows in the water parts.

Here are some I like:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8Sl90mvIx8&context=C3a76fabADOEgsToPDskIKfac1rQ-qNT8H6HLMyl7e

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLWr...xt=C3a76fabADOEgsToPDskIKfac1rQ-qNT8H6HLMyl7e

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Kub7QhVpL8&feature=fvwrel

 

[T-Hbrand]

Oh Deffentally Paludarium

 

[andyjs]

You could do a stream with some darters and minnows. Basically have the water be about 8" deep and have it plumbed with a powerful pump at one end hooked up to a hose that reaches to the other end. This will create strong flow along the length of the tank. As far as other animals, you could try some frogs (gray tree frogs would be cool) and possibly something like a small musk turtle that shouldn't really bother the fish.

 

[T-Hbrand]

Sweet that sounds awesome! do you think that my fluval 405 will do enough for current? I dont nessisaraly need a really strong current

 

[davdev]

Sweet that sounds awesome! do you think that my fluval 405 will do enough for current? I dont nessisaraly need a really strong current

Problem with canisters is a lot of them require that the water level not be more than a few inches from the top of the tank. Not sure about the 405, but should be something to look into.

There are some in tank turtle filters that a lot of Palu builders use to build a water fall effect. They suck up from the bottom and return through the top, so if you build a false rock wall around them, they can make cool waterfalls

 

[ShadowBass]

Problem with canisters is a lot of them require that the water level not be more than a few inches from the top of the tank. Not sure about the 405, but should be something to look into.

Fluval style canisters largely run on siphon. So as long as the intake is well sealed, the canister is far enough below the tank, and the water level is a few inches above the intake strainer it should work.

I'm not sure if that will cut the lifespan down on the filter or certain parts, but I have seen them run like that for many years on turtle tanks.

 

[T-Hbrand]

Awesome Possum! I was planing on making the intake very much sumerged so that should be fine then. If and one know of and very visual builds of vivs please send me a link I am having a hard time picturing how to do it and need more detaild photos that would be great... visual learner

 

[Noto]

Lots of cool builds here: http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/paludariums/

Another option is a riparium; the look is similar to a paludarium, but there are no built-up land areas, just lots of emergent plants.

Where is your leak?

 

[T-Hbrand]

The sillcon in the back corner started to fail I was about to go to be christmas morning it was like 12 and the was a huge puddle that was exciting. you could see the silicon stretching a 16th of an inch and it was literly spraying out.