1ft cube Vivarium

[EvolutionZ]

hi guys, yesterday just set up a 1ft cube vivarium..
tank specs are here :
tank size 30x30x30 1ft cube.
substrate - clay ball(bottom) lapis sand(middle) GeX( top)
temperature - 30C
lighting - 18watt PL single tube.
filteration - resun cyclone cy-20 mini canister.
flora(land) - downoi, HC, crypt.Parva, unkown back ground plant, moss and Nana petite aka mini nana.
flora(water) - Downoi and E.tenellus
faua(land) currently housing 5 small feeder frogs( still having tall)
fauna(water) - haven't decided. proberly 6corydoras hasbrosus along with 1 killifish.

Front shot




Land area


"water fall" area done by using rainbar.


the biggest downoi i ever owned( rougly 5 cm across)


Crypt. parva.


nana petite.


downoi in water


this is one of the froggy.. they are mostly hiding


comments please. thanks!

[TS168]

Hi ,
- Is your filter running 24hr?
- Hope the downoi on the emmerse will grow well. I worry it will melt off since there not much air circulation.

Good luck. have patience.

[EvolutionZ]

ya my filter is running 24/7. should i?
i do have a cover for the tank.. did'nt know vivarium should have good air circulation.

[TS168]

Not true, i find downio is rather sensitive to heat build up. With the small tank(small environment) temperature changes are faster. some stem plant might not be able to handle it. Anubias is ok. Crypt should be ok but depending.

Just sharing my little planting experience...I might be wrong.

[Merviso]

Hi bro, the frog is cute! Nice work!

I had tried to plant emmerse Downoi before but give up after a while. I find that it dry up pretty fast and I had to spray water often to keep it from dieing.

The plant at the corner seem to be Samolus Parviflorus. I having it now also, and I had to spray it often also, but it is growing well.

Btw..your cover looks nice, where you got it from ?

[EvolutionZ]

thanks bro.. the acrylic cover i used were from my storeroom... found it then i used a acrylic cuter and cut it to shape.

[Wild Ginger]

You might want to periodically lift up the cover to let fresh air into the tank to induce proper circulation. If not, stale air would lead to rotting of the plants especially when you've used ADA as a base. Try to add another 18 watts or the best would be a single 36 watts PL as the HC and Downoi are sun loving plants.

Just to add, keep a close watch on your lid, as acrylic ones tend to warp after some time.

Regards,
Phillipe.

[EvolutionZ]

yea, i do open the cover once in a while... about adding another 18watts.. not really possible.. but right now my 18watt is good enough i guess.. and yes.. my acrylic is warping... but using my lighting to hold it down
photo update coming soon.. uploading now

thanks vivarium master for your advice

[EvolutionZ]

heres the update :

tank update. took out the 6 froggies as i really canot find anything for them to eat.. i released them to the landfield near my house.. and my friend gave me 2 fire bellied newts today(hopefully my mother wont see them, if not she will screem)


downoi doing pretty well.. execpt that the bottom leaves have melted.. the top part still green..
and HC are creeping but really very very very slowly...


im looking for a more Wild look rather then a neat looking tank.
i took out most of the nana petite as i feel that it wont grow wild..
replaced it with a pot of crypt.. anyone can ID?


cute newt.. hiding among the leaves of the crypt..


water area... currently having 4 mini puffer inside.. but i might change them to 6 - 8 corydoras hasbrosus.. as this 4 puffer are biting each other


i used my left over spiky moss and placed on top of the rainbar... makes the whole tank more natural..

moss wall... this batch of moss wall were in from day 1 of my vivarium.. can already see new fronds appearing!


thats all guys.. hopefully the crypts will grow wild enough!

[Thirteen]

hi, where do you get your newt from? interesting addition to your vivarium. if you have driftwood, add it in to create a 'fallen log" effect. can also tie some moss, fern, nana etc. to make it look natural. Definitely will add a better focal point to your vivarium, as of currently should be the downoi or the crypt.

[EvolutionZ]

great idea huh! how stupid how me.. why didn't i think of that.. i assume the driftwood would be straight and pointing out towards the water??
anyway, the newts are from my friend.. he gave it to me cause he don't want to keep anymore.

[Thirteen]

not neccesary bro, in vivarium, there's much more options on placement of hardscape. hope to see the update pictures after putting in a driftwood ya? do you have any idea by the way where to buy newts? I think no longer selling in singapore already right?

[EvolutionZ]

not sure about the newts.. perhaps those farms might carry?

[EvolutionZ]

hi guys, an update! i went to buy bog wood from na today.. found 2 pieces.. and here how it looks like in my tank.. to me it looks kinda weird..
will be adding anchor moss to it tomorrow.




bought a plant which i believe is from the land at na too..


i was wondering why this particular newt only hide in this area.. even if it's skin get dries up.. it is still there




another view

[Thirteen]

wood too skinny ( & few) to make difference already bro get driftwood, looks better.

[EvolutionZ]

yea i agree.. but this 2 piece caught my eye.. i went to find driftwood but can't even find 1 which is suitable..
maybe when filled up with anchor moss and grown till a thick bush it will look nicer?

[Thirteen]

try weeping moss, they'll fall limp on the bogwood like vines. Just my suggestion though.

[EvolutionZ]

well i placed some anchor moss on it and it sure looks nicer! will update picture tomorrow. thanks

[EvolutionZ]

update with pictures.


wood with anchor moss


melting crypts.. might replace it with E.tenellus if everything melted away.


another angle


today add in 6 corydoras hasbrosus as fauna for the water area

[Thirteen]

your vivarium is getting to look nicer indeed !! congrats!