Aqua Terrariums

[scorpio]

Has anybody ever made one of these around here besides me? Well, I sort of reccomend it for anybody that keeps small frogs and lizards, and fish. They are fascinating systems to keep, and cost less than most rare tarantulas I see people keep, and in my opinion, you get more bang for the buck.

The first pic here is the whole thing on the outside. And the water isnt really that color.

 

[scorpio]

Here is the land side

 

[scorpio]

The anoles. My favorite little guys. Really nice lizards. Most people think they are boring, and the only reason people buy them is so their tarantulas can eat them, which may be their fate someday if I see them getting old and decrepit.

 

[scorpio]

Here are the layers of substrate on the land side. this is essential in a tropical environment, considering the drainage has to be well planned out. I had to redo the entire thing twice because of leaks, and it wasnt fun. The silicone seal has to be very well sealed.

 

[scorpio]

And here is my last pic, the Fire Belly. He is pretty cool, but is sometimes aggresive towards others. He ate my newt, which was pretty disgusting. Sorry about the size of that one.

 

[Bry]

Very cool setup, scorpio. Could you tell us what you used in the substrate layers? Maybe I'm not seeing it in the pic, but do you have anything to help any of the animals get out of the water if they should fall in? That does look like pretty deep water for the little lizards, and the divider is pretty steep. I like the gouramis you picked out for the tank. Interesting setup, I'd love to do something like that someday.

Bry

 

[scorpio]

On the bottom, I used terra-lite, which is an absorbent clay pellet from www.blackjungle.com They are the only people who sell it as far as im concerned.

On top of that I used crushed coral, but any type of gravel works also. The coral was cheaper, so I went with that. On top of that I used Desert Blend Lizard Litter, which is made of crushed walnut shell, and it seems to be a nice material, although I imagine I should have used something else. Then there is Repti Bark (just bagged bark from the petstore). and then I used potting soil, with sphagnum moss on top.

As for the fish, I only bought one gourami, and a pleco, although I bought other fish, some got eaten, and some died, as they werent too healthy to begin with.

I had a piece of cork stuck to the wall on the water, but it didnt have a chance to aerate ever, so it just molded, so i took it out. Doesnt matter though, because the toad can swim and the lizards just scramble out right away onto the land. The tree frogs climb on the glass, and so it all works out. Maybe someday I will put some slate over the glass divider. If you ever want to build one, try this link. Those are the same directions I used, but I just modified them a touch. http://www.aquahobby.com/tips/terrarium.html

Thanks for your comments, Bry.