# Planted Tanks > Vivariums >  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!

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## 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.

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## 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.

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## 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.

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## Merviso

Hi bro, the frog is cute!  :Grin:  Nice work!  :Wink: 

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 ?  :Kiss:

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## 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. :Grin:

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## 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.  :Smile: 

Regards,
Phillipe.

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## 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 :Opps:  
photo update coming soon.. uploading now :Grin: 

thanks vivarium master for your advice :Smile:

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## 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 :Laughing: (hopefully my mother wont see them, if not she will screem :Opps: )


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 :Confused: 


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! :Grin:

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## 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.

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## 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.

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## Thirteen

not neccesary bro, in vivarium, there's much more options on placement of hardscape.  :Grin:  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?

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## EvolutionZ

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

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## 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 :Roll Eyes: 




another view

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## Thirteen

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

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## 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? :Laughing:

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## Thirteen

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

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## EvolutionZ

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

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## 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 :Laughing:

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## Thirteen

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

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## EvolutionZ

thanks bro. i just noticed today my downoi have 2 small plantlets growing out! was sooooo happy to see that...

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## oblivion

if you can get a piece of bog or driftwood that has curved branches i think will be a nice touch

can have the wood extend from the land area and curve into the water

what did you use to seperate the land and water areas?
as in shore up the land area and prevent it from spilling down into the water?

personally the slope looks abit steep to me
imo a more gentle slope would be nicer but space may be a constraint
and maybe a darker rock-looking background will be better
the current one color is too light imo and looks less natural

but overall looking pretty good!  :Well done:

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## EvolutionZ

agree with you lee1224. well i used rock slates to separate water and land.

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## Thirteen

hi, one question abit unrelated, read from a website that fire bellied newt secretes toxin from it's skin. Hence, there need to be frequent water changes? I wonder if this will be affecting the faunas in the water of the vivarium.

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## EvolutionZ

well.. yes they do.. there was once i took out my FBN to play with.. after that my eyes got itchy and i forgot i played with my newts and i went to rub my eyes..
after a few seconds.. i start to feel pain from my eye.. quickly go wash with water.. but no use.. and the pain was like forcing you to close your eyes.. then i went to wash my eyes with those eye lotion.. i guess the toxic was wash out.. so the pain was gone...

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## EvolutionZ

hi guys.. pictures update!

i guess i have to find replacement for the crypts :Sad: 


top view downoi.. can see its 2 baby plantlets!


creeping HC


Fire-bellied newts


feeding time!!!

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## kelvin

Hi,

Was thinking could it be that the crypts are melting due to lack of rich root nutrients? and that maybe it needs time to get used to the emmersed conditions? Give it some more time, hope its relevant.

Regards,
kelvin :Smile:

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## Shaihulud

> took out the 6 froggies as i really canot find anything for them to eat.


Im sorry about that, i told you that they eat tubifex worms :Embarassed: . They ate for me. Newts are better in any case, 6 frogs can grow quite big for a 1 ft tank.

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## Thirteen

bro, your this tank got any cover? to prevent the fire-bellied newt (FBN) to crawl out? my FBN crawl out of it's tank yesterday. luckily i found it in time and got it rehydrated.

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## EvolutionZ

i do have a cover for it.. but i guess my cover was light.. so it was able to lift my cover and push it self through it.. so now i added some weight.. hopefully they don't try to escape again.

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## EvolutionZ

hi guys, an update :

abit of changes here and there.


previously using charcoal bamboo to stop substrate from dropping to the water area.. yesterday changed them to pebbles tied with subwassertang (aka freshwater seeweed)


could'nt find anything to replace the crypts. so here i am.. trying crypts again.
i got this in emmersed form( i guess) from c328. i planted it in with the cotton.. but not the pot. its been 2days and none of the leaves have melted.


planted 5 bunch of chendol plant..


HC creeping nicely!!


still green but no new fronds yet..


spiky moss on rainbar.. most part are turning brown.. but i do see some new fronds..


this skinny newts is always hiding and refuse to eat..


but this fat newt is always eating and sharing food with the cory.hasbrosus


i don't think the cory is stress at all.. see how they search food with the newt

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## Jervis

Amazing tank!!! Can't wait to start a tank myself  :Smile:

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## dwgi32

Bro Evo,

Where do you get the white colour bee-hive lookalike thread cover for your oval shape rock?

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## Justikanz

Newts are territorial and the tank might be too small for both. Thus, 1 is being bullied into not eating or constant hiding (even in unsuitable locations) or escaping...

Please note that one should *NEVER* abandon one's aquatic pets into the waterways of our island. The frogs might not be native and if they are actually the bull frogs, they can eat their way up the food chain and wreck havoc to our already very fragile environment. The act should not be done or mentioned or even glorified as the 'way out to solve unwated pet problems'...

Anyway, crypts are bound to melt when introduced to a new environment. Be patient with them and let them recover. 

Oh, btw, please refrain from quoting the entire post that appeared immediately before your intended new post/reply. Thank you. Good luck with your vivarium!  :Smile:

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## knight

Greeting bro,
Your background looks very impressive, wondering where you got it from?

Many thanks - Knight

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