Tank ideas?

[Rook]

ok, "little" Rook has now grown too big for his little baby tank, so I am starting to prepare his bigger tank. now I know whats good for just basic stuff to keep him happy and healthy, but this tank is going to be in the living room so I want it to look really good as well as being functional and keeping him happy and healthy. this is my first reptile period, so this is my first time designing anything like this. I do however LOVE to design and decorate, so if anyone has idea's they want to throw out there to help me design this thing, that would be great :). the tank is a 25 gallon.

[enigma200316]

natural looking hides are a good idea, like some sorta rock, or tree hide.....

[Lori P]

Natural branches and hides that look like real rocks or wood (or ARE real rocks or wood, lol). I always like to put a background on the back wall of the tank too, just my preference. Attach climbs made out of wood or that cork stuff to the walls for interesting climbs and textures... lots of greenery, and interesting stones for sliding over... you get the idea. Let us see what you come up with!!!! :-)

[EdgyExoticReptiles]

i dont remeber are waterfalls bad? you could put one of those in if they arent

[adamanteus]

Waterfalls are VERY bad, if you are recycling the same water, round and round. Not a good idea.

[EdgyExoticReptiles]

even if you change it every week?

Waterfalls are VERY bad, if you are recycling the same water, round and round. Not a good idea.

[adamanteus]

It would need thorough cleaning every week. They allow some nasty bacteria to build up.

[Stefan-A]

Fortunately, they don't build up as easily in water that's constantly moving. Now, I really wonder how difficult and expensive it would be to set up a UV disinfecting system..

[Rook]

what sort of greenery is good? I have several idea's now for the tank, and I would like greenery, but what sort of things are good?

[RZL36]

Like Thom Yorke would say, fake plastic trees.

Live plants require tremendous upkeep. I get my fake trees from the craft store. Wash them really well and they work great.

[Lori P]

Any kind of silk greenery, I've actually gotten some great ivy from the dollar store... or do you want to use live??

[Lori P]

Oh, and I took some silk vines and wrapped them around the tree branches... looks cool. :-)

[Stefan-A]

I just want to point out that fake plants, that aren't intended for terrarium use, need to be cleaned often. The plastic plants you can find in pet stores are far more hygienic, althouhg they are a lot more expensive.

[drache]

I like the silk ones a lot, but since I had that mite problem I have held off putting them back, because they're not so easy to clean
now I prefer plastic for practicality

[CrazyHedgehog]

I wash the silk in the same way as the plastic. very weak bleach, thrash it about in the water , rinse and shake dry

[Lori P]

I throw 'em in the dishwasher!! :-)

[anji1971]

Me, too! Dishwashers are great for cleaning a multitude of items!!;)

[Rook]

thanks guys! I have part of the tank done and Rook is in it, I still want some bark for part of the substrate and greenery, we are going for real plants, as we like these kinds of challenges lol.

[Rook]

ok here is what I have so far!

I started with this:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v496/HappyFM/Rook/Rooktanks.jpg

and so far, turned it into this:
(I need to fix the background thing, the one side is missing the velco, so I just need to buy a little strip and stick on the back to fix that)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v496/HappyFM/Rook/Rooktank2.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v496/HappyFM/Rook/Rooktank.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v496/HappyFM/Rook/Rookwater.jpg

and as I said, its isnt done yet lol

[brandon0133]

i have a water fall in my tank,,what if u were to use alge eater fish in there? heres a pic of my tank with the water fall in it,,,also just to say its a 175 gallon tank so plenty of room,,and i have live feeder fish in the water fall over flow,,
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p246/brandon0133/100_5443.jpg
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p246/brandon0133/100_5436.jpg
now this waterfall is hollow on the underside so the snakes even use it as a hide spot,,also i have feeder fish,,roseys and mice and crickets in the tank,,,so when the snakes get hungry,,well u know what happens then,,lol,,also my one garter has white looking eyes now,,so im assuming hes going to shed soon?? this happened with a corn i had and he shed soon after that,,,so if i change the water out every week it would be ok to run like this right?

[Stefan-A]

You almost had me there. :D

[drache]

I wash the silk in the same way as the plastic. very weak bleach, thrash it about in the water , rinse and shake dry

so I suppose it holds up fine then
thanks

[kjell]

as you can see,
i have also a lot of water in my tank,
but the ground is dry and the snakes are doing well :)
there are real plants in it and some fish in the water.
so i think that it is also possible to make a waterfall in your tank, ( you can put a little filter in it too ):rolleyes:

kjell

[adamanteus]

Very nice looking tank, Kjell. But I would still warn against having a waterfall in there.

[adamanteus]

This is why I would advise against a waterfall;
http://www.thamnophis.com/forum/general-talk/153-some-new-garters.html
The relevant bit starts at post number 8.

[Cazador]

Kjell,

When I saw all that water, it kind of spooked me. It's a perfect breeding ground for bacteria, fungi, protists, and other pathogens. It looks great, but you're really playing with danger there. I don't mean to be critical, but that much water in a tank eventually leads to trouble. As James pointed out, Cyrill lost a large and expensive collection by having too much standing water in the enclosure. I wouldn't want the same thing to happen to you or anyone else because it's preventable, and I know you'd be heart-broken. They primarily need dry substrate. Kind regards,

Rick

P.S. That small door in the lower right is really cool.

[kjell]

that was a really interresting post you gave me james,
but i do think that it is not that worse at my place.
i threat my waterpart as a aquarium and the rest of the tank is dry ( the plants get their water from deep in the ground.
i will think about it, i don't want my snakes to die!

kind regards kjell

[KITKAT]

I had a friend who kept her garters this way with no trouble for three years... but I prefer not, because it is much work to change the cage!

[Rook]

lol, I wont be putting a waterfall in the tank do no worries there ;) he has slate tiles over the area his heat pad in under as the heat wasnt comming through the peat at all. e has moss inside his rock hide and I will be getting some real plants, I havent got any yet as I am not used to buying plants lol, up until last year my dad has always worked in a greenhouse(for as long as I can remember anyway), so if I wanted a plant I just asked for one and my dad would grow them for me. the result is that I have never bought a plant in my life :p I talked to my dad the other day though and he gave me the names of 2 greenhouses to stick with, so hopefully I will be able to get out there and find something soon :)

[Garter08]

heres a photo of my tank , maybe it could give u some ideas :cool:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v209/csclown/DSC00006.jpg


My Snake -

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v209/csclown/DSC00008.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v209/csclown/DSC00005.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v209/csclown/DSC00001.jpg


what you people think :D