First natural tank, kinda out of my league

aRepDysfunction · 06-04-14, 12:30 PM

OK looking for some opinions on how to decorate this tank, im not the greatest with natural enclosures but im really trying with this one. I have a few plants to put in but i dont know how to really get the hides and stuff assembled. I want to use a lot of the space (no that isnt the permanent stand, it's under construction.)

Any constructive ideas are welcome, going to be some skinks going in here.

David VB · 06-04-14, 01:10 PM

What snake comes in here? It's important for the stone pile, coz if it's loose and can fall, it might hurt the animal. Second, for plants and hides and other stuff i just put it in there as 'chaotic' as possible, coz in nature it isn't lined up either so everything works

I only look at height of plants, so the taller ors mostly go in the back or sides, that makes it more open in front and better to reach for anything in there.

aRepDysfunction · 06-04-14, 01:35 PM

It's not for a snake, it's for solomon island ground skinks. The tower is pretty secure, parts of it are glued together for easier assembly.

i have bamboo for the water side and some long fine style plants for the rest, just found a big piece of flat driftwood that will work nicely as a climb/hide

ScalelessTime · 06-04-14, 03:17 PM

If I get my camera going I will post pics of my snake set-up for Aphrodite.

ScalelessTime · 06-04-14, 03:25 PM

Add some large flat rocks, sticks to climb/rest on, and some dry wheat grass(or close to it)

aRepDysfunction · 06-04-14, 04:37 PM

Just need to add a few more plants and i think this will do nicely, this piece of wood i found today is perfect for what i needed

IW17 · 06-04-14, 07:04 PM

Looks great!

ScalelessTime · 06-05-14, 06:57 PM

It looks beautiful!

smy_749 · 06-05-14, 09:12 PM

A key element to a naturalistic setup, especially one that involves water and dirt, is a drainage layer of clay balls / or a false bottom of some sort. It prevents the dirt from becoming stagnant. You typically add it in and cover it with a layer of screen or something, then add your substrate on top. If you did it that way, you could have made a false bottom with water in the entire bottom that feeds your waterfall. Anyways, it looks very nice, add some springtails and isopods and if you don't see any issues, great. if you do see issues, try a drainage layer in round two.

aRepDysfunction · 06-05-14, 09:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by smy_749

A key element to a naturalistic setup, especially one that involves water and dirt, is a drainage layer of clay balls / or a false bottom of some sort. It prevents the dirt from becoming stagnant. You typically add it in and cover it with a layer of screen or something, then add your substrate on top. If you did it that way, you could have made a false bottom with water in the entire bottom that feeds your waterfall. Anyways, it looks very nice, add some springtails and isopods and if you don't see any issues, great. if you do see issues, try a drainage layer in round two.

will keep that in mind, thanks. first crack at this naturalistic thing.

smy_749 · 06-06-14, 07:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aRepDysfunction

will keep that in mind, thanks. first crack at this naturalistic thing.

You will enjoy it, its much more fun in my opinion. Looks better, and if you find that 'balance' it makes maintenance very easy. It might take a few tries, but its a part of the hobby I didn't used to bother with that I truly enjoy now (mostly for my own viewing pleasure when I walk into a room).