Half and half tank

[Millerlite]

Well I was off on Monday and decided to go for it... That being said lol.

It's a 40 gallon breeder 36x18x16 extra wide great for the musk turtle that will eventually be living in there, maybe spotted hmmm...

Anyways all I did was go to home depot and buy plexi glass think piece was only 4 dollars, then got aquarium glue and went to town. I glued in the plexi let it dry over night. Yesterday morning I put all the gravel in. And man is it a lot. I went to homedepot got the river rocks which are medium size rocks, only 3 dollars a bag, just had to clean it.

Sad part, the land area was originally suppose to be no water getting in but I guess my aquarium gluing skills are rusty cuz it had one tiny leak so water is on both sides of the plexi. Either way it works and holding up the rocks. Here are a few pictures. Oh and te filter is just a simple one that made for 40 gallons, seems to be doing good. Over all a fun project.

Also need advice in water plants anyone know anything about it?

 

[Yvonne G]

That's very creative. My suggestion is to place something under the "land" end so the tank is tilted. This makes the water stay down where it belongs, and gives you more water for the filter to mess with.

 

[Millerlite]

Kind of like lift it up with something? I thought about it, I'm just not sure how to go about it lol

 

[Yvonne G]

Just put a couple soup cans under one end. Or roll up a couple towels and place them under one end. Depending upon how high you want the end to be, you push the cans/towel under more towards the middle or back out towards the end.

 

[Millerlite]

Oh I get what u mean like tilt the whole tank. Hmm that's very good idea. Maybe I'll build a stand that's tilted a little.

 

[Nixxy]

That's really creative, dude.

Gotta say, I'd be interested in making something like that myself. I love fooling around with my tanks.

 

[Millerlite]

Yeah I'm the same way always wanting to make more do more lol. Here's one of the fish seems to enjoy it

 

[Nixxy]

Beautiful. I have very limited knowledge of fish, but they seem happy.

 

[wellington]

Be careful in the way you tilt it. It will crack the side with all the rocks, land side. Also, wouldn't it be nicer for the turtle to have actual land and not all rocks to dry out on? They don't really bask in the wild on a pile of rocks, not that I have seen anyway. May be a flat rock, log, dirt. You could even place a bowl into the rocks and place the dirt in the bowl. That way it won't seep into the water and dirty it and the rocks will hide the bowl.

 

[Kristina]

I did something similar for my Reeve's turtle. The problem with plexiglass is that you never get a good seal with silicone. It doesn't bond the same way as it does to glass, partially because the plexi is flexible.

It's a bad pic, but in mine I made the land area across the back (with glass) and covered the back with cork bark. On the right is the filter output, I made it into a waterfall.

The land area on mine has a layer of gravel on the bottom, then some screen, and organic soil on top of that. I planned ahead for any leaks into the land area by siliconing a piece of airline tube down the back behind the cork bark and flat on the bottom. That way I can siphon the water out as needed, so it doesn't become stagnant. (I also painted the back with textured paint.)

I've had it running over a year now.

As far as water plants - I used to grow and sell them for a living. What do you need to know?

 

[Millerlite]

That's a great looking tank, where did u find the glass? Also how do u cut it? This was my first time trying this, and I don't reallyijd the water coming threw.

As far as plants go: are there any types that Incan grow in the "land side"that will grow in the gravel with the water in it. Guess it would have to be like plants that grow in water but don't have to be in water if that makes sense. Lol

Also I was wondering about substrate in the water how deep should it be for aquatic plants?

Kyle

 

[Millerlite]

Be careful in the way you tilt it. It will crack the side with all the rocks, land side. Also, wouldn't it be nicer for the turtle to have actual land and not all rocks to dry out on? They don't really bask in the wild on a pile of rocks, not that I have seen anyway. May be a flat rock, log, dirt. You could even place a bowl into the rocks and place the dirt in the bowl. That way it won't seep into the water and dirty it and the rocks will hide the bowl.

Yeah, the land area is not done yet, I still want a different sub straight I think I might put a tub in there that way I can grow a few little plants. Work in progress. I don't plan to put any turtles in there for awhile. Fish and plants first and once I figure out the basking situation. Also I don't have a hood, plan to make one of those still

 

[Kristina]

I bought the glass. Anything non-tempered will work. To cut you just get a glass cutter and score the same line over and over until you can snap it in half. I like to clamp it to a work bench with a straight edge clamped to it to follow.

As far as plants - no, there really isn't anything that is going to do well in the gravel. Anything that grows up and out of the water like that is a root-feeder, and will need the nutrition that soil offers. However, plants like pothos will do well if you put them in a pot of soil sunk down into the gravel. Anubias can also be grown immersed, as well as ludwigia and some valisnera. I actually have a few ludwigia and valisnera americana that have been growing immersed that I would send you for the cost of shipping if you are interested. If you decide to try anubias, let it acclimate to the air slowly and never bury the rhizome. It will simply rot and leave you with nothing. There are also bog plants like marsh marigold and sweet rush, but those get a bit bigger and need soil to thrive as well.

 

[Millerlite]

I redid the gravel side, it's dry now. I think I'm just going to get a potted plant and put it on that end and some moss.

As far as aquatic plants my waters not deep, only 7-8 inches, would some of the aquatic plants mentioned be alright in that shallow of water or do u recommend something else? Im going to have a musk turtle in here so want something he can cling too

---

Ps here are a few newer picture water is really clearing up. I have an African cichlids that I plan to find a home for it was a friends and his tank broke so I took in all his fish lol.

I know this should probably be in the fish section but I'm getting a turtle I promise

 

[Yvonne G]

Here's a nice site that sells marginal plants. I have bought from them before:

http://www.pondplants1.com/bog.htm

 

[Kristina]

Anubias barteri nana would be fantastic on the water side. It is a "miniature" version of barteri, the leaves only get to be about the size of a dime. It is a tough plant, but a slow grower, and easy to prune to stay small. I have anubias, crypt wendtii, windlov java fern, and foxtail in my Stinkpot's aquarium. It is a 54 gallon corner, so it is pretty deep, and I like the foxtail because it floats at the top and gives him something to grip on when he comes up to breathe. It grows like a weed and handles aggressive pruning well. under high light the tips turn a pretty pink.

I have a nana that I bought three years ago. It was a half inch piece of rhizome with 5 leaves. It has all of its original leaves still, but now is a "mother' plant with three babies and about 100 leaves. I can't share though because I vowed to never prune it, ever I could probably help you find some though.

 

[Millerlite]

The half tank is nice but think im getting rid of it and filling the tank half way for the fish sake, then I'll make a new land area when turtles come in the future.

But thanks for plant advice I'm really interested in a lot of plants especially with the more water I'll be adding soon

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

Looks very nice!

 

[turtlesailor]

Looks great!