Sunday, August 20th 2006
A quick update, several months later. Enough time has
passed that I've learned what has worked and what hasn't
in this particular environment.
The Cork:
The cork has held fairly well to the plexiglas retainer
wall. It soaks a large number of tannins into the water,
turning it an attractive amber tint, which helps enhance
the look of the tank. The downside is that as the cork
soaks, it softens. This might not be a problem with
other animals (frogs, fish, etc.), but the turtle likes
to climb up it as he moves to the land area. Large pieces
have been pealing back off the cork on a nearly-weekly
basis. It still looks good, but its just a matter of
time till it needs to be replaced. I've been looking
into more durable materials, possibly bamboo.
The Moss:
The moss looked great (see a few photos down), but when
I upgraded to the more intense lighting, it just started
to die off. Moss prefers the shade, and there certainly
wasn't much of that to be found. As it died off, it
became loose, and started to get pulled into the water
when the turtle moved around. This was a mess. I replaced
the moss with common yard grass: it likes light, it
likes moisture, and it grows fast enough that being
munched on is not a problem. The perfect solution. I've
been able to trim it down in the front, and let it grow
wild in the back, creating a nice effect in the tank.
Sunday,
April 23rd 2006
Well the tank is doing great. I got a Coralife compact
fluorescent lighting unit, which I occasionally supplement
with a heating lamp. The plants are growing really well
with the extra lighting. Today during the standard weekend
water change, I added some extra soil to make up for
some settling that had occurred.
Occasionally, to the dismay of my girlfriend and the
delight of my cat, I get Mr Turtle some guppies or goldfish
to eat. I have one guppy that has continued to exist
for about two months. All 23 of his fellows have been
eaten (or sucked into the filter intake, its a pretty
powerful filter for a guppy), and a dozen goldfish as
well. I have the beginnings of a plan that involve setting
up an aquarium specifically for this fellow and any
other guppies that can withstand a month of cohabitation
with my turtle. The end result? A breeding colony of
genetically superior guppies. Natural selection, turbo charged.
Sunday, March 19th 2006
So what's next? Lighting is the next big step. I'm going
to order a CF lighting array to go over the tank, to
keep the plants happy and supply some good UVB rays
to the turtle. Then I'm looking into some floating plants
to cover the surface, and make it more pond-like. Also
looking into plants that can be attached to the cork bark
wall, and grow out there.
Saturday, March 18th 2006
Move in day! Very exciting. This morning I drained the old tank, and put the finishing touches on the new one. I filled it with water, hooked up the equipment, and introduced Mr. Turtle to his private tropical resort. I also forgot to clean the canister filter, so when I turned it on for the first time, it pumped about three
weeks of sludge buildup into the water. Lesson learned.
Friday,
March 17th 2006
The cork bark that I am going to use to disguise the
acrylic land / water divider arrived today! It was scheduled
for Monday, which would have put the project on hold
for another weekend. I can now finish the tank and move
the turtle in tomorrow morning. I'm going attach the
cork tonight, and allow 12 hours for the silicone adhesive
to dry.
I skipped a few posts because its been a busy week at
work, and I haven't been up to writing and taking photos
about this project at night, but current the land areas
have been filled with a mixture of coconut fiber and
organic terrarium soil.
Here are some shots of the cork being attached. I used
the wooden skewers to hold the cork panels flat against
the acrylic surface while the silicone cured. More information
in the interior section.
Tuesday,
March 14th 2006
Another test fill and another leak. The patch from yesterday
held, but this one was kind of depressing. Its a bummer
to be at work all day excited to go home and landscape
the tank, and then discover another leak that requires
a 24 hour drying period. On closer inspection the whole seal between marsh and
dry areas looks somewhat suspect. The smart thing to
do would be to razor it all out and start fresh, but
I'm going to see if this patch holds tomorrow night.
Monday,
March 13th 2006
I did a test fill today of the tank today, and discovered
a leak between the dry portion and the marsh area. I
was expecting much worse, but it is a bummer to not
be able to being landscaping tonight. I'm going to let
it dry over night and hopefully patch the leak in the
morning before work. That should allow enough time for
it to dry that I can do another fill test tomorrow.
More pictures in the tank construction
section.
Sunday,
March 12th, 2006
I just decided that this project deserved its own website,
so I've made one for it. To play catch up with how the
project has progressed so far (started construction on
the stand in February):
My goal is to build a naturalistic vivarium (combination
of terrarium and aquarium, meaning there is both a land
and a water area), for my pet turtle, a young Trachemys
scripta elegans. You can read about about that in
the project summary. So far I have built the stand, and acquired the tank. Today
I glued in an acrylic divider to separate the land, marsh,
and water areas of the tank. Tomorrow, once the silicone
has cured, I'm going to add some water and see just how
bad my caulking skills are. Hopefully there will be no
leaks.
Today I also bought some supplies for the land area. I'm
mixing a combination of coconut shell fiber with an organic
terrarium substrate that is basically soil and peat moss.
Hopefully tomorrow we will be leak free, and I can start
to fill the land area.
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