Any enthusiasts here? Be it frogs, lizards, invert, fish or just plants. Curious to see what people here are doing 
Just bout an 80 gal and exploring ideas
we have a leopard gecko. We don’t know what we’re doing.
Long time ago I kept a beautiful wild newt which lasted many years and I also tried to keep some Chinese newts but they all die for some reason.
Go to a few pet shops to get ideas, there are lots here. If I were you I’d probably make it half aquarium half terrarium, with fish and amphibious.
Cool how long you had your leopard gecko? I used to breed them, fun little guys!
What kind.d of newts did you keep? I love newts, but none live here, so far the only ones I’ve found.d are the fire bellied newts. I’d make a whole new gig if I could find some.marbled newts! One of my favorite!
So far I have the general layout planned, you’re right on land/water being WAY cooler, we went with that idea. Now just waitg to find some wood before I concrete everything.
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Some progress. Been a while since I did this, forgot how long things take like cleaning wood, drying, curing etc. Be a month yet I guess. Put potted plants in for now to give that instant satisfaction of green haha.
Concrete basically done, just need to shape the river and dirt area.
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Done the hardscape and just need to plant out the bottom now. It’s stabilized and has so.e tadpoles, isopods and various other things living happily.
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That’s a nice finish. Our leopard gecko is supposedly on loan (we’ve had him a few months), but that could be forever - the situation isn’t clear. We have a space to do what you’ve done, but it’ll be dry only. Right now he’s in a rather dull box with a rock or two.
What mix did you use for the hardscape / ‘concrete’ part?
Normally I use a grout without any anti fungal ingredients. But the shops give you a full look when you try and explain it. Maybe if you are in a city. So used concrete with the sand I wanted.but for wet vivarium, especially aquatic inhabited ones, its important to cure it properly then neutralize the oh with an acid soak (vinegar).
When I did desert o especially for frog eye geckos, beardies, collared Liz uromastyx etc I liked using either plaster of Paris or grout. Some cool looking stuff can be done with layered cut out plywood later coated in such material. Or just a wire mesh concreted. With mesh, expect to do 3 or so layers, last layer I press sand into it for more natural color. Doubt the alkaline oh would bother a leopard gecko but I always like to soak concrete in an acidic bath a few weeks later to balance the oh.
Got a pic? I like leopard and African fat tail geckos.
