Stream in a twenty gallon?

[SludgeMunkey]

A twenty long is the perfect size for a first attempt at such a build. In fact, I personally swear by the 20 long style tank.

The secret to such a build is the method chosen to power flow to the stream. I use two different methods. The first is what is pictured in my Bombina orientalis enclosure . The down side to this type is that you sacrifice floor space and quite a bit of volume to build up a proper looking water fall area.

The other type is a bit more work, but uses less space and provides a much gentler flow. For this type I run a length of 3/4 inch PVC pipe along the bottom of the tank under the substrate. From the source of the stream I attach a PVC elbow and a small section of the pipe cut to be just a bit higher than the substrate will be. Add your stream bed and your substrate, then add your water. To make it flow, simply put an airstone hooked up to a small aquarium pump in the outlet end and turn it on. The air flowing up will draw water through the pipe from the "pond' end.

Currently, I do not have any pictures to share of this build type, but I will sketch up what I am talking about and post it in this thread shortly.

Either way, choose your stream bed materials carefully. Great Stuff expanding foam is not the best choice, but it does work well. A method I have not used yet, but really like is to actually build the stream bed with river rock and aquarium silicone. My personal favorite is acrylic concrete, but this is a time consuming and somewhat pricey method and is definitely not for everyone.

This link will take you to a compilation of various vivaria builds folks have done over at caudata.org that a few of us have compiled together. Most of them show the complete build process, and quite a few of them incorporate running water in various forms.

I'm off to do up a few drawings and scan them in here for you...more later.