Filtration for Newt Vivarium

Question
Hello and thank you for reading my question.
I have bought a new small vivarium for my 2 Firebellied Newts. It is 6 UK gallons, and is 2 ft long, but only 8 inches tall! It is a strange shape, specifically designed for vivariums.
Anyway, I have a basic plan of it, but need a small internal filter that can obviously fit in the tank well, and is not too powerful (as the newts do not like too strong a current).
Is there any filters you can recommend?
Thanks,
Kathryn

Answer
Good day, Kathryn. Thank you for your question!

What an ambitious undertaking! A vivarium is definitely a worthwhile project. The trend doesn't seem to be catching on here in Central Florida, where several aquatic retailers had never heard of the similar word "paludarium" before...!

I had a 15 gallon (my, does that really translate to over 56 liters?) turtle tank which I filtered with a Micro-Jet filter. The media I used was a proprietary blend of some sort using coconut carbon along with other goopy material. It did work well, but there's no doubt that better filters exist. Even when the water level dropped considerably (as it did during one heater malfunction) the filter pumped on, and with proper maintenance I never had any flow troubles.

If I were to redo the whole setup, I would probably use either a Duetto or a Fluval filter. Here's a couple of websites that offer more information on these filters:

http://badmanstropicalfish.com/paludarium/paludarium2.html
http://www.aquahobby.com/products/e_duetto.php
http://www.aquahobby.com/products/e_fluvalplus.php

The Duetto 50 and Fluval 1 should be suitable for your tank. The Duetto has the boon of an adjustable flow rate. My understanding is that newts are not strong swimmers, so perhaps for this reason, this filter will serve you best. The Fluval internal filters can have the flow directionally adjusted, however, so if there was too much splash, you could aim the flow at a heavy object such as large rock.

I hope that helps! Good luck to you on your endeavor, it certainly sounds interesting. Drop me a line if you have any more questions. I'll leave you with some reading material, if you would like to continue studying up on the subject.

Take care,
Nicole

P.S. These were the best websites I could find:

http://www.aquahobby.com/articles/e_terrarium.php
(A pithy narrative.)

http://freshaquarium.about.com/cs/paludriums/l/blpaludarium.htm
(Lots of links on this one.)

http://www.vivaria.nl/vivarium/gettting_started.html
(A little eye candy here!)

http://exoticpets.about.com/cs/salamanders/a/firebelliednewt_2.htm
(A website from our parent company, about.com, on caring for fire bellied newts. Some links and photos worthy of note.)