'Clean' water is often misunderstood. They do require clean water, clean of ammonia and nitrites/nitrates, however they do well in blackwater.
A blackwater tank is, ideally, a tank where the tannins have leeched out of the driftwood and timber roots in the tank, to give the water a tea colour or dirty water appearance. Another way to create a blackwater tank easily is to add a handful of peat (rinsed well first) to your filter. There are artificial products that can be added to the water in the form of drops that do the same thing, however my fish keeping friends warned me off from these products due to possible carcinogenic ingredients. If you intend to keep a blackwater tank, then you need to remove the carbon from the filtration, as the carbon is what takes this colour out of the water and makes it crystal clear again.
I have modified my tanks to have escape proof covers. I create a timber frame around the top of the tank, siliconed in place and screwed at the joints. Then made a rectangular frame in timber, to sit on the top of the tank framing. This top frame is hinged and has clips at the front and the main body is mouse wire. This means also that I can drill a couple of little holes in my flouro cover and attach it directly to the mousewire with electrical cables. The flouro then lifts with the lid when I open it up. I have holes drilled into my glass for the pipework and cabling, but equally, it is a simple affair to trim out a few mousewire squares to pass cabling and pipework through at the back of the hinged lid.
The only time I use my flouro lighting, is when I am doing some work with the tank and I need it to see. My main tank is set up in a low traffic area and it gets a small amount of natural daylight.
Stress is a major factor in the overall health of the animal. However, like normal snakes, some stress more than others. Make sure water noise and movement is kept to a minimum and there are plenty of hiding holes and groundcover in the tank. Cheap plastic aquarium plant leaves can be cut up and sprinkled onto the waters surface for cover from above (a high stress factor is predation from above). The midwater range will need to be more open and clear as they will hunt and the lessed stressed will swim in this area also. I like to create a corner and back u shape cover and leave centre front clear.
I did ramble on. Oops
I can put up pics of my tank lids later if you want them. I can't do it right now as the hard drive is currently not connected.
