My 25G Paludarium comments love / hate?

[Fat Homer]

Looks cool man. Should put a newt or some type of amphibian.

Thanks for the comment, and i guess i could consider a newt or something along those lines... as long as my g/f doesn't freak

I love it. Can't wait to see some updated pics when the plants grow in.

Thanks, i'm hoping it all works out, as i mentioned before its basically a bit of trial and error... so if it all works out in a year or so i may upgrade to a larger tank...

+1 for newts and frogs, but i'd make sure everything is successful first.

Also i came across this product while i was in Petco for food the other day. Looks like you could get real creative with it. It was in the reptile section.

Yeah, i've been told to wait at least one month before stocking it with any sort of fish or other inhabitants to see how the plants do first...

Also funny you should mention that exo-terra vine, i actually have some tucked away in one of my fish equipment boxes, might be time to dig it out and have some fun

 

[aclockworkorange]

I'm trying to figure out how to build up the back right corner of my tank as a small "land" portion and what to do about the space underneath. I want 75% of the tank footprint to have water, as I have no plans right now for any creatures living above the water line.
I'm thinking maybe some sort of small false bottom where I can hide tank equipment but I have no idea how to go about it and how to make it accessible. And I believe there's also a good chance that built up portion of substrate could "rot" if done improperly.

 

[Fat Homer]

^ actually below the land area in my tank is actually all water... i got some "T" shaped acrylic made to hold up another piece of acrylic cut to the right shape... its hard to explain without pics, so I'll post some pictures of the land area before it was put together up later tonight when i get off work...

And maybe if i'm up to it, i'll upload all the photos i have of the build...

 

[aclockworkorange]

That would be great. Thanks!

 

[Fat Homer]

Okay, this update will be picture heavy so be warned..

The 24" Tank

Some of the products

The Acrylic Land and Base areas

Close up of the top rim after removing it

Picture of the Land area acrylic with plastic egg crate on top

Picture of the acrylic with plastic egg crate cut to size

Picture of the acrylic with with guidelines drawn

Picture of the land area acrylic with holes drilled for water drainage

Pic of T-Shaped acrylic pieces and one of the dividers

The Base area acrylic being siliconed

The Base acrylic after curing

Picture of the Land area acrylic after being siliconed and cured

Another shot of the land area to show the wire mesh, plastic egg crate all tied to the land area

A picture of the soon to be underwater area

A test of the layout with everything in place

Some new Driftwood for the tank

Driftwood soaking

Pic of the pebbles on the base put in place for water to move around and avoid gas pockets

Putting the Driftwood in place

With the land area back in to gauge how it looks

With the first layer of soil in

Another angle... i should also note, i added ADA Carbon between the layers of sand to prevent toxic gas pockets

Pic of some stones smashing a piece of the petrified wood stone into smaller pieces to build the barrier near the water fall

A pic of the almost finished barrier

Playing with the layout with almost everything in place

Testing out the Slate waterfall i built, although its a bit short

Pic of the added base area for the waterfall to stand higher up

Side view of the waterfall

Finally placing the plants in for a test layout run before planting

And there you have it... a basic quick run down of how i went about putting together my paludarium...

Hope you all enjoyed it...

 

[aclockworkorange]

Thanks for going through all the effort to post that! This gives me some stuff to think about...

 

[Fat Homer]

^ No worries, just hope it'll help give you some help with your build... especially with the raised platform...

 

[Spiritofthesoul]

Lovely man!

Just wondering, would the roots grow all the way down through the mesh?
If so that would be totally cool, you could make a small cave with roots hanging from the ceilings. Just a thought

 

[busterbrown]

Looks good man, when those plants grow out and start to over hang it will look rad

 

[Fat Homer]

Lovely man!

Just wondering, would the roots grow all the way down through the mesh?
If so that would be totally cool, you could make a small cave with roots hanging from the ceilings. Just a thought

I'm guessing that they shouldn't be able to get through the full land area, as there is about 3"+ of soil, a layer of pebbles, a wire mesh layer, an egg crate layer, and then finally a piece of acrylic with holes drilled in it... so for the roots to get through all that and grow out would be a challenge for the plant... although technically not impossible?

But i do agree, if they actually go through, it could end up looking quite interesting, as long as it doesn't go too nuts...

Also, i do have a bit of a cave type system underneath with all the driftwood inside, which i guess makes up for the lack of interesting decor back there, although you can't really see much...

Looks good man, when those plants grow out and start to over hang it will look rad

Thanks, i'm also just waiting to see what happens with the plants... hopefully they do well, but i guess only time will tell?