# Double 3'x2'x2' paludarium build thread



## bothrops (Aug 29, 2009)

Hi guys,


I am a college lecturer over in the UK and thought I'd share my project build.

We are a land based college and I teach animal management for a living. We have our own animal unit and we needed a few more amphibians. I happened to have a bunch of students, a bit of cash and a few hours a week spare to play.

I'm on a budget and due to the nature of the collection, these have to be 'generic small frog' vivs so we are flexible when it comes to what we can house. Initially they may have fire bellies, bumblebee walkers or epipedibates, but we could in the future looks for a group of leucs, tincs or auratus. Hopefully the size and design will allow this flexibility.

Also, because we have full time keepers, RO water on tap and a series of storage tanks, I'm not putting a filter system in, relying instead on an automated misting system (Importing a MistKing system) and regular water changes by keepers (plus the natural filtration of the gravel bacteria and plants).


So, firstly, apologies for the first set of pics - I haven't taken my camera into work so these were all taken on my (rubbish) phone. I will endeavour to take better pics as the build develops.


So, here goes....

Firstly I took an old 6'x2'x2' tank I found in the back of the barn (budget build remember!). This originally was split into 6 little 1'x2'x2' invert tanks. I removed two partitions from each side to create 2 large 3'x2'x2' tanks


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## bothrops (Aug 29, 2009)

Added a couple of patches to seal up the crack in the base (it won't have to hold much weight of water and will be fixed in situ once finished).



















A little rough around the edges, but I reckon I can make this work!


For the circulation, I'm going for a very simple false bottom with an overflow pipe and a pipe for keepers to top up with RO/matured aquarium water and for the MistKing rain to drain away. Of course this meant drilling two holes in the bottom of the tank.....gulp.










I was nervous - never done it before - however, success was forthcoming...











Cleaned tank up and removed old fascia from front. 











False bottom supports cut, drilled and stuck



















Siliconed the 'top up' down pipes in place (taped in place until the sealant cues)










Eggcrate false bottom cut, plastic insect guard fixed on top using sealant and placed to check size.











Next session is tomorrow morning (and I'm taking the camera) so more (and hopefully better!) pics coming soon.


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## jermajestyg (Jan 28, 2012)

How are you planning on doing the top?? from what i can see it is open with just that one peice of holy glass running across the top...


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## bothrops (Aug 29, 2009)

The large gap will have a set of glass runners on either side and have sliding glass doors/lid. The large central boom will have a pair of T5's wedged in it with reflectors over the top and the thin back strip will have a strip of the insect mesh glued across it for ventilation.

The glass lip at the front will be drilled to accommodate the Mist King nozzles!


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## bothrops (Aug 29, 2009)

Extended the 'feet' as we decided the water should be a bit deeper.










Drainage system in place










False bottom all wrapped up!










False bottom in place (please ignore tatty overlaps, they'll get cut when the silicon is dry!)











How it looks now (wood just placed in not fixed). Ignore background as that will soon be covered with expanding foam! Note I added weed block to the land area as I felt the nylon insect mesh would allow the smaller soil particulates through.














Due to the size of the tank, it is impossible to lie it on its back for the expanding foam background, so I added a little eggcrate scaffolding and intend to do it in stages. I may get a chance to do this at the weekend.


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## SLiK JiM (Oct 10, 2011)

Finally! Someone in the UK I can bug for bits and pieces of advice! 

Looking good so far, but I have have 2 questions:

1 - where did you get the egg crate stuff from in the UK? I haven't found anywhere that is a reasonable price!

2 - have you ordered your mistking system yet? If not, don't import it from the US as it'll cost you a fortune in tax (I made that mistake a while ago buying one for my chameleons!) but get it from Vivariumland who are having a 10% sale from 1st May to 3rd May {also, if you pay in zloty, the exchange rate is a little better too} as I am going to order mine for my build in that window!

Good luck!


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## phelsumaman (May 8, 2011)

Looks great, please keep us all updated. 

Also looks as if you're not a million miles away from me, I'm based just south of Bristol 
Benq


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## bothrops (Aug 29, 2009)

SLiK JiM said:


> Finally! Someone in the UK I can bug for bits and pieces of advice!
> 
> Looking good so far, but I have have 2 questions:
> 
> ...



Hi,

I bought it from eBay. Paid £24.95 (inc P&P) for five pieces. 

KOI POND FILTER GRID MEDIA EGG CRATE KOI FISH POND | eBay
ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649#ht_1958wt_1110



Yeah, I found out about vivariumland a couple of days ago. Thanks for the heads up regarding the discount period though! Very handy tip. (What's 'zloty'?)


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## SLiK JiM (Oct 10, 2011)

bothrops said:


> Hi,
> 
> I bought it from eBay. Paid £24.95 (inc P&P) for five pieces.
> 
> ...


Cool! I may have to buy some, but its pretty expensive stuff! I might be buying some from vivariumland as it's pretty cheap.

zloty is the polish currency. It's just a bit weaker against the point than € is currently. All you need to do is select the polish language site and use google translate to complete the sale! 

I'm planning to get my build started soon when I figure out what thickness of glass to use.


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## bothrops (Aug 29, 2009)

Awesome - thank's for the top tips!


Started the expanding foam....

(sorry, back to the crappy phone pics!)


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## SLiK JiM (Oct 10, 2011)

I'm gonna need more details than that!  What type of expanding foam?

The more detail the better for me!

Thanks!


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## bothrops (Aug 29, 2009)

Any will do as I intend to seal it with silicon.


I have used Evo-stick expanding foam (£7-10 for a large can from B&Q depending on if you can get it trade or not (I could!))

I will be using HA6 Marine Grade brown silicon for the sealing.

I've placed a few bits of driftwood into the background and a couple of plant pots for a couple of specimen creeper plants later on.

Because I'm unable to tip this build onto its back, I'm having to build up the expanding foam in stages to allow each layer to set before I add more height.

I'm going into work to do some more today so I'll post more pics later.


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## bothrops (Aug 29, 2009)

More:


Right viv










Left viv










Close up of right hand viv










Close up of left hand viv with experimental brown silicon/dry coir on slope. I reckon with the gravel, further bits of wood and plants, that'll look pretty good!












And finally how the whole thing looks at the moment...


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## bothrops (Aug 29, 2009)

Did a fair bit more on this over the weekend.

Finished the silicon/coir
Added dendrosoil and gravel


Moved it into Aquatics, where it will live!





























Going to cut and paint a fascia to hide the 'behind the scenes' stuff -a bit like this.....











Going to try and source some golden mantella instead of the fire bellies!


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## bothrops (Aug 29, 2009)

Almost there!


MistKing set-up










Mistking nozzles and T5 lights in place, plus the plastic greenhouse screening stuck over the gap at the back for ventilation.










Another view (you can see inside better from here!)










Nozzles were attached by drilling 16mm holes in the glass at the front:











From the front:











Close up of the right hand side:













I've stuck a couple of little plants in the water but the main bulk of the vegetation should be arriving from JustAirPlants next week.

Just those to go in and then it's time to look for the frogs!

:2thumb:


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## SLiK JiM (Oct 10, 2011)

Very nice looking work! Can't wait to see it grown in fully!


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## bothrops (Aug 29, 2009)

Plants have arrived:




















Planting time tomorrow!

:2thumb:


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## SLiK JiM (Oct 10, 2011)

Where did you get them from?


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## bothrops (Aug 29, 2009)

All the plants came from Gill at justairplants.com - excellent service and fantastic help. This is a custom package she put together for me.


Didn't manage to get them all in, but I'm really happy with the results.




































































...and a video (sorry about the quality, I have a really crumby phone!)


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## SLiK JiM (Oct 10, 2011)

Looks fantastic mate! The plants have really added a lot to it! Good work! Seriously need to get working on mine now! Just need to re-arrange my office a little to fit it in....


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## goof901 (Jan 9, 2012)

you should probably remove the moss around the bromeliads because those might make the bromeliads rot.


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## SLiK JiM (Oct 10, 2011)

Any updated pictures? Would love to see how it's come along!

Also, where did you buy the coir from? I'll be starting my build very shortly, so need to source the materials!


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## SteveR (Jul 26, 2012)

Very nicely done!

do you feel you have enough water movement? I always wonder if, over time... in a setup like this.. of some of these aquatic areas will get a big stagnant? I seems to me you could easily double the flowrate if you chose to do it.

good work though, impressive. Thing must weigh a ton.


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