# My first Paludarium (40gal) .:UPDATE 3:. April 25 2007



## raimeiken (Dec 24, 2006)

I dont know if this is considered a paludarium since it is not that much water in there. Here's the info on the tank. 

I siliconed a 1" layer of styrofoam on the back of the tank and then put Great Stuff over it. (i was afraid the GS will peel off easily without the styrofoam behind it)

Then i mixed peatmoss and coco fiber on that ACE concrete primer and binder. My first try i think i put too much peatmoss in there (it looked too dark for my taste) so i put a second layer on it with less peat and more coco fiber. The whole background was rock hard after 3-4 days. 

I used the 'silicone + coco fiber' method on the lower part of the tank since ACE concrete primer isnt good underwater. Then i put a mixture of flourite and Amazonia Aqua soil under the water. (The aqual soil alone would be too compact and muddy, so i mixed the flourite to give the substrate some aeration)



















as you can see, the area around the stump isnt finished yet, im in the process of pre-soaking the orchid mix and charcoal. It'll go in tomorrow. I put a layer of landscaping fabric under the fiberglass screen, just to make sure none of the substrate will go under the false bottom. 
















yes, the temp is 74 and 67 on humidity. that's because the top of my tank isnt finished yet, plus the misting system isnt hooked up also.








































I have a canister filter that's running the water from the left side of the tank going to the right side. The temp and the humidity in the tank should go up once i hook up the inline heater to the canister filter.


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## raimeiken (Dec 24, 2006)

here's pics of that massive driftwood in the middle before it went in the tank.




















i was quite happy with that purchase. The thing nearly costs me $60 :lol:


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## Frogtofall (Feb 16, 2006)

Great start. I look forward to seeing it progress.


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## fleshatomb (Jan 24, 2007)

Looks great! And thats one gnarly lookin' piece of driftwood.


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## titan501x (Dec 7, 2006)

wow! i love the layout of everything!


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## afterdark (Jan 16, 2007)

looks absolutely awesome! :shock: 

You captured the look that's been banging around in my skull since I started 'planning' my 32 Gallon tank. Congrats.

What kind of frogs are you considering for it? Also, what are the dimensions?8) 

Cheers.


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## raimeiken (Dec 24, 2006)

:lol: im sorry i stole your idea. But yeah im planning on either keeping D. azureus or D. leucomelas

I still have to read up some more about them before i decide


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## Karel (Mar 7, 2006)

I really like the setup, nice work so far.


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## raimeiken (Dec 24, 2006)

i got everything setup except for the two other fans im waiting for. The temp in there at night gets to 70 degrees and 85-90 on humidity. Is that temp good during the night or is it too cold when i put frogs in it?


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## raimeiken (Dec 24, 2006)

Here's a little update. I added the substrate and threw in a few anubias from my previous planted tank. Notice some of the leaves are drying out, i think because it's not used to being fully emersed or maybe my light is too much.










same amount of light, just different camera settings


















here's a picture of the water feature in the tank









Pic of when the main lights are on











I can't wait for the plants i ordered from antone and Blackjungle  



Oh by the way, do you have to call in to confirm your order at Blackjungle? because it's been a week now and i still havent gotten an email from them telling me that they have shipped the items yet. :? 

"Plants & fruit flies are shipped Mon.-Wed. Frogs are generally shipped Tues.-Wed. but must be confirmed
by calling us at 800-268-1813. Dry goods may be shipped any day of the week without restrictions."

It said that in the email that i got lastweek after i put in my order. Does the calling to confirm only apply if you ordered frogs or to plants also?


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## jbeetle (Feb 8, 2004)

i don't think you have to call to confirm your order. i just think they are probably busy getting ready to head out to arizona. 

http://www.dendroboard.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=23879


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## raimeiken (Dec 24, 2006)

jbeetle said:


> i don't think you have to call to confirm your order. i just think they are probably busy getting ready to head out to arizona.
> 
> http://www.dendroboard.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=23879


HOLY crap i didnt even know that :shock: i might have to go check that out


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## lestat (Feb 25, 2007)

Looks great! That'll be awesome with all the plants in there.


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## Arklier (Mar 1, 2004)

Very nice looking tank, with the water going across the front. Can't wait to see it planted.

I wouldn't worry about the Great Stuff peeling off, though. That stuff sticks like concrete. Ask anyone who has tried to take down a tank that has it. :lol:


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## a Vertigo Guy (Aug 17, 2006)

Lookin good so far. Thats an awesome piece of wood! Id pay $60 for it!


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## raimeiken (Dec 24, 2006)

I got a few plants from Antone about 2 weeks ago and here are the updates. Click on the pics to zoom in





The plants are all doing great. The Vriesea Racinae to the left of the tank has a fan blowing on it almost 24/7 since i've read here that Vrieseas can rot quickly without air circulation. Now does that mean air circulating all the time or just after the plants are watered so it'll dry up?

Anyway I have more plants coming this thursday from Blackjungle, so i'll post more updates, that is if the plants come here alive. Stupid blackjungle shipped it through Fedex ground even though i chose and paid for the UPS 2nd day air mail :x


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## Rambo67 (Jun 12, 2006)

The tank looks great! The first pic doesnt enlarge though, and I was hoping to see the full tank shot :lol: 

Nice work though, hope the other plants come in ok.


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## raimeiken (Dec 24, 2006)

there it should work now


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## Rambo67 (Jun 12, 2006)

Sure does! I really like that center piece of wood.


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## raimeiken (Dec 24, 2006)

can someone recommend me some small plants that i can attach to the wood that's laying on the bottom right of my tank. The wood is dry most of the time. It only get's wet when the mist comes on.


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## jsagcincy (May 2, 2005)

I think you did an awesome job. It will look great once the plants start to grow in. What's going in it?


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## raimeiken (Dec 24, 2006)

yeah i cant wait for the plants to fill in the background. I cant wait for the aquatic plants that im putting in there also, the water area looks too bare.

Im possibly looking to put 3 or 4 azureus in there


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## afterdark (Jan 16, 2007)

I'd love to see an updated shot of this tank!  

Cheers.


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## raimeiken (Dec 24, 2006)

I was waiting for the plants to grow in some more before i was going to update this, but since you guys asked :lol: 

I got a ton more plants in there now since the last pictures. I also changed the substrate by adding a lot more orchid bark in it because it wasnt draining well last time and now the plants are doing a lot better.

Here's the left side of the tank with the plants growing in...finally








and the right side of the tank









Here's a full tank shot



















and here's some more random shots of the tank








I created a little pond in the corner of the tank, so the future frogs can put their tads in there without getting them swepped away by the current from the stream. I planted some Anubias nana petite in it and some Hemianthus callitrichoides which isnt doing so great  

















Can someone ID that creeping plant that i have on the top left corner? I got it from Blackjungle but the name that they had was wrong. It was named "cadierei pilea" but if you search that name on google, a different plant called "aluminum plant" shows up :? 









The Hemianthus callitrichoides is doing waaaayyyy better planted on the land areas than in the water. you can see it in this picture. (its that foreground plant with tiny leaves.



























I recently just got this awesome Jewel Orchid. It's called Anoectochilus roxburghii 




































Here you can see some moss growing in to the water, i think its java moss or christmas moss. I have both kinds of moss in the tank but i forgot which one is which. The Hemianthus callitrichoides on the right used to be this huge mat of it, half submerged in the water but it started to die off since the seller from where i got it was growing it terrestrially, but now its starting to take off again 8)


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## raimeiken (Dec 24, 2006)

Here's the list of all the plants i got in there, excluding that plant that i wanted an ID on

Anoectochilus roxburghii 
Neoregelia lilliputiana X fireball
Neoregelia 'Red Waif ' 
Neoregelia cyanea Hybrid
Neoregelia pauciflora
Neoregelia angelface x midget
Neoregelia 'Cheers'
Neoregelia ampullacea
Vriesea racinae 'Brazil'
Macodes petola
Peperomia angulata
White rabbit fern
Korean Rock Fern
Anubias Nana
Anubias Nana Petite
Hemianthus callitrichoides
Java Moss
Christmas Moss
Selaginella - Kraussiana "Gold Tips"
Selaginella uncinata
Ficus pumila
Encyclia bractescens
Tillandsia bergeri
Tillandsia ionantha
Tillandsia juncifolia
Tillandsia kolbii
Tillandsia stricta


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## housevibe7 (Sep 24, 2006)

Wow, since it has grown in that tank looks amazing! I love the stump in the middle with the tillandsia on it.


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## raimeiken (Dec 24, 2006)

Thanks, i appreciate the comments  

that one Tillandsia in the middle is about to flower, its been turning red for a few weeks now. I dunno when it'll flower


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## nitsuj (Jan 21, 2007)

1st time I saw this thread, very nice tank!


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## Jesse (Sep 19, 2005)

*g*

Great tank, I love how natural it looks.

Jesse


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## frogman824 (Aug 10, 2005)

My first time seeing it as well, it looks great. I'm not too familiar with aquatic plants but they may do better if you were to plant them in some gravel instead of sand. 

Mike


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## raimeiken (Dec 24, 2006)

frogman824 said:


> My first time seeing it as well, it looks great. I'm not too familiar with aquatic plants but they may do better if you were to plant them in some gravel instead of sand.
> 
> Mike


i planted it in aqual soil which is suppose to be the ideal substrate for that plant since its a very tiny plant. It'll just float away if it was planted in gravel. It just started dieing off because it wasnt grown submerged, now some of it is starting to grow under water again.


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## SLEDDER23 (Mar 17, 2005)

i planted it in aqual soil which is suppose to be the ideal substrate for that plant since its a very tiny plant. It'll just float away if it was planted in gravel. It just started dieing off because it wasnt grown submerged, now some of it is starting to grow under water again.[/quote]

OK, I have to ask. What is Aqual soil, and where did you get it? Like the previous poster on page 1, you stole my idea! :lol: 

Your layout is very nice, very natural. I hope that driftwood lasts for you, and your tank grows in even better. Really nice job. Looks like you've done your research. Is this your first viv?


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## SLEDDER23 (Mar 17, 2005)

raimeiken said:


> i planted it in aqual soil which is suppose to be the ideal substrate for that plant since its a very tiny plant. It'll just float away if it was planted in gravel. It just started dieing off because it wasnt grown submerged, now some of it is starting to grow under water again.


OK, I have to ask. What is Aqual soil, and where did you get it? I really like the look of it, whatever it is. Very natural.

Like the previous poster on page 1, you stole my idea! :lol: 

Your layout is very nice, very natural. I hope that driftwood lasts for you, and your tank grows in even better. Really nice job. Looks like you've done your research. Is this your first viv?


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## raimeiken (Dec 24, 2006)

SLEDDER23 said:


> raimeiken said:
> 
> 
> > OK, I have to ask. What is Aqual soil, and where did you get it? Like the previous poster on page 1, you stole my idea! :lol:
> ...


Yes, this is my very first viv and i did do a ton of research because i wanted to get it done right the first time especially with this big of a tank.

Before getting into this hobby I was in the planted tank hobby, so i knew quite a bit of info on plants, substrates etc. Aquasoil is one of the the best substrates for planted tanks and you can buy it online or some local petstores that carry that line of product. Takashi Amano started this line of product. If you search his name on google images, you'll find a lot of beautifully designed planted tanks and also very natural. Most of the products he sells in my opinion are very overpriced, They are like the Ferrari of planted tank products :lol: but the substrate is worth the money and its about the same price as the other good substrates out there like flourite or onix sand.


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## SLEDDER23 (Mar 17, 2005)

Thanks for the tip Raimeiken. I am familiar with his work, but not his soil I guess. I'll check at my LFS, it's a large independent. If not, guess I'll check it out online or go with play sand. I'm not as concerned about plants in the water, though that would be very nice as well.

thanks again!


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## raimeiken (Dec 24, 2006)

SLEDDER23 said:


> Thanks for the tip Raimeiken. I am familiar with his work, but not his soil I guess. I'll check at my LFS, it's a large independent. If not, guess I'll check it out online or go with play sand. I'm not as concerned about plants in the water, though that would be very nice as well.
> 
> thanks again!


yeah i chose this substrate because of its colour and texture. It looks really natural


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## yoko (Apr 12, 2007)

*raimeiken*, your tank is an inspiration to me.

I am just getting started in the Planted tanks, but want to venture out into a Paludarium-style, while I'm at it.

I am familiar with ADA Aquasoil (the prices :lol: ), but haven't actually SEEN the soil in person, so not really aware of it's texture, but I read that you mixed Fluorite & Aquasoil... but
How are you getting that kind of "fine"/muddy texture?

yoko


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## raimeiken (Dec 24, 2006)

yoko said:


> *raimeiken*, your tank is an inspiration to me.
> 
> I am just getting started in the Planted tanks, but want to venture out into a Paludarium-style, while I'm at it.
> 
> ...


thanks! im glad i inspire other people in this hobby  

this is the first time i bought aquasoil so i dont know if this is normal for it, but it started out in little balls but after it was submerged in water, the soil at the bottom of the bucket started getting mushy when i was cleaning it. So I just mushed all of it into this mud that you see, then i just mixed the flourite that i already had just to help with aeration. I didnt think that the small foreground plant would hold in well if the aquasoil was in that little pebble form.


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## yoko (Apr 12, 2007)

Absolutely  
*raimeiken*, I don't think you are supposed to smash the "little balls" up, but, whatever works!  
What else do you plan to plant in the water portion?

yoko


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## raimeiken (Dec 24, 2006)

yoko said:


> Absolutely
> *raimeiken*, I don't think you are supposed to smash the "little balls" up, but, whatever works!
> What else do you plan to plant in the water portion?
> 
> yoko


i have a few anubias nana petite in there and moss. I dont plan on crowding the water with plants because it'll slow down the stream.


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