# 40 Gallon Paludarium Build. Pictures from start to finish with measurements and prices.



## Kalibata (Sep 12, 2021)

Hi everybody, 
I would like to share my journey into building my first Paludarium. I did take around 1000 pictures along the way and will add as much as needed to explain all the steps I did during the building process. 
Building the Paludarium was a lot of joy and since it was my first attempt creating a visual pleasing and functional Tank, it also was a lot of frustration.

It all started while randomly browsing the web and coming across a picture of a Paludarium. I thought wow that looks cool, so I looked it up and did some research over the next couple days. Seeing more pictures and videos on YouTube, I made the decision to build my own. Daily I looked into classified ads, eBay and so on to find an affordable tank for my project since I wasn't ready to shell out over $100 for a new 40 Gallon Breeder. Most of the tanks offered weren't the right size or scratched up so badly that they just would not be usable.

2 weeks went by and I found an advertisement from Petco offering all tanks for 50% off. I did not had to think long, went on their website and ordered one for pickup.

So there it was:

* Aqueon 40 Gallon Breeder 
$50.00
Lenght - 91.90cm (36.19'')
Height - 43 cm (16.94")
Width - 46.35cm (18.25")*











I did had a Cube storage which I planned to use as my stand since it had the perfect height, so when I sit on the couch I can look straight into the Paludarium.
The Cube storage I got a long time ago from Walmart. 

*Better Homes & Gardens 8 Cube Storage Organizer
$75.00
Height - 78cm (30.7")
Length - 147cm (57.8")
Width - 39 cm (15.3")*

The width was not big enough to fully set the tank on it, so I went to Lowes and bought a board (cut in store to length of the stand) plus some supplies:

*Metrie 3/4-in x 20-in x 6-ft Square Unfinished Spruce Pine Fir Board
$ 32.53
Minwax Polyshade Espresso 
$8.58
2" Brush 
$1.28
Sanding Paper 9x11" 220grit
$3.99*










Sanded the board and applied the first coat of polyshade.










The next day i filled the tank about 6" with water to test for leaks. After 24h and no leak, I pumped out the water. Got the pump from Harbor Freight :

*158 Gallon Fountain Pump
$10.99
5 Gallon Lowes Bucket 
$3.78
3/8" Inner Diameter clear Vinyl Tube
$5.48*










Sanded down the board before applying the second coat of Polyshade.



















I repeated that process for the next 3 days, sanded and applied 3 more coats until I liked the color and shine. I used the Polyshade since it does seal the wood, which I thought is a good idea because there will always be some water drops when working on the tank. The final result ended up like this.


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## Kalibata (Sep 12, 2021)

The next step was building the lid. I created a 3D drawing in SketchUp which made it easier to measure, make adjustments and see what the final product will look like. 



















I bought a 2' x 4' plywood at Lowes to build a prototype of the Lid.

*ReliaBilt 1/2-in x 2-ft x 4-ft Poplar Sanded Plywood
$18.92*

Since I am living in an apartment I do not have the space for a miter saw, so I roughly cut out all the pieces with a jigsaw.














































I screwed it together and added a hinge.

*Gatehouse Nickel Piano Cabinet Hinge
1-1/16-in x 30-in Satin Nickel 
$7.98*

First test fitting on the tank and it turned out perfectly. All measurements were correct.





















I will attach the SketchUp file so it will be easy to copy the measurements.

SketchUp File Hood Lid

There is a free Web version of SketchUp available at:

Free Version SketchUp


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## Kalibata (Sep 12, 2021)

Now it was time to get better boards for the Hood. I bought from Lowes( cut in store to length) :

*1/2-in x 4-in x 3-ft Square Unfinished Pine Board *(Cut to 91.5cm)
*$3.96 x 2 = $7.92
1/2-in x 3-in x 3-ft Square Unfinished Pine Board *(Cut to 89.6cm)
*$3.17
1/2-in x 4-in x 2-ft Square Unfinished Pine Board *(Cut to 43.5cm)
*$2.83 x 2 = $5.66
Minwax 1qt Oil based Espresso Stain
$7.98*

I ended up using the top board from my prototype since it was cut pretty straight.



















Gave them a good sanding with 220 grit sanding paper and stained them the first time.



















After the first coat it looked like that.










So I knew the next couple of days I will have to repeat the steps at least another 3 times. Every night I sanded and applied 1 coat of stain letting it dry for 24 hours before sanding and staining again.




























Turned out pretty good. I the applied 3 coats over 3 nights of Polyurethane to seal the wood since I don't want water and humidity to break down the wood.

*Polyurethane Semi-Gloss 1qt
$6.78*










I will continue the Story tomorrow, talking about how I put the lid together (a nightmare with a dowel jig).


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## Kalibata (Sep 12, 2021)

Staining and sealing of the Hood was done, on to assembly. I did not want to use screws or nails to put everything together since they will always be visible no matter how good you cover them up.
So I looked for a tool to get dowels into the wood to give the frame some strength. I found at Home depot a Dowel Jig and a dowel set at Harbor Freight :

*Milescraft Joint Mate Dowel Jig for Corner, Edge and Surface Joints
$8.99
Drill Master 1/4 In. Doweling Accessory Set, 34 Pc
$3.99

















*

Having watched some videos on YouTube I thought drilling some holes will be quick and easy. But all of the videos showed how to use it on the long side of their boards, I however needed to get the holes in the end side of the boards which only has 4" and was therefore not big enough to get the dowel jig set up correctly. I tried clamping the board to the table and holding the Jig by hand but the holes were messed up. I tried clamping the board to the table, clamping the Jig to the boards but drilling two fitting holes were still impossible. I tried to measure the holes, mark it and drill by hand and they still did not end up matching. Hours later and frustrated as I was, I just drilled 6 holes in all of the sides of all boards and connected them by trial and error. It didn't look pretty but ended up working. The holes were covered anyway once the frame was assembled.

So I filled all of the holes with wood glue and dowels and cut off the end from the dowels I weren't using. Then added more wood glue and connected the boards.










To apply even pressure and hold everything together while drying I bought from Harbor Freight :

*PITTSBURGH 1 In. X 15 Ft. Ratcheting Band Clamp
$6.99*

Its basically a ratchet strap with 4 Plastic corners which you can easily adjust.










Here is a picture on how to attach the Piano hinge to the lid opening.










After the dowel jig nightmare I decided no more dowel hole drilling and attached the top part of the Lid with corner brackets to the frame.

*ReliaBilt 1.5-in x 0.75-in x 0.75-in Zinc-plated Steel Corner Brace (4-Pack)
$3.28








*

Next up was attaching the lights. I got from Walmart 2 LED under cabinet lights with 1300 Lumens each. They are super bright, don't use a lot of energy, they were lightweight and did not produce much heat. You can link a couple of them together with the included cable so you only have to use one power cord for all of the lights you use.

*Hyper Tough 1300 Lumen 24" LED Under Cabinet Light, Linkable
$11.97 x 2 = $23.94








*


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## Kalibata (Sep 12, 2021)

To protect the Lights from dust, dirt and moisture I bought a glass from Lowes. They did cut it instore to my desired length for free. The width of the glass fit perfectly to cover the whole area.

*Gardner Glass Products 12-in x 36-in Clear Glass
$8.08








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To hold the glass in place I used corner braces with small pieces of floor protectors :

*National Hardware 0.75-in x 0.5-in x 0.75-in Zinc-plated Steel Corner Brace (4-Pack)
$2.18 x 2 = $4.36

















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In the meantime I was collecting some moss and Ivy.



















I took of all the Leaves 










And tied them together. I took that idea from RAF, he used heated pvc pipes with prolypropylene rope. His version can be found here:

RAF Vivarium build


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## Kalibata (Sep 12, 2021)

For my background I used corrugated plastic from Lowes. Since this was my first Paludarium build I wanted to be able to have everything removable in case something goes wrong and I have to start over again. Nothing is glued in permanently.

*PLASKOLITE 0.157-in T x 30-in W x 36-in L White Sheet
$10.48*




























I started to build some layouts out of cardboard.



















For my false bottom i used Eggcrate. It is affordable and easy to work with. 

*PLASKOLITE 24-in x 48-in 7.85-sq ft Louvered Ceiling Light Panels
$16.18








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I cut out a piece for the full length of the tank and around 11cm height.

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To connect all the eggcrate I have used zip ties from Harbor Freight.

*Storehouse 8 In. Black Cable Ties 100 Pcs
$1.99*


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## Kalibata (Sep 12, 2021)

To support the weight of the Land part I used a pvc pipe. Cut to length and groved the top part with 4 slits. 

*Charlotte Pipe 1/2-in x 5-ft 600 Psi Schedule 40 White PVC Pipe
$2.65


























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Since the pvc pipe did not give enough support to all areas of the false bottom I decided to use empty plastic container like these.



















The ivy stems I bundled earlier where covered in silicone and peat moss which I baked at 200F for 1 hour to remove the moisture. I used 100% Silicone from Harbor Freight

*DAP Clear Silicone Sealant
$3.99
Miracle-Gro Moisture Control Peat Moss Moisture Control
$4.98










I went into the forest to look for bark pieces and i found some cool stuff.

















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I soaked the wood for 3 days in a bucket and change the water often. This removed some color and got rid of bugs which were hiding in the bark.










After 3 days I took them out of the water and let them airdry for 2 days before backing them in the oven for a couple of hours at 250F to kill off whatever is left in the bark.


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## Kalibata (Sep 12, 2021)

To attach the PVC pipes to the egg crate i drilled holes in the pipes and used zip ties.



















I glued the first piece with Great Stuff onto the background. 

*Great Stuff 3001 Gaps and Cracks Insulating Foam Sealant
$3.78








*

The foam expanded way to much.










So I cut it off and removed the foam and started again. This time I added some weight on top of it to keep it in place.


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## Kalibata (Sep 12, 2021)

From the dried foam i had leftover i thought a water feature would be nice. Another nightmare started. Failed attempt number 1










I added more foam to the piece and let it dry for 24h.










I marked the location where i wanted the water to flow.










Then i made an overflow container which i planed to fill with a water pump and from the top the water will flow out to the water feature.










I carved out the back to fit the the container.










I then carved the foam for the waterflow.










Set it in the tank to see how it looked.










Attached my pump to see if it works.










It looked horribly and splashed water everywhere. So i ripped that whole thing apart and called it a night. The next day i was looking at the torn pieces of foam and thought lets try again.
I carved the pieces and put them together with toothpicks . Failed attempt number 2.


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## Kalibata (Sep 12, 2021)

No idea what i was thinking why that should look good or work. So i ripped it apart, again.
On to the next try. Failed attempt number 3.










This time it looked like something atleast.










But soon, well after hours of carving and gluing, I figured I would get nowhere with this crap.










I will continue tomorrow with failed attempt 4 of building a water feature.


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## Kalibata (Sep 12, 2021)

On to the next try of creating my water feature. I started by spraying great stuff in lines to create a square.










I cut the foam to create a flat surface.










Added another layer of foam.










Started to carve out steps.




























I carved the foam to make it look like stones. Quick look in the tank.










I did liked how it looked so I covered the whole thing in Plaster of Paris which I bought at Walmart.

*DAP Plaster of Paris Dry Mix, 4 lb
$3.96

















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## Kalibata (Sep 12, 2021)

While the water feature was drying i started to make the 2 sides for the background. i added some great stuff under the bark and put some weight on it to keep it in place. The next day i filled the empty spaces with more foam. After one more day i carved the foam to remove the excess.





































I went to Lowes and got peat moss and Pine Bark mini Nuggets and also more Silicon from Harbor Freight.

*Miracle Grow Sphagnum Peat Moss
$5.37
Evergreen 2-cu ft Natural Brown Pine Bark Nuggets
$2.88
9 In. Caulking Gun
$2.99
DAP Clear Silicone Sealant
$3.99 x 4 = $15.96








*

I baked the Peat moss in the oven for 1 1/2 hours at 200F and opened the door every15 minutes to let the steam out and mix it up a bit. The bark i sorted out since there was a lot of shredded wood pieces in there and I did not want them on my background.



















The next step was covering the foam in silicon, I used a hard brush to get it in all little spaces and then adding the Peat Moss and Bark nuggets.


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## Kalibata (Sep 12, 2021)

I let the background dry for 48 hours and worked in the meantime on my wavemakers. I added 2 of them to keep the water in motion so that there will be no build ups and all of the water will be filtered.
In the false bottom i added 2 cutouts for easier access to the wavemaker in case I need to take them out for cleaning or once they stop working. I covered the eggcrate with Window screen and sewed it on with fishing line.

*2-Pack 480GPH Wave Maker Aquarium Circulation Pump Powerhead Submersible (Ebay)
$17.99
M-D Standard 3-ft x 7-ft Silvergray Fiberglass Screen Mesh (Lowes)
$7.58*




























I removed the excess peat moss from the background by shaking it and lightly brushing it.










There were some spots which were not covered so i applied more silicon and added more peat moss on these spots. While i let it dry for another 48hours i worked on the water feature and painted it with grey acrylic paint.

*Apple Barrel Acrylic Craft Paint, Matte Finish, Grey, 2 fl oz
$0.50*



















While the paint was drying I made more support pillars for the false bottom from the empty silicone tubes I had laying around.
I drilled a couple of holes in them so water will not stand still in them and build up dirt.










I attached them with zipties.


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## Kalibata (Sep 12, 2021)

The cutout on this side of the false bottom will be covered with the water feature. I also did not add foam and peat moss to the background where the water feature will sit.










The other cutout on the other side will be covered by a piece of bark. i plan on running the power cable from the wavemaker and the filter input behind there.



















Here are some pictures with the background finished




























From some leftover foam i tried to make a riverbed so the water will flow down there into the water area. I made a version from cardboard first.


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## Kalibata (Sep 12, 2021)

I build a ramp from leftover eggcrate for the transition from water to land area.




























I repainted the Water feature a couple of times. Here are some pictures




























I added foam to the false bottom to create a rock ledge.










And painted it to match the color of the water feature.


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## Kalibata (Sep 12, 2021)

I also glued some leftover foam together to create a cave which will hide the wavemaker on the left side of the tank and keep the small piece of false bottom above the waterline.




























I cut a hole in the cave big enough for the wavemaker to fit trough and painted it.










Some more rock ledge for the small false bottom.



















The whole painting took place over a couple of nights, while it was drying i started to wash and sort pebbles for the drainage layer.

*Pavestone .5 Cu. ft. Bagged Pea Pebble Stones
$4.99








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I had to wash them about 15 times till the water was clear. There is a lot of red sand in there which will discolor the water area of the Paludarium if not washed properly.


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## Kalibata (Sep 12, 2021)

I boiled the stoned for 30 minutes to kill off any bacteria which might be in there and strained them.










The next (not so) fun part was sorting thousand of pebbles in a couple of nights. There where a lot of rusty looking pieces in their which I did not wanted to have in my Paludarium since I thought they will release rusty metals into the water area which will mess with the water quality.




























On to the plumbing, i got a Penn-Plax Cascade Aquarium Canister Filter, another 5/8in Vinyl tubing, some misting nozzles and connectors.

*Penn-Plax Cascade 500 Aquarium Canister Filter
$65.00
Misting Nozzles 6 pcs 
$14.99
5/8in ID Vinyl tubing
$5.68
Brass Garden Hose Splitter
$9.98
Rubber Hose Washers 12pc
$1.74
1/4 in. NPT IM Brass Female Plug 
$2.58
Thread Seal tape
$0.98
SharkBite 1/2-in PEX Crimp x 1/2-in MNPT Brass 90-Degree Elbow
$4.28
SharkBite 1/2-in PEX x 1/2-in NPSM Brass Female Swivel Adapter
$2.78
Mister Landscaper 1/2-in Polypropylene Drip Irrigation Female Adapter
$2.38
Mister Landscaper 1/2-in Polypropylene Drip Irrigation End Cap
$3.68
Mister Landscaper 1/4-in Polypropylene Drip Irrigation Female Adapter
$3.48
Mister Landscaper 1/4-in x 30-ft Vinyl Drip Irrigation Distribution Tubing
$5.94



































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## Kalibata (Sep 12, 2021)

I connected the Hose splitter to the Cannister filter output to split it for my fresh water hose and water feature supply hose.



















First i thought I could use the Cannister filter to supply the misting nozzle. I connected the 1/4" faucet adapter to the Filter output. They do require a low volume - high pressure pump to operate as I found out later. So that didn't work as planned.










I cut a opening for the Cannister Filter input tube.










The I made a hole for the Filter output tube.



















I did added the swivel connectors so that i will be able to remove the Hood from the tank.










To add the connectors to the tubing i covered them in clear silicone.










And tied them with 2 zipties.










And cut off the ends.


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## Kalibata (Sep 12, 2021)

Cannister filter output tube in place.










I made a second tube for the water feature supply.




























Cannister Filter input hose in place.










I drilled a hole with a Forstner Bit in the baseboard for the Filter input hose to fit through.

*1/4 In. - 1 In. Forstner Drill Bit Set With 3/8 In. Shanks, 7 Pc.
$8.99*











Filter output hose and water feature supply hose.



















I drilled 2 more holes in the baseboard to fit these hoses trough.


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## Kalibata (Sep 12, 2021)

Both tubes connected with the garden hose splitter to the Canister filter output.










I ordered from eBay a 12 V low volume-high pressure pump kit which came with Nozzles, 12 V power adapter, Tread tape, a filter, some zipties and 1/4in tube. It supplies 1.65 gallon per minute.

*Water Sprayer Misting Cooling System Electric Pump Kit With Filter
$25.99












































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I attached the misting nozzles to the tank.


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## Kalibata (Sep 12, 2021)

With the background done, plumbing done and false bottom done it was time to test the tank with water in there.



















I bought some driftwood from amazon which I soaked for a week and changed the water every day.

*5PCS Aquarium Driftwood Branches Reptiles Trunk Driftwood Natural Wood Fish Tank Decoration Plant Stump Ornament Decor Assorted
$16.99*










Added the first moss onto the Rock ledge and let the driftwood sit in the water till it stopped floating.










Then i added the pebbles for my drainage layer.



















For my water substrate i bought from Petsmart :

CaribSea Eco-Complete Planted Aquarium Substrate 20lbs
$20.99

You do have to wash it at least 20 times to get the water clear. 










For my plant substrate i mixed dried Sphagnum Moss, Sphagnum Peat moss, Pine Bark Chips and activated Charcoal pellets.

*432 cu. in. Sphagnum Moss
$5.38
Imagitarium Activated Carbon for Fresh or Salt Water Aquariums, 11 oz.
$4.31*


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## Kalibata (Sep 12, 2021)

I got a couple plants from Home Depot.

*Costa Farms 3.8 in. Exotic Angel Plant
$4.98 
Costa Farms 4.8 in. Exotic Angel Plant
$6.98 x 2 =$13.96
METROLINA GREENHOUSES Mondo Ground Cover Plant (1-Plant)
$2.98
Vigoro 1 pt. Moss Sagina Ground Cover Plant 
$3.48


























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I shaked off and washed off all the soil.



















Then i separated all the plants.










And then started to plant them into the tank.


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## Kalibata (Sep 12, 2021)

Filled up the water.




























Cycled the tank for 4 weeks with Api Quick start and checked the water parameters with the Freshwater Master test Kit.

*API® Quick Start Aquarium Cycling Water Conditioner
$7.99
API® Freshwater Aquarium Master Test Kit
$24.59*

As my first fish i got 2 Danios. I wanted to see if they will survive before i get more expensive fishes. They were $2.99 each.










While I was at PetSmart with my Son, the store clerk showed us the Red Claw Crabs. Of course my son was fascinated with them and we got 2 of them.
Little did i know that they require brackish water to survive, it was nowhere mentioned in the store nor did they told us. They were $3.99 each.


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## Robru (Jan 1, 2021)

What a professional! Very nicely made!


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## TeddytheFinger (May 8, 2019)

That setup looks great!! Do you think those red clawed crabs are going to pester your plants? Like digging them up or clipping leaves?


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## Kalibata (Sep 12, 2021)

TeddytheFinger said:


> That setup looks great!! Do you think those red clawed crabs are going to pester your plants? Like digging them up or clipping leaves?


Only thing they clipped was brown leaves so that was a plus since they cleaned the tank. They ate leftover fish food decaying plant matter.


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## Kalibata (Sep 12, 2021)

I noticed that my substrate was wet, not sure if that was too wet or normal for a Paludarium with high humidity, something must be wicking water up into the soil the I thought. 




















So I removed all of the plant and soil. I also removed all of the pebbles and washed them. I cut small walls from the corrugated plastic I had leftover and added them around the background to separate the substrate from the background.
My thought was that the background is wicking up water somehow into the soil.



















I also cut the (Tree) shorter, maybe that was what wicked the water.










Then i replanted the Tank.


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## Kalibata (Sep 12, 2021)

Next up was adding homemade CO2. I searched the internet and found a post of somebody using a syringe with cotton to make a diffuser. So I started to build this




























I poked a couple of holes in there.










Tested it and found it working quiet well.




















While picking up some supplies from Petsmart i also got 5 Ghost Shrimps. They were 39 cents each.










One of them had eggs but they never hatched.


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## Kalibata (Sep 12, 2021)

The 2 little Danios i bought at the beginning went missing. Since I never saw the Crabs attacking any fish or shrimps, I suspected that they swam behind the cave and got chopped up by the wavemaker which is hidden inside the cave.

So i closed the gap with a stone. The crabs seem to love it. That was from now on their favorite spot to sit on.


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## Kalibata (Sep 12, 2021)

After 4 failed attempts to create a water feature I decided to ditch the old one since the paint started to chip off.
So on to Water feature number 5.
I made some flat panels with Great Stuff foam and glued them together.










I bought a bag of Quikrete at Ace Hardwarestore and covered the panels with it.

*Quikrete Mortar Mix - 10 lb bag
$2.99*










I let it dry for a week and test fitted it in the tank.










It was a nice fit so i went ahead and did a second coat with Quickcrete.



















I also added a second stone for the other Red Claw Crab, now they both could chill on the stones.










I removed the China Doll plants because i read somewhere that they don't belong in a Paludarium.










I noticed that the substrate is wet again. I rolled up some paper towels and stuck them into the soil. Changed them out everyday but it did not really helped with the issue.


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## Harpspiel (Jan 18, 2015)

This is beautiful, but unfortunately in order to have dry substrate you would need a “wick break” - some kind of gap that does not allow water to travel from your pond area to your land area. I don’t think your setup is going to allow for that, so the easiest solution may be to just roll with the wicking and get plants that like wet feet, like Biophytums, Utricularias and some Selaginellas. An aquatic soil like Fluval Stratum would probably work best, but my ABG has held up really well to being very wet in my paludarium.


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## Kalibata (Sep 12, 2021)

What i ended up doing was removing all the plants and substrate.



















I cut the "Tree" even shorter.










Then I added another inch of pebbles to raise the substrate higher and raised the corrugated plastic walls. I did had half an inch of free space between water line and the false bottom but that might was not enough. Made new substrate and filled the land portion of the tank.










I left some space between the "tree" and the substrate. I separated it with cling film to make sure its not touching. 










On to replanting the tank.










I left more space at the waterfall so no splashing onto the substrate, I also added some stones and cling film to separate the pebbles from the substrate.










Planting done.










I collected more moss to cover the ground.


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## Kalibata (Sep 12, 2021)

Then added the moss.




























Raising the pebbles and separating the substrate with cling film seem to have done the trick. Since then i never had issues with wet substrate again.
Plants and moss were growing in good.


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## Harpspiel (Jan 18, 2015)

This may work long-term, but keep in mind that if anything drapes over the edge into the water (like you had the moss originally), it will wick water up into your land area. You’ll have to keep your foam rock ledge clear of moss and plants to avoid that.


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## FloraLaura (Sep 24, 2021)

You have put so much work into this build and it looks great! Your plants look like they're doing well. Thanks for sharing your process.


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