# My Paludarium is finally finished :D



## DragonSpirit1185 (Dec 6, 2010)

It's been 5 years in the making and it's taken me about 2 months or so to get done waiting around for orders and making sure I take my time on it. 

So here is a quick view of the build  Play in HD
There is metal music being played so there if you don't like metal you can mute the videp 






Here is a more descriptive video





Here is some pictures:

Full tank shot









Orchid and moss wall. (waiting on NeHerp moss slurry)










Cork tree









Brom clusters 









Water feature 









I still have 3 more plants coming from Ecudor through Ecuagenera and might add more as I go along.

Construction thread is located here: http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/pa...29-dragon-spirits-40g-azureus-paludarium.html


----------



## aspidites73 (Oct 2, 2012)

Looks awesome! Is that Ficus sp. Lance Leaf I saw?


----------



## DragonSpirit1185 (Dec 6, 2010)

aspidites73 said:


> Looks awesome! Is that Ficus sp. Lance Leaf I saw?


Yeah all of your plants are in there except the umbellatta and one of the Raphs


----------



## DragonSpirit1185 (Dec 6, 2010)

Btw in all the build totaled around $1,000


----------



## tardis101 (Apr 11, 2012)

It looks awesome! Nice job. I like the mossy "tree" in the middle.


----------



## DragonSpirit1185 (Dec 6, 2010)

tardis101 said:


> It looks awesome! Nice job. I like the mossy "tree" in the middle.


that's an orchid on the front of it  only bit of moss it up top.
Thanks for the compliments


----------



## Slud (Aug 16, 2015)

It looks great man good job . What kind of foam did you use to make the water fall and what exactly did u coat it in ?


----------



## DragonSpirit1185 (Dec 6, 2010)

Slud said:


> It looks great man good job . What kind of foam did you use to make the water fall and what exactly did u coat it in ?


it is the blue foam from Lowes and I covered it in grout then acrylic paint and all sumerged partes are covered in epoxy and some parts even silicone. 
I used GE Silicone I since it doesn't have mold inhibitors like the others do. Got it at Lowes as well.


----------



## DragonSpirit1185 (Dec 6, 2010)

*Plant list:*
_
Peperomia caperata
Peperomia sp Isla Colon
Peperomia emarginella ecuador
Peperomia prostrata
Ficus sp. 'Lance leaf'
Pellionia Repens
Begonia 'little darling'
Begonia thelmae
Pellionia argentea
Marcgravia sintenisii
Marcgravis sp. Suriname
Marcgravia umbelatta
Marcgravia sp. 'unknown'
Marcgravia rectiflora suriname 
Microgramma heterophylla
Microsorum linguiforme
Lemmaphyllum microphyllum
Lemmaphyllum sp. 'Japan Tan Tol'
Philodendron Burl marx fantasy 
Anubis nana petite aquatic
Salvinia minima aquatic
Lemnoideae (duckweed) aquatic
Eleocharis parvula (dwarf hairgrass) aquatic
Aegagropila linnaei (Marimo) aquatic
_

*Orchid list:*
_
Lepanthes calodictyon
Dracula lotax
Lepanthes gargoyla
Bulbophyllum laxiflorum
Pleurothallis gracillima
Barbosella orbicularis 
Platystele erectoglossa 
Porroglossum aureum 
Scaphosepalum microdactylum 
Diplocaulobium stelliferum 
Ludisia Lightning
Macodes petola
_

*Bromeliad list:*
_
Neoregelia chiquita linda x2
Neoregelia punctatissima "yellow banded" 
Neoregelia Blushing Tiger 
Neoregelia (Paucifloria x Granada) F2 
Neoregelia Tiger Cub Neoregelia Cougar 
Neoregelia Midnight 
Neoregelia Diablo ***** 
Neoregelia sp. "Collection Gurken Friburgo"
Tillandsia Myosura
Tillandsia Albertiana
Tillandsia biflora
_


----------



## DragonSpirit1185 (Dec 6, 2010)

got a new plant addition 
Pellionia Pulchra from The Frog Whisperer/sports_doc/Shawn Harrington 










The leaves are velvety lol


----------



## DragonSpirit1185 (Dec 6, 2010)

just went and opened the doors and found this little guy blooming 

Platystele erectoglossa I got from BonnieLorraine


----------



## easttex (Oct 29, 2012)

I congratulate you on an EXCELLENT build!

My only concern is I think you will grow to dislike that duckweed. That stuff multiplies very rapidly and is difficult to control. 

Otherwise, very well done sir!

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk


----------



## DragonSpirit1185 (Dec 6, 2010)

easttex said:


> I congratulate you on an EXCELLENT build!
> 
> My only concern is I think you will grow to dislike that duckweed. That stuff multiplies very rapidly and is difficult to control.
> 
> ...


Yeah it got way way out of hand in my aquarium. I didn't even buy it lol it just appeared one day. Same with the Malaysian trumpet snails. I'm gonna toss it as it grows. I'll keep it under control.
Thanks for the compliment 

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy SIII using tapatalk


----------



## DragonSpirit1185 (Dec 6, 2010)

Finally got my plants from Ecuagenera 

_*Tillandsia biflora, Dragula Lotax, Lepanthes Calodictyon* (though it might be Tentaculata)_


















Here is where I put them. Dracula Lotax is on the bottom left. 









A piece of the Dracula Lotax broke off so I put it on the branch as a division.


----------



## DragonSpirit1185 (Dec 6, 2010)

My fish in the water feature


----------



## DragonSpirit1185 (Dec 6, 2010)

Little update....

I lost a few of my orchids  but oh well I might just order some new ones. Lost a few when the tank molded over. I think it's safer now to pin some more up but I think I'm gonna wait for the moss to spread more so it doesn't choke them out. 

I got a new light today. I was using a dual 6500K T5 HO light but I got a Beamswork 36" 6500K LED light. It lights up the tank soooo much better. 
No more dark spots. 

Before: 









After:


----------



## GBR (Jun 7, 2013)

How did you seal the gap of the sliding doors so that the fruit flies don't crawl out?


----------



## DragonSpirit1185 (Dec 6, 2010)

GBR said:


> How did you seal the gap of the sliding doors so that the fruit flies don't crawl out?


Silicone strips from Folius.com though the site is down here is an image from his Facebook. (Picture posted with his permission)









I just spoke with him and his webhost is having server issues so the site should be up shortly or you can search for Folius on Facebook


----------



## kblack3 (Mar 9, 2015)

Tank is looking great with the LED upgrade! 

Side question does silicone not allow them to grip so the fall?


----------



## jarteta97 (Jun 13, 2014)

kblack3 said:


> Tank is looking great with the LED upgrade!
> 
> Side question does silicone not allow them to grip so the fall?


I thought the silicone strips were for closing up the gap in the sliding door?


----------



## kblack3 (Mar 9, 2015)

Oh lol makes sense I never thought that much into it but the kids arent sleeping and I've been planning my system with sleep deprivation for months so I thought I would ask


----------



## DragonSpirit1185 (Dec 6, 2010)

Just a heads up though the strips work better with 1/8" inch glass instead of the single pane glass you go get from most hardware stores.


----------



## Dendro Dave (Aug 2, 2005)

Looks good


----------



## DragonSpirit1185 (Dec 6, 2010)

Dendro Dave said:


> Looks good


Yeah it really does and I can't seem to get any pictures that do it justice. It looks amazing in person.


----------



## brendan0923 (Sep 15, 2014)

That looks amazing. Very nice display tank! I would like to set up something like that some day!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## DragonSpirit1185 (Dec 6, 2010)

Here is an updated full tank shot. 









*Peperomia emarginella ecuador*

















*Lepanthes calodictyon*










*Lepanthes gargoyla*









*Lemmaphyllum microphyllum*









*Neoregelia Tiger Cub*









*Microgramma heterophylla* 









*Ludisia Lightning* (Died after this bloom)









*Macodes petola*


----------



## Jungle_John (Feb 19, 2007)

Good looking tank!


----------



## austin (Dec 6, 2013)

Yes, good job looks nice!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Gibbs.JP (Feb 16, 2016)

Wow, that's really great! I love it. 

Can I ask how you are treating your water area? As in filtration, tanin control, cycling.. etc. I did a similar setup (although not NEARLY as nice as yours), and could not get the tiny water area to be suitable for fish. I also had tons of tanins from the coco fiber and wood that were creating the discolored "tea" water. I ended up just doing away with it and filling it in, but I would love to hear how you worked around all that stuff. 

Again, really nice setup. Very cool!


----------



## DragonSpirit1185 (Dec 6, 2010)

Gibbs.JP said:


> Wow, that's really great! I love it.
> 
> Can I ask how you are treating your water area? As in filtration, tanin control, cycling.. etc. I did a similar setup (although not NEARLY as nice as yours), and could not get the tiny water area to be suitable for fish. I also had tons of tanins from the coco fiber and wood that were creating the discolored "tea" water. I ended up just doing away with it and filling it in, but I would love to hear how you worked around all that stuff.
> 
> Again, really nice setup. Very cool!


I use a mini canister filter for the water feature. KollerCraft TOM Rapids Mini Canister Filter, 80 GPH


here is a description video. Lights have been updated. Few of the orchids died.


----------



## Gibbs.JP (Feb 16, 2016)

Awesome video, thanks for that. I actually had the exact same filter, but for some reason I could never get my water as clear as yours. I think it was because I was using cocc fiber over my GS/Silicone background and you used the fake rock and hygrolon. Also, every time I put fish in it they'd die within a couple hours, so something in the water levels was way off... I think very high ammonia. Oh well, maybe next time.

Your's turned out really great though, so thanks for sharing it!

I'm also waiting on some NEHerp moss... those poor guys are so far behind! Super nice people over there though.


----------



## DragonSpirit1185 (Dec 6, 2010)

Gibbs.JP said:


> Awesome video, thanks for that. I actually had the exact same filter, but for some reason I could never get my water as clear as yours. I think it was because I was using cocc fiber over my GS/Silicone background and you used the fake rock and hygrolon. Also, every time I put fish in it they'd die within a couple hours, so something in the water levels was way off... I think very high ammonia. Oh well, maybe next time.
> 
> Your's turned out really great though, so thanks for sharing it!
> 
> I'm also waiting on some NEHerp moss... those poor guys are so far behind! Super nice people over there though.



Idk if I'm gonna go with the NEHERP moss again. It's just too long for my liking. Kinda grows like grass lol. Yeah they are great people and will still get my business. 
I don't have any cocofiber touching the water but I do have cocofiber on the background. Well I use peatmoss.
It also helps that I had this filter on an established aquarium for over a year so it is loaded with beneficial bacteria. 
I added a different kind of media pouch to the filter as well. It's a Aquaclear Biomax ceramic media which is porous and helps the bacteria establish better. Amazon: Aquaclear Biomax 
If you use Tetra Safe Start it has bacteria to help jump start the system. 
I also have Malaysian trumpet snails in there they help keep things clean. There is also like 3 marimo moss balls that help keep things clean lol. 

Here is a video showing the fish. Most of the hair grass died. 





Sent from my Galaxy Note 4 using Tapatalk


----------



## Wy Renegade (Feb 15, 2012)

Very nice set-up. If you don't mind my asking, what type of epoxy did you use to coat the water areas?


----------



## DragonSpirit1185 (Dec 6, 2010)

Wy Renegade said:


> Very nice set-up. If you don't mind my asking, what type of epoxy did you use to coat the water areas?


I only epoxied the submerged parts and I used Gorilla epoxy 

Sent from my Samsung GALAXY Note 4 using Tapatalk


----------



## Wy Renegade (Feb 15, 2012)

DragonSpirit1185 said:


> I only epoxied the submerged parts and I used Gorilla epoxy
> 
> Sent from my Samsung GALAXY Note 4 using Tapatalk


Thanks for the info. Did you put any type of sealer over the grout, or just the paint?


----------



## DragonSpirit1185 (Dec 6, 2010)

Wy Renegade said:


> Thanks for the info. Did you put any type of sealer over the grout, or just the paint?


I used acrylic paints

Sent from my Samsung GALAXY Note 4 using Tapatalk


----------



## jerl77 (Apr 17, 2016)

Great job amazing work 
How long do you keep that fan on for?
Are you pulling air from the tank or putting fresh air in? 


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


----------



## DragonSpirit1185 (Dec 6, 2010)

jerl77 said:


> Great job amazing work
> How long do you keep that fan on for?
> Are you pulling air from the tank or putting fresh air in?
> 
> ...


Thanks. Depends on which fan you're taking about. Though all of them are internal and just help circulate the air. The front fans were ideally supposed to keep the front glass clear but that didn't work out

Sent from my SM-N910T using Tapatalk


----------



## jerl77 (Apr 17, 2016)

The ones to keep the front glass clean


----------

