# Starting a 20 gallon paludarium



## twaatz (Dec 1, 2013)

Okay I'm new here and have been lurking heavily to figure out how to set up my new 20 gallon build from a old planted tank I have. First Ill give you some background on myself, I'm coming from a planted tank background and Ive kept everything from nanos to monster fish tanks, but recently I wanted to start something new so I'm going for a half land half aquatic paludarium. 

First off here is my list of what to purchase list

Greatstuff idk how many cans I will need yet
Black sillicone
Peat moss
Egg crate
Some type of vine/driftwood
mini pots for the plants

as for the filter I'm planning on using a old submersible filter and creating a waterfall with the great stuff but idk how that will work any suggestions are welcome
Light I'm just going to use a clamp light with a 6500k CFL hanging above it

Anything I'm missing or plant suggestions are welcome and needed.

Will be uploading pics of my progress once all the holiday chaos is over.


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## carola1155 (Sep 10, 2007)

That list looks good so far... but what are you planning on keeping in the tank? A 20 gallon tank split in half is not really going to provide enough floor space for any species of dart frogs.


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## twaatz (Dec 1, 2013)

carola1155 said:


> That list looks good so far... but what are you planning on keeping in the tank? A 20 gallon tank split in half is not really going to provide enough floor space for any species of dart frogs.


Yeah I need to do my research more for the land half I quickly realized that it wasn't large enough for the dart frogs, but maybe some type of tree frogs with a way of escaping the water just in case. I haven't got that deep into it yet just focusing on the build right now, maybe flip it with a vertical conversion kit. but for the water half its probably just going to be some small schools of Galaxy rasboras and chili rasboras. I'll probably throw in some otocinclus cats or small pigmy corys, maybe even a african dwarf frog. I'm mainly focusing on the build rather then stocking right now.


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## carola1155 (Sep 10, 2007)

I normally do my builds the other way around. If you build something that you then find out is unsuitable for what you want to keep... where's the fun in that? You'll end up either not getting the animals you really want or not fully meeting the needs of your animals.


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## twaatz (Dec 1, 2013)

carola1155 said:


> I normally do my builds the other way around. If you build something that you then find out is unsuitable for what you want to keep... where's the fun in that? You'll end up either not getting the animals you really want or not fully meeting the needs of your animals.


Very true, but as this is my first attempt at a paludarium I wont be crushed by what I can house in it. I might even keep the land unoccupied if I can not find something. For me this is more testing the waters, see what works for me what doesn't, getting the hang of making the background and Scapes, just general getting the hang of it before I go big.


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## carola1155 (Sep 10, 2007)

gotcha, well then my one big tip for ya with the greatstuff... *wear gloves*

Take your time with each step, make sure you give every step the appropriate time to cure.


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