# Vic's 90 Gallon Paludarium



## VicSkimmr (Jan 24, 2006)

It's been years and years but I've got a new paludarium up and running! I broke down my last tank in 2014 due to burning out and losing my breeding male from my pair, but this is the last tank I had set up:
https://www.dendroboard.com/forum/members-frogs-vivariums/71866-vics-display-paludarium.html

The new tank is a 24x24x36 tank based off a 24x24x12 Deep Sea Blue rimless tank I used when I last had a reef tank set up. I've been getting everything together over the past few months and finally got it up and running last week. It has an internal air circulation system, a fogger and a mistking misting system. Lighting is handled by 3 NanoBoxReef Flares in a freshwater array. Starting to plant now!










It's a 30 gallon blackwater tank on the bottom (with a 10 gallon sump) and the top will house dart frogs and hopefully a Lygodactylus williamsi if I can find one in this area. Unsure of what kind of dart frogs I'll be housing yet except they'll have to raise their own tads. 

So far it's the world's most excessive betta tank as this is the only inhabitant


















Plans for plants are a focus on ferns and orchids.


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## gonzalez (Mar 28, 2018)

I really liked reading through your other paludarium thread. It looked very nice. What frogs do you plan on keeping in there? I've had a vision of doing a planted aquarium/dart terrarium combo, but I've never had a planted aquarium, so I've put the idea back. I do love the idea though.

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## VicSkimmr (Jan 24, 2006)

Thanks! It's down to either Ranitomeya sirensis or going all in with one of the morphs of Oophaga pumilio. Something that will raise its own tads, for certain.


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## VicSkimmr (Jan 24, 2006)

Few new plants from Glass Box Tropicals



















Going to let these settle in before I go all out with stocking it. I went with their mystery boxes for orchids and cuttings and I'm really pleased with the variety they sent!


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## VicSkimmr (Jan 24, 2006)

First broms are in


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## gonzalez (Mar 28, 2018)

Are you gonna grow any plants in the water? Sorry if that's a stupid question. 

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## VicSkimmr (Jan 24, 2006)

Definitely! Right now there's some narrow leaf java fern and some crypts but they're hard to see in pictures. I'm working on getting longer goosenecks for the lights so they can reach the aquarium portion better. For now they're just barely lighting it and I don't want to chance more plants in there yet.


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## VicSkimmr (Jan 24, 2006)

Well at least one of the orchids likes it's new habitat









Pleurothallis costaricensis bloom


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## Leeb10 (Mar 24, 2019)

Looks awesome. I’m currently building my first paludarium along with a Betta.


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## HawpScotch (Oct 4, 2018)

Not sure if you've worked with Lygodactylus williamsi before. But for me they are absolutely terrible swimmers. They can swim yes, but the two I have will give up very quickly and sink to the bottom of a pond in no time. It doesn't help that they also seem a bit clumsier than others geckos I've previously kept. 

Though as far as Williamsi go, I've only had these two... so ymmv
*shrug*.


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## VicSkimmr (Jan 24, 2006)

That's something I hadn't really considered. They're really that bad? I may be adding a lot more wood to the water area that breaks the surface to help with that issue. Or I may just not go for day geckos in this tank.


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## ds51 (Oct 13, 2017)

VicSkimmr said:


> First broms are in


thats looks grate you done a fantastic job
is that a female fighting fish or a young male fighting fish 
keep up the good work doing your setup


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## VicSkimmr (Jan 24, 2006)

It's a male, he's just a Plakat so no huge fins 

He actually looks quite a bit different now, the marble gene never actually shuts off so his pattern constantly changes. Right now he has a huge blue splotch on his side.


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## HawpScotch (Oct 4, 2018)

If you get a bunch of driftwood or rocks jutting out of The water you could get away with these geckos. However other issues to consider. Only male Williamsi are blue. But even then they are only “electric” blue if their husbandry requirements are well met. Which is challenging to pull off while also keeping the dart frogs happy. They want a basking area, uvb, and less humidity than darts. It’s far more likely they will just be grayish/green geckos that aren’t that fancy looking when sharing a tank with darts.


Not saying you can’t pull it off. But if you are going for cool looking, klemmeri are probably a safer bet.


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## Alphonsus (Apr 10, 2015)

gonzalez said:


> I really liked reading through your other paludarium thread. It looked very nice. What frogs do you plan on keeping in there? I've had a vision of doing a planted aquarium/dart terrarium combo, but I've never had a planted aquarium, so I've put the idea back. I do love the idea though.
> 
> Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G920A using Tapatalk


Hahaha, I'm coming from an aquarium background, so doing the terrarium part is the hard part, lol I know how to take care of aquarium plants and animals really well, but know nothing about keeping terrarium plants and building backgrounds!


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## VicSkimmr (Jan 24, 2006)

Well I never could fix the condensation issue with all that water in the bottom so I got fed up and got rid of it. I also wasn't happy with the amount of land area I had, I wasn't sure if it could support enough microfauna for froglets to feed off of long-term. 









It's interesting that I'm losing colors in some broms but gaining harder to achieve colors in others. 

Caterpillar fern making a comeback









Can't remember this brom's name but it's blooming and happy


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## Lucano (Aug 21, 2017)

VicSkimmr said:


> Well I never could fix the condensation issue with all that water in the bottom so I got fed up and got rid of it. I also wasn't happy with the amount of land area I had, I wasn't sure if it could support enough microfauna for froglets to feed off of long-term.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I honestly prefer it without water! Looks amazing already.


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## VicSkimmr (Jan 24, 2006)

Me too! As soon as I finished redecorating it I was like "oh this is how it was meant to be for sure." Absolutely no regrets going this direction.


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## VicSkimmr (Jan 24, 2006)

Starting to fill it out with plants more. 



























Stelis Hertzii bloom


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## Eruantien (Dec 23, 2014)

Looks awesome, happy to see the plants are continuing to do well.


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## VicSkimmr (Jan 24, 2006)

Thanks!

I don't know what's different about this one but I've got a crazy number of plants blooming. I guess it's the lights but I figured these plants wouldn't appreciate it like they are. I've got 3 orchids currently blooming, that vriesia is still going and a modena which I can't tell if it's blooming or if it's a new leaf coming in:


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## Lake (Jan 31, 2015)

I think it looks so much better with the water removed, I love what you've done with the branches and odds and ends on the substrate level, very nice!


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## Woodswalker (Dec 26, 2014)

I agree. It looks so much more harmonious without the hard visual line the water level was creating. It looked a little chopped up before, but it looks gorgeous, now.


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## VicSkimmr (Jan 24, 2006)

12 ish month update









My vivarium thinks it's spring time apparently































































I swear this must be the 10th time this thing has bloomed since I bought it










I also bought 2 frogs, they're high sirensis, but they're being ridiculously shy. To the point where I put them in 3 weeks ago and have literally not seen them out in the open. I finally figured my lights were probably far too bright so I've turned them down, but still not sight of the frogs.


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## fishingguy12345 (Apr 7, 2019)

Nice plants! If your sirensis are like mine then you likely won't see them out very often. Mine hide in the bromeliads all the time


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## VicSkimmr (Jan 24, 2006)

Thats what Im worried about. If they never show up I may have to build a smaller tank dedicated to them and go with something bolder in this one.


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## fishingguy12345 (Apr 7, 2019)

I see mine out and about most days, not all of the frogs, but at least some of them. 

I've found mine love to be up at the top of the vivarium, so I'm actually redesigning a tank that is much taller than long so they have various climbing perches.


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## Mmkco (Dec 3, 2018)

What an amazing build! I currently have a Paludarium set-up going that is like yours used to be. I also have a constant challenge with condensation on my glass with all that water in the bottom and a waterfall. I have to push fresh air in or I lose the condensation battle. Fresh air in tho tends to dry things out pretty quickly so it's definitely frustrating. I'm currently only housing Geosarma crabs, a Betta, a Ram Cichlid and a few Neons. Your plants look absolutely amazing!!


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## dennis2311 (Feb 11, 2016)

looks amazing!

how do you keep your plants clean?


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## VicSkimmr (Jan 24, 2006)

I don't really know what to say other than they get misted once a day for 45 seconds at a time. It could just be because there's only 2 frogs and they hide most of the day so nothing is stomping all over them yet. I turned off my internal air circ system because it wasn't really doing much compared to the electricity it was pumping out so all it could be is the regular misting.


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## dennis2311 (Feb 11, 2016)

So you're misting only one time a day for 45 seconds? No other misting per hand or something else? That sounds interesting. I guess the misting is somewhere in the morning so that plants have the rest of the day to dry?


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## VicSkimmr (Jan 24, 2006)

Yeah it goes off at noon every day. By the time it lights are out there's only a bit of water left on the leaves. At first I figured it would be way too much water, but the plants seem to love it. On the background there are orchids that get blasted point blank with water every day and are thriving. 

I'm pretty careful to make sure no water (and I mean NO water) gets on the glass. Since I didn't have frogs in this tank for 9 months I spent more time than is probably healthy paying attention to the plants, lol. Moving them around, adding misting nozzles, removing misting nozzles, angling lights, changing the light schedule, etc.


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## dennis2311 (Feb 11, 2016)

thanks for your information. I changed my misting times to 40 seconds in the morning and 15 seconds in the evening instead of 4-5 times a day. Hopefully I'll get results like yours!


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## VicSkimmr (Jan 24, 2006)

Sure! And good luck! I would say just keep a close eye on it and adjust as needed. There are too many variables to assume what works for me will work for you. My tank is pretty large and has quite a lot of plants to water. I also have 8 misting nozzles in it and I've got valves that control how much water goes through it in those 45 seconds.


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## jemzam (Sep 17, 2008)

Your Paludarium looks awesome!!


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## Kmc (Jul 26, 2019)

It is a beautiful vivarium, but it is not suitable for williamsi. They move along parallel and vertical ergo. Their lamellae will suffer a kind of warp syndrome in situ where they cannot competely dry under radiant heat. Moisture should be cyclic. they live in arboreal fresh air and they are highly solarcentric, with reproductive patterns that are tightly, strongly motivated. Limiting these behaviors is restricting their whole gestalt.

A single animal without ultraviolet light + radiant spot fortification will not last long, and even less so if it be a female specimen.

Vivariums for these exquisite animals need to be built around their needs. And its tricky. Females will lay their eggs in high places that require management, with an applied protective humidity cup or careful, still pliable removal to an incu situ with fine scapel. Williamsi eggs desiccate easier than gold dusts or peacocks. More like anole eggs. They drown easier as well so timing of discovery is important.

It would be a very aberrant life for a williamsi to be kept singly.

Stunning Beauty can be a tragic curse.


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## VicSkimmr (Jan 24, 2006)

Woo finally saw one of the frogs out in the open, and I'm pretty sure it's the female and it's fat an healthy, so all good news:









Also, these blooms finally opened and are really bizarre


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## VicSkimmr (Jan 24, 2006)

A year's worth of growth. 









Don't know why there's such a weird light flare but oh well. It's time to prune and catch these frogs. If anyone is interested in an unproven pair of highland sirensis let me know. I think the lights are just too bright for them and I just can't afford to waste a tank of this size on frogs we never see.


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## VicSkimmr (Jan 24, 2006)

I managed to catch both the sirensis, they're going to be moved to a smaller, lower light tank and replaced them with a group of 6 Chazuta imitators, which are almost always visible. My son is loving finally being able to see frogs.


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## fishingguy12345 (Apr 7, 2019)

VicSkimmr said:


> I managed to catch both the sirensis, they're going to be moved to a smaller, lower light tank and replaced them with a group of 6 Chazuta imitators, which are almost always visible. My son is loving finally being able to see frogs.


Those are great looking frogs! 

My sirensis are on display a lot  now that I redesigned their tank , but I understand not everyone has that same experience


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## minorhero (Apr 24, 2020)

Just read through your journal. Really great looking tank! I may change up my watering schedule to be similar to yours. I have been trying to figure out how to properly water my tank for the last couple of weeks and it frankly just didn't occur to me to do it once for a much longer time. 

How does your door work? It looks like there isn't one there at all which makes me think you are either removing it for pictures or its one piece that goes all the way across?


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## VicSkimmr (Jan 24, 2006)

minorhero said:


> Just read through your journal. Really great looking tank! I may change up my watering schedule to be similar to yours. I have been trying to figure out how to properly water my tank for the last couple of weeks and it frankly just didn't occur to me to do it once for a much longer time.
> 
> How does your door work? It looks like there isn't one there at all which makes me think you are either removing it for pictures or its one piece that goes all the way across?


Sorry, I missed this. 

I ended up cutting down my water schedule to every other day and after about a month, I'd have to say there have been no real changes from the plants.

The door is pretty simple actually. It's a single pane of glass. The front of the tank is made of 4 pieces of glass (bottom, 2 sides and the top), which leaves a decent sized opening. The door itself has a 2" overlap on each side except the bottom. 

I silicone a piece of aluminum rail on the top side of the bottom piece, if that makes sense. This is what the door sits on. Then I add 4 rare earth magnets. 2 go on the outside of the door and 2 go on the inside of the tank (so it goes magnet --> tank --> door --> magnet). This keeps the door sandwiched tight to the tank so nothing can get out. 

The tricky part is finding the right size magnet that is strong enough to keep the door properly secured but not so strong that it is hard to remove or risks cracking the glass. But the magnets are dirt cheap so even with trial and error it's not so bad.


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## minorhero (Apr 24, 2020)

That is a pretty great idea with the magnets! Definitely no fruit flies are escaping through the micro space between two sheets of glass pressed together.

Since writing the comment I have switched to watering every morning for 40 seconds. I am thinking of adding a quick burst a few hours before lights off as well since the front part of my vivarium is drying out a bit more then I want right now. Once the plants there get deeper roots it won't be an issue but for the moment I need a bit more water. Either way its definitely working much better then my 3 times a day I was doing before.


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## VicSkimmr (Jan 24, 2006)

God it's nice seeing frogs again


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## fishingguy12345 (Apr 7, 2019)

VicSkimmr said:


> God it's nice seeing frogs again


Lovely frogs!

One of my favourite parts of frog keeping is searching for them . That said, often the easiest ones for me to find are my ones reputed to be most shy, Ranitomeya sirensis "Rio Pachitea yellow".


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## VicSkimmr (Jan 24, 2006)

I saw my sirensis in this tank about 5 times total in the 6 months they were in here. I can typically find at least 3 of the imitators though.


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