# 75-gal Display Paludarium Design and Build



## harrisbt (Feb 19, 2013)

*Tank, Idea, Inspiration*
I’m new to the hobby and looking for advice on my paludarium design. I’ve put several months’ time into researching methods and materials, but want to make my plans public to see if my thoughts make sense in the minds of others. Any and all advice is appreciated -- I want to be as informed as possible before spending any money.
I’ll start explaining my ideas and inspiration, posing questions along the way.

The tank, in inches: 36long x 18wide x 25high → 75 gallons. Split-opening top that I will get custom glass cut for.

I want this to be a peninsula tank, like that of GRIMM, from whom I draw some inspiration (which, if you continue reading, will become apparent later) and with who I share a few aesthetic preferences.
Within the background, I envision nearly identical internal air circulation ductwork, but also an in-tank water filtration system that I explain later.
On the opposite end, away from the background, will be the water portion of the paludarium, which I’ll also get to (much) later. In between the background and water feature will be the planted portion, for which I hope to create and organize a hardscape that a) helps to create depth in all directions, making the tank look and feel bigger than it actually is, b) creates habitat complexity and therefore microenvironments for various species of plants and animals (frogs, isos, springs, etc.), and c) enables me to plant densely, but still let lots of light through (I realize plant choice and placement matter a lot here).


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## harrisbt (Feb 19, 2013)

*Water and air filtration and circulation*
This will be behind/within the background and is partially explained by the attached image. Diagram 1 is an overhead view of the tank that shows the air circulation ductwork and both canister filters (the circles). What is not shown is the tube that connects the canisters together, which will be underneath all the ductwork submerged in water. Diagram 2 shows how water will flow through the canister filters as if you were looking directly at the background through the opposite end of the viv. The air ducts are not shown, but the connecting tube is.

Air circulation: 



 will draw air from the bottom of the tank and push it out at the top. The main duct will fork twice, once for intake and one for output, both with vents aimed diagonally towards the far corners of the tank to help keep glass clear. I’ll also have a variable fan speed controller like GRIMM has on his tank (it’s really an identical set-up I want to do).

Water: Reverse osmosis sump bucket in the stand hooked up to a MistKing with either 6 or 8 nozzles. Modified humidifier converted to a fogger that will pump up behind the tank and in through the top, also RO water.

Water circulation: In the water feature, the input will be on one side of the tank, and then outflow will be on the other. Hopefully this reduces water stagnation without creating much of a current. The pump will draw water in from behind the rock wall at the back of the water feature. From there, it will be pumped into the top of canister one. Canister one is primarily physical filtration; in it, a bunch of polyester batting will capture particles suspended in the water. The water will fall vertically through the batting and be pushed out the bottom of the canister where it will move horizontally through another tube into the bottom of canister 2, which is chemical filtration. In canister 2, the water will be pushed up by the water ‘behind’ it. There will be two bundles of activated carbon in pantyhose (so that I can easily change only one bundle at a time and maintain bacterial colonies). The output of canister 2 will be lower than the input of canister one, maintaining the direction of the system. The output will be a hose disguised as a vine (similar to what Spirit of the Jungle did in his paludarium), pushed through the background and then will let out on some rocks very close to the water feature, hopefully creating a soft waterfall.

Other things about the water filtration: 1) as water drains from the substrate, it will be physically filtered by polyester batting sandwiched between two layers of weed blocker; 2) under the false bottom will be a bunch of bioballs for more bacterial colonies; 3) the canister filters will be made from PVC (undetermined diameter); 4) NEED TO FINISH

36x18x6 is approximately 17 gallons of water (in my designs, I anticipate the height of the water will be about 5-6 inches)

*Questions I have*:
-What pump should I use? It has to be submersible, quiet, and sort of powerful. Also, I want to have some extra tubing between the pump and canister 1 input so I can just pull the tube out of the canister, out the top of the tank, and pump some water into a bucket when I want to do partial water changes. So, the pump will need to pull water through about 30 inches of tubing, up another 30+, and still be strong enough to create a bit of a waterfall (I realize this depends on how wide the waterfall is).

-Given how much filtration will happen by way of the false bottom itself, the bioballs under it, and the plants in the water portion of the paludarium, what diameter should the PVC filters be? To minimize background volume and therefore save viv space, I don’t want to go over 3.5 inches.


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## harrisbt (Feb 19, 2013)

*Background and hardscape*

This is where I have the most questions. Please help me out.

Background: 
Here’s what I want in a background: 1) super durability 2) minimal space 3) plantabilty and growability -- the easier to mount on, the better, and if its surface holds just a tiny bit of moisture that vining plants, ferns, and mosses can use to grow, awesome.

I’ve considered some sort of layered foam board skeleton that goes around the circulation/filtration system that I do the background on top of, but am not sure how that would work or what the major advantages would be instead of spray foaming the whole damn thing. Someone please help me out here.

Below are some ideas for the visible portion of the background, why I like them, and questions I have
-- Cork mosaic with tree fern and/or cocofiber in the gaps. It’s mostly natural, looks good, and seems easy to mount on/grow things on. Also, it’s lighter in color, which I like (though I also think a darker background adds a greater illusion of depth), and integrating some cork tubes would help give me some additional mounting/planting/climbing space.
Should I use silicon or foam to attach the cork?
How long will the cork hold up?
-- The classic foam, silicon, tree fern/coco fiber/ABG mix covering method. 
I think this might be easier to mount things on since foam is a piece of cake to cut through, but what about other things growing on the surface of it? And how well will it hold up?
-- TiteBond III with peat moss and tree fern fiber: I like this because it is super waterproof and seems like plants can grow fairly well on it (true?). Should I do this in the gaps of a cork mosaic? The whole background? What about poking through the hardened mixture to mount a bromeliad (only really an issue if I do the whole background this way)?

Hardscape:
I need to design something that a) helps to create depth in all directions, making the tank look and feel bigger than it actually is, b) creates habitat complexity and therefore microenvironments for various species of plants and animals (frogs, isos, springs, etc.), c) enables me to plant densely, but still let lots of light through (I realize this depends a lot on plant choice), and d) will last a very long time.

I really like this design by iRyan for 4 major reasons: 1) many levels; 2) multidirectionality of hardscape; 3) lots of surface area for planting; 4) plant density. What I want to do differently is achieve this look while keeping 3 sides of the glass completely clear of hardscape attachments. I also like the look of the cork background. Another tank I really like (as does everyone else, I’m sure), is Josh’s 180gallon paludarium (and a video 



). I particularly like the plant variety and density of the paludarium.

I appreciate what GRIMM did on his peninsula by having half of the hardscape come out of the background, fairly far into the tank. Towards the front of the viv, he’s got some some wood protruding throughout the tank in different directions. I envision something similar, but I want it to look more like a branching tree, sort of like what you can see in this aquascape or this one. Compared to GRIMM’s tank, this will result in smaller areas of negative space. But I also want to be able to plant on the ‘branches’, so they need to be strong enough to hold onto added plant weight without being so clunky that they take up too much space or get so heavy they can’t support themselves. 
So, I want to have multiple tiers of the hardscape with an interwoven branching structure, such that the ‘branches’ wind their way in many directions. If one were to follow the path of a branch, I want their eye to travel throughout at least one dimension of the tank (from one side to the other, from front to back, or a combination of both). I think I will string a few segments of ‘monkey ladder’ liana through the hardscape to help create this illusion. I also hear some funky stuff can grow out of them, which I am excited about. And, when the time comes, frogs look really cool climbing/sitting on these things. 
But because I also want to maximize floor space, I need to design something that has not only substantial aerial surface area, but also a strong and stable, yet small footprint on the ground. I think I will need to attach whatever I build to the false bottom itself. Should I foam the hardscape directly to the egg crate portion of the false bottom?

How should I build this hardscape? A completely synthetic (PVC? rebar?) skeleton covered in foam and then tree fern/coco fiber mixture? A few carefully chosen wood pieces/branches? Epiweb limbs (can I even get those in the U.S.)?


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## harrisbt (Feb 19, 2013)

*Lighting*
LED lighting -- I’m thinking that three 60-diode bulbs from Josh’s Frogs in two ExoTerra compact tops (so I can set them up on different timers to gradually brighten up in the morning and dim down at night) would give me great light and awesome plant growth/color all the way to the bottom of the viv (of course, the hardscape and plant density will create some shady spots, too). Does anyone know if there is a better fixture/reflector option out there? 
I also want to rig up this colored LED light strip kit (again, same as GRIMM -- I swear I have my own thoughts) on the inside of the canopy of the tank, along the sides. I want to build my own canopy such that it comes down two inches or so past the top lip of the tank to hide the MistKing system/fogger hardware a little bit. That way, the light strips will not be on top of the tank obstructing access into viv. If the light strips are oriented such that they are aimed across the very top of the viv, I assume I will still get good light output towards the bottom of the tank, right? 

Can anyone with experience using multi-color LED light strips shed some light on this (pun definitely intended)? I may also be able to get some sort of wedge under the light strips so they angle downwards a little, but that will also make my canopy a little clunkier.


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## harrisbt (Feb 19, 2013)

*Microfauna*
I’m going to seed with tropical, temperate, pink, and silver springs (hopefully from Doug/Pumilio) in the hope that they can each find the right microclimates to survive in there. I will definitely use isopods as well, though I’m not sure exactly what varieties (dwarf white? dwarf purple? giant orange?). Feedback on isopods would be much appreciated. Given the size of this tank, I’d like to be able to leave it for a week or so and not have to worry about any frogs going hungry (when I eventually get frogs; lots to do before then!).

I will keep additional cultures under the tank in the stand, using mite paper, brewers yeast, etc. to keep my bug colonies as clean and healthy as possible. I will definitely be sticking with the advice on Pumilio/Doug’s thread. Of course, I’ll also have flies and calcium/vitamin D supplements and color enhancers to keep everything healthy and sexy. Anything else I’m missing here?


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## Pubfiction (Feb 3, 2013)

I have a tank with half your volume but the same height, and 18x18x24, I use 3 Jungle dawn 13 watts on that. So I would say you probably want more light for a 75 gallon. 

If you want tunable colored LEDs look at current USA satellite plus you could probably combine 1 of those with a Finnex planted plus and get decent light. This is especially true if you will build a hood. 

You can also save money and skip trying so hard to hide the misting nozzles if you just buy the nozzle itself and drill a small hole in the glass and attach it to a 1/8 npt elbow or bulk head. You don't get any ability to aim them but in a bigger tank you should be able to just spread them out and get good coverage.


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