# My paludarium construction (step by step)



## no_one

i posted before some pics of my paludarium 
but now i am posting this as a full guide!!


here are the steps i followed!!

to make this paludarium..


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## no_one




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## no_one




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## no_one

this is my first attempt in building a paludarium..


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## bobberly1

WOW! A "first attempt"? I love the effect with the fogger. What size is the tank?


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## clwatkins10

Very cool. Well done


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## iridebmx

thank you! this is sweet .i love journals,and my next will be a paludarium for sure !


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## twohoops21

Looks great! i like the fog pics!


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## clippo

that looks really nice. That green plant emerging from the fog is cool. What kind of moss have you got in there?


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## loogielv

gotta tell you, you took some great pics and tons of them too..but i'd do just about anything to get some comments on each pic. never built one, so the steps dont make a lot of sense to me, sadly


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## no_one

clippo said:


> that looks really nice. That green plant emerging from the fog is cool. What kind of moss have you got in there?


i thing is called Cushion Moss..

if someone knows the scientific name just tell as..




loogielv said:


> gotta tell you, you took some great pics and tons of them too..but i'd do just about anything to get some comments on each pic. never built one, so the steps dont make a lot of sense to me, sadly


if you have seen any other posts in here the structure and the mentality is the same in every single one..


i cant edit the post now ..

but i think the pics are self explanatory ..


nonetheless if you have any specific questions just ask and i will surely solve your question ..


thank you all for your good comments..

as a first time builder is means a lot !!


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## Gh0stw4lk3r

The moss is called Leucobryum glaucum ( kussentjesmos in dutch)
i have the same moss in my viv. 

I like the way you divided the tank, but why did you place the pump in plain sight? and not behind the divider ?


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## loogielv

thanks for the follow up. Ok then, I'll show my ignorance and ask every question i have. it's sad how little i know about this process.
i'll reply to your pics here and ask my questions then, if you don't mind. i have alot i think.









what is the piece that is running on top of the divider? is that another piece of acrylic? 
how did you get it wavy if it's sitting on top of the divider? What was your thinking by doing that? just an easier way to have a border between the land/water? 
How did you glue the piece on top of the divider?








How did you seal the rocks to the acrylic divider? 
How did get the baskets into place? Was it by holding them in place and shooting the GS around them, or by shooting the GS and then jamming the baskets into place?









I assume the baskets are for plants of course, but the longer oddly shaped hole in the center, was it that for? Also, in a pic before this one, the hole is white, but in this one it's black. Did you put something in it to change the color, or is that some type of container jammed into the GS?
If it's not a container, how did you form the hole?
What is the blue material and where did you get it? It's just to keep soil from falling into the gravel right?
What is the tubing for? I assumed it's the fogger, but in the next picture (below) it appears to be gone or covered?









The tubing now appears gone?
I see a pump on the left and something else on the right? Is that the fogger on the right?
What is the pump for? I dont see a waterfall in the pics?
Why not drill some holes in the divider (between the rocks of course) to allow water to passthrough and have the entire bottom of the tank filled with water. You could hide the utilities behind the divider and wont lose any land space. 
Obviously that's not an option now w/o tearing down the whole thing, and you'd have to create a way to access them under the substrate and GS background, but i'm just curious why you chose to have the utilities in plain site? Ease of maintenance no doubt.

What type of soil did you use? (the soil on top of the blue material)
What are the inhabitants? just fish? what kinds?
What size is the tank?
What did you use to colorize and texture the GS for the background? Did you have to do it immediately when the GS was still wet and gooey, or after it hardened etc? I'm assuming you just smashed it in with your hand?
What would you do differently?
Do you ever change the water? what type of filtration do you use?

k i'll stop now. I could ask 30 more questions i'm sure, but you're being polite. I dont wanna scare you off and show anymore of my ignorance.

Thanks for the great guide and believe me when i tell you, these pics are already in my inspiration folder. I've had an inspiration folder filled with viv pics for about 4 years. There are only 3 total tanks in my folder. Yours is #3.


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## no_one

whow!!


that's to many questions at 1 time!!

i will try and answer to all..


the divider is actually 1 pice and i used the thing that you see on the bottom of the pic (mini flame gun) to shape it in to place so that i can maximize my land area and also make my coast..


silicone the rocks to the acrylic and also used fine sand to cover the spaces between the larger rocks 

How did get the baskets into place? i make a small pocket hole and then shooting the GS and then jamming the baskets into place...
..

but the longer oddly shaped hole in the center, was it that for?--


its for moss plant!
is black silicone to seal the water in 





What is the blue material _ gardeners net


and where did you get it? It's just to keep soil from falling into the gravel right?- yes

What is the tubing for? I assumed it's the fogger, but in the next picture (below) it appears to be gone or covered ----its for the water pump.. if you look closer you will se the water fall ate the right of the pic and the flow stream in the middle.. 


and the other gray thing is a canister filter both sponge and bio filtering




Why not drill some holes in the divider (between the rocks of course) to allow water to passthrough and have the entire bottom of the tank filled with water. You could hide the utilities behind the divider and wont lose any land space.
Obviously that's not an option now w/o tearing down the whole thing, and you'd have to create a way to access them under the substrate and GS background, but i'm just curious why you chose to have the utilities in plain site? Ease of maintenance no doubt.---- YES 


What type of soil did you use? (the soil on top of the blue material) ---cocofiber
What are the inhabitants? just fish? what kinds? small fish and firebelly newts


What did you use to colorize and texture the GS for the background? --

just silicone coco fiber on to it 

Did you have to do it immediately when the GS was still wet and gooey, or after it hardened etc? I'm assuming you just smashed it in with your hand?
---- let it dry and cure then clue the cocofiber and let it sit for 3 or more weeks


hope i answered your questions!!!

if you look closely you will start to see the details and with what a already said.. you should know how everything is done!!!


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## loogielv

that really helped a ton. thank you so much. i'm gonna save this whole thread and re-read it. very awesome work


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## brandon20012001

first b u t full what kind of foam did u spray and how did u get the brown stuff to stick and what is the brown stuff please let me know cause im starting my first this monday


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## Luke Hog

What kind of Glue did you use to glue the cocofiber to the GS? I've heard Gorilla Glue is a no-no especially if it will get wet or be underwater in your paludarium at all. I've heard the Super glue is ok but it dries very quickly... Please Advise! Thanks!


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## nschmitz06

Locktite is one type of glue that is used, however I use GE II 100% silicone. works great, just make sure you put on a good layer of silicone and push the BONE DRY coco onto the background. let it sit overnight before brushing away the loose pieces. If you go onto most other build threads luke you will find this is a very popular way to do it. Here is mine--

http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/parts-construction/64671-exo-terra-24x18x18-redux-pic-heavy.html


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## Luke Hog

Thanks nschmitz06! I will go ahead and use the silicone for the cocofiber. 

Do you have any suggestions for attaching gravel to the cured Great Stuff foam? I built a couple of streams and waterfalls that i'd like to cover with gravel but I'm not sure if silicone is the best option for this... What if i take your other suggestion, Locktite epoxy, and paint it on the GS with a brush and then pouring gravel over it... Would that work?

Thanks Again!


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## sarahatl

Very nice! thank you for sharing. Where did you get that tree stump that you have in the water?


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