# Open Air Paludarium Build



## njdavis81 (Aug 21, 2012)

Hello! This will be the journal of our paludarium. It is my first freshwater build (been keeping reefs for over 10 years) so I will have lots of questions! Thank you in advance to anyone who's taking a look. 

I had the tank custom built locally this past summer. It is 48"x48"x18". It is drilled w/ overflow at 12", so will hold 120 gallons of water. I'm still undecided if we will overflow to a sealed sump a la Tom Barr or if we will plumb a canister filter through the holes. Open to thoughts on this for sure. 

My darling husband is building the stand for me. I will start painting it tomorrow morning, then will just need to figure out doors and trim.

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The above-water "tree" portion is composed of Ash branches collected from my backyard (Ash is not toxic). The base of the tree is contained within a very heavy glazed ceramic pot, with Portland Cement poured inside for weight and stability. The pot with cement weighs 35 pounds, so it will be nice and stable even after the tree becomes full of mosses, ferns, bromeliads, tillandsia, and orchids. I will seal the surface of the Portland cement with either Silicone I or reef mortar, haven't decided yet. (Wood chunks and zip ties are just for stability while the cement and Great Stuff cure)

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Lighting will come from 2x250w metal halide, 4x54w T5HO, and LED moonlights. I hope to get the canopy built either tomorrow or this weekend. The halides will be placed in the front corners of the canopy and angled toward the base of the "tree" to maximize spread. 

Humidity will be achieved with a MistKing and an ultrasonic fogger. Colorado is very dry, so the mister and fogger will be put to good use. I won't make final decisions on flora and fauna until the whole system is put together and I can see what the humidity levels look like. 

The water portion will have CO2 and both emergent and submergent plant growth. I built two islands from foam blocks. I've sprayed the first coat of Great Stuff, which I will carve, mount hardscape, and cover exposed portions with silicone and substrate. I like the look of Forest Floor, so I may try that stuck to the silicone and see how it does.

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Thank you so much for looking. Please share any thoughts or suggestions... 

I will update again soon once we have a bit more work done.


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## njdavis81 (Aug 21, 2012)

I should mention, that this set up is not intended to house dart frogs or other amphibians. I posted here because the folks on this board have experience with paludariums and will have valuable insight on the build. Thanks for looking!!


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## avlo (Apr 19, 2012)

Thats looking real cool, its it just gonna be plants?


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## njdavis81 (Aug 21, 2012)

Good morning! 

This will house fish -- likely a few nice groups of tetras, maybe some rams, and a shrimp/Pleco clean up crew. I will wait to make a decision on whether or not to include an arboreal critter until after I see how the humidity, temperature, etc end up.


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## Rasmus (Sep 13, 2011)

This is looking so interesting! I will follow every move. I'm also attempting an open paludarium (http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/parts-construction/88780-stump.html). Maybe we can share tips on how we solve/succumb to humidity issues


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## njdavis81 (Aug 21, 2012)

Awesome! I will check it out. 

I am concerned about overspray from the MistKing. I've read that the nozzles are adjustable, but I've never used one to know how much so. I'm hoping that I can direct the spray enough to avoid misting my entire office (lol). The footprint of the tank ought to be large enough to catch any drips. 

Anyone have any thoughts on that?


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## pdfCrazy (Feb 28, 2012)

Also in Colorado here. This should be interesting to follow. My only concern is the long term condition of the ash branches. I've used ash in terrariums before, and exposed to humidity and moisture, they broke down very rapidly.


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## VivariumWorks (Feb 27, 2008)

You're going to have issues with over-spray with the mistking, and the fogger will be only for show. Not trying to be a naysayer, but this will be the reality. I've dealt with this many times myself. The issue is that your AC system will pull out the humidity faster than you can dump it into the room. I'd still use them though. The fogger looks really cool when done right and the misting will be needed unless you want to hand spray everything 10+ times a day.

What I would seriously consider doing is making a tall two sided "splash guard". Use clear plexi and have it come up two adjacent sides making an L. Use the side with the overflow. This will allow you spray the mistking in the direction of the guard and not worry too much about it. Mosses on your branches will be impossible without consistent hourly to half-hourly spraying with the mist-king which could over-water most of the broms. Worth a try, and if you get it just right with the right moss species it can work, but don't be too upset if the moss doesn't take off as well as the broms do. Moss is extremely tricky, especially in open air systems. Most open air tanks that have moss in them have water either wicking up to the moss or has water actively trickling through the moss 24/7. 

Next, as with your reef tanks, water movement will be key. Use the overflow over the canister. Unless you get a massive canister you just won't be able to get the water movement you'll need. Paludariums have pretty large bioloads and you want that water turning over as much as possible or else you'll get dead pockets/zones and when those buildup the gasses... well, as a reefer you know. Whew! Plus I found that films build up on the water surface in exposed systems much more so than closed ones.

Plant soil will need to be done right the first time or it will really... soil... your experience. See member "hydrophyte" for that. He's got stuff that will work well and not discolor the water. 

For your foam islands I wouldn't do the silicone/peat method on the underwater area. It will not only leach tannins from the peat, but it will erode away rather quickly and leave you with the exposed silicone. It's fine for the above water section, but below water I would mix some clear two part liquid epoxy and the peat together and smear it over the foam. If done right you should have a seamless transition between the two methods. The epoxy looks shiny in the air but underwater looks normal like the silicone/peat does above the waterline. Plus the epoxy/peat matrix won't leach tannins as much and therefore not tea color your water as much.

Lighting sounds great. Especially right next to the window. The window will make all the difference. Nothing beats natural light, even indirect and for a few hours a day, it's still a major color booster.

And I second the tree branches. I would consider going with something else only because I can see that rotting out pretty quick, though you can address that when necessary, just design it so you can swap it out if/when needed. You could always try to seal it with a clear urethane but I'm pretty sure it will end up looking shiny.

That's all I got. But yea, splash-guard. Big time. And I hope you don't have any cats... see post: http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/parts-construction/66760-paludarium-rebuild-vine-snake.html


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## njdavis81 (Aug 21, 2012)

Ah so much great information! Thank you! I really appreciate it. Lots to think about.

(And no cats).


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## njdavis81 (Aug 21, 2012)

I wonder if I could build an artificial tree and run a drip system up through the truck and branches... Hmm...


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## VivariumWorks (Feb 27, 2008)

Now you're thinking. That would work really well. Design the tree skeleton out of some rigid material. Then coat it in a flexible polymer material mixed with peat/tree bark. Before you coat it you could run soaker hoses inside the branches and let it weep/wick water from inside the branch out to the surface. That idea if done right WILL grow moss. Only issue I could see being dripping and of course getting the right materials together to pull the idea off right...


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## skanderson (Aug 25, 2011)

i would suggest either pvc tubing or acrylic rod as the skeleton material. both are bendable when heated, but be careful of the fumes.


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## njdavis81 (Aug 21, 2012)

Update time. Haven't made a ton of progress due to my job being crazy during the holidays, but have managed to do a bit. 



I pulled all the branches out, and built the trunk out of 4" PVC, cork bark, foam, and rope. I cut about a dozen short lengths of PVC, and bent most of them with a heat gun. These will hold the branches at the trunk. This way, the branches are easy to replace, if needed, without disturbing much. 







In order to try to avoid needing to replace the Ash branches, I sealed them all up with DryLock (tinted to light brown). Then, went back over them lightly with DryLock mixed with dark brown acrylic. There is one branch in there that is sealed with Titebond III instead, and one Ash branch that is plain -- so I can see how long they last with various treatments. I also filled it out some with manzanita. 











Still lots to do with coating the structure, and the stand isn't painted yet either. 



















Current plan is to paint the exposed foam with the light brown DryLock, then go back with the dark brown DryLock to make it look more realistic. Planning to do vines above water with peat/silicone and vines below water with peat/Titebond III. Thoughts?



Sorry the flash makes the last two pictures look so washed out.


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## shiloh (Nov 28, 2012)

First of all, wow. That tank and stand are no joke. Is your glass 1" thick??

It's looking pretty good so far! I'd only use peat below the water line if you don't mind tea-colored water though.


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## njdavis81 (Aug 21, 2012)

Hi. Thanks for the comments. 

No, the acrylic is 5/8", what you see that makes it look thicker is a support frame/lip.

I'm hoping to avoid the tannins, since there is 4 feet of water to look through and it would look pretty murky. That's I plan to use DryLock on the tree/foam structure and Titebond III on the vines. 

I hope it works out!!


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## Giga (Mar 31, 2011)

this is a really cool idea


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## andersonii85 (Feb 8, 2004)

Some inspiration for you:









Paludarium build by Planted Glass Boxes. Pic also by PGB. Notice the two sides are open. He uses a drip wall system for the back.


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## njdavis81 (Aug 21, 2012)

Some progress: painted the trunk with the first color of DryLock, still have darker layers to add. 

Mounted some broms, added some plants in the planters (none of these will have submerged roots and drainage is good). 

Started working on making lianas. 

I hope things will progress much quicker once the holidays are through. 

Thanks for looking.


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## Giga (Mar 31, 2011)

I think it might look better if you get some smaller species of brom to mount on the top. It might pull the thing together a little better. Pretty cool though


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## mongo77 (Apr 28, 2008)

Giga said:


> I think it might look better if you get some smaller species of brom to mount on the top. It might pull the thing together a little better. Pretty cool though


Also Im pretty sure the broms that you have that are flowering will start to die.


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## Blue_Pumilio (Feb 22, 2009)

They'll send up pups. 



mongo77 said:


> Also Im pretty sure the broms that you have that are flowering will start to die.


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## njdavis81 (Aug 21, 2012)

The above-water structure is done, painted, planted. 



The stand is done, frame painted. Still needs trim and doors. 



Although not shown here, the 40b sump is placed in the stand.














Closer view of the tree:













Thanks for the heads up on the broms. I'll keep an eye on them. Would be cool if they did sprout some pups.  They are some I had available. I'll pull these out and put them elsewhere if they don't do well and order some more suitable ones from a vendor. 

Thanks!!


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## Harpo (Nov 9, 2012)

Cool build. Any updates?


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