# Dragon Spirit's 40G Azureus paludarium



## DragonSpirit1185 (Dec 6, 2010)

So this is like 5 years in the making. I first talked about doing a paludarium back in 2010.

So it's gonna be a Tetra 40 gallon breeder tank that I got at Petco's $1 per gallon sale. I'm going to have it on it's side so I can put sliding glass doors on there and drill it for drainage.
I lucked up today and got all kinds of herp gear off Craigslist.
I got a 40G Breeder stand (Retails $51 reference:Petco Brooklyn Metal Tank Stand) and a punch of other stuff for only $40 

Ok so here she is









So that is the Zilla T5 light only has one bulb lit up and it's pretty bright. 
I might just use LED lights to conserve energy and LEDs don't put out as much heat.

I've got all sorts of plants that can be seen here: http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/members-frogs-vivariums/242874-dragon-spirit-herps-pic-heavy.html
I've also contacted a well known member to fulfill a plant list for me of some nice plants. Hopefully that goes through


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## Boboluke (Apr 12, 2013)

FYI for you...

A 29 fits perfectly in the bottom of the Petco Brooklyn stand. Normal position, not vert or on the side.


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## DragonSpirit1185 (Dec 6, 2010)

Boboluke said:


> FYI for you...
> 
> A 29 fits perfectly in the bottom of the Petco Brooklyn stand. Normal position, not vert or on the side.


this 29G disagrees with you 









I'm gonna use if for my crested gecko anyways


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## Boboluke (Apr 12, 2013)

Oops. I meant that a 29 fits perfectly below the Brooklyn 40b stand.


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## DragonSpirit1185 (Dec 6, 2010)

Boboluke said:


> Oops. I meant that a 29 fits perfectly below the Brooklyn 40b stand.




It's not fitting under there at all though 

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## pooky125 (Jan 16, 2012)

That's not a 29, that's a 30. A 29's dimensions are 30x12x18, a 30 gallon is 36x12x16.


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## DragonSpirit1185 (Dec 6, 2010)

pooky125 said:


> That's not a 29, that's a 30. A 29's dimensions are 30x12x18, a 30 gallon is 36x12x16.


Which is the measurements of that tank.
It would fit so I measured it and used a volume calculator in FishLore and it said 29.something.
I can check it again and see if Petco has one. I wouldn't mind having a grow out tank underneath

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## DragonSpirit1185 (Dec 6, 2010)

Finally some progress is being made. I decided I'm gonna go with all cork and most likely not use the wood I originally showed. 

So here is where I'm at 









Not sure if I wanna leave that right cork branch leaning towards the waterfalls or to the left towards the land. 









Better look at the foam carving and whatnot. I think I'm gonna add another rock leg to the right side. 









The top part is gonna be a fillbox for the waterfall. I'm gonna be using a Tom's Rapids canister filter and the flow rate will be too high to just run it strait to a tube. So the water will go in that top part and out a few hole. I'm thinking there is gonna be like 3 different waterfalls on this rock wall. 
The fill box will be cover with silicone/peat moss. 

Here is the top of the fillbox 









So where you see that little bit of glass is where I'm gonna drill a 1/2" hole


I'm gonna do the grout and acrylic method and only probably gonna seal the submerged portion with epoxy. The acrylic seems to hold up really good. 
I have a food/water faux rock dish I made for my crested gecko a long time ago (June 2014 to be exact) and it's still holding up great and no paint comes off at all. No matter how hard you rub it with your finger. 









Although with that feeding dish I didn't wanna spend a bunch of money on grout for such a little project so I used this









It has a foam applicator and that's how I got the realistic rock look. So I'll be using a foam brush to apply a thick layer of grout after I put on a couple coats of soupy grout to fill in all those little cracks. 

Some supplies









Going to use the cotton rope to make vines. Yes I know cotton doesn't hold up well but I'm gonna make sure it is slathered pretty good with silicone and in the off chance it doesn't end well I'll just make more. I just know other rope materials don't work well since the silicone won't stick good. 
I'm debating on getting this for drilling








Drilax™ Drill Bit Hole Saw Guide



So for the water portion I will be getting some Danio margaritatus/The Celestial Pearl Danio/Galaxy Rasbora.









Petco will be getting some in for me on Thursday. 

I thought about getting some Orchid Endlers but the class A ones are the only ones I like and they run around $55 plus shipping and I can't find them locally. They sure are nice though.









I'll be tearing down my 10 gallon tank and using most of the plants for my paludarium and since this tank has been established and cycled for a over a year I can use the same media and stuff and my water won't take long to cycle. I only started this fish tank cause I wasn't allowed to have herps. 









I found this awesome piece of wood that will be the centerpiece of my water portion. it has nice moss growing on it 
The trumpet snails are cleaning it really well. I will be putting them in the paludarium as well. They just appeared in my tank one day and they do a pretty good job at cleaning things. There just ins't enough just yet to really keep up with my tank. The duckweed appeared one day as well and now it's overtaking the tank. I've thrown away handfuls. 









I will be placing an order for nearly $200 at NEHerp once they get the Mist King starter kit back in. I already had everything in the cart but called and asked some questions before committing then they informed me they just had sold their last starter kit  Yeah I can get it elsewhere but with it added I get a free bag of moss as a reward 

I'll probably start on the grouting soon but first I need to get the bottom glass and the bottom tracking in so I know how much to cut the foam back. 

Here is a little glimpse of the air flow gear and my ideas on how I'm gonna run fans and such (Skip to 5:00)


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## DragonSpirit1185 (Dec 6, 2010)

It's finally coming along. 
The front bottom glass is 1/4" glass. Partition is 1/8" glass
I decided to put more faux rock on the partition so it will give a way for the frog to crawl out so they don't drown. Also that's what the cork branch is in there for as well. 









Faux rocks and you can see I have my tracking in place. 









Closer look of the partition faux rocks









As you can see here the foam goes over the top of the glass and around the back









I carved a lip into the top final piece the hot glued it all together 









I don't use PVC pipe for support. I just use eggcrate. I always use 2 rows of squares but I clip the flat part off the bottom like how you see the edges are done. This way things just drain better. 
No since in buying a long peice of PVC when you have eggcrate scraps. 









I got some new plants. 

*Peperomia sp Isla Colon* It's a bit damaged from shipment so I took a pic of one of the good sides. 









*Neoregelia Chiquita Linda* x2 they arrived a bit dried out  hopefully they don't go sour on me. I got them in some sphagnum moss the get hydrated.









*Limnobium Laevigatum* aka Frogbit for the water portion of the paludarium









*Macodes petola* This plant was the only one to arrive in great condition (because it was the only plant wrapped with a paper towel and placed inside a baggy) and it was a freebie lol how ironic xD









Unknown peperomia that was included but wasn't packaged correctly so now it's all yellow. Put it in some sphagnum to hydrate it. Hopefully it won't die on me. 









All of my previous plants are doing great and this Marcgravia Rectiflora suriname is growing well









Here is how everything is at the moment. I'm gonna start working on the grout soon. 










I plan on getting a lot more plants such as orchids and whatnot. Just waiting to hear back from a member on here.
I got some bulkheads and other supplies on their way for my drainage and my filter system.


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## Mohlerbear (Feb 20, 2014)

Hey you might want to consider putting holes or something at the bottom of your rocks where it connects to the land. You want that water to cover the bottom right? It might get stagnant. I'm not sure if I'm making any sense. 


Loading bowls and building vivs! Braaap!
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## DragonSpirit1185 (Dec 6, 2010)

Mohlerbear said:


> Hey you might want to consider putting holes or something at the bottom of your rocks where it connects to the land. You want that water to cover the bottom right? It might get stagnant. I'm not sure if I'm making any sense.
> 
> 
> Loading bowls and building vivs! Braaap!
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


I'm not sure what you mean.
the fake rocks on the partition will be mostly submerged and they will be siliconed in place. So the spave behind the rocks and at the bottom will be siliconed. The waterfall rocks will pretty much be sitting on top of the water. There will be a filter circulating the water I don't see how anything is going to get stagnant o.o


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## DragonSpirit1185 (Dec 6, 2010)

Got my SS mesh from McMaster-Carr in today. 
I bought a 12"x12" sheet of this: Super-Corrosion-Resistant 316 Stainless Steel Wire Cloth 40 x 40









Wow this stuff is thick 









So glad I got these cutters at the thrift store a week ago 









Might have to use epoxy to mount this stuff idk it's trying to roll back up. Maybe I should try to torch it? I would mind an oxidized look to it to be honest. Not a fan of shiny stuff lol



Just finished the partition faux rock wall. 
Well it's almost done. Just need to seal it.


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## DragonSpirit1185 (Dec 6, 2010)

Woot got some supplies in. I dropped like $180 over at NEHerp
I got a MistKing starter system, tillandsias, NEHerp Live Moss (freebie), split seed pod, dual MistKing nozzles with a ball valve and connectors, 3lbs of cork, plant baskets, sphagnum moss, and a cocohut (freebie)









Tillandsias









Got some awesome cork pieces 









MistKing dual nozzle, ball valve, Ts, elbos, and clips









Baskets for plants









Sphagnum moss









I got this moss as a freebie reward for spending so much 









I'm waiting on my Spyra and silicone strips from Folius. I already ordered a sheet of Sprya a week ago. It pretty much does the same thing as Hygrolon.
I'm gonna be getting some moss slurry and stuff when the build it set up and ready to go.

Right now I'm headed to Petco to get my Danio margaritatus aka Galaxy Rasboras/Celestial Pearl Danios for my water portion of my vivarium


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## DragonSpirit1185 (Dec 6, 2010)

I don't know if anyone is following this lol but here is some updates. 

I've gotten like 11 mini orchids so far. 









I had them in here but I ran out of space





Got some broms in from Justin at Blue Pumilo (list not in order)
_Neoregelia Punctatissima "yellow banded" 
Neoregelia Blushing Tiger 
Neoregelia Inky Neoregelia (Paucifloria x Granada) F2 
Neoregelia Tiger Cub Neoregelia Cougar 
Neoregelia Smithii (Was supposed to be Flare Up) 
Neoregelia Midnight 
Neoregelia Diablo ***** 
Neoregelia sp. "Collection Gurken Friburgo"_









Got my fan air flow box built 









I hot glued it in place since hot glue is easier to remove. 








I added a little air flow thingy so it will push the air back across the vivarium and over the branch where I will have some tillandsias.









I used black aluminum screen for the air flow and fiberglass screen for the front door fan. I tried out some stainless mesh and it just didn't let enough air through. I had to turn it all the way up just to feel much and when I turned it down you couldn't feel anything. With how it is now I have a wide range of settings using my fan controller. 

The materials I'm using for the air flow diverter and the fans is chloroplast board aka plastic corrugated board. 










So here is a current full tank shots. First pic is before I edited the picture.









As you can see there is some vines and stuff. Here is a quick tutorial on that.





Well that's all for now. I got some moss from a member but haven't unpacked it yet. I'll post that soon.


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## Wusserton (Feb 21, 2014)

"Unknown peperomia that was included but wasn't packaged correctly so now it's all yellow. Put it in some sphagnum to hydrate it. Hopefully it won't die on me." 

Looks like string of hearts, mines been yellow for years and it doing fine lol, the frogbit goes nuts, I dropped a couple of pedals in and my feature it full of it now!


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## DragonSpirit1185 (Dec 6, 2010)

Wusserton said:


> "Unknown peperomia that was included but wasn't packaged correctly so now it's all yellow. Put it in some sphagnum to hydrate it. Hopefully it won't die on me."
> 
> Looks like string of hearts, mines been yellow for years and it doing fine lol, the frogbit goes nuts, I dropped a couple of pedals in and my feature it full of it now!


the frogbit all died on me lol. So I'll just be using the duckweed and Salvinia minima


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## Wusserton (Feb 21, 2014)

DragonSpirit1185 said:


> the frogbit all died on me lol. So I'll just be using the duckweed and Salvinia minima



Thats a shame, I threw mine in an already established tank with some mondo dwarf grass and they both went crazy, my water shoots through a hollowed out piece of driftwood though so it probably has excellent nutrients for vibrant growth lol


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## DragonSpirit1185 (Dec 6, 2010)

Wusserton said:


> Thats a shame, I threw mine in an already established tank with some mondo dwarf grass and they both went crazy, my water shoots through a hollowed out piece of driftwood though so it probably has excellent nutrients for vibrant growth lol
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


I just tested my system and it's gonna need some tweaking and maybe a ball valve to reduce the flow a little haha. 
I need me some mondo dwarf grass. I've put n order for it in a Petco and it hasn't showed up in any shipments for 2 weeks


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## Wusserton (Feb 21, 2014)

DragonSpirit1185 said:


> I just tested my system and it's gonna need some tweaking and maybe a ball valve to reduce the flow a little haha.
> I need me some mondo dwarf grass. I've put n order for it in a Petco and it hasn't showed up in any shipments for 2 weeks



Ball valves are quite cheap and easily found at big box hardware stores  I got a 1/4" in the mail today that I bought for a
Pre-filter on my mist king 


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## DragonSpirit1185 (Dec 6, 2010)

Wusserton said:


> Ball valves are quite cheap and easily found at big box hardware stores  I got a 1/4" in the mail today that I bought for a
> Pre-filter on my mist king
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


yeah but those ball valves from hardware stores are HUGE lol. I'm gonna order another hydrophonic one. They are smaller


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## DragonSpirit1185 (Dec 6, 2010)

Wusserton said:


> Ball valves are quite cheap and easily found at big box hardware stores  I got a 1/4" in the mail today that I bought for a
> Pre-filter on my mist king
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


I ordered this one. I can pain the purple part black easily and it's not that big 
Ball Valve Plastic Hose 1 2 inch Barbed Irrigation Control Hydroponics Aquarium | eBay


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## Wusserton (Feb 21, 2014)

DragonSpirit1185 said:


> yeah but those ball valves from hardware stores are HUGE lol. I'm gonna order another hydrophonic one. They are smaller



Yeah mine is kind of small, its only 1/4" to match the mistking and it was meant for a reverse osmosis system 


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## DragonSpirit1185 (Dec 6, 2010)

Little update....

I lost a few of my orchids  but oh well I might just order some new ones. Lost a few when the tank molded over. I think it's safer now to pin some more up but I think I'm gonna wait for the moss to spread more so it doesn't choke them out.

I got a new light today. I was using a dual 6500K T5 HO light but I got a Beamswork 36" 6500K LED light. It lights up the tank soooo much better. 
No more dark spots. 

Before: 









After:


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## ruairidh_ (Feb 9, 2016)

The tank looks really cool! Any more updates

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## DragonSpirit1185 (Dec 6, 2010)

This thread here got updated lol http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/me.../253250-my-paludarium-finally-finished-d.html

Here is an updated full tank shot. 









*Peperomia emarginella ecuador*

















*Lepanthes calodictyon*









*Lepanthes gargoyla*









*Lemmaphyllum microphyllum*









*Neoregelia Tiger Cub*









*Microgramma heterophylla* 









*Ludisia Lightning* (Died after this bloom)









*Macodes petola*


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## Gibbs.JP (Feb 16, 2016)

This was a great build thread, Brandon - thanks for sharing it. I got some good ideas and info, and the videos were a big help too. I really like your orchid grow out tanks! Can't believe you got that Macodes petola as a freebie! That one's on my list. 

Your hard work and effort on this tank really shows!


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## DragonSpirit1185 (Dec 6, 2010)

Update video


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## MasterT (Jun 7, 2016)

This was awesome. Loved reading it all good job man


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## DragonSpirit1185 (Dec 6, 2010)

MasterT said:


> This was awesome. Loved reading it all good job man


Thanks 

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## rjs5134 (Feb 1, 2017)

Gotta agree with MasterT, this was a great read. I really like the setup, and especially like the detail of your build thread. Love the faux rock wall. I tried one but failed miserably on my 1st attempt. Gonna try again this weekend.

Thanks


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