# 80 Gallon Paludarium - Updated 10/23



## Tasiamay (Sep 4, 2006)

I have been lurking here for awhile, but this is my first post.  I have been very interested in PDF's for a long time, but this is my first tank attempt. I usually stick to reef tanks & planted freshwater tanks ...

I only have a couple pictures (not the greatest ones either - hard to take good ones outside w/out shadows), but plan to take more as the process continues.

I had an 80 gallon tank & added an acrylic divider w/ an overflow box. There is a drain and imput in the overflow, which will lead to a magnum 350. The magnum will power the main water feature, as well as a small secondary one. There is also a hole drilled in the land section, so I can install a bulkhead and drain off water from the false bottom easily.

I was going for the "tree trunk" & root feel

Any comments, suggestions & improvements appreciated  

Kristin

Dry fit with some silicone 









Wood siliconed & foaming finished (sorry about flash spots)









And just for fun, my 60 gallon reef tank


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## Frogtofall (Feb 16, 2006)

Wow. You really went big for a initial run eh? No matter b/c it looks awesome. Keep at it!

The reef is very nice too.


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## Dartfrogfreak (Jun 22, 2005)

I agree It looks amazing !

Some those branches will be great for bromeliad mounting as well some other epiphytes.
Cant wait to see it finished ,



Todd


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## Guest (Sep 30, 2006)

Wow, nice reef tank, i like them acroporas to the right mounted on the rock. What is the pink blob in the front? I have never seen something like that... unless the bright blurry sand is making me see things in a new view.
:lol: Awsome paludarium too. It be freaking awsome in the end i bet....
-Paul


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## cubby23 (Jun 12, 2006)

Very nice, keep us updated!


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## Guest (Oct 2, 2006)

Kristin, 
first off WELCOME to DendroBoard!!! 

now that thats out of the way, nice tank. its looking good so far. do you plan on covering the front of your divider with anything? maybe a thin layer of the foam would add some contour there and it could double for a mounting area for some java moss or java ferns. 

i like your reef tanktoo!



FrogKid said:


> What is the pink blob in the front? I have never seen something like that... unless the bright blurry sand is making me see things in a new view.
> 
> -Paul


Paul, it looks like a plate coral, either fungia or heliofingia species.


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## Tasiamay (Sep 4, 2006)

Thanks for the comments! I should be finishing the tank this Thursday & Friday and will post some more pics then.

Paul, the pink blob in the front on the sand is indeed a pink & purple fungia plate.



> do you plan on covering the front of your divider with anything? maybe a thin layer of the foam would add some contour there and it could double for a mounting area for some java moss or java ferns.


I'm probably not going to cover the divider, but I'm not entirely positive yet. I'm thinking about using long hair grass along the divider. The hubby is a little bummed that I'm not letting him "take over", so I might just "give" him the water section to aquascape.


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## Tasiamay (Sep 4, 2006)

I was able to do some more work today. I finished the flocking (still have a couple spots to touch up) & extra silicone around the second water feature. Have to make a run to home depot to get some teflon tape, then I should have the plumbing completed & will do a test run of the water features.

Whole Tank









Right Water Feature









Middle Water Feature


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## zBrinks (Jul 16, 2006)

Cool!


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## cubby23 (Jun 12, 2006)

That water feature is awesome. I can't wait to see planted pics


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## cbreon (Apr 25, 2005)

where did you get the black foam and who makes it? Oh and most importantly, looks great!


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## foxhunt006 (Sep 10, 2006)

Beautiful start! I can't wait to see it fill out!

I know Handi-Foam comes in black. I got mine through Drsfosterandsmith.com.


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## c'est ma (Sep 11, 2004)

Wow! Gorgeous start! (Sweet reef, too!)


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## Tasiamay (Sep 4, 2006)

Finally got around to taking pics of the viv planted. I got a wonderful plant package from Antone & few from Black Jungle. Not the best pictures - the hubby has the good camera. Enjoy ...


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## Raymond (Aug 26, 2006)

Wow, that is simply amazing. Great selection of broms and plants. In particular, that large brom is spectacular looking.....

It's very natural looking, and will be even more so once the plants have grown in. 

Now you just have to get some frogs and fish in their and you're set. 

Cheers.

Edit: I just saw the frog in the last pic, I must have overlooked that this morning......


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## Guest (Oct 23, 2006)

wow dude freaking awsome ! 
i can never get stuff like that to not falldown. great job.


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## c'est ma (Sep 11, 2004)

Spectacular, Kristin! Superb job!

After seeing the frog in the last pic I went back and saw it in several others. He--or they--looks right at home. Do you have more than one?

Man, that waterfall is sweet!


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## Frogtofall (Feb 16, 2006)

Great work!


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## Dartfrogfreak (Jun 22, 2005)

Thats spectacular!!!

Ive not seen a Paludorium of this kinda Beauty in awhile.

Great job




Todd


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## cubby23 (Jun 12, 2006)

INCREDIBLE!!!!!!! Truly a great job. Is that a black acrylic separator? Ho wmany galacts are in there? I would love to get some. Should you have any concerns about drowning? Also are you gonna put any fish in the tank part? It has about 30 gallons of water right?


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## Tasiamay (Sep 4, 2006)

Thanks everyone! For my first attempt at a PDF tank I think it turned out pretty well. 

Right now it houses two female orange galacts. I've been looking for another female & male to add the group, but haven't found any. 

The water portion is about 20 gallons total & is separated from the land with a black acrylic divider. I plan to put a small school of cardinals, shrimp & a pair of killifish in once the water clears up a bit & I get the needle valve for my CO2 system. 

As far as the frogs drowing ... they have 3 places (one on either side & in the middle) to get out. The first day I put them in there, however, they both decided it was just easier to climb the glass when they got in the water.

Here is another picture that shows the water section a bit better (still not a great pic though)


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## Guest (Oct 24, 2006)

looking sweet Kristin!! its tough to get pics with the lighting in the top and the water section to show up correctly. i always had better luck getting water section pics independant of upper shots. try a pic with just the water section and maybe the automatic adjustoing can handle it if its all one brightness (for lack of a better word ).


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## Caitlin (Mar 20, 2006)

I love paludariums, and you've done an excellent job on yours! I don't see enough of this sort of thing. I also think it looks pretty darn realistic, judging by what I've seen of actual rainforests; without too many plants crammed in there, but an interesting variety. Keep up the good work, and keep updating when you add fish and more frogs!


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## kyle1745 (Feb 15, 2004)

Now thats a good looking tank...

I need to build a larger tank here soon.


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## Vicky Rut (Apr 28, 2006)

Love the water area 
Nicely done!


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## Paul E. Wog (Jan 2, 2005)

Wow!!! nice tank. I really like the driftwood waterfall.

Also nice to see another person from Arizona on the board, not enough of us desert rats here. 

Have you met Greg and Amanda Sihler yet? really good people and local breeders of many different DFs. http://www.azdr.com


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## Paul E. Wog (Jan 2, 2005)

Tasiamay said:


> Right Water Feature


BTW, what are the little dics things sticking to the wood?


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## dustin_grey (Mar 8, 2006)

Theyre mushrooms on the wood from what I can tell. I cant tell if its natural, but they were more likely siliconed or foamed onto the wood.

Right?


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## Paul E. Wog (Jan 2, 2005)

dustin_grey said:


> Theyre mushrooms on the wood from what I can tell. I cant tell if its natural, but they were more likely siliconed or foamed onto the wood.
> 
> Right?


^ that's what I figured, I just want to know who makes them as I doubt they are live. I always thought a "shroom terrace" like that would look great in a viv.

Let me rephrase my question. Tasiamay, where do I get the artificial shroom?


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## tha3rdman (Nov 2, 2006)

*They are a form of shroom*

They are a form of fungus, I've seen them in the woods of Eastern PA, and they grow naturally like that, I don't know how you'd grow them or start them.


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## c'est ma (Sep 11, 2004)

They are commonly called shelf or bracket fungi. A large, interesting group. Here are a few links if you're interested:

http://botit.botany.wisc.edu/toms_fungi/march99.html

http://www.bio.brandeis.edu/fieldbio/Fu ... _list.html


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## Paul E. Wog (Jan 2, 2005)

Thanks Diane, That is really cool. I may have to try my hand at carving a couple out of GS.

So do you think that they will last for long in a viv or die off after awhile like most mushrooms? Wonder if they are okay for frogs?


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## Paul E. Wog (Jan 2, 2005)

Wish Tasiamay would get back on line and clear the fungus thing up and let us know whether they are fake or not; and where we can get them. Tasiamay if you got them somewhere in Az. let me know where so I can get some.


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## c'est ma (Sep 11, 2004)

Paul E. Wog said:


> Thanks Diane, That is really cool. I may have to try my hand at carving a couple out of GS.
> 
> So do you think that they will last for long in a viv or die off after awhile like most mushrooms? Wonder if they are okay for frogs?


Well, that's a good question! If you found a nice piece of wood with shelf fungi attached, I suppose they could continue to live off the wood. Most of these fungi are slow decomposers found on dead bark & wood. Of course, I'd think the viv environment would tend to be much more humid than the fungi's typical habitat, so perhaps they wouldn't fare so well...

There are lots of polypores, and the harder, drier, woody ones (like the artist's conk) usually dry easily and last a long time when detached from their host. But again, in a viv they probably couldn't dry...so may rot? Maybe specimens that had already been dried would last a while...

But as you point out, someone with a good eye could probably easily make some faux shelf fungi...


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## Paul E. Wog (Jan 2, 2005)

I've done a bit of sculpting among other art mediums so I'm gonna give it a shot. Wish I new how to do casting so I could do it out of super sculpy but I'll try with some GS. If it works out I'll start a new thread.

Hmmm, now that I think of it I wonder if I couldnt glaze the sculpy with a marine epoxy and then use marine pants to paint them. Hmmmm.


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## Tasiamay (Sep 4, 2006)

Sorry folks, work's been keeping me busy. The "fungus" things on the wood are called "Tree Conks" - they are from Black Jungle. I just siliconed them to the wood. They are, unfortunately, not really suited for the humid environments of vivariums. I've since taken them out of my tank b/c after a week or so they were one big piece of snow mold. I've used them in my crested gecko setups & they worked wonderfully in there. Here's a couple updated picture for ya ...


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## Paul E. Wog (Jan 2, 2005)

Thanks for the info Tasiamay. 

Your tank is beautiful


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## c'est ma (Sep 11, 2004)

Oh, Kristin, those are extraordinary photos! I can't believe the crispness of both. It's amazing to see both the above and below water plants in such great focus...

Your tank just keeps getting more beautiful, which I would not have thought was possible.

Did you get a new camera, or a tripod, or something?

The moss on your wood is lovely. I've forgotten whether you've told us anything about it or not...how did you get it to grow there?


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## Tasiamay (Sep 4, 2006)

Thanks for the compliments!! We hosted a freshwater plant meeting for our local club & someone had a digital SLR (Nikon). He took the last two pictures I posted. I have several more & can post them tonight if anyone is interested.

The moss growing on the wood is actually a combination of HC & Riccia. I just laid it across the wood & it eventually oriented itself towards the light & then attached. I'm already having to trim it - it's growing like a weed!


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## Guest (Nov 6, 2006)

i love HC and riccia, but havent been able to get any HC recently. if you need a way to dispose of that HC i know some one thatll take some :lol: im sure your freshwater plant club has plenty of takers also though :lol:

the tank lookks great, makes me want to get motivated on mine.


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## Paul E. Wog (Jan 2, 2005)

what does HC stand for. For some reason I can't make the connection.


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## TimsViv (Feb 16, 2004)

Your paludaruim looks great. What inhabitants are you considering for the water portion?

Tim


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## Guest (Nov 6, 2006)

Paul E. Wog said:


> what does HC stand for. For some reason I can't make the connection.


hemianthus callitrichoides

http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&s ... F-8&tab=wi


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## Paul E. Wog (Jan 2, 2005)

What kind of lighting are you using? Does the Riccia and HC take a lot of light to grow?

BTW, thanks for the info Landon.


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## c'est ma (Sep 11, 2004)

Tasiamay said:


> We hosted a freshwater plant meeting for our local club & someone had a digital SLR (Nikon). He took the last two pictures I posted. I have several more & can post them tonight if anyone is interested.


Please do!


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## Tasiamay (Sep 4, 2006)

The paludarium is lit by a 100 watt metal halide. I'm eventually going to get a 4x54 watt T5 light strip though. I have one on my reef tank & I love it.

HC & Riccia love light. The riccia that is in the shaded parts of the tank is not growing nearly as fast as the riccia in full light.

For the water part, I plan on adding a school of cardinals, some shrimp & a pair of killifish. Right now the water is insanely warm & I'm trying to figure out a way to lower the temperature before adding any fish. Any suggestions?

Here are some more of those pictures ...


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## c'est ma (Sep 11, 2004)

Simply gorgeous, Kristin.

Q: do you have this topped with more than one smaller sized glass tank lid? If so, how's that working for you?


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## xxll (Jul 12, 2004)

what other plants do you plan on adding to the aquatic portion?...its cool to see the anubias growing up the waterfall...finally someone elts who grows them out of water!...the ricca looks so sweet to...i have been using it alot recently and like it alot better then java moss in wetter situations...alot faster growing and the lighter color is great contrast against the darker wood...have the glacs gone for a swim yet?


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## costaricalvr12 (Oct 5, 2006)

I think you should put a piece of wood leading from the water to the substrate, because if one of your galacs happens to take a swim, it might have a better chance of surviving. You could mount a couple of epiphytes to it to spice it up if you know what I mean too  .


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