# My first attempt at a Paludarium...



## Goanna (Jan 17, 2008)

I just finished my first Paludarium using the Black Jungle method of Great Stuff and Coco Bark. 

I used an 18" cube Exo-Terra along with some driftwood I had lying around. 

I built a waterfall into the left side by using 1/2" PVC Pipe running from the top left to bottom right and it's held in place by the expanding foam. The pump is on the right side and is hidden by the artificial log. If I do this type of tank again I am just going to drill it because the filter takes up too much room in the tank. The filter I used was a Supreme Ovation 700 ( whish was the smallest sub. filter I could find that was strong enough to pump up 18"). 

So far I have some Bromeliads in there (Fireball and Liliputiana), and a couple of epyphitic orchids mnunted to the driftwood. In the water I have Anubias Frazeri, Anubias Congensis, Cryptocorene, Java Fern, Green Bacopa and Java Moss. 

I have Cardinal and Rummynose Tetras in there right now, as well as an African Butterfly. Going to hold off putting treefrogs in until the plants establish themselves (plus I still have more plants to add, going to order from black jungle soon). 

Even though I soaked my driftwood beforehand it still discolored my water pretty good. The blackwater extract I used didnt help that either, although on it's own doesnt discolor it that much. I am going to put some Seachem Purigen in the filter to try and polish the water a bit. If that doesnt work I am going to just have to let the fish get acclimated and then start doing frequent water changes. 

Hmm, well I was going to post some pics but I cant right now being a new member. I will post them soon. [/img]


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## HappyHippos1 (May 7, 2007)

Get those pics posted so we can see it!  

Also in my opinion the tanned water is more attractive and realistic. Think, in the rainforest and rivers the fish live, is the water purified? People buy blackwater extract to tan the water for fish, etc. because it is good for them and simulate their natural environment. Driftwood is great because it does this for us. I don't even know the benefits from tannins in the water but I'm sure they're good. Just ask rich, brent, and the other scientific top dogs to figure out the benefits. :wink:


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## Goanna (Jan 17, 2008)

Hopefully I can post the pics now since this will be my Fifth post. 

I've setup planted aquariums with driftwood before. I had an awesome looking blackwater aquarium housing 5 3.4 tentacled snakes a few years ago.

Even with the driftwood I do use blackwater extract usually which does give it a nice, slight tint but right now it's a little too dark. Looks like the fish are swimming in a cup of lipton tea, lol.

Here are some pics. Please excuse the appearance of the aquarium area, I am still working on hiding the heater, and moving the live plants around. 

     

If there were one thing I would do different as mentioned earlier, I would definitly drill the tank and plumb it so I wouldnt have to use a submersible filter. That log hiding the filter takes away a good amount of aquarium space.

Also, if anyone has any plant recomendations I would appreciate it. I really can only do epyphitic species as I only have one pot embeded in the foam and it's being used by the largeer bromeliads. I am going to cut some of them off to gie me room for a few others. I have a couple small tilandsia mel. tricolor on order from ebay but I would like to maybe get a smaller epiphytic fern or some more orchids.


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## NWMusician (Apr 30, 2007)

Very nice set up. I like the water wall. Good luck with your project!


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## KeroKero (Jun 13, 2004)

I'd do a little more reserch into the fish... both cardinals and rummy nose tetras are sensitive fish that are best in tanks larger than 30g (the larger the body of water, the less fluctuation there is in water quality and temp). And I would definately not recomend the african butterfly in with them :shock: I'd try some endlers instead... they are colorful, active, and will do great in a tank like that with a smaller body of water.

Other than the fish, I think it looks awesome. Looks like you'll probably have to keep it to just the TFs for the "land" part since it doesn't really cater to the terrestrial species, but when the plants grow in (and the broms pup and get nice clumps going) it will be TF heaven.

I know you mentioned wanting RETFs in that tank but IMO that tank calls out for a smaller marsh breeder like H./D. leucophyllata, ebraccata, marmorata, and Hatchet Faced TFs (_Sphaenorhynchus_ ssp.) since these guys like breeding around water and wouldn't mind the fish in there. I prefer larger (wider leaved) brom varieties for frogs as large as RETFs and BETFs, but P. tomopterna or P. hypochondrialis would do well with the smaller broms you have, but these species as well would prefer less humidity than your tank probably has (since they hang out higher in the canopy until they breed). I know I hope to have similar tanks set up for my ebraccata, leucophyllata and marmorata


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## Goanna (Jan 17, 2008)

Thanks for the info KeroKero. 

I am going to look into those species you recomended, bot frogs and plants. I definitly want a little more color in their as far as the flora goes. 

As for the African Butterfly, I went with a small guy just because I always like them and I figured a paludarium would be a good setup for them since they are jumpers. Figured I might even get to see them jump for some crickets once I start feeding the future frogs. If he starts getting too big I can always move him into a different tank.

Also, YGPM (web design inquiry).


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## KeroKero (Jun 13, 2004)

With the exception of the Hatchets, I've worked with the marsh species I've recomended, and those species are also available CB... what they lack up for in color compared to RETF, they make up for in personality. Little beggers... they can be fun in a group too.

Flora is an interesting challenge because it's very easy to go overboard... you've got a decent amount in there already and when it grows it it will be packed. I'd probably recomend looking into some emergent plants to tie the land and water together, and some small accent plants tucked here and there to add some interest... small gesneriads for example can add some color when they bloom, and there is always stuff like fittonia to liven things up... depends on the look and colors you're going for. You've got enough branches and what not I think you could make some very interesting epiphyte gardens that include small blooming gesneriads, some small trailing vines... it could be very fun especially when stuff goes into bloom.

I'd move the butterfly fish out of the tank before you put frogs in, and I'd recomend getting a nice tall tank for him and just leaving it half or 2/3 full. It looks cool to have emergent plant growth in their tanks too. Very cool fish, just not a good fish for the situation.


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## Goanna (Jan 17, 2008)

Just wanted to post that I put Seachem Purigen into my filter in place of carbon. That stuff is amazing. Within 2 hours the water was crystal clear. IMO works just as good as a diatom without the expense or added work of hooking up a second filter. Plus it's feasable for small setups like this. 

I am going to run it for a few days so it will keep up with any new tannins that are let off by the driftwood but then I will remove it to let a little color come back for a natural look. But just wanted to post about it in case anyone here wants to try it. 

Also, just an FYI for anyone who may be interested, apparently it's better for plant tanks then carbon as it wont remove nutrients form the water that plants need where carbon usually does.


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## Goanna (Jan 17, 2008)

Just wanted to post some new pics after the water cleared up and I rearanged the plants and driftwod in the pond area. 

    

The water is very clear. It still looks a little discolored in the pics but that's from the lighting. Since the lights are tinting the water anyway and the pH is perfect right now I am not even going to bother adding any blackwater extract for the time being.


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## NickBoudin (Nov 3, 2007)

Looks great! Keep it up!


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## Goanna (Jan 17, 2008)

Thanks!

I finally got a little color in the tank other then Green. Went to a fish distributor today and they got in a ton of plants while I was there. 

Got a couple small emergent species, including a Purple Waffle Plant (Hemigraphis exotica). 
http://www.mobot.org/gardeninghelp/imag ... 801031.jpg 

Good thing about it is if it starts getting too big it's easily pruned and the cuttings can just be planted in another shallow tank or as a houseplant as long as you keep the soil wet all the time. 

Picked up some nice green emergent species with variegated leaves, didnt catch the name on that one though. If it overgrows I'll just give it to my friend for his pond. 

Got some Anubias nana and Anubias N. Barteri for the foreground and moved the little crypts to the back since I think they were getting too much light in the front anyway. Think the water section is pretty much done now. Definitly going to need to build a bigger Paladarium soon cause I just wanna keep going, lol.


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## andrew__ (Sep 23, 2007)

hmm... if it's too bright for your crypts there's a decent chance you'll run into algae problems with your anubias. what type of crypt? (And what's your pH?)


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## Goanna (Jan 17, 2008)

pH is 6.8

Got the crypts from a local store, they werent even labeled. Surprised they didnt sell them to me as Banana Plants. They are very short, 2-3" tall at most. One of them is more green the other is a brownish color but it was getting darker which is why I thought maybe the light was too strong.


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## andrew__ (Sep 23, 2007)

crypts are very variable, the darker colour does not indicate that your crypt was unhealthy. I suspect that you have C. wendtii, as these are most common in fish stores and it looks similar to what you have pictured, however there are tons of crypts it could be. I've got wendtii 'green' ranging from dark brown (emersed) to green with red undersides and brown markings (submersed) to dark green (emersed), all of the crypts in this pic are actually the same plant (after being divided months ago).

I'd also recommend getting something like hygro corymbosa or rotala to grow at the back, letting it grow above the waterline to flower (as almost any stem plant will, plus the rotala can give you some really nice colour below the waterline as well.

Btw, nice looking tank, should look great once the bottom portion gets all planted up and fills in.


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## Goanna (Jan 17, 2008)

Thanks for the info Andrew. 

Only problem I see now is the Foam is starting to pull back from the sides of the terrarium now. It was a little at first but now both sides have nice gaps between the foam and glass. 

I have a feeling I am going to have to strip down the aquatic section in order to reapply foam and silicon in a few areas . Fish and plants are gonna have to live in a bucket with a heater and filter for a few days .


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## housevibe7 (Sep 24, 2006)

DId you put down silicone first and kind of score it before you put foam down? In my areas that I have done this I have never had any problems with the tank's foam pulling away from the sides. ALthough I am also a patient builder for the most part and wait to see if anything will shrink before I put stuff in


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## Goanna (Jan 17, 2008)

I spent about 2 days doing the foam and once I thought it was fully cured I started to apply the silicon and bedding to the background. I waited 24 hours and then set the tank upright to see what areas I may have to touchup. Applied more silicon and background to those areas and waited another 24 hours. Then I sat the tank upright and didnt really do anything with it for another day as I didnt have the filter or heater yet. So all in all about 5 days before I put water in and started planting. 

I only noticed it pulling away a bit yesterday, but then I looked this morning and it pulled away even more.


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## NickBoudin (Nov 3, 2007)

Same thing with mine. My background is begining to "Crack" and CoCo fiber keeps falling into my water. It's a pain, but every time it happens I take a little brown silicone to it, and slap some coco fiber back up there.


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## housevibe7 (Sep 24, 2006)

And see... I usually let it sit atleast a week before I start to apply silicone and coco fiber.


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## Goanna (Jan 17, 2008)

NickBoudin said:


> Same thing with mine. My background is begining to "Crack" and CoCo fiber keeps falling into my water. It's a pain, but every time it happens I take a little brown silicone to it, and slap some coco fiber back up there.


Only problem with mine is some of the areas are submerged, so I cant just do a quick touchup. I'll need to drain the tank and let it dry first.


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## Goanna (Jan 17, 2008)

Well, this tank has been up and running for well over a year now, and it was time for an upgrade. . 

I recently ordered a glass drill bit for a new tank I am setting up, and after I successfully drilled that tank, I thought "Why not drill the exo terra and setup a canister filter on it!"

So, I ordered two 1/2" bulkheads from the LFS, a new Eheim 2211 canister, and some 3/8" to 1/2" adapters from a computer site (xoxide.com, they are normally used for PC watercooling). 

I cleaned out the whole tank, reserving the substrate, water, plants, etc to be put back in later. Rinsed down the glass and dried it off, and then drilled and installed the bulkheads. I put the intake under the water level close to the substrate, since the water volume is so low I don't want it to ever run dry if the water level drops a bit, and the return got installed up higher but is then attached to the tanks existing 1/2" PVC plumbing that's embedded in the foam background so it will supply the waterfall. 

I am just waiting the recommended 2 hours for the PVC cement to fully cure before I fill her up and test everything. The benefit to this whole setup now is the Eheim 2211 has much more filter media then the little submersible filter I had in there that would get clogged every week. Having the filter outside the tank benefits me in another way, so I can clean the filter as often as needed without having to worry about the day gecko running out and me having to chase her all around the living room, which is not fun, lol. Also that filter took up a decent amount of already limited water space. So now there's a little more room for fish in this setup. 

I am thinking about re-scaping the water area. I have some anubias and java fern in there but I was thinking about maybe doing something for ground cover. I like HC but not sure how well it will do in this environment. Any recommendations will be appreciated. 

   

EDIT: The Lightbox Popup used on this forum for images has issues when linking other images to an external source. It winds up opening the thumbnail again in the lightbox. I have noticed this on several forums using this addon.

To view the larger pictures, you can go to http://www.imagebam.com/gallery/f779d975e1654a3b7a6dcd0c71542a47/


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