# 110 Gallon Dripwall Paludarium/Riparium Build



## Warren B (Dec 13, 2010)

With a sudden influx of funds, I've decided to give my crappy Riparium/Paludarium (not sure what to call it) a make over.

First, a before shot: (Yikes, I know)










First, I drained all the water I could and transferred the fishes to other tanks or this big ol' bucket: 









Ordered some ecoweb / epiweb and got to work on both sides with some GE silicone I. 









Made some DIY vines, nylon rope covered with silicone and peat moss. Unfortunately silicone I only comes in clear and white, so some of the rope remains uncovered. Hopefully mosses and epiphytic plants will eventually cover up the rough patches.









Attached them to chunks of cork bark and ecoweb, then siliconed that onto the background.









Also fixed my ghetto-rigged drip wall. Rather than a piece of vinyl tubing snaking up the background, I've replaced it with some PVC. 









Also braided some longer pieces of rope together and strung it out across the tank. I'm using the toothpicks to keep the vines from touching the little bit of water left in there until they are fully cured.









I'm giving the plants a small misting a day, which should hopefully keep 'em alive for a few days while the silicone cures.

That's it as of now, gonna give the silicone a few more days to cure even though the tube says 24 hours. I'll order a bunch of plants and moss this week, as well as a springtail culture, which should hopefully help take care of some of the mold growing on the background. Hope to have the fish back in there by the end of week, I'm sure they're not enjoying the bucket too much.

The water section, when filled (Gonna have less water than the first pic to allow for more plants, probably just a few inches above the bottom of the ecoweb), will have 3 Angelfish, 3 Buenos Aires Tetras, 2 Green Cories, 2 Bumblebee Catfish, and a lone silver dollar (Rest of his school died off). Might get a group of rummynose tetras, I love how close-packed they get in their schools.

As for the above-water section, I'm thinking an Avicularia sp. or two, or possibly an RTF or a few anoles?



Thanks for looking, will continue to update throughout the week.


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## Tinctorus1 (Mar 12, 2014)

If your only going to have a few inches of water I would most definitely ditch the angel fish...they get much to large to be in only a few inches of water
A healthy full grown angelfish could be 8" top to bottom 


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## Jeremy M (Oct 19, 2012)

nice, it's looking much better already. How humid do you plan on keeping it once it's finished, and where will the water line be at? For above-water inhabitants, I'd strongly recommend long-tailed lizards (Takydromus species, most commonly sexlineatus) over anoles (though it is possible to do both). Care is similar and I think that their behavior and appearance is fascinating.

As for the fish stock, I'd look into splashing tetras. They're amazing little topwater fish and perfect for a paludarium, mainly due to their spawning habits... the males guide the females to a leaf overhanging the water, then they jump up out of the water in perfect synchronization onto the leaf. The male adheres to the leaf with his fins and the female sticks to him, both on the leaf out of the water, where they spawn and deposit their eggs onto the leaf. They'll do this a few times- but that's not even the best part. After egg deposition, the males stays underneath them and periodically uses his pectoral fin to literally splash the eggs above the water with deadly accuracy to keep them from drying out. Best part is, they will spawn pretty readily in captivity, especially in a fully planted paludarium, so chances are you'll get to witness some of this behavior if you go for these guys.

Which bumblebee cats are you going with, the south american or the asians? I personally have to put kuhli loaches and pygmy corydoras into every tank I own... it just doesn't feel right without them. Feel free to ask for more ideas for fish stock, even though you weren't searching for it in the first place


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## Warren B (Dec 13, 2010)

Tinctorus1 said:


> If your only going to have a few inches of water I would most definitely ditch the angel fish...they get much to large to be in only a few inches of water
> A healthy full grown angelfish could be 8" top to bottom
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Yeah, they're currently only about 3" in height, but I'll likely move them over to a taller tank once it gets warmer. I may get them a 55 and grow them out with some discus.



Jeremy M said:


> nice, it's looking much better already. How humid do you plan on keeping it once it's finished, and where will the water line be at? For above-water inhabitants, I'd strongly recommend long-tailed lizards (Takydromus species, most commonly sexlineatus) over anoles (though it is possible to do both). Care is similar and I think that their behavior and appearance is fascinating.
> 
> As for the fish stock, I'd look into splashing tetras. They're amazing little topwater fish and perfect for a paludarium, mainly due to their spawning habits... the males guide the females to a leaf overhanging the water, then they jump up out of the water in perfect synchronization onto the leaf. The male adheres to the leaf with his fins and the female sticks to him, both on the leaf out of the water, where they spawn and deposit their eggs onto the leaf. They'll do this a few times- but that's not even the best part. After egg deposition, the males stays underneath them and periodically uses his pectoral fin to literally splash the eggs above the water with deadly accuracy to keep them from drying out. Best part is, they will spawn pretty readily in captivity, especially in a fully planted paludarium, so chances are you'll get to witness some of this behavior if you go for these guys.
> 
> Which bumblebee cats are you going with, the south american or the asians? I personally have to put kuhli loaches and pygmy corydoras into every tank I own... it just doesn't feel right without them. Feel free to ask for more ideas for fish stock, even though you weren't searching for it in the first place



I'll look into the Takydromus, but I'd prefer if the livestock in the tank were Central/South American. I'm probably gonna keep humidity high, around 80%+. I'm planning on around 10" of water. The tank is 30" tall.

The splashing tetras sound like a great idea, I remember watching their spawning behavior on one of those nature documentaries, I'll have to look around and see if there's anyone importing or breeding them.

The catfish are South American. I agree, I've got some kuhli loaches in my Southeast Asian Tank and will probably get a small school of sterbai cories for this tank, love the bottom dwellers.


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## boabab95 (Nov 5, 2009)

For the top:
RETF's (any Aglychnis really), Hylomantis spp., Milk Frogs (Trachycephalus resinifictrix), small anolis/Norops, and ATB's (would need stronger branches though) would work fine.

Though you have fish already, I'm going to suggest marbled hatchetfish (Carnegiella strigata). They are South American and stay along the top, and IMO, Look awesome in tanks. Plus they'll eat any fruit flies that fall in the water.


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## Jeremy M (Oct 19, 2012)

sticking with the SA theme, huh? Have you considered some of the uncommon anole species? I'm specifically thinking of Norops oxylophus and Anolis (Norops?) aquaticus. Both are streamside- dwelling species and are unusually at home around the water and the moist areas around it, and apparently in it as well. Though I'm by no means an expert and haven't kept these species personally, I was captivated by a group of oxylophus at the California Academy of Sciences, which is actually what got me into doing further research on other anole species.

Here's an image of their kind of habitat from montegraphia.com via google: http://www.montegraphia.com/wp-cont...idae-Norops-oxylophus-09.24.2010-13.12.17.jpg


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## Warren B (Dec 13, 2010)

boabab95 said:


> For the top:
> RETF's (any Aglychnis really), Hylomantis spp., Milk Frogs (Trachycephalus resinifictrix), small anolis/Norops, and ATB's (would need stronger branches though) would work fine.
> 
> Though you have fish already, I'm going to suggest marbled hatchetfish (Carnegiella strigata). They are South American and stay along the top, and IMO, Look awesome in tanks. Plus they'll eat any fruit flies that fall in the water.


Thanks Kosonic, I really like the hatchets. They're hella skittish though and some of my more aggressive eaters would probably outcompete them for food.



Jeremy M said:


> sticking with the SA theme, huh? Have you considered some of the uncommon anole species? I'm specifically thinking of Norops oxylophus and Anolis (Norops?) aquaticus. Both are streamside- dwelling species and are unusually at home around the water and the moist areas around it, and apparently in it as well. Though I'm by no means an expert and haven't kept these species personally, I was captivated by a group of oxylophus at the California Academy of Sciences, which is actually what got me into doing further research on other anole species.
> 
> Here's an image of their kind of habitat from montegraphia.com via google: http://www.montegraphia.com/wp-cont...idae-Norops-oxylophus-09.24.2010-13.12.17.jpg


I'd love to get some of the more uncommon anole species. Unfortunately, they're rarely available and oftentimes very expensive. I'll look into it though.


Nothing exciting enough to warrant a picture, but I added about 25 gallons of water today and stuck the pump in there, attached to a water bottle with a hole in the end filled with filter floss, just to clear it up a bit. I also got a new piece of manzanita as sort of a centerpiece for the water section.

I'll add some more water tomorrow and probably add some fish in there as well.

Got some of that nice NEHerp moss in the mail today. Unfortunately, nothing else plant-wise, I'll be making an order this weekend for some more broms and other assorted epiphytic goodies.


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## Mohlerbear (Feb 20, 2014)

Got some of that nice NEHerp moss in the mail today. Unfortunately, nothing else plant-wise, I'll be making an order this weekend for some more broms and other assorted epiphytic goodies.[/QUOTE]

Would you mind posting a pic of the NEHERP moss? I have never ordered moss online and I love NEHERP so I'm curious as to how good their moss looks and the quantity you received.


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## Warren B (Dec 13, 2010)

Bought a dozen peppered cories at $1 a piece at the local petsmart today.











Also in the process of boiling some leaves collected outside. Mostly maple, some oak and beech. Trying to go for a blackwater look for the water section. Still a bit cloudy, but habitable. I'll leave the ghetto-filter on for another day, should be cleared up completely by tomorrow.








Mohlerbear said:


> Would you mind posting a pic of the NEHERP moss? I have never ordered moss online and I love NEHERP so I'm curious as to how good their moss looks and the quantity you received.


Here's a pic of it still in the bag, after a day of transit. Give it a few weeks in bright light and high humidity and it'll be lush and bright green, but I always notice new growth starting to appear within the first week. I've bought them in 5x6 and 12x12 ziploc bags, and its packed just like below, a single layer of moss with the "root" side underneath.


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## Mohlerbear (Feb 20, 2014)

Here's a pic of it still in the bag, after a day of transit. Give it a few weeks in bright light and high humidity and it'll be lush and bright green, but I always notice new growth starting to appear within the first week. I've bought them in 5x6 and 12x12 ziploc bags, and its packed just like below, a single layer of moss with the "root" side underneath.








[/QUOTE]

Looks like fantastic stuff. I love moss. Thanks for the pic! I like it as is, so I could imagine what humidity/lighting will do to that.


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## Warren B (Dec 13, 2010)

Still a bit cloudy. I'll drop a purigen packet in the bottle, once I can find the darned thing somewhere in my aquarium supply storage boxes....




















View is from the side of the tank.


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## Warren B (Dec 13, 2010)

Planted the moss today.











I didn't like how obvious the water pump was, so I went ahead and cut and rearranged the intake so I could stick the pump in a back corner of the tank.


Now I'm just waiting on this plant order, plus I ordered a couple dozen wild-type Neocaridina (cherry shrimp). Both packages should be here this Wednesday.


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## Warren B (Dec 13, 2010)

Got plants today, lots of Neoregelia and ferns.

FTS









Right side









Left side










I apologize for the horrendous pictures, I'll have to get the DSLR out this weekend. 


I ordered a Current Satellite Plus that should be here by Friday (WOO AMAZON PRIME), though its designed for aquarium plants I'm hoping it'll provide enough intensity for the broms.


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## Warren B (Dec 13, 2010)

Unfortunately, the weather was way too nice this past weekend to be cooped up indoors taking pictures. I'll have some hi-res deliciousness this week for you guys, hopefully. 

Got some new inhabitants today. Petsmart was having a "buy 4, get 2 free" sale on any combination of fish, and I was able to pick up 5 bolivian rams (all they had) and another SA bumblebee catfish.











Also picked a green anole for 50% off, so I figured why not. Unfortunately he was the only one they had. I'll have to pick up a female companion or two for him once they get more in stock.


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