Rough Skinned Newt 10g Paludarium rebuild thread...

[froggsong]

I decided to rebuild my newt's paludarium so she could get on and off the land portion more easily, and so it would look better than it did previously.

Here is a pic of the way it used to look:

This pic is a little old, I couldn't find one of what it looked like after I raised the land portion so I could add more water.

I can't get the pics of the construction of the land mass off of my camera right this minute because I can't find the cord, so I'll just have to write out what I did and show you pics of what it looks like IN the tank so far.

I measured a piece of eggcrate to the size of the tank, and then cut it in the front so that it did not cover the entire surface of the water. I also cut an opening in the back left corner for the water filter. Next, I sowed the mesh on with fishing line (very tedious, but it is very secure). GS doesn't float as high as I wanted this to float, so I also sortof sowed some pieces of polystyrene to the bottom. I did this by cutting out tight fitting holes in the eggcrate, wedging the polystyrene into the holes, and then using a needle to sow it to the eggcrate with fishing line so that they would not come loose. After that, I laid the GS on the top of the landmass and let it skin over. At that point, I molded the GS to the shape I wanted, hoping to avoid having to carve it at all. I wanted a stream going from the water filter across the tank to pour into the water, so I molded that so that the foam was mostly flat, with a lip on either side. I did have to carve it some, but only because I underestimated the flow of the water and I had to keep the stream from overflowing into the area where I will be adding dirt and plants. Originally, I intended for the entire area other than the stream bed to support plants, but my husband came up with a very good idea. I cut out the eggcrate and screen for the area in the back right corner so that I can plant a tall plant in the water, and have it extend out above the land so that she can climb up the plant to get onto the land. I will be using dieffenbachia and pothos in lieu of aquatic plants, because they grow well completely submerged, and also partially submerged. After I cut that portion out, it did not float as high as I wanted, since I had to move some of the polystyrene supports, so I decided to lay down a layer of GS on the bottom. I also did that so that you can no longer see the polystyrene. I let that cure for about 15-20 mins and then molded it and trimmed it with scissors. After that, I carved the stream bed a little better, and carved away some of the excess GS over the part where the plants will be. Now it floats considerably higher, and there is a pocket of air under where the substrate will be, this way I do not end up with a waterlogged area for my plants.

Here are the pics that I have available to post atm:

This is a shot from the front of the landmass before the bottom layer of GS:


Here is a pic of it from the top before the bottom layer of GS and before carving:


This is a pic from the front AFTER the bottom layer of GS:


Here is a close up of where the water flows from the filter, and the area where I will be putting plants:


This is a shot from the front left to the front right so you can get a good idea of how the shoreline looks from the front:


This is a shot from above from the back left corner to the right side, you can see the stream bed and the way the water flows very well in this pic:


That's all the pics I have until I can find my camera cord to get the others off the internal memory. Hopefully my hubby knows where it is and I can post them after he gets home.

I will be covering the landmass with black/white silicone mixed to look like grey rock like pufferfan did in the crab tank, I think it would work alot better in this tank, plus it will allow me to cover the stream bed without loosing any of its depth.

What do you guys think so far? Any ideas/suggestions/problems you see?

[froggsong]

ok, so I won't be able to get the silicone for a little while, so I went ahead and planted the tank, and to be honest, it even looks good without being covered. I love it already. I'll take some pics and post them tomorrow. I'm so excited by how it has turned out so far.

[froggsong]

Ok, I still haven't found the cable for the camera, but I have new pics of it since I planted it! My newt loves it so much! I bought some shrimp for it today too, and I am just so happy with it, even with the land portion uncovered.

Here is a pic of the whole thing, I love this pic:


This is a great pic of the thyme and the moss on the land portion:


This is across the whole land portion, and you can see the dieffenbachia that is in the water coming out of the opening on the right:


This is a pic where you can see the place I had to wedge in a thin piece of plexi to keep some of the water from overflowing into the planted area, I need to build the divider up a little when I cover it with silicone:


If you notice in the first pic, I didn't think the dirt and plants was going to make it sink as much, and I had to use one of the pieces of wood to sort of hold up the left side a bit. I will add more foam when I go to cover it, that way it will float better and be able to rise and fall with the water level like I want. What do you guys think? Do you like it at all?

[froggsong]

What?!? No one likes it?!? Don't you all know I need your approval to survive!!! LMAO (seriously though... ::sniffle:: doesn't anyone like it???)

[matt smith]

i like it, i think it would look better if the land was a different color though.

[froggsong]

It will be, I don't have the silicone to cover it right yet, and I didn't want to leave the tank plain until I could get it, so I went ahead and put everything in there... Let's call it a test run.

I will likely have to tear it down in the next couple of days anyway... There is some kind of weird slimy stuff growing on some of the branches, and now it is growing on the algae wafers that the algae eater and the shrimp haven't eaten all the way yet... I don't know what it is, and if it doesn't die down by tomorrow, I am going to take everything out and scrub it good and do a water change. I'm going to test the water tonight and see how the quality is.

We'll be moving soon anyway, and I will cover it after I put them in travel containers, that way it will be cured once it is time to set up the tank again. I'll take more pics then.

[matt smith]

it could be caused by the raw GS. not totally sure. i have had similar results with work i did for construction

[Fisherman 1991]

froggsong, I think it looks awesome. Can't wait to see what it looks like done. I don't know about near you, but our Lowe's has about 7 colors of the silicone: black, clear, white, grey, bronze, almond, and cedar. There may be more though that I didn't look at. See if you can find some that is already grey so you don't have to mix it.

All the stuff I see on here makes me anxious to get me snakes cage done to I can do a natural viv with plants and stuff!

fisherman

[froggsong]

Yeah, they have LOTS of colors at my Home Depot, but we are behind on some bills, and I need to spend my cash on THOSE, instead of on silicone, lol... I know it is only like $12, but still... So, after I get the bills paid, I will get the silicone and cover it. The reason I want to mix white and black to make grey is because I absolutely LOVE pufferfan's crab tank and the way the land mass turned out. I want to be able to create the different shades like in that tank, rather than just one solid color.

And Matt, I didn't think of that... I thought the GS was inert after curing... That really sucks if it is the cause... I don't want to have to take it out and have the tank so bare... But I will if that is the problem.

[matt smith]

for the most part it is inert. however if you puncture it or somehow break the seel around the outside the inside does some weird stuff with water and heat and such including shrinking,slush stuff