29 gallon paludarium for Eastern newts

[slowfoot]

Okay, after getting a lot of great advice here and other places, I've finally begun construction on my project. Ultimately, the paludarium will house 3 broken-striped newts, some snails, lots of pond organisms, and... that's about it.

Materials:
1. 29 gallon aquarium
2. Cypress driftwood. I soaked then dried it, though it was really dry when I got it. The last soaking ended up with much clearer water.
3. Fluval Plus 1 internal filter for a teeny water feature. I actually don't filter my newts' current tank because they really don't need it - the plants and pond creatures take care of everything.
4. All Glass aquarium safe silicone, black. I got a sweet deal on this, better than the price of the GE brand at Lowe's
5. Great Stuff
6. 1/2" diamater vinyl tubing, for the water feature.

The land area is going to be really small, to leave most of the space for the newts. I covered the boundaries with black silicone:

DSC00571.JPG

Then I stuck the driftwood in place with silicone. Only the large piece needed to be propped up with a little sling. The silicone cured really quickly and held the wood secure:

DSC00572.JPG

I threaded the vinyl tube for the water feature through the back of the driftwood (leaving a lot of extra on each side). I also stuck a smaller tube through it so that the GS wouldn't collapse the tube when it expanded. Then I filled in with GS:

DSC00573.JPG

I had to be super careful to make sure there were no little crevices behind the wood that my newts could squeeze themselves into. I just stuck the little nozzle of the GS can back there and filled up the cracks.

The next steps will be to trim back the GS, and add the black silicone and coco fiber to the top of it. The areas that will be touching the water will be just straight silicone, but they'll be hidden under driftwood anyway.

I'll update when I get it done

[Boozled]

Looks cool so far. Can't wait to see more!

[slowfoot]

Thanks!

I just got done with the silicone/coco fiber step, but I haven't got any pics yet - too shellshocked, I guess. I'll take some when I get home today.

It's definitely the most stressful, and messiest part of the construction process. Silicone and coco fiber globs were flying everywhere! But then you go back and clean off the excess and it looks pretty darn good.

I've got a couple spots to retouch. And I've got to go back and seal some crevices that I missed on the first pass, but then it will be time to test out the water feature (I'm really hoping it works correctly without modification).

If I could do everything over again, I'd definitely make the background on eggcrate or foam outside of the aquarium - it's really difficult to reach around under the background and see what I'm doing at the same time.

[slowfoot]

Bump to ask a dumb question:

When I chopped back my GS, it left the more foam-like innards exposed (rather than than the smooth surface of untouched GS). I smeared as much silicone over those areas as I could, but I'm sure I missed a few spots since it was so hard to reach. Is this still safe in the water once cured? Also, will water be able to soak up through the GS like a sponge if the bottom is exposed to water? Only about an inch or so of the bottom of the background is going to be submerged.

Any help is appreciated. I'll justify this post by adding pictures later today.

[sinflspeed]

I know a member had a slim form after having left uncovered GS in a pond setting. I can't seem to find the thread. That would be the main concern. GS is inert once cured so there should be any issue with that. It doesn't have any sponge qualities so to speak, but it will retain water if it leaches into any creaves(sp).

[slowfoot]

Thanks for the response! I am the OP, and the question is about the current build

What do you mean by 'a slim form'? Do you mean the GS changed shape?

[sinflspeed]

Sorry about the confusion to many pages opened at one time.

From the post I remembered the discussion was around GS that had not been covered and placed in a water setting. After a few a week or so a slim had started to form around the GS and into the water. Now the pic was of GS that was suspended in a tank full of water, kind of island like idea. Great idea, but from the GS not being covered or sealed the OP noticed it. A reply was regarding that another poster had the same experience and attributed it to the GS not being covered. Hope that makes sense. I am still looking for it. If I find something I will definitely let you know.

[sinflspeed]

Found it.... Search

Rough Skinned Newt 10g Paludarium rebuild thread...

[mh32]

Do you mean slime?

[sinflspeed]

Yeah "slime" sorry, it has been a busy busy day.