Creating a Center Island

[Crazygar]

Hello and welcome everyone. Since this is my first post (I'll do an introduction later if there is a section) I figure I would start it off with a good one...

How in the world can you make a Water Proof Center Island for a Paludarium? I was considering getting some Lexan, a Hand Held Torch (admit it, these things are fun no matter the application) and doing some creative bending and then sealing to the bottom of the Aquarium.

I wish a "land portion" center in the tank which can enable me to do some planting of plants along with the usual Air Plants.

Has anyone done this? I there a good construction journal of how to do this land section or I am going to have it wing it, and create one of my own. I have the idea, just hoping someone else has done it and can give me a few good pointers.

Thanks,
Gary

[Austin]

You could just cut out 4 pieces of plexiglass. Create a rectangle or a square in the middle of the tank, and silicone it all together and to the bottom. Then you'd have water going around it and shabam you made a island.

[Crazygar]

Duh. That would make total sense. I guess this is why they pay you the big bucks eh? Thanks Austin I could easily just make it look like a Island by just building around it.

Gary

[froggsong]

Just be aware, silicone and plexi/lexan don't really mix well. Silicone just doesn't stick to either very well. You might do better to have some pieces of glass cut to your measurements and use that, as it's less likely to eventually leak.

Have you considered a false bottom? Or is that going to take up too much vertical room for your tank?

[Epiphile]

I've done a tank like this before- it was basically just an egg crate platform with PVC piping below for support (one of which also held a fogger- nice in principle, but that part of it didn't really work out), a load of wood draped over the edges sticking into the water, and a whole lot of angled plastic pots held together with GS foam which were filled with substrate and plants. I don't have photos of it, unfortunately, so hopefully my description makes sense. It was easy as pie, and the plus side was that I could take the whole thing out of the tank when it was necessary.

There are even easier ways to do it, I'm sure- have a look at this photo, where the land portion was created with just stone and wood, just as nature intended:

[beckdg]

have you considered BIG WOOD?

a nice stump or uprooted small tree or bush would be a great way to do it and accentuate the palu at the same time. if you're looking to add species that would like the higher ph or harder water you could seal the wood to keep it from leaching. a few epiphytes and some mosses to cover the less sightly areas or wherever it's necessary to cut your branches and you're good to go. it would also not take away as much from total water volume lending you a cleaner environment with less maintenance. also the space under it could be utilized for hides for less boiterous/photogenic species. you could also take a page out of hydrophites book and add plants like bacopa monnieri to any branches that sit at the water level to create a floating, creeping ground cover of sorts.

lots of options really, get creative, think nature... like a river bank or seemingly floating island in the center of a shallow pond.

rocks piled up in the center would also look more natural too.

if you find you don't have enough height with either option you could use an eggcrate false bottom to give it a little more height and just hide it with more decor.

sounds like an interesting project... do post pics of at least the finished project, if not a build log too.

good luck. wish i could be there to get my hands dirty on this one. sounds like it could get pretty creative.

[Crazygar]

Frogsong; thanks for the little reminder. I totally forgot about plastic and silicone fusing problems.

Epiphile; I have some left over egg crating from a former project. Sounds like I might have finally found a use for it. The design will have to be creative, as the canopy part of the tank does not come off. It would definitely be some creative working on getting the island in the tank. Might have to even build it in the tank.

This is the style of tank we are using; AA AQUARIUM EQUIPMENT - Adds Life to your environment. The canopy is a part of the aquarium, but holds some great options.

beckdg; Whatever the design, we want a land area to plant a few plants that we enjoy. A removable island is a great idea, unfortunately, the size of the opening for accessing inside the Canopy into the Aquarium will mean construction inside the tank. Yes, it will be a very creative project, I plan to start a journal here and on TFH Forums when we get ripping on this. Though I do like the idea of an Egg-Crating base, having it somewhat "adjustable".

Gary

[Crazygar]

Just thought of something, using 5.5GAL tanks and smaller ones would definitely help out with a waterproof land portion. An Aquarium within an Aquarium idea.

Gary

[beckdg]

Originally Posted by Crazygar

we want a land area to plant a few plants that we enjoy. A removable island is a great idea, unfortunately, the size of the opening for accessing inside the Canopy into the Aquarium will mean construction inside the tank

i see no reason you can't add a couple planters from a hydro shop or use some netting creatively in some voids to fill with soil. also... the big wood/stump idea can be obtained much like it would be in an aquarium... a few smaller pieces and some zip ties, etc.. i had no idea aaron was posting while i was typing. the picture he posted was along the lines of what i was thinking, actually.

i would "go hunting" or look around on fish forums and see what wood i could come across, personally and see how i could work it in.

the tank within a tank idea... i'm not confident enough in my own creative abilities to make that appealing to me. i'm sure you're in a much better position to pull it off though. it will be interesting to say the least to see what you come up with if you go that route. there's a guy (wespastor) on aquariacentral and (if i remember correctly) theplantedtank.net who's doing a tank within a tank right now. his is a 10 gallon aquarium within a vivarium though.

if you go that route you may be interested in the planters from www.rimpariumsupply.com. i believe he also sells "soil" that does well in the planters in the water without leaching into the aquarium. might be something worth looking into for you.

[Crazygar]

Technically the Tank within a Tank concept actually makes really sense. After applying GS and wood and rocks around it, you'll never see the tank again. The hollow interior would be used a planter and the construction is done.

Yeah, Hydrophile's Riparium supplies are neato. It's getting the basic idea's down and then figuring out how to contruct it.

Gary