Hey everyone,
Ive added the flora and fauna in my Mangrove swamp Paludarium! I figured I'd post a new post that was complete from start to finish. However, It's not completely done yet, still have a couple little things to add along with the waterfall that needed extra silicone. It's also taking quite a bit more time to upload all of these pictures than I had thought :P
I built this thing in a 55gal..from Egg crate (false bottom, main structure, etc), which I then covered in spray foam. I mixed Spray Foam and the standard blue styrofoam you get at lowes to make the rock base. Following that, I carved the rocks(foam) with a knife and dremel. Covered with Ultraflex 2, then threw all my lowlights/shadows/and then highlights on with a nice runny acrylic. After that I decided I wanted a "moon light" Aka, a blacklight ;] Moon just wasnt good enough.. I wanted that glowy POP!
So, I decided to take my paint brush and do some splatter technique with glow in the dark acrylic on every piece of rock work. After all the curing and soaking, then came the sealing. I used a non-toxic glue/sealant called Mod-Podge, it's all around amazing. They have an outdoor one called simply enough.. Mod-Podge Outdoor. After about 5-6 coats on everything, then came Waterproof Silicone on all of the portions that would be in full contact with water (or splash zone to be safe). After that, I hit it with some building sand to give it some extra texture and take off that excess shine.
I was going for a little lagoon on a sandstone island that was populated with mangroves and microfauna. I really wanted this to be a closed ecosystem that could sustain itself as much as possible. The mangroves will be used along with quahog clams to filter the water. Other members in the cleaning crew are 3 baby Blue Stone crabs, Olive Nerite Snails, along with ghost shrimp which also serve as food for my skips later. Though, Ive got a couple big ones that look like crayfish so they wont be food! You'll see them later though
I also have a pump that pulls from the right side behind that 3 sided rock face near the center. It draws the water up a tube that follows the left corner which in turn flows into a funnel that has been turned into a filter. I've got bio bag, then Ammo-carbon, then a filter sponge. So it wont be completely up to the cleaning crew! Next to that I've got a computer fan wired to a standard 12v adapter which is hopefully circulating enough air! I'm really hoping my tank ecology isnt easily pressed when I add more things on account of my high biological loading. But we will see.
As of now, the cycling stage is in the first stages. I started with large mason jar full of mature aquarium water from my koi tank. Then I added 7gallons of brackish water running at 1.010. Mudskippers need atleast 1.003, but can go all the way to marine(1.021-1.023) So I'm not really sure where exactly I plan to keep the salinity. We'll see about that as well. But I'm leaning more along the lines of staying at around 1.010 so I can keep a larger range of crustaceans. Right now I'm slowly introducing copepods and brine shrimp. Hopefully I'll be able to introduce more plankton that I'll obtain from my local aquaculture business. I'm currently feeding the tank crushed Spirulina Enriched Veggiflakes, daphnia water, and Micro-vert Invertebrate food.
Im worried about my Sellaginella Rainbow, hopefully it'll come back! :[
So for now, I've gotta say that's it
I feel like I'm rambling on, Hope you guys enjoy!
P.S. I took a video to send to my brother, so I figured I'd attach it for the hell of it.. I'll post the pictures for people who dont care about the video.
Left front:
Center front:
Right front:
Underwater Cave :
Hard to get a good picture, but this will give you an idea of how the night lights work with the glowing rock particles:
Right side:
underwater view from inside the log+ view of the other end of the tank!
There is one of the little ghost shrimp towards the bottom of the log, and the largest one is in the front of the cave. haha sorry I love how they appear translucent!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tVlgSYyWWeI
The Cycling of The Mudskipper Mangal Paludarium has begun!(55gal,brackish,fake rocks)
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