Hey guys, a few months ago i found my old Exo Terra 18 x 18 x 24 tank so i decided to make an all inclusive paludarium to take with me to my apartment. What i mean by all inclusive is there is no external water tanks, lights filters etc, because i will be moving around a lot so i want it somewhat portable and easy to maintain. I plan on putting animals in it, but im not quite sure what at the moment, Suggestions?
Now lets start with the pics!
I started by getting a little hagen filter and pump in one to cut out external filters. this does the job great, its like a 10 gal pump but my palu is way smaller than that so it has so problem circulating the water.
I made a housing for it so i can service it when the build is complete. I later turned the pump around to make it easier to get at.
Then i build a false bottom to have a water store for my pumps and covered it in screen to keep out big particles, i then supported the back with Styrofoam to hold my waterfall.
I wanted the waterfall to be the centerpiece so i made it out of real stone by cutting stones i found with a quick cut saw, this allowed me to cut back on un-needed material and gave my a flat edge to stack them.
I used cement epoxy to glue them together and then i filled in the joints with tile grout. sculpting and shaping it to look like one rock. Then i added bumps to the rock to make the water fall where i wanted it to.
While researching of irrigation methods like drip walls i came up with the idea of combining both a drip wall with my waterfall because my pump was so powerful. To do this i put 2 T's in the line and drilled holes in the drip line up top. It works by excess pressure from the waterfall, so if i pinch the end of the waterfall the pressure will back up into the top tubes and will let water drip through slowly whenever the water fall is running. Now that i have the palu done it works great and my back wall is always damp.
Now i put in my wood and branches, using spray foam.
To make the background i took fern root panels and cut them to fit in the spaces over the foam, this allows plants to root into the BG and grow. In the intricate, small areas i just smeared brown silicone on the foam and pushed in peat moss. I also stick in a couple of rocks on the wall to tie the theme together.
Then i gathered rocks, branches and sand and boiled it ti sanitize. After that i placed them in the palu and landscaped everything adding peat moss and sediment.
I then began to plant it with exotic vines and creepers, moss and broms.
After it was planted i am playing around with the lighting and ventilation systems to get everything stable.
The finished product:
hopefully more detailed pics to come,
-Alex
waterfall Paludarium build & new drip system
Linear Mode
