70 gallon paludarium suggestions

[dubcut]

hey great thread! found it while googling for set ups and signed up. Lot of thought provoking stuff in this short thread. looking forward to your progress lnk!

[beckdg]

here's what i'm thinking...

1. paint the back black on the outside of the glass... if you're good with tint and want it easily removable you can get 2.5% limo tint instead of paint.
2. cork bark rounds... like natural pillars to create a facade to hide the white supports... silicone them to the floor bottom glass and cut them just to fit under the ledge... then put a couple rocks above them on the ledge to make sure they hold down.
3. newt, salamander, musk turtle, semi aquatic frog like a firebelly toad may be good options for that setup.
4. i believe that's anubias bartieri there. if it is the rhizome needs to come out of the gravel. the plant will rot otherwise.
5. change the substrate at the bottom to sand.
6. a log or some crazy wood going from front bottom to leaning on one of the rocks in the back for a ramp. maybe put the anubias on it with the tip of one leaf sticking out of the water, rhizome running the length of the wood so as to take bot aquatic and terrestrial forms eventually.
7. super glue some javamoss on the second and third rock from the top so the water can take it downward as it grows.
8. "comb" the roots of a java fern split dead center and superglue the rhizome to the top rock to hide the equipment.
9. plant another, taller broad leaf plant that prefers low light like a sword under the log to take light from both sides of the log almost to hide the log... if the leafs break the water that's even better.
10. tuck that cord in
11. put some more of those rocks stacked to hide the heater.
12. i'm assuming those 2 panels are pretty wet... so i'd definitely try aquatic mosses on them.
13. maybe 1/2 a cork round in the top corner to hide your equipment/wires... you could plant some tilandsias there too possibly.
14. a taller plant on either side of the rocks above your cork rounds for a total of 4 minimum... all different plants... i'd think hydrophite from ripariumsupply.com could give you some pointers there if nobody here can... i would think you'll want a gravel type substrate like some small grained eco complete, lapis lustre, first layer laterite, etc. to keep the plants upright at first.
15. a t5 dual lamp fixture by itself or 3 clamp lamps behind your current fixture with cfl's in them.
16. add some red cherry shrimp and watch them multiply.

i'm sure some of our other members will have some great ideas too.

if you add a musk turtle i'd stock it with red cherry shrimp, ramshorn snails and malaysian trumpet snails and let them breed for about 3 months then add a few female guppies and let them drop babies for about 2-3 months and then let the turtle loose... all while letting my plants grow in.

[beckdg]

welcome to the forum dubcut.

[dubcut]

thanks beck, could you mix in any of those animals recommended or would the bigger one eat the smaller one?

[beckdg]

mixing would be a discussion for someone else with experience. i can tell you what i've heard but better from the horses mouth. honestly... any of them with small aquatic life is a gamble at best. i doubt the frog could keep an established guppy, rcs, or snail population in check though.

[Epiphile]

Not to diminish anything that Beck said, but here's what I would do if someone dropped that tank in my lap:

As far as aesthetics, I think that I too would paint the back black- it'll make the whole thing look a bit more dramatic and hide some of the guts in the back. I'd probably switch out the substrate, too, if money wasn't an object- maybe a darker fluorite or something would look a bit better.

Does the tank see any natural light? It's going to be tough to plant beneath the land area if not (though as a small aside, have a look at this build that I read about yesterday- some enterprising fellow's figured out a great way to beat that: http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/par...m-journal.html). Anyways, assuming you're able to light that area I'd first try and hardscape a little further (more rocks would be great, but even a sloping of the gravel from front to rear can help a lot) and then fill the whole floor of the tank with a single type of leafy plant such as Anubias or Echinodorus. Those PVC supports at the front I'd maybe switch out for something a bit more natural-looking- a bit more of the stone that's already been used, perhaps, for consistency (building some up on the right-hand side and then ensuring the land area's rigid enough to hold itself up would be great, but may be tricky).

I'd drop your water level an inch or two- I can see already that you may have trouble with moisture. That coir mat should do a good job of keeping your substrate out of the water (save at the edges, for which you'll have to try and work something out), but I would use something really coarse like fir bark or chopped coconut husk, especially in the back where the waterfall passes through- remember that this water will probably wick through a fair portion of your land area, and you don't necessarily want a swamp. I'd also consider sculpting the land area a little to make the edges a bit more irregular and natural-looking.

Past all that (whew- sorry if I got carried away) I'd still plant with lower-light plants, which would mean that the flytrap may be out. A butterwort might fare a bit better in the lower light provided it gets to dry out a little between waterings, and it'll still eat bugs, which is fun. More Anubias or whatever above ground, smaller jewel orchids like Macodes or Anoectochilus, begonias maybe... an aquatic moss would love the waterfall for sure.

But again, that's just me... sorry again if it's a bit overboard.

[beckdg]

diminish... hah. lol

great ideas ep.

now that i'm semi awake... is that cork board under those panels? i sometimes wonder how that holds up. i've heard people say it will and others say it breaks down to mush. to err on the side of caution i listen to the latter...

[Epiphile]

Originally Posted by beckdg

diminish... hah. lol

Perhaps that wasn't the best choice of words, ha ha- I may have been half asleep myself.

Originally Posted by beckdg

is that cork board under those panels? i sometimes wonder how that holds up. i've heard people say it will and others say it breaks down to mush. to err on the side of caution i listen to the latter...

I've found it to hold up great with a lot of moisture, but to be fair I've never really floated it like that. I've had it stuck part way into drainage layers, though, and it's been fine.

[LNK_89]

wow guys thanks for all the suggestions. I think im going to have to show this too my dad and see what he thinks.
beckdg: 1. Instead of painting the back will a dark background that you tape to the back of the tank work just as well ? Is this just for show or is there another purpose ?
2. Cork bark rounds are a good idea. We tried using the driftwood as supports but it didnt work at all. It got really soft and super glue or silicone wouldnt stick to it well.
3. I like the turtle idea,but wouldnt the turtle eat the plants and fish ?
4. Which plant are you talking about ? Are you talking about the big one ?
5. The only sand I have found is the white sand used in the saltwater tanks. What are some good kinds of sand ? Why is sand better ?
6. I like this idea we do have a bunch of driftwood we bought at the fish store thats not being used. What is a rhizome ? sorry I know nothing about plants.
7-9. All great ideas, will definately suggest those. What other plants could we put on the back rock wall ?
12. Only one panel is wet. Its kind of like a swamp part. The other is just an opening, it lets light down to the bottom it looks pretty cool. That is the part your talking about right ? If it is what sort of plant would work well there ?
15. What are cfl's ?
16. Good idea with the shrimp. How many would be a good start ?

Epiphile: The tank does see natural light, when its sunny. I looked at the thread having that light underneath is pretty cool. With the pvc supports we tried a driftwood support but it wasnt strong enough or sturdy enough. The stone might be a good idea though, I will have to see if we have any left.
The water level wont be going down any. Believe me I already tried to get him to do that. What are some good substrates that will allow the plants to grow well. Right now my dad is planning on just putting plants on what he has there now. Will that work ? Where are some good places to find all these plants if we cant find them localy ?

Thanks for all the suggestions they are great !

[dubcut]

Random thought about light coming through that hole in the mat. What if under the hole at the bottom you put something like a disco ball to reflect the light, that would be cool way to distribute light under the mat with out adding another light source. And if it had different colors that would be cool as well.