Water Level Question

[TrojanDylan]

I have a zoo med 24 by 18 Vivarium that I would like to convert to a paludarium the problem is the water level can only be 5 inches deep, but spread out over a large area. Is this okay for small community fish and/or smaller species of freshwater shrimp or does the water level need to be higher.
Lastly would I need a filter for the water it would only be approximatley 2 gallons. There would also be java moss and aquatic plants in the water
Any advise is appreciated thanks

[shibbyplustax]

It would be better for the fish if you could incorperate some sort of false bottom into the palu. the fish may not be able to use the space underneath the false bottom but atleast you can provide more water in it and that will be easier to make the water parameters more stable. if you were to seperate the water part from the land (depending on the water to land ratio) you probably will only be able to put about 3 or 4 gallons of water in there which isnt that much but can probably handle a small fish or two but if you incorperate a false bottom and use all the space you can for water it should hold almost 10 gallons of water. like i said, although the fish can not utilize the space in the false bottom under your substrate, atleast there is the added value of double the water amount for more stable water conditions. if i were you depending on the swimmable are i would only put a small tetra or two in there and thats still pushing it. A better route would be to throw a few shrimp in there. you could probably fit 5 or 6 ghost shrimp in there and with moss and stuff in there they would do great and possibly breed. as for a pump i would just go with a fice or ten gallon submersible. if you are planning on doing a waterfall something around the lines of this filter would do good, (http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produc...76&pcatid=6476). or if you werent planning on doing a waterfall a stingray elite (http://www.google.com/products/catal...d=0CF4Q8wIwAg#) does good for water circulation and can easily be hidden under your false bottom and you can make an easy access hatch in the false bottom so you can get to it easy if you need to clean it.

[TrojanDylan]

Thanks so much for the help I placed an order for the waterfall filter you linked and have purchased the eggcrate. I think the tank will be inhabited by shrimp. Thanks for the advise, The water should now be pretty stable with all the eggcrate and the filter with the extra waterflow from the waterfall

[shibbyplustax]

another thing i would do is run the waterfall tubing from the waterfall all the way to the opposite side of the tank. i have made the mistake before of putting the filter right by the waterfall but then there is not much water movement in the rest of the tank. i would also create a trap door in you false bottom to house your filter and this way its out of sight and it can be easily accessed if need be. i attached a picture of the false bottom im workin on now and the trap door thats going to house the filter.

[shibbyplustax]

another thing i would do is run the waterfall tubing from the waterfall all the way to the opposite side of the tank. i have made the mistake before of putting the filter right by the waterfall but then there is not much water movement in the rest of the tank. i would also create a trap door in you false bottom to house your filter and this way its out of site and it can be easily accessed if need be. i attached a picture of the false bottom im workin on now and the trap door thats going to house the filter.

[TrojanDylan]

Good point. Thankyou I'll update you once the tank is complete and the water is stabilized and been running for a while!