FishProfiles.com Message Forums

so i really want to start a paludarium, i was thinking that i would have an island in the corner instead of a sloping beach and these are my plans...

http://i227.photobucket.com/albums/dd138/brandeenocobbler/scan.jpg

and

http://i227.photobucket.com/albums/dd138/brandeenocobbler/scan0001.jpg

my plan was to plant some java moss on maybe a peice of slate in the bottom and center of the tank, and put some pothos and some other house plants in the top of the tank... maybe a cutting from an orchid... anyways i was wondering what you guys might think of this design and maybe get some constructive criticism back?

thanks a million!

-brandon


\\\\\\\"an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of the cure\\\\\\\"

That is a very small tank (considering the footprint) to be making a paludarium out of. Especially with such a small land area. Pothos is a plant that gets HUGE and fast, very poor choice for that setup. I highly recommend using a larger tank for a paludarium setup. I recently made one in a 20 high, and it seems rather small in terms of space available to use for different things. I've heard it recommended not to use a tank less than 3' long.

Also, IIRC the whisper filter is designed such that the water is pumped from the bottom and spills out the top, I don't understand how it is working in this paludarium. If you are using soil in the "blocked off" portion of the tank with only mesh or wood separating it from the water, most of it is going to fall out.

Also, your diagrams don't match up. In the first the "blocked off" section goes from about halfway across the back to the junction of the side and angled panels, in the second it goes from about 2/3 of the way across the back to the junction of the angled and front panels. Remember measure twice cut once - make sure all your diagrams and everything match up before you even begin to purchase materials. Graph paper will help you remember to consider ALL the dimensions (eg. how tall is that filter? How high is the planted section going to be, and how much water does that mean will be in the tank. Remember that when you can only fill up your tank to a certain point, the capacity is seriously reduced. In my 20H, the water section is only a measly 4 gallons! But it takes up a considerable amount of the tank (see photos in the Photo Booth)

><>

thanks for the reply lion...

and there isn't going to be a dirt portion, the tank will have roots straght int o the water... the plan is that the whisper filter will keep the water moving arround the roots of the land plants as to help them survive and not rot. the water is going to be about 10 or 11 inches high. the filter will be in the corner and the mesh like stuff separating the island from the water will be an old under gravel filter. i just cut the peices and siliconed them into the tank. it will be a few days vefore i fill it, but i am excited! i will try to take some picts of it. also another thing is there isnt going to be a light or top on this tank, it will get light from a close by north facing window. those diagrams weren't exact plans, but an idea drawn out and i realise that they werent very articulate. i plan on putting a few hous plant varieties on the top of the island( ie pothos, asparagus fern and a few others) and a few bulbs i have purchased in the aquarium part (and probably some hornwort). there will be an open top and there fore i wont have very many fish (in case the cats get any ideas. (maybe a small herim of female bettas or a shoal of like 6 neons...). there will definatley be lots of bamboo shoots becasue a local 99 cent store has them in plentiful amounts... sorry that this is so scatter brained... there will be a terra cotta cave and the fish wil be able to go under the island so it will be a large cave. i was just wondering what i could use to plant over the under gravel filter stuff (or what to use to cover it) because it is rather unnaractive... there will definalty be very very cool... and the plants will be growing not only in but they will be able to run out of the tank.

any feed back on stocking ideas and or feed back on my tank... pictures to come very very soon!! like amybe less than an hour

\\\\\\\"an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of the cure\\\\\\\"

here are a few pics of what i have done so far... i have siliconed the plastic peices in... to the bottom, back, and to each other... i am going to make or get some posts so the top satys up(to put beneath to support, currenstly has a broken ruler to support).

http://i227.photobucket.com/albums/dd138/brandeenocobbler/Photo-0043.jpg

http://i227.photobucket.com/albums/dd138/brandeenocobbler/Photo-0042.jpg

http://i227.photobucket.com/albums/dd138/brandeenocobbler/Photo-0041.jpg

http://i227.photobucket.com/albums/dd138/brandeenocobbler/Photo-0040.jpg



\\\\\\\"an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of the cure\\\\\\\"

oh and sorry for the poor picture quality, they were taken with my cell phone...



\\\\\\\"an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of the cure\\\\\\\"

Well to cover up the undergravel filter I'd say go with java moss. Supposedly it'll attach itself, although I've never had much luck. It'll be a delicate and time consuming operation, but I'd get as much of the stuff as you can and attach it with a matching color thread (or just black). I've seen thread in the 99 cent stores so you might try there for a cheap spool.

Not sure if this will actually work but what I'd do is lay out a bit of the moss, then weave a threaded needle through the UGF plate to attach it. If the water flow isn't much and you don't have aggressive herbivores in the tank you should do alright.

I always wanted to make my tiny 6g tank into one, it was a tall tank with a tiny footprint. My plans were for rocks, some plants, waterfall and possibly a ghost shrimp and some snails as not much else would have survived. I look forward to seeing yours .

^_^

Here is a few links that will put on the right track
There are also garden groups on the WWW who have topics for them. I hope this helps you.

Paludarium

Paludarium No2

Paludarium No3

Have a look in [link=My Profile] http://www.fishprofiles.com/forums/member.aspx?id=1935[/link] for my tank info

Look here for my
Betta 11Gal Desktop & Placidity 5ft Community Tank Photos

Keith

Near enough is not good enough, therefore good enough is not near enough, and only your best will do.
I VOTE DO YOU if not WHY NOT?
VOTE NOW VOTE NOW

Definitely nix the pothos. It'll outgrow that land portion in no time flat. I've seen single plants that filled up a paludarium the size of a room! However, a better and similar-looking substitute is Anubias. They grow about as well emersed as immersed, and much much slower. As long as the roots have access to the water, it should be happy. The asparagus fern should be ok, though. Maybe you could put a piece of driftwood arching up from the bottom to the top of the mesh, and attach more java moss and some java fern and/or anubias to that. JF does fine when the leaves come out of the water too, and the effect is pretty neat.

><>

thanks for all the speedy replies, i will look into getting some anubias and some jave fern. so far i just had a chance to look at my local LOWES and i saw a coupl neat house plants that caught my fancy...

i havent decided which to se, but i have pothos readily available so i am going to use clippings in the tank and then trim them alot!!!

\\\\\\\"an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of the cure\\\\\\\"

so currently there is about 6-8 gallons of water in there a bit of pea gravel, some standard gravel, and some pressed marbels as substrate. the tank is pretty sparse other that a small statue i bought this summer in africa, the two "peirs," and the few peices of hornwort and pothos.

the current occupant is a month and a half old painted platy fry. the filtration is an internal whisper filter. i have an incandescent and a flourescent bulb in as lighting, but threw away the boxes and forgot to get the wattage. there is probably about 2 or 3 watts per gallon though .

water is very clear and the bacteria is good as i took the gravel and water from my ten gallon and didnt need to cycle it, but it has been settling for a couple weeks now.

didnt actually get to lowes to get more house plants, but it is a work in progress.

i was wondering about some stocking options for this tank. i was thinking a school of 6 tetras and a male betta?

any other questions or comments???



\\\\\\\"an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of the cure\\\\\\\"

"i have an incandescent and a flourescent bulb in as lighting"

Don't count the incandescent as part of your WPG, in fact don't use the incandescent at all. The heat generated from it will cause massive temp fluctuations, and running it is not only bad for the tanks environment but also extremely wasteful towards our own environment. Swap it out for a compact floro, easily found in most any store.

I'd nix the idea of the tetras for stocking. Even a small school of neons I'd feel would be a bit cramped. I'd go with the one betta, or if you don't want the betta, maybe 3 male guppies.

^_^

3 male guppies feels a bit sparse. maybe 3 male guppies and 3 female bettas? there is a lot of swimming room... and there arent any plants right now. it basically is a ~3/4 filled 15g bowfront/hex... if that makes sense... ie looks like a standard 20g with little triangles cut off the corners...

i am thinking that there should be room enough for there to be at least 6 fish. and i hate when tanks dont have enough life... it makes it seem lame and pointless (not into the planted only tanks...) maybe 4 guppies and some ghost/glass shrimp... will bettas eat ghost shrimp?

and also i am really trying to find anyone with some mosses that would be willig to sell them for a low price as i really want/need them!!!

\\\\\\\"an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of the cure\\\\\\\"

Not real sure how female bettas would get along with the male guppies. I know they tend to be beaten up by male bettas, I'd think they'd have the long fins wired into their brains as trouble. I suggest a post in lab lounge to see how the keepers there feel about female bettas with male guppies.


If just the 3 male guppies feel empty after a week or so I'd go with adding the shrimp. They'd make a good counterpoint. I'm not sure about female bettas but I know my boys would nibble on the shrimp when I wasn't looking.

^_^

maybe i should add the male guppies but if i do this i will add more like 5. then if it still feels too sparse i will add a couple ADF. and if there is stil more room then some shrimp... what is the rule of thumb for adding shrimp? same as fish or less?

\\\\\\\"an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of the cure\\\\\\\"

The "rules" don't work with small tanks. The issue with small tanks is that they tend to crash more easily. So if you were to follow the "rule" you could come close to risking a tank crash.

That being said, ghost shrimp aren't heavy waste producers, you should be okay with a few. I'd add them at the same time as the guppies then increase the guppy amount if you feel they're still needed.

^_^

ok, well i will start with 6 ghost shrimps and then once the platy fry in there is bigger theni will add 3 guppies and 3 ADF. that ay there is not alot of waste. is there a small tetra i could put a school of in there? that would be colorful?

\\\\\\\"an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of the cure\\\\\\\"

I really dont see room for a school of tetras with all your other stock.

Just make triple sure that you get ADF and not ACF.

^_^

I wouldn't put a school of anything with your guppies, shrimp, and frogs... I think 3 or 4 more male guppies is a great option, and you can go with a variety of colors.

><>