Has anyone set up a paludarium ?

[anewbie]

Has anyone setup a paludarium if so what did you use as a background for the emersed portion. What I am thinking in terms of dimension is a 4ftx4ft cube with the front 30 inches an aquarium with water height around 17 inches and the back 18 inches is fully emersed where i can grow crypts/anubia and similar emersed. The height of the cage will be around 42 inches so plants can grow as high as 24 inches before hitting the top. 

The question is how to put up a background plants can grow up (probably pothos) that will be fish safe. The fish portion will be kh 0 gh 1ish tds around 30 and hopefully ph around 5.5. Make sense ?

[James V.]

I recently set up my first paudarium. I used and expanding foam to attach everything together. It is fish safe it’s called “Great Stuff Pond and Stone”

I didn’t use it for a background but I’ve been told you can. I would check out Serpa Design on YouTube for paludarium ideas.

I haven’t really planted the under water portion yet, I just threw some stuff in there

[Remi de Groot]

Serpa Design on youtube is great to learn about scaping paladariums. I used a lot of his techniques as well.
Was my first big project and a lot of fun to do. Made a lot of mistakes but learned a ton of it!

I made the whole background from regular cheap expandable foam. Added some wood in it to stick out from the back. Works great.
After 'carving' the foam in the shape i wanted it i put a layer of black aquarium siliconekit on the foam and sticked Tree Fern powder on it.

 

[anewbie]

Are the corks background any good? They are suppose to be great to attach things. I will be setting up something along this line; but i want the background planting to be very different and denser. 

[Remi de Groot]

Cork is great as well. Just a bit expansive in my country, that's why i went for something else.

Just know that my experience is that it takes a long time (or a lot of money) to get a really dense planted background.
Mine has been going for about 2 years now and still far away from how dense i want it to be.
But ofcourse this also depends on your light, watering system and plants. I got cheap cheap DIY on all 3 of them ;).

[OnlyGenusCaps]

Hi @anewbie!  I haven't made a proper paludarium since before the term existed - we just called them all vivariums back then (we didn't know!).

When I did it, I got a sheet of acrylic from Tap Plastics the size I wanted the background.  Created a wooden frame around it, coated in epoxy release.  Set out some lace rock I liked, and added an appropriate epoxy (also from Tap).  Then before the epoxy cured, I added a bunch of my favorite aquarium gravel to it, to give it texture.  Once it was cured, I took off the frame, and drilled holes into the top so I could create a drip wall, and along the bottom so the water would refill from the bottom.  The background was placed into the tank about 3cm off the back glass, and sealed in place with silicone.  I'd show you a picture, but if one survives it would be somewhere in my parents house; you see it was taken on something called...  Film.  Strange stuff.  Required a drug store and patience. 

I wouldn't recommend the above process, though the final product was very durable!  I will say I don't like foam backgrounds.  Though what @James V. did above is really nice!  Josh's Frogs makes various cork flat backgrounds.  Some are flat (agglo, whatever that is) and the "natural virgin cork sheet" in various sizes.  Those make doing cork backdrops easier, depending on the look you are going for.  It becomes cut to fit and silicone in place.  As another option, Glass Box Tropicals has sheets of hygrolon, which looks totally fake, because it is; but can grow moss and plants to a density that completely obscures it. 

What are you planning on stocking with?

[anewbie]

On 1/23/2023 at 4:04 PM, OnlyGenusCaps said:

Hi @anewbie!  I haven't made a proper paludarium since before the term existed - we just called them all vivariums back then (we didn't know!).

When I did it, I got a sheet of acrylic from Tap Plastics the size I wanted the background.  Created a wooden frame around it, coated in epoxy release.  Set out some lace rock I liked, and added an appropriate epoxy (also from Tap).  Then before the epoxy cured, I added a bunch of my favorite aquarium gravel to it, to give it texture.  Once it was cured, I took off the frame, and drilled holes into the top so I could create a drip wall, and along the bottom so the water would refill from the bottom.  The background was placed into the tank about 3cm off the back glass, and sealed in place with silicone.  I'd show you a picture, but if one survives it would be somewhere in my parents house; you see it was taken on something called...  Film.  Strange stuff.  Required a drug store and patience. 

I wouldn't recommend the above process, though the final product was very durable!  I will say I don't like foam backgrounds.  Though what @James V. did above is really nice!  Josh's Frogs makes various cork flat backgrounds.  Some are flat (agglo, whatever that is) and the "natural virgin cork sheet" in various sizes.  Those make doing cork backdrops easier, depending on the look you are going for.  It becomes cut to fit and silicone in place.  As another option, Glass Box Tropicals has sheets of hygrolon, which looks totally fake, because it is; but can grow moss and plants to a density that completely obscures it. 

What are you planning on stocking with?

Yea josh frog or zoo med cork is what i was thinking - i sent them an inquiry sunday so waiting for an answer.

-

The fish portion will most likely be stocked with 3 a. bitaeniata male; 4 or 5 female. 15 to 20 Nannostomus rubrocaudatus or Nannostomus mortenthaleri. 15 or so pygmy cory and a pair of nannacara aureocephalus probably later. The water portion is 30 inch x 48 inch x 18 inch so a bit of space.

-

Those are the plans a bit depend on availability. The emersed portion I want to grow crypts/anubias various species of echinodorus; a couple of orchids and last but least pothos will grow up the wall (i hope); or maybe it is down the wall. Right now i'm not planning on any critters for the emersed portion though i might see if there is a frog that will be harmless to the fish but that will be an after thought and would not occur for at least a while.

 

 

[OnlyGenusCaps]

On 1/23/2023 at 4:50 PM, anewbie said:

Right now i'm not planning on any critters for the emersed portion though i might see if there is a frog that will be harmless to the fish but that will be an after thought and would not occur for at least a while.

Oh...  See, that's the only reason I would consider doing a real "paludarium".  If I don't need the "above surface-tension" space, then why bother?  Or, at least that's my approach.  You know, if you could land some Amazon milk frogs, they do well in setups like that, are no threat to fish, and if you can raise tads, they sell.  Really well!  Just a thought.

Regardless, it sounds like an awesome project, and I am excited to see it come together.  I look forward to updates!

[anewbie]

On 1/23/2023 at 9:43 PM, OnlyGenusCaps said:

Oh...  See, that's the only reason I would consider doing a real "paludarium".  If I don't need the "above surface-tension" space, then why bother?  Or, at least that's my approach.  You know, if you could land some Amazon milk frogs, they do well in setups like that, are no threat to fish, and if you can raise tads, they sell.  Really well!  Just a thought.

Regardless, it sounds like an awesome project, and I am excited to see it come together.  I look forward to updates!

Well.... i do have above surface plants. I.e, I'm doing it for the plants - it is my garden.

[Remi de Groot]

Same here. Don't have any animals above the water. Just love the look of plants in house. I think a Paladarium is even a better look into a real environment then an aquarium.