I am about to build my second vivarium, having learned from my first that I would like to have more water than land. I am using a 15 gallon tall tank, that I intend to have 8-9 gallons of water in. this will give me approximately a 10 gallon tank plus the 5 gallons (6") of airspace above. this is not going to be a high light tank, or have co2. I'm trying to keep this fairly simple, in terms of plant care. swampy.
I enjoy what I have now, but I have way too much driftwood and stone taking up precious water volume. I would like this new tank to have an isolated "island" of land in one corner. This land mass is to look like the decaying roots of a fallen tree, holding back the last bits of shoreline from caving into the water. I have the structure planned out, and have 2 options in terms of substrate, the way I see it.
option 1: the terrestrial substrate is in a bowl, completely isolated from the water column
option 2: the terrestrial substrate is contained, but has a "shore" that allows water from the tank to get into the soil in one way or another, be it through submerging the edge of the bowl or by building the bowl to be pourous or have holes...
the main reason I ask this question, is that I am concerned about the terrestrial soil molding if it is constantly damp, and I have no idea if this is a real concern to vivarium builders. I plan to use a lot of terrestrial moss, covering most if not all of the land mass. I also wish to have a small tree rooted in the land mass, maybe a bonsai mangrove, lucky bamboo(Iknow I know) or some other bonsai type tree... (any ideas here welcome) ideally, I want something that grows strong, dense roots to be able to use in phase two of this tank, in a year or two. I would love to be able to keep this tree under 10" tall. I also plan on a cluster of anubias with roots dangling into the water and am interested in using vines to create a partial canopy.
if dampness and mold is an issue, then option 1 will work, but I think it will be less of what I hope to make, and may require more structure than I want to have to cover up.
if dampness and mold are not an issue, I would like to build the "bowl" as a birdsnest of debris... many thin branches of driftwood, a few rocks, etc, using something like a tight woven cheesecloth or mesh to contain packed gravel and soil. I know this may leach a bit, this is ok with me as long as it's slow and maintainable.... (this is meant to look like an eroded shallow swamp.) I would then completely cover the outside of the cloth bowl with java moss, and give it structure with the branches. in time, the roots of whatever is growing in the bowl would be allowed to puncture the bowl and reach out into the water column.
I'm looking for direction towards a long term plan, that allows me to garden this way. any ideas, suggestions for cloth materials, substrate options, and info on how to best use substrate above and at the water line would be much appreciated! ooh, and I'd love to hear your opinions on small filters that I can bury or box in with stone fully submerged. :idea:
I enjoy what I have now, but I have way too much driftwood and stone taking up precious water volume. I would like this new tank to have an isolated "island" of land in one corner. This land mass is to look like the decaying roots of a fallen tree, holding back the last bits of shoreline from caving into the water. I have the structure planned out, and have 2 options in terms of substrate, the way I see it.
option 1: the terrestrial substrate is in a bowl, completely isolated from the water column
option 2: the terrestrial substrate is contained, but has a "shore" that allows water from the tank to get into the soil in one way or another, be it through submerging the edge of the bowl or by building the bowl to be pourous or have holes...
the main reason I ask this question, is that I am concerned about the terrestrial soil molding if it is constantly damp, and I have no idea if this is a real concern to vivarium builders. I plan to use a lot of terrestrial moss, covering most if not all of the land mass. I also wish to have a small tree rooted in the land mass, maybe a bonsai mangrove, lucky bamboo(Iknow I know) or some other bonsai type tree... (any ideas here welcome) ideally, I want something that grows strong, dense roots to be able to use in phase two of this tank, in a year or two. I would love to be able to keep this tree under 10" tall. I also plan on a cluster of anubias with roots dangling into the water and am interested in using vines to create a partial canopy.
if dampness and mold is an issue, then option 1 will work, but I think it will be less of what I hope to make, and may require more structure than I want to have to cover up.
if dampness and mold are not an issue, I would like to build the "bowl" as a birdsnest of debris... many thin branches of driftwood, a few rocks, etc, using something like a tight woven cheesecloth or mesh to contain packed gravel and soil. I know this may leach a bit, this is ok with me as long as it's slow and maintainable.... (this is meant to look like an eroded shallow swamp.) I would then completely cover the outside of the cloth bowl with java moss, and give it structure with the branches. in time, the roots of whatever is growing in the bowl would be allowed to puncture the bowl and reach out into the water column.
I'm looking for direction towards a long term plan, that allows me to garden this way. any ideas, suggestions for cloth materials, substrate options, and info on how to best use substrate above and at the water line would be much appreciated! ooh, and I'd love to hear your opinions on small filters that I can bury or box in with stone fully submerged. :idea:
