10g paludarium construction log (pics)

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GOJIRADOR

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Feb 2, 2006
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you may have remembered i made a thread in this forum regarding a 10 gallon paludarium well now ive started construction. actually i started sometime during spring break.

these are the sketches i made. im surprised at how accurate my measurements were :Dance2:
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i began by taking some 2'' thick insulation foam i had laying around and cutting it with a long razor blade to the specific dimensions note: out of all the methods for cutting foam ive found this to be the best. get a razor blade that is about 6" long and place your foam in between the adjustable workbench and slide the blade against the bench. i then glued the 4 peices together with hot glue and tooth picks as nails. next i built a foam cutter out of an old soldering iron that uses a wire, a 12 volt battery plug-in-wall charger and some wire from a hair dryer formed into different shapes. this worked very well and is probably the best method for carving foam. after awhile it began to look like this, as you can see some of the foam is still uncut for a good comparison.
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GOJIRADOR

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Feb 2, 2006
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the next step was to take krylon fusion, which is reportedly safe for fish (and thankfully for foam) though i haven't tried it yet, and spray the foam
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after that i covered the foam in epoxy using a paintbrush and sprinkled on black sand. the following shots are of it already in the tank because i forgot take some before hand
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GOJIRADOR

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Feb 2, 2006
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since this is a paludarium it needs a land portion. i originally was going to use flower pots or something similar but i my dad bought a mouse trap and i noticed the packaging was the perfect size for my land. the land was glued in lace with GE silicone (the type with out a mold protector). gluing the inside of the cave was tricky but not quite as tricky as it looks
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you may have noticed in my drawings that i planned to have a HOB filter, well it fit but it could not run with such a low waterline soooo keeping with the diy mood i took out the motor of a different HOB and made a pump that could be connected to hoses
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now i wanted to be able to disconnect the motor if i wanted to so i made sure to make use of the o ring. i carved out the inside of a pvc T pipe so that i fit around the base. i then used a paintbrush which just happened to fit snug inside the pipe and also fit the hose on the handle. doing this i was able to hot glue around the tube to make a very easy and secure fit. making the intake hole as i did allows for close to optimum efficiency and is very important component. i havent taken the pictures yet but a specially clamp i made keeps pressure on the O ring to make a nice seal. more to come soon

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ohbly

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Feb 9, 2006
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Sweet that looks like how I made mine:grinyes:
Great job carving the foam too.
Iv got one bit of advice for you.. If you get some dry silty soil and turn it into dust, then epoxy it over the black sand it comes out looking far more rock-like.
I would post a closeup pic to show you how it looks>>

Ignore the crab:uhoh:
Thats one coat of dusty soil over a layer of black sand. I think it looks pretty natural.

Anyway great job so far
 

GOJIRADOR

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Feb 2, 2006
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ohbly: yes it does look natural but im going for a lava/ shale rock look, besides that's a lot more work:crazy:

cam191919: i have 2 kuhli loaches waiting to be put back in and im planning on putting a fire bellied newt and maybe some floating frogs as long as they don't chirp, oh i was also considering some fancy shrimps but i dont think thats going to happen

i haven't been able to get any work done since i posted this, i still have to post pics of my clamp thingy, so far ive just been thinking of ways to make a workable sump/filter
 
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