Paludarium idea, will it work?

  • Get the NEW AquariaCentral iOS app --> http://itunes.apple.com/app/id1227181058 // Android version will be out soon!

Taari

AC Members
Nov 4, 2010
584
0
0
38
I was recently inspired to try my hand at making a paludarium. I've never done this before, so I thought I would post my idea and get some feedback.

I'm going to be using a 20 gallon tall that I have. I chose this tank because I'm not a big fan of it's dimensions (I prefer 20 longs) but thought that the height would make it perfect for a paludarium.

I want to have the water line at the halfway mark, but don't want the area for the water taken up by foam, as I intend to use the black expanding foam for the bulk of the construction.

My plan is to use some smallish diameter black PVC pipe as columns to support a piece of plexiglass that is about the length of the tank, but only half the width front to back (maybe even less than half) to create a shelf for the foam to sit on. The black PVC will have large holes drilled in it to allow water to fill them and be circulated around and through them, and provide hiding spots for the fish. I will use a submersible pump with a sponge on it as the filter. I'll attach a long hose to the outflow and run it behind the foam to the top where I'll create a waterfall that will cascade back down into the water.

I plan to apply the foam in small sections and imbed river rocks and pieces of broken slate into it to create a natural effect, using smaller pea gravel and sand to fill in the gaps. To create voids where I can put terrestrial plants, I'm going to imbed terracotta pots in the foam, which will be covered on all sides by the foam and river rocks to hold them in place and disguise the look. I intend to have the bottom of the foam just below the surface of the water and use aquatic plants and driftwood to disguise the void underneath the shelf. I just want to have that space available for water so the fish have more room.
 

Taari

AC Members
Nov 4, 2010
584
0
0
38
The other thought I just had, looking at Paludariums online, is to create a cave behind the foam beneath the waters surface, that way it appears that the background goes all the way to the bottom, but there's a gap behind it to house the equipment and allow more water volume. The only question then is how do I keep fish from disapearing back there, and how do I allow free movement of water from the front to the back?
 

Fyurae

AC Members
Nov 24, 2010
235
0
0
37
Skagit Valley, WA
www.fyurae.com
When I do my riparium, I am going to use an HOB or amphibian filter to make the waterfall. That way no hoses or anything. I'll just let the intake reach into the water enough to draw, and let the outflow be my waterfall. Hide the filter behind some plants or aquascaping and viola. Mine isn't going to be very fancy, though.
 

Taari

AC Members
Nov 4, 2010
584
0
0
38
My question was less about how to make the waterfall work, and more about if the plexiglass shelf to hold the foam up would be functional, and how to make it look good. I could always try to do a moss wall, interspersed with pieces of broken slate.

Also, what's a good submersible pump? I'm confused by the ones that don't appear to have any intake hose, but instead just have slots in the body where they pull water in, how would you attach a pre-filter? or any kind of filter? It seems all the powerheads I am finding online are both large (200gph+) and expensive ($40+) or just odd like http://www.bigalsonline.com/Fish_Wa..._PowerSweep-Powerhead_8087553_82.html?tc=fish what if I don't want it to sweep back and forth?? o_O
 
Last edited:

mellowvision

Seafood Lover
May 17, 2007
5,099
0
0
Brooklyn NY
www.mellowvision.com
Real Name
Bill Brissette
plexi will work but you're better off using eggcrate. it's much easier to work with and a more flexible solution.

a good submersible pump to check out is the 404. super reliable and cheap. but personally, I think canisters work better for paludariums. it's better to have a hose in the tank than a power cord, and having to remove pumps for servicing requires a lot of extra work to hide them and keep them removable.
 

garyfla

AC Members
Apr 23, 2010
427
0
0
81
hi
i did something similar with a 75 taking advantage of the bouyancy of the foam creating a floating movable island .Would second the canister filter as the best method of filtration ,circulation and to power the waterfall. Most stem type aquarium plants will grow well emersed using long fibered sphagnum as a media but you can also branch out to amphibious types of plants. Keeping fish out of the resuting "cave " almost impossible.lol kept 18 cardinal tetras which only came out to eat along with 5 clown loaches. I intended to keep the water level at under 10 inches but found the fish were always freaked out. At 12 inches the problem disappeared . For the above water area used driftwood with attached epiphytes . I added a 4 foot tall plexiglass area to the top which made it almost impossible to adequetly light the water area . though the epiphytes flouished the submerged plants suffered but the emersed island are did very well. It was a LOT of work to keep it looking well due to the growth rate so I returned the tank to an aquarium and removed the upper part.
I wouldn't imbed the pots but grow the plants on the surface without soils . The humidity is more than enough to sustain MOST plants and keeps your setup much cleaner gary
 

Taari

AC Members
Nov 4, 2010
584
0
0
38
what about the Tom Rapids Mini canister filter?

I would like to have at least one small bromeliad and a maidenhair fern, which aren't epiphitic and require soil. The rest of the plants will likely be orchids and other epiphytes. I might use some driftwood or coconut bark pieces in the foam to attach these to instead of pots. The lights will likely be sitting right on top of the tank, so they'll be about 10" or so from the water.

My other thought for the filter was to use possibly my 5.5 gallon tank as a sump, but I don't have the first idea how to set that sort of thing up. But that way I could fill in the underwater part with the foam so there's no cave and still have the full volume of water...but doing a sump means I have to drill an overflow, doesn't it? that won't work...
 

mellowvision

Seafood Lover
May 17, 2007
5,099
0
0
Brooklyn NY
www.mellowvision.com
Real Name
Bill Brissette
tom mini rapids isn't really powerful enough. especially going over the wall of the 20g, it will be a constant problem. I have 3, don't use them this way.

on top of your eggcrate, use window screen or weed blocker, then an initial layer of draining gravel, and then Atlanta Botanical Gardens Mix. It's a tropical soil made from varying sizes of chunks of bark, charcoal, and fiber. It is an ideal paludarium soil when contained above the waterline.

yeah, sumps and paludariums require a lot of initial work.
 

Taari

AC Members
Nov 4, 2010
584
0
0
38
I have a really cool store here called Small Hill Orchids, run by a really neat lady as her hobby shop. She has made several terrariums and paludariums, including a 29 or 30 gallon tipped on end (so it's taller than it is long) with a custom door to cover what used to be the aquarium top. I traded her my old 45 gallon aquarium with a broken top brace to convert into a terrarium for a couple orchids. One is an epidendrum congestoides which is a climbing orchid that spreads and crawls across a surface with really cute little flowers, and the other is a Oncidium Twinkle orchid "Little Star"

(I found pics on the web, neither of the orchids I got are in bloom right now)
Epidendrum
epicongestoides.jpg

Oncidium Twinkle "Little star"

1577d1169586210-twinkle-twinkle-little-star-dsc_0004q.jpg

I also found a powerhead at petco that will work perfectly for my first idea. I tested it out and it lifts the water just fine to the top of the 20 with a nice amount of flow. I had been worried that it would be too strong and jet across the tank, but it should be a nice steady flow. I'm getting really excited to try this out :D

epicongestoides.jpg 1577d1169586210-twinkle-twinkle-little-star-dsc_0004q.jpg
 

mellowvision

Seafood Lover
May 17, 2007
5,099
0
0
Brooklyn NY
www.mellowvision.com
Real Name
Bill Brissette
not trying to overly discourage you from the powerhead option, but keep in mind it will only push the water, not filter it, so you're pushing dirtier water over your waterfall than if you use a canister. just something to consider if you're setting this up to be a long term solution.
 
zoomed.com
hikariusa.com
aqaimports.com
Store