55 Gallon Brackish Paludarium Build

[Lupine]

I thought I'd post my progress and regress, welcoming any advice. I put 10 gallons of water in 2 weeks ago, got the S.G. to 1.010, seeded the filter with some water from an existing cycling tank, and put in my 2 mangroves which I've posted elsewhere about them not looking too good.
So, today I put in the ramp for the downgrade into the water and wound up removing all the water to avoid fouling it with sand, so I dont have to wait for the sand to settle, I got some really soft fine stuff that was really making clouds.
So here's the How Not to Set Up a Paludarium part. I decided I needed a LOT more sand than I had, and was feeling quite cheap, so I went and got some silica sand to use as filler. Thus I built a dam to seperate it from the water, and will be covering it with aragonite in the hopes that it wont leach too much silicate into the water. I have to go get more aragonite tomorrow. I aim to cover the silica sand with aragonite and make it slope down into the water. I'll attach some pictures so everybody can see what I'm talking about and inform me of any glaring mistakes .

 

[Lupine]

Finished adding sand today. Letting the water settle before putting in filter. Mangroves are just hangin' out, reconsidering their placement. Don't know why this pic is so much darker than the others, all the same lights are on...

 

[Lupine]

Been working on it some more. Water still hasn't settled of course. I put in some decor and hid the filter. The little filter was sucking sand up in it's tor, so I put it in a clear plastic cup that doesn't come up to the surface, it just covers the intake. Voila! I was afraid the intake would just suck in the water coming out the outlet, but I actually get a much better circulation this way. Here's some more pics. It's starting to look like a paludarium and not a big accident. I think so anyway. The background isn't at all secure, I was just "testing" it to see if I like it. I think I'll use it.

 

[Lupine]

Water has settled. I think I'm gong to get some enamel and paint over the sand area on the front pf the tank to cover the dam. And a more beachy looking background.

 

[SubRosa]

Nice tank, but semantically speaking it definitely pushes the line between "paludarium" and "terrarium"! What is your intended stocking, Mudskippers?