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.
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.