I love paludariums and will be following with interest!
65 gallon Iwagumi style Paludarium for vampire crabs.
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2
Nothing too exciting to report been pretty busy lately and it has been a slow process breaking down the old one. A few things I noticed when breaking it down.
There was a good bit of mulm in the lava rock but less than I expected. Also there was a ton of silt from the clay in there. While the water never got cloudy a ton had settled in the substrate and behind the island. I am going to try and prevent clay from entering the water the next go round.
Here is a picture of the silt with MTS trails throughout
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Also isopods were climbing up the cords and getting stuck on the duct tape quite a bit.
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Like I said nothing too exciting.
There was a good bit of mulm in the lava rock but less than I expected. Also there was a ton of silt from the clay in there. While the water never got cloudy a ton had settled in the substrate and behind the island. I am going to try and prevent clay from entering the water the next go round.
Here is a picture of the silt with MTS trails throughout
Also isopods were climbing up the cords and getting stuck on the duct tape quite a bit.
Like I said nothing too exciting.
7
Ok quick update. I have had a little bit of free time over the holidays and finished some other nagging projects and had a few minutes to work on this one.
So the idea for this scape is to incorporate concepts of Iwagumi and apply it to a paludarium. Basically I will use the main stones in the iwagumi to divide the land and water portions. Here are the three stones I am using for this build:
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Oyaishi:
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Fukuishi:
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Soeishi:
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I started messing around with them and how to stabilize them, I set them on some spare matten filter I have to add height and used it to stabilize as well. I am thinking I wont go that route since in areas where the matten is doubled up there is 4" of material and this would take up a lot of substrate to cover up. Any way here are some arrangements I came up with that I liked (sorry for the dirty glass)
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Need to play around more to see how I want to arrange and stabilize these rocks. Any suggestions I am all ears.
So the idea for this scape is to incorporate concepts of Iwagumi and apply it to a paludarium. Basically I will use the main stones in the iwagumi to divide the land and water portions. Here are the three stones I am using for this build:
Oyaishi:
Fukuishi:
Soeishi:
I started messing around with them and how to stabilize them, I set them on some spare matten filter I have to add height and used it to stabilize as well. I am thinking I wont go that route since in areas where the matten is doubled up there is 4" of material and this would take up a lot of substrate to cover up. Any way here are some arrangements I came up with that I liked (sorry for the dirty glass)
Need to play around more to see how I want to arrange and stabilize these rocks. Any suggestions I am all ears.
No one has any Iwagumi advise? Oh well I guess I'm on my own then ha ha.
People who followed my previous build might know I am a big fan of isopods. Wondering if I should put some of these in there:
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I am only halfway serious as they are pretty expensive and prefer it on the drier side (probably would have done better in the old tank) but it would be pretty cool to have isopods that were more than twice the size of the fish I am planning on.
People who followed my previous build might know I am a big fan of isopods. Wondering if I should put some of these in there:
I am only halfway serious as they are pretty expensive and prefer it on the drier side (probably would have done better in the old tank) but it would be pretty cool to have isopods that were more than twice the size of the fish I am planning on.
2
Not too much to update since it's been too cold around here to drill the tank. Got the last of my supplies needed but now am thinking of doing an auto top off as well. Went to a local green house and had a couple cool finds.
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This is selaginella kraussiana brownii a clubmoss that only gets 1-2" high. Hopefully they will have more in stock as this was the only pot.
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This pitcher plant is Nepenthes ventrata I might just put this in the room to catch fruit flies and find Nepenthes ampullaria as it stays smaller and is good for terrariums. Then again this will probably be slow enough growing that I may use it. Geosesarma are known to hang out in pitcher plants and eat the bugs that fall in, I am going for trying to recreate that in the terrarium.
This is selaginella kraussiana brownii a clubmoss that only gets 1-2" high. Hopefully they will have more in stock as this was the only pot.
This pitcher plant is Nepenthes ventrata I might just put this in the room to catch fruit flies and find Nepenthes ampullaria as it stays smaller and is good for terrariums. Then again this will probably be slow enough growing that I may use it. Geosesarma are known to hang out in pitcher plants and eat the bugs that fall in, I am going for trying to recreate that in the terrarium.
10
So I am still at a stand still with drilling the hole in the glass but decided I would test my sump / plumbing design and also see if the pump I selected would work for this application. The thing that makes the selection of the pump difficult is that I needed to have a pump strong enough to clear the 5'+ head but also not too strong for such a small volume of water. I was pretty nervous it wouldn't work out. The pump I am using is a danner 350. I was trying to keep it as simple as possible since this is my first dive into sumps and diy plumbing.
Anyway here is a picture of the sump. I has 3 chambers divided by poret foam. The first is where water returns then it goes through 10ppl foam to the main chamber, this will possibly be for quarantine or raising shrimp and scuds or maybe just for additional filter media (or both). Next water passes through 20ppl foam and to where the pump is located.
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The idea for the plumbing was basically hashed out through this thread https://www.plantedtank.net/forums/8-general-planted-tank-discussion/1228226-paludarium-plumbing-questions.html as well as one on dendroboard. The idea is to be able to control the flow through 2 valves going off a tee. One goes back into the sump the other powers the waterfall in the main tank.
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I ended the section of plumbing that goes directly back into the sump to end in a tee and then embedded that into the poret foam. The idea is that it will act as a makeshift wet/dry filter.
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Here are pictures of the valve on the line that goes to the waterfall.
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I turned on the pump and........it couldn't have gone any better! I had a respectable flow but nothing too crazy coming out with both valves completely open. This means I could probably went with a smaller pump but oh well. If it is too much flow I can adjust it with the valve going to the waterfall but this will cause the pump to operate with some back pressure (which I have been told is not a big deal).
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I chose to go with reinforced vinyl as my tubing for increased flexibility and also with it being in general easier to work with. I used this tool to cut the tubing and it went through it like butter.
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Setting this up has gotten me really excited to get this project moving. Hopefully I can get some free time and a nice enough day to do the drilling this weekend. Although if this phase made me this nervous I can't imagine what drilling into the glass will do. Not to mention once I have and seeing if the bulkhead is large enough. If anyone has any insight as far as the plumbing for this system I would be interested to hear it.
Anyway here is a picture of the sump. I has 3 chambers divided by poret foam. The first is where water returns then it goes through 10ppl foam to the main chamber, this will possibly be for quarantine or raising shrimp and scuds or maybe just for additional filter media (or both). Next water passes through 20ppl foam and to where the pump is located.
The idea for the plumbing was basically hashed out through this thread https://www.plantedtank.net/forums/8-general-planted-tank-discussion/1228226-paludarium-plumbing-questions.html as well as one on dendroboard. The idea is to be able to control the flow through 2 valves going off a tee. One goes back into the sump the other powers the waterfall in the main tank.
I ended the section of plumbing that goes directly back into the sump to end in a tee and then embedded that into the poret foam. The idea is that it will act as a makeshift wet/dry filter.
Here are pictures of the valve on the line that goes to the waterfall.
I turned on the pump and........it couldn't have gone any better! I had a respectable flow but nothing too crazy coming out with both valves completely open. This means I could probably went with a smaller pump but oh well. If it is too much flow I can adjust it with the valve going to the waterfall but this will cause the pump to operate with some back pressure (which I have been told is not a big deal).
I chose to go with reinforced vinyl as my tubing for increased flexibility and also with it being in general easier to work with. I used this tool to cut the tubing and it went through it like butter.
Setting this up has gotten me really excited to get this project moving. Hopefully I can get some free time and a nice enough day to do the drilling this weekend. Although if this phase made me this nervous I can't imagine what drilling into the glass will do. Not to mention once I have and seeing if the bulkhead is large enough. If anyone has any insight as far as the plumbing for this system I would be interested to hear it.
7
So I finally took the plunge and drilled my tank! I have wanted to do this for a very long time but was always hesitant thinking I may crack the glass.
I had a unseasonably warm day and had the wife help me move it outside. I figured with it being my first time I would use a guide. It helped for the initial grinding but I would probably only use it at the very start of the drilling in the future.
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Here is the diamond tipped drill bit I used.
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I ran water from a hose over the hole continuously to cool the bit which helps reduce the risk of cracking.
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This picture shows the tiny shards of glass created by grinding the hole.
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The drilling didn't take nearly as long as I thought it would. I wish I went slower because as you can see I had significant chip out.
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As said I wish I went slower and maybe practiced on another tank first. The glass on the back is painted black so I was having trouble seeing how far down I was. I also read that drilling from the opposite side when almost all the way through will help but with the shape of the tank this was not an option. Also the glass on this tank is pretty thick so not sure if that played a role in the chip out. I was told that even with as much chipping as there is I should be fine if I seal the bulkhead with silicone.
Although not the most pretty hole in the world I still can say I have a hole in my tank and no cracked glass so all and all a good day.
I had a unseasonably warm day and had the wife help me move it outside. I figured with it being my first time I would use a guide. It helped for the initial grinding but I would probably only use it at the very start of the drilling in the future.
Here is the diamond tipped drill bit I used.
I ran water from a hose over the hole continuously to cool the bit which helps reduce the risk of cracking.
This picture shows the tiny shards of glass created by grinding the hole.
The drilling didn't take nearly as long as I thought it would. I wish I went slower because as you can see I had significant chip out.
As said I wish I went slower and maybe practiced on another tank first. The glass on the back is painted black so I was having trouble seeing how far down I was. I also read that drilling from the opposite side when almost all the way through will help but with the shape of the tank this was not an option. Also the glass on this tank is pretty thick so not sure if that played a role in the chip out. I was told that even with as much chipping as there is I should be fine if I seal the bulkhead with silicone.
Although not the most pretty hole in the world I still can say I have a hole in my tank and no cracked glass so all and all a good day.
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