[neowind]

Paludarium Information:
22 Gallon Long Mr. Aqua Rimless Aquarium
2x 25w 6500k LED pendants
1x 30w LED adjustable kelvin fixture
2x Tetra waterfall filters for filtration and waterfalls
Lots of Egg Crate and Pond Foam
Josh's Frogs Plant Substrate
20lb Eco Complete Substrate
100w Titanium Submersible Heater
Window Screen
Styrofoam
PVC Pipe


Planned Paludarium Inhabitants:


Vampire Crab or Fire Bellied Newt
Harlequin Rasbora School
Neon Tetra School
Cory Catfish of somekind


I have dreamed for years of having some type of complete ecosystem setup inside my home. I seen a few setups here and there that blew my mind over the last several years, but I tried them on small scale and failed miserably. When I say small scale I mean like 1 gallon size. Finally I came accross a YouTube channel called Serpa Design and wow did that spark my interest. I finally got the bravery up to go out and just go for it. I don't have a ton of space so I still had to stay somewhat small, but I went with the 22g long to give plenty of space for the fish to swim. I wanted to create two large waterfalls to give a sense of some of the forest in my area that contain very large waterfalls. I wanted to bring that peace inside.

More to come!

Bump: Step 1:

Create the elevated landscape and waterfalls

I spend a lot of time in nature hiking and doing photography and I wanted to bring a part of that inside my home so when I can't enjoy being outdoors I can have a little piece of it inside. I decided to go with two waterfalls that would not only bring a peaceful sound into my home, but also act as the filtration for my paludarium. I went with two Tetra Whisper filters to accomplish this.

First I began with Egg Crate and Zipties to construct one of my islands:

Next I used window screen (Fiberglass) to wrap the egg crate. I then wrapped that with weed preventer material you would use in your garden to hold in the substrate for the plants above water.

 

[neowind]

So my vision is two have two islands of sorts with two separated waterfalls that have a little different feel from each other. One island will have access to the water for the crabs and I may include a natural bridge for them to cross over to the other island as well. To construct these islands I have selected the following material:

Egg Crate
Fiberglass Window Screen
Weed Control Lining
Zip Ties
Great Stuff Pond Foam
Tetra Whisper 20

 

[neowind]

Next I would apply the Great Stuff pond foam (Fish Safe) to form the waterfall and the above water planting area. I build it high enough to hold plenty of substrate to plant my plants. It looks a little like a lava scape at this point, but that will change as I begin to add moss and plants to cover it up. I will also be gluing bark and other things to make it look more natural.

The next step is to begin making the land area more realistic looking. I spread 100% silicone all over the great stuff foam and smoothed it out and then added the coco fiber on top and pressed it in.

 

[MSaxen]

subscribed. @neowind, looks like you're off to a great start. I can't wait to see where you take this. I started watching Serpa's videos a few months ago and would love to create something like this.

One thought I had on your design. Do you think the vertical PVC pipes supporting your islands should have some small holes in them to allow water to flow? I would be afraid anything in there is going to get stagnant and possibly pollute the tank. I may be over thinking it, but wanted to throw that out there.

Please keep the updates coming!!!

 

[redneck joe]

help, can't find the subscribe button?