60L Paludarium

[MattW3344]

Finally, after months of research and gathering materials, I've started the first of many phases in creating a paludarium in my 60L cube aquarium. Sadly my TOTM scape is no longer. I began to neglect it which I know I shouldn't have. But after the honey gourami died. I lost interest in maintaining it. Weekly water changes were all I did for a while which meant algae slowly began to take over. But now is a chance to try something new.

This is what it looks like at the moment. Firstly, I created a filtration chamber out of 2mm picture frame glass secured with silicone. This will house the pump and heater. Then I made a cage out of an egg crate that will hold terrestrial plants wedged between small lava rocks.

I also added small strips of egg crate to the glass. This was done for two reasons. To support the plant cage and to help the expanding foam adhere to another surface as lava rock will be used for the back wall. For mechanical filtration, a 1-inch thick matala mat and a 2-cm thick coarse foam will do. I will add a zip tie to the foam for ease of maintenance and cleaning.

The aquatic plants for this paludarium will all be epiphytes. The majority are from the past scape. They're currently in the holding tank with the fish and shrimp.

The next phase will be adding hardscape and foaming in the back wall next week hopefully.

 

[MattW3344]

The main hardscape is now secured to the egg crate cage with a generous amount of silicone. It's an old spiderwood stump that was used in an old scape from around 1-2 years back. I had to cut it in half with the table saw for a flat surface to help the silicon better adhere to the cage. I also added spiderwood branches glued in with gorilla super glue gel topped with crushed aqua soil to hide any glue as it becomes obvious when submerged.

The next step is the scaping foam. I've had a few ideas on different scapes. The first is just the back wall and filtration chamber covered in a thin layer with small lava rock pieces added for texture. The second is the first idea + adding an arch from the filtration chamber towards the front of the tank to create a fake cave effect. This would allow me to add more terrestrial plants up top, mosses, and spiderwood branches to give a more natural look. I'm still deciding on what scape to go for.

I have gone for the expensive aqua-scaping foam over general expanding foam as it gives me the piece of mind of not leeching anything or needing anything added on top such as paint.

At £17 a can it better work!

 

[MattW3344]

Foam is currently setting in. I went for just the back wall as I realized that a fake cave/arch would take up much room. A water test will be done tomorrow along with carving and adding lava rock/wood with silicone.

After 15 minutes of the foam setting, I pushed it down to around a 1-2 cm thickness. I also did this below the egg crate cage to allow for water to flow down. My current plan is a waterfall and dripwall. A dripwall on the top flowing down the back wall and a waterfall above the filtration chamber which would help with water aeration

Also, many small white dots have been growing on the 1-2 Anubias pot. I assume they are flowers.

 

[MattW3344]

The Paludarium is slowly improving day by day. At the moment I'm having an equipment nightmare. First, my intended pump was too weak to produce a decent flow, which has been replaced with an Eheim CON 600. Second I don't feel confident with the current water movement. A 4mm airline hose is used on the drip wall and main waterfall which limits the amount of water passing through for the main waterfall. I have found an 8-4mm T piece online. I'm hoping one of my LFSs has it in stock. Lava rocks have also been added as well as some Java moss. Green spot algae from my old Iwagumi aquascape remains on the lava rock.

water section = 10gUS/37L

 

[EmmaS]

Looking really good

 

[MattW3344]

The paludarium is steadily coming together. All of the 4mm air hose has been replaced with 8mm hose. This has made the flow much faster. I've added terrestrial moss found in the garden. I believe it is Swan’s-neck thyme moss (Mnium hornum). Some springtails have been added also but no idea how they will end up.

I've used zip-tie suction cups to hold up the drip wall hose on the back wall and used 4mm straight connectors to act as taps for the drip wall.

I'm waiting on some 8mm 90-degree bends to make the hose work cleaner. The lower waterfall also needs to be adjusted. Pothos has been added into the plant cage wedged in with small lava rock. I'm thinking of gluing moss to the back wall to help cover up the exposed hose. Old substrate from the TOTM scape has been added along with a single Ramshorn snail from the 90L as a test subject . I am hoping aquatic plants and fauna will be added by this weekend as the fish are becoming impatient in the holding tank.

 

[MattW3344]

A few changes to the paludarium. I first removed the pothos as I found their colour was too bright, contrasting with the Bolbitis, Buce, and Anubias in the aquatic section. A single Lemon button fern (Nephrolepis cordifolia Duffii) was added along with 4 Peace Lily's (Spathiphyllum wallisii).

I also added Hydrocotyle on the left side where water flows down. I hope it will do ok there as I've seen other scapes do it before and work well. The lava rocks on the right side are a temporary measure to hide equipment cables/hoses. I need to find or make something that fits seamlessly with the scape.

Current Aquatic plants ​

• Anubias bateri var. 'Coffeifolia'
• Bucephalandra pygmea Bukit Kelam 'Wavy Green'
• Bucephalandra biblis
• Bolbitis heudelotii
• Hydrocotyle tripartita
• Pistia stratiotes

Current Emersed plants ​

• Peace Lily (Spathiphyllum wallisii)
• Lemon button fern (Nephrolepis cordifolia Duffii)
• Swan’s-neck thyme moss (Mnium hornum)

I intend to add another fern to the top section to fill in the gaps. I also need to add moss to the back wall but still am deciding on what species. I also managed to find a small gap between the wood and foam on the right side for the other waterfall/outlet. It pushes the water around pretty well. I'm considering adding an airstone to the filtration compartment on a timer to help with oxygen levels, especially on hot days in my attic room.

I will most likely be adding the fish tomorrow.