Paludarium

[Falconwithaboxon]

Okay, so it's been a minute since I posted. I want to start this by saying that I have been good, just hadn't thought about anything important for me to post and have been busy. How has everyone been? I just started university back up so that is exciting.

Okay now, this post is actually about that I am starting the build for my paludarium. I have the tank, a plan, and am starting to gather the materials I need to build my land portions. I am using a 30-gallon tank and will have it split up into two land portions with water in between and connected by a bridge. There will be a cave under the land portions that the fish can go into. The water will be roughly 12-16 gallons, I'll know exactly when I have the land in the tank. I will have a school of Neon Tetras most likely. I will have a Ficus Bonsai on land along with some grass-type cover. The water will have Java fern, Wisteria, Anubias, Stellata, stuff like that.

Now for my questions:

What could I put in the caves plantwise? The caves will be dark, with no direct light only what happens to get in through the holes that lead to the caves and room light through the glass so I need things that do well in mostly darkness.

I have no idea what to have live on the land. I need something that won't eat my Bonsai, or my fish if it is amphibious. What are some possible suggestions?

I am stumped on the filter for the water since the waterline is much lower than normal. What are some good suggestions?

Thanks to anyone who responds!

 

[Colin_T]

You can use an external canister filter or an internal power filter laying on its side in the tank.

If the caves are going to be dark, don't put live plants in them because they will die. Caves don't normally have plants in so leave the plants out of the caves.

 

[itiwhetu]

I use internal filters and then attach a pipe to the outlet and run that up to the top of the tank and let the water come down a water fall, that helps maintain the humidity in the terrestrial part of your paludarium. As for animals no idea. As for plants in mine I could only every get crypt's to do well in the base of these setups, I placed Anubis further up. I used carnivorous plants in the land part.

 

[Falconwithaboxon]

You can use an external canister filter or an internal power filter laying on its side in the tank.

If the caves are going to be dark, don't put live plants in them because they will die. Caves don't normally have plants in so leave the plants out of the caves.

Okay I'll leave them out of the cave

 

[Falconwithaboxon]

I use internal filters and then attach a pipe to the outlet and run that up to the top of the tank and let the water come down a water fall, that helps maintain the humidity in the terrestrial part of your paludarium. As for animals no idea. As for plants in mine I could only every get crypt's to do well in the base of these setups, I placed Anubis further up. I used carnivorous plants in the land part.

Okay I'll look into carnivorous plants and animals/bugs that won't get killed by them