# low-tech paludarium



## dufus

Newts *ARE* predators. i think one of those newts could take an oto easy. my paddletail juvies ate a baby african cichlid a few days ago. and by baby~1.5"
i would rec a bigger tank, but it will work for those species. a bigger tank allows for way better scaping and much more varieties of plants and fauna.


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## Agrippa

Alright, well, starting with the type of land area, if you wanted a large water area, but want it to look a little more natural than the first two options, you could use a piece of manzanita or some other root structure. In this way, you a very realistic transition between land and water that your newt can easily access. You can also do a very similar thing with rocks, as demonstrated in this winner of the recent planted tank contest under paludarium:









As for the light, we just consider it as 15w, because the comparison to 75 watts is in terms of halogen bulbs-which we don't use. In my newt's tank, I have 54w over 10g, but you won't need anywhere near as much light if you're just doing low-light plants. Whatever works for you. 

Now, for the diffuser, what do you mean by cheap? I got a really small ADA style diffusor for $14. I use it in my nano, as it's only about 2", and this would work well for you, as it eliminates the worries you had. It looks like this









Finally, I think white cloud mountain minnows _Tanicthys albonubes_ would make great candidates for a paludarium like this, as they can handle much colder temperatures (mid 60s,) are extremely tolerant of water qualities, are very cheap (usually around $1,) and they're interesting to watch. Here's a picture of some (though these are the long-finned variety):


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## rnocera

I like that idea with the rocks, and that would work great. My only problem is finding a rock that will work nicely, and won't affect my water parameters.
I'm thinking I might make my own light fixture. I could tear apart one of the 18" hoods I have now, and mount it inside a homemade wooden canopy, and put in two fixtures for the simple little screw in compact fluorescents, or I could even run two 18" fixtures inside it. That'd give me 30 watts of light. Doing compact fluorescents would give me up to 45 watts, if I use plain old 15 watt bulbs. Makes it a little more customizable.

Ony of my herping buddies recommended stacking plain old slate to make my land area. They said silicone it together in a stack, and then go the whole way around the gap between each layer with the silicone anywhere that anything could fit into a space, and while it's still soft, either roll it in gravel, or sand. This wouldn't look quite as natural as a random pile of slate, or our limestone lakes we have here in Western PA, but it would probably look more natural than a single rock that juts out of the water. And really, the underwater parts will probably be completely covered in moss & plants quickly, anyway.

Thanks for the input. I really like the way that paludarium is set up, and it's definitely something to model. I have a bunch of dried bamboo, like they used there, and I've been wondering how it would look if I set it up in the tank. Looks nice in that one! I'm thining about making a ledge across part of the tank, where I'd make a retaining wall out of ~3" pieces of bamboo, and just piling the gravel a little higher behind it. No real need for it, just something to make it look a little different.

Whatever I do, I'm going to have a while to think it through. Looks like this project is on hold, because I totalled my car yesterday.


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## rnocera

Here's another question- where can I get ADA style diffusers? I tried googling/froogline it, and it comes up with lighting stuff, and discussions about them, but no links.


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## AnneRiceBowl

There are a few members here that sell them, and they can also be found on Ebay. Use "glass CO2 diffueor" and/or "CO2 diffuser" for your keywords.


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