# nano paludarium?



## Mikaila31 (Mar 28, 2010)

It goes against some rules I think, but that makes it more fun. This tank was inspired by my state WI. Is a 5gal small enough to be nano?

5 gal bow front- this setup holds about a gallon of water. Built in early June of 09.

$17-$27 build

filter- IDK really, there is a Mini elite in there that powers a stream, but its rarely ever on. It hasn't been on for a couple months and usually only for a couple hours. Cuz you know I never really fixed the flooding issue.... I consider the tank unfiltered and a stagnant puddle.

Light- 2x 13 watt spiral compacts @ 6700K 

Plants- aquarium plants(emersed and submersed) and native WI plants. 

heater- none

Maintenance- I top off the water, no water changes. I prune it back when plants start threatening to kill each other. Its my 2nd lowest maintenance tank.

Inhabitants- some(2?) cherry shrimp, 2 young male endlers, ramshorn, MTS, and a American toad- I forgot to let him go last fall, he never hibernate, I'm worried I might of broken him....

Pics dated 1/21- I might get some more recent ones up. It looks the same right now, but plants are a little pruned back. Hope you enjoy.


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## chase127 (Jun 8, 2008)

This is actually really cool  how did you build up the land area?


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## fhqwhgads (Jan 18, 2005)

thats pretty cool, i would consider trimming down the larger leaf plants and putting a little emersed hc in there


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## Mikaila31 (Mar 28, 2010)

I picked up some slate/shale like rock from the woods and broke it up to the right size. I then slowly built the wall, using the rocks that stacked good. A lot of silicon holds them together. Took about a week to build it because I could only do 2-3 layers at a time then had to wait for them to dry... Then just tossed sand, then dirt on the land side and scaped it. I was expecting it to be hard to balance out the aquatic side, but this tank has had almost no algae.










I'll look into using HC, I've never actually had that plant before... There is native WI moss that looks kinda similar and can stay alive when the native forget-me-nots go a little crazy.... if your ever looking for a easy and pretty bog plant they are great. They are a little big for the tank, but I like them alot. 

heres some current pictures of the tank

























This is when no more plants fit, from awhile ago.


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

That's actually really cool! Pretty impressive. Well done :tumbsup:


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## zeldar (Jun 24, 2009)

Super cool little tank! I really like the moss growing emersed.

Does the toad get in the water part? As you can tell I know absolutley nothing about amphibians. Also what does he eat? Is he full grown?

Ya'll are really giving me the itch to do a paludarium or riparium!


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## Mikaila31 (Mar 28, 2010)

The toad is just a almost year old North American toad that is native here. Cuz as a college student I'm fine with the free stuff. He does not like the water side, as a true toad he is not great at swimming. Sometimes he jumps in trying to get at the shrimp and fish. Its important to keep the water high so he can get back out. He eats usually worms, moths, or crickets. He is no where near full grown. I picked him up as a "toadlet" in the spring, he was smaller then a dime at that age. He is now bigger than a quarter and is getting too big for this tank. Usually I catch a baby in spring and release it in fall. School got in the way this year and fall hit us very suddenly, so I decided to keep him over winter. I will have to consult a amphibian board to see if he will be okay being let go. Cuz he didn't hibernate being in that tank.


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## chadly (May 17, 2005)

very nice idea! I have an 8" cube that was intended for a decorative plant arrangement or for cactus'... It has really thin glass and a mirror on the back so I'm really hesitant filling it full of water.

I came across this website: http://www.mossacres.com/product_tabletop_zen_garden.asp


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## AlexXx (Dec 1, 2009)

wow amazing! What kind of moss is there? 

Also you need to trim  haha


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