# My 300g paludarium journal (56k warning!)



## the_deeb (Mar 19, 2009)

I've been working on this project for several months now and have finally gotten to the planting stage, so I thought it was appropriate to start a journal and solicit some feedback and advice from the plant gurus.

The overall tank is around 60'L X 28'W X 40'T with about 14" of water in the bottom (about 100g) and sliding glass doors that allow access to the upper, emersed section. 










The entire setup was a DIY build. There were a bunch of hiccups along the way and it was definitely a learning experience. I'll post an abbreviated build thread to get everyone up to speed.

Let me start off by summarizing the stand build. I was going for a sleek, ADA-ish look, but I like the appearance of wood grain so I built it out of birch plywood, since it was easily available.

I reinforced the sides with 1X4s









and used doubled-up 1X4s for legs










Here's the initial assembly









I finished the outside with a coat of "golden pecan" stain followed by 3 coats of polyurethane and painted the inside with 2 coats of kilz and a topcoat of white latex paint.










I mounted the doors with no-bore concealed hinges. Here's a shot of the final assembly (the doors weren't actually mounted in this pic). I ultimately added some spring latches and some small whistle pulls.


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## OoglyBoogly (Oct 19, 2010)

Oo I look forward to seeing the progress and more pics! Any idea on what you plan on stocking it with or what you would like it to look like? I've seen a lot of people sketch out a picture of what they would like to look at and then basically fill in the blanks that are not only what would grow to fullfill their vision but also what kind of equipment is needed to facilitate the growth.


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## the_deeb (Mar 19, 2009)

Now for the tank itself. I 3/4" birch plywood with a mitered corner design. It provided a sleek look, but I do not recommend using a mitered corner design like this. The joint lacks structural strength and it's very hard to get everything to line up. That being said, I decided to make the best of what I had and modified the edges to create sort of a haunched miter. This would offer a better supported joint with a much larger gluing surface. Here's the plan for how I hoped the edges would fit together. 



I began by epoxying and screwing some 3/4" strips of plywood to the edges of all the pieces. When I first started out I was using just regular West System 105/206 (one coat to saturate the wood and a second coat for excess glue). As the build progressed I started to thicken the second coat with Cabosil and I highly recommend doing this. The thickened epoxy doesn't squeeze out as much and lets you load the joint with more glue.



Next I applied a coating of epoxy to all the joints (first a regular coat to saturate the wood, followed by a second layer of epoxy thickened with Cabosil) and screwed them together with 1.25" and 2" wood screws as shown in the diagram above.



Here's a closeup of the joints to show how they fit together. There's a screw every 2" but they're spaced in an alternating pattern. I used clamps to hold the sides together while driving in the screws. As expected, the mitered part of the joints didn't fit together quite as perfectly as I'd hoped leaving a bit of a gap on the back edges where I couldn't produce much clamping pressure. I solved this by injecting epoxy resin into all the gaps to produce a solid, epoxy-filled joint.



For bracing around the top edge I installed some strips of 3/4" plywood. The back and left side are just 3". The front and right side are 4" wide and I used a coping saw to make cutouts for future fan access. I attached the strips with Titebond III and pocket hole screws. This is really strong - I did a set of dips supporting myself just on the bracing and it didn't budge (though I admittedly don't weight very much)! I ultimately also added an additional 3" center brace across the middle.



Here's the tank flipped over and the bottom bracing installed. Here I used 1X3 poplar strips, epoxied and pocket hole screwed like the top. The difference here is that the strips were attached 3/4" away from the edge, so that once the 3/4" plywood bottom panel is installed it will be flush with the bottom edge of the sides. You can see the bottom panel leaning against the wall in the background, pocket holes drilled and ready to be installed.



Here's the bottom installed



The bottom is glued to the sides and to the lower bracing with thickened epoxy. It is also screwed into the bottom bracing with screws every 2" and also screwed to the sides with pocket holes (staggered relative to the pocket holes in the bottom bracing). I filled all remaining screw holes and gaps in the bottom with wood putty, sanded and them painted with 3 coats of Drylok. Here's how it looks:


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## the_deeb (Mar 19, 2009)

I installed a fan box around the top front and side of the tank. I'm ultimately installing 50-60mm case fans into the box behind the square openings, which will circulate air up the glass and blow it out into the tank. The air circulation will be healthier for the plants and will hopefully help to keep the viewing planes free from condensation.


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## the_deeb (Mar 19, 2009)

On to the waterproofing:

Because the tank has minimal bracing I decided to use fiberglass to reinforce the structure of the submerged section. I'd never worked with fiberglass before so, as with everything else about this build, it was a learning experience and I got better as a I went along. Here's how I went about it once I had the whole process figured out.

First I tilted the tank at an angle so that all residual epoxy resin would pool into the seams, deeply penetrating them and effectively creating a fillet. This was a little cumbersome because I had to reposition the tank for every seam, but it worked out very well.



I coated the seams with an initial layer of epoxy to saturate the wood and provide an initial barrier coating. I also dripped a little extra epoxy into the seams to make a slightly thicker fillet.



After this first layer had dried and was no longer tacky, but not completely cured, I layed out a strip of fiberglass cloth into the corner. I just used the cheap, lightweight Elmer's brand cloth from Lowes since I figured it would be adequate for my purposes. The lighweight cloth is pretty easy to work with. I found it made things easier if I took my time to make sure it was cut straight before starting.



Here's the strip wetted out with epoxy. After brushing it on I used the flat end of a stir stick and a gloved finger to really push it into the seams and force out any air bubbles. Make sure to work out the air bubbles while it's wet and you still can. Then I dripped a little extra epoxy on to really get a nice thick layer in the seams.



After waiting a few hours for the epoxy to gel (but not harden) I used my trusty paring knife to trim off the excess cloth to get a nice clean edges. I found that you shouldn't try to trim the cloth before it sets up or you'll pull it out of place and introduce air bubbles. Similarly, if you wait until it's completely cured it becomes too hard and sharp, making it difficult and potentially dangerous to cut. Leave an adequate strip of dry cloth to grip on to and do it when it's tacky and rubbery.



And there you have the reinforced seam which is hopefully completely sealed and will resist the formation of stress fractures. 

I had initially planned to just fiberglass the seams and then seal the rest of the tank using Pond Shield epoxy. However, after reading some accounts of people running into some leak issues using Pond Shield I decided to first fiberglass the entire water portion of the tank using West System 105/206 and lightweight Bondo brand fiberglass cloth. I felt that this would provide structural strength and an additional layer of waterproofing. Plus, now that I'd gotten the hang of it, fiberglassing was actually quite enjoyable... almost addictive as observed by my wife







If I had more epoxy and fiberglass I'd probably glass the entire interior but I don't want to spend the extra money and I certainly don't think it's necessary.

Anyways, here's a piece of cloth trimmed and layed out



Wetted out with an initial layer of resin. I used a bondo spreader to wet out the cloth and a small brush to do the edges



After it gelled I trimmed of the excess and then applied 2 more coatings with a roller to fill the weave. Here's the tank with the lower half all glassed up. It's almost hard to tell because of how clear it gets!



After the epoxy and fully cured I spent several hours carefully sanding the tank with 60 grit sandpaper. I used a sanding sponge and wet sanded by hand to keep down the dust. This should also help to completely get rid of any amine blush, which can prevent the next layer from adhering. I carefully inspected all the surfaces to make sure there were no glossy areas. I've read the main thing that causes issues with adherence is inadequate surface preparation so I really took my time at this stage to make sure everything was well scuffed up.



Then I applied my Pond Shield. This stuff was a little tricky to work with. It's thick - kind of like honey. As per the instructions, I thinned it out by adding about 8% ethanol which made it a little easier to deal with. I calculated how much I would need to cover each side and then did one side at a time, mixing up only enough epoxy to cover that side. I rotated the tank as I went so that the side I was working on was on the bottom. I think this made it easier to work with. I followed the instructions and first used a bondo spreader to spread it out and cover the entire surface. I then used a roller to evenly cover the surface. I used a cheap polyurethane roller, which I regret now, because some little bits of the roller pulled out and got stuck in the epoxy, leaving some bumps. So lesson learned - use a high quality short nap roller.

Here's the tank with the initial coating. 



After I was done there was a bunch of "fish-eyeing" and pinholes in the coating so I had to go back over and patch them with more Pond Shield. At that point the coating looked pretty good under regular room light but when shining a really bright lamp on it I could make out some areas had sagged a bit and the coating was a little thin (I could faintly make out the wood color under the bright light). This probably means I didn't quite get to the recommended 10mil thickness in those areas. I guess this happened because I was thinning it a little with alcohol but I think it would have been really hard to work with unthinned. I scuffed up the areas with 60grit sandpaper and recoated but I was running low on Pond Shield so are probably still some thin areas.

If this was over bare wood I would be a little worried but since I applied the layer of epoxy and fiberglass underneath (which I'm glad I did!) I think it should be ok. There are some thin areas over bare wood in the upper part of the tank but since they're not going to be submerged I don't think it should matter as much since all I really need is a moisture/humidity barrier, not a true watertight coating.


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## the_deeb (Mar 19, 2009)

I then drilled some 1.5" holes on the back of the tank for 3/4" bulkheads for my closed-loop filtration system. I drilled them a little oversized and then gave them 4-5 coatings of epoxy. They are still a little bit bigger than the bulkheads need so I ended up back-filling them with silicone when I installed the bulkheads to make absolutely sure I get no leaks.

The bottom of the green tape on the back is approximately where the water level will be. The two holes on the right hand side of the pic are for drainage and the one on the left is for the submerged return. There are two more at the top left corner which will feed the dripwall returns but they aren't visible in the pic. The other hole that's slightly higher up on the right hand side will ultimately be connected to a fogger/humidifier. 

I then went ahead and put in the glass! I'm using a 3/8" piece for the side window and a 1/2" piece for the front (both of which I ordered from Glass Cages). I installed each pane by pressing it in horizontally and then tipping the tank so the glass was facing down. I stacked a big pile books on top for weight. I only kept the weight on the glass for about 24hrs and then turned the tank back upright - I hope that was enough time. I used a lot of silicone (about 2 full tubes of GE-I per pane) which resulted in a bunch that was squeezed out and had to be cleaned up later. The seal looks pretty good.


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## the_deeb (Mar 19, 2009)

Ok, I need to get back to work so that's it for now - I'll post some more updates soon.


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## OoglyBoogly (Oct 19, 2010)

the_deeb said:


> Ok, I need to get back to work so that's it for now - I'll post some more updates soon.


Whoa @ using pond shield the way you did. What a novel and interesting idea. I like it! Are you just posting the process of a finished product and are taking a break or is your last post of pics where you are currently at with the build? I can't wait to see the finished product! This is something I've always wanted. It's like the literal next step from a mini ecosystem. I built a goldfish pond outdoors with glass blocks in the rock for viewing the fish that I use in conjunction with aquaponics which is the closest that I've come to using water for fish and growing plants (for looks and eating). I covered the rocks with terrestial mosses and tweaked the flow of water all over the slate rocks used in the waterfall so that there is a very slow flow of water that keeps the moss moist. I see all sorts of fauna landing on the moss for a drink of water from birds, bees, wasps, dragonflies etc... Anyways it's my cosntant ongoing project in a temperate climate where winter corrects any overzealous effort that I have for growing something where it shouldn't be.


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## ylot77 (Feb 11, 2008)

Wow, you've included some incredible detail. I've been thinking for years that I wanted to do this. You just may push me in that direction. I hope you talk about your plumbing stuff in as much detail.


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## jwm5 (May 9, 2010)

very nice should be a fun build to watch, I love to see the home made tanks builds. 

and a big palladium would be awesome to have,


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## shane3fan (Nov 2, 2009)

Cool,I have a similar build in mind-just on a smaller scale-what kind of critters do you plan to have?


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## the_deeb (Mar 19, 2009)

Thanks guys.

@ OoglyBoogly: The tank is already up and running (but not completely stocked or planted). It's just taking me a while to get everything uploaded. Your idea of a complete ecosystem was exactly what I'm going for with this build.

@ ylot77: I'm glad you appreciate the details. I've definitely learned a lot from this build and hope that some of this may be useful to others. I think the plumbing is reasonably straightforward in comparison to some of the other builds that I've seen on this site, but I'll certainly post about it in detail.

@ shane3fan: I'm still not entirely sure of inhabitants yet. I'm thinking of leaving the emersed part empty for now until the plants really establish. I was hoping to ultimately get some dart frogs, but I don't want to deal with breeding fruit flies in my current apartment. For the water portion, I've got a bunch of clown loaches that I'm in the process of moving in and I may get some other smaller loach species (eg. kubotai). Not yet sure of other inhabitants.

Stay tuned for more updates.


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## Green Leaf Aquariums (Feb 26, 2007)

Another DIY jedi Well done sir...


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## macclellan (Dec 22, 2006)

impressive!


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## kwheeler91 (May 26, 2009)

Two thumbs way way up


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## OoglyBoogly (Oct 19, 2010)

> @ shane3fan: I'm still not entirely sure of inhabitants yet. I'm thinking of leaving the emersed part empty for now until the plants really establish. I was hoping to ultimately get some dart frogs, but I don't want to deal with breeding fruit flies in my current apartment. For the water portion, I've got a bunch of clown loaches that I'm in the process of moving in and I may get some other smaller loach species (eg. kubotai). Not yet sure of other inhabitants.
> 
> Stay tuned for more updates.


Ever considered mudskippers? I don't know much about them but I did see them at this fish store which had an acrylic tank mostly filled with water and a waterfall running into it with a bunch of air plants coming out of it. They had a bunch of floating lily pad like plants that the mudskippers and even a mini crab were sitting on.


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## the_deeb (Mar 19, 2009)

Mudskippers would be cool but generally require brackish conditions. Same problem with archers, which I'm also considering. There are some freshwater populations of archers - they're pretty hard to find but I'm keeping my eyes open.


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## OoglyBoogly (Oct 19, 2010)

the_deeb said:


> Mudskippers would be cool but generally require brackish conditions. Same problem with archers, which I'm also considering. There are some freshwater populations of archers - they're pretty hard to find but I'm keeping my eyes open.


http://www.ausyfish.com/archer_fish__freshwater.htm

Maybe this place will export some fish for you since they claim to have spawned/hatched freshwater archer fish.

http://www.ausyfish.com/natives.htm

Hah wow maybe you can call them and ask them if they have any importers near you. Otherwise " Export orders for native fish, minimum purchase AUD$3600, plus all other shipping costs." And I think you must be a big trader.

[email protected], or fax us on (07) 4126 2221 or even phone us on (07) 4126 2226

Goodluck!


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## kisozaza (Oct 22, 2010)

*an appreciation*

An appreciation from across the pond : Hey -nice work dude. I am in the initial stages of aquiring the materilas needed to construct what I hope will be a planted terrarium. My initial criteria will focus just upon bromeliads and various epiphytes etc. I am wanting to install a drip-wall and also have it as a closed loop system. I can vouch that I will not obtain any PDFs or Anoles or Geckos and the like but simply have it for the beauty of the floras. This will be my first tropical build but it will hopefully provide the experience and skill of constructing designs for the various Poecilotheria arboreal tarantulas (ex Sri-Lanka/ India) which do not require as permanent humid environments but are more subject to fluctuations and seasonal wet/dry periods etc.

I will follow this thread for inspiration and hope that like the other guys that have a keen interest in following your progress of the build it will be detailed and informative.

I would like to know what working time the West epoxy has since I am in the process of ordering a marine grade epoxy resin from a source here in the UK. Also I can not source a retailer in the UK that can provide me with a tin of the Pond Sheild product - any addresses that may ship to the UK please? I think you may have turned my opinion from purchasing a glass unit that will then be used as the build for a tropical terrarium.

Look forward to your additional posts - and the very best of luck--- positive channeling mate. roud:


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## the_deeb (Mar 19, 2009)

West Systems epoxy comes as a resin and separate hardener. The working time depends on the hardener that you use. The 105/206 combination that I used gave me a lot of working time - at least an hour. It was about 3 hours before it tacked up and about 20hrs before it completely cured.

I'm not sure about a UK distributor of Pond Shield, but I'm not sure you necessarily need it. West Systems (or any other marine epoxy) should be able to function perfectly well as a stand alone product for sealing your tank. I used the Pond Shield because I wanted a black top coat and had a convenient local source for the stuff. I'm sure you'll be able to find a comparable product in the UK.


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## the_deeb (Mar 19, 2009)

Ok, next up was the hardscape. I wanted a complex root structure that would integrate the upper and lower parts of the tank and provide submerged and emersed epiphytic planting areas. I couldn't really find driftwood that I thought would look right (not to mention the prohibitive cost of a couple of 40" tall driftwood tree stumps) so I decided to make my own.

I began with a pile of foam. I used one 8'X4' sheet of 3/4" blue foam (Dow, from Lowes) and one sheet of 2" pink foam (Owens Corning, from HD). The blue stuff is a little denser, but both are easily carvable.



Here's a rough mockup of my "tree". I cut out the rough shapes using a kitchen knife and glued them together with a mix of silicone and Titebond glue (whatever I had on hand at the time). I also stuck in some cocktail skewers as additional fasteners. As you can see, I used many layers of foam to allow me to create nice depth.



Now for the messy part! I used a keyhole saw, rasp and file to shape the foam. Good thing my wife was out of town that weekend











After I had shaped the foam to my liking I attached it to the tank. I know a lot of people prefer to finish the background outside the tank and then attach it, but since mine was composed of multiple parts I thought it would be easier to stick them in first. It would probably have been easier to do the painting outside the tank, but it wasn't too bad (it helps that my tank is large enough for me to fit inside easily. Here's the left side siliconed into the tank. I used a full tube of silicone.



Another root added. I glued this to the tank bottom and to the first piece with Gorilla glue and added a bunch more skewers for additional structural support. The rope at the bottom was serving as a ghetto clamp.



Then I used GS foam to help hide the seams and add more structure. I also added GS around the bottom to hopefully provide better adherence to the bottom.



After carving down the GS, here's an overall shot of the background.


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## the_deeb (Mar 19, 2009)

The next step was to paint the thing. I decided to use tinted Drylok, since I found that it's been used successfully for rock-like aquarium backgrounds. I decided to tint it with a blend of "charcoal" and "terra cotta" cement pigments. I was hoping to get brown but unfortunately the best I could get was sort of a grayish/purple instead.



Here's the background after the first coat of Drylok.



I unfortunately don't have photos of the next few steps. The color after the first coating was too flat and uniform. I mixed up a darker batch of drylok and used a dry brush method to feather and shade the background. This helped a lot but I still thought it artificial and rock-like. I ended up going back over it a few more times and doing some additional rounds of feathering with some more drylok tinted with various blends of 'charcoal', 'terra cotta' and 'buff'. This ended up giving me a more natural looking brown color and the increasing complexity of hues made it look more natural.

I had hoped to create a realistic bark texture but it was beyond my artistic abilities, so I decided to add some fake vines to try to make it look more organic. For the vines I used some lengths of cotton and vinyl rope in various thickness. First a draped/wrapped them around the background and held them in place with staples or nails. I then covered them with a coat of tinted Drylok but because the Drylok really preserves the underlying texture I thought they still looked too artificial and rope like. So I mixed up another batch of Drylok and added in a bunch of long-fibered Exo Terra "Forest Moss" and then applied that to the vines. I thought this was a huge improvement. Here's the end result:



and some closer views to show more of the details. You can see how well the Drylok preserves the texture of the underlying foam.


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## the_deeb (Mar 19, 2009)

I then went ahead and covered the walls of the emersed portion with Ecoweb, which is an artificial hydroponic planting medium used by orchid growers. It's essentially a really rough mesh composed interwoven plastic fibers (similar to an abrasive scrubbing pad). Since I'm going to have a constant flow of tank water circulating through the Ecoweb the entire wall effectively turns into a wet/dry filter which means this tank is going to have ridiculous biofiltration! 

Some people have had great results getting lush moss growth on this stuff so I'm hoping it will work out well for growing moss and epiphytes in my tank. 

Cutting it up was a bit of a pain but I think it worked out pretty well in the end.



I thought this stuff was supposed to be black but it's actually brown (quite similar to the color of my roots). It means there's a little less contrast with the roots but it does look more natural. Hopefully it will all be covered in moss/plants anyway so it shouldn't matter. Once I've got the water circulation system running I'm also going to incorporate a little bit of clay/peat/moss mixture into some parts of the background to hide the Ecoweb seams and provide a little bit of organic planting medium.

You may notice that I've also added in my drip lines at the top of the tank. As I had planned earlier, I used two lengths of 3/4" PVC (one for the back and one for the side) with holes drilled every inch or so. This should hopefully provide a nice even flow of water down the Ecoweb. I painted the PVC with two coats of black tinted Drylok so it wouldn't stand out so much.


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## Green Leaf Aquariums (Feb 26, 2007)

This is no longer DIY. Its the real thing here. This is professional and artistic at the same time you really have the skills of a master.


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## VadimShevchuk (Sep 19, 2009)

Well said by the above poster. I'm definitely gonna be watching this thread.


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## jwm5 (May 9, 2010)

my only complaint so far is in the full tank progress shots, we have no sense of scale, it looks small, yet you mention 40" driftwood so this thing is pretty massive

otherwise this is even better than I thought at first roud:roud:


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## OoglyBoogly (Oct 19, 2010)

Whoa fantastic job with the foam. I've had this idea for a few weeks now on making a feature that would require something that looked like an aquatic bonsai tree but every piece of driftwood i've seen is either too large in scale for my tank or doesn't quite fit what I want to do... I thought about foam b/c I've read threads about how people make costumes using it etc but now you've shown me the light LOL! 

Now I can move ahead (in my head) building the mock flora in my very own biodome like the one at the California Academy of Science. Hats off to your wife for being awesome enough to let you do this although it's not like you are adding something terrible looking looking to your home. Hah be careful not to let your local school district know about this or else they might schedule school trips to your home!


Rain Forests of the World by California Academy of Sciences, on Flickr


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## the_deeb (Mar 19, 2009)

Thanks so much for the kind comments. I'm really pleased with how the roots turned out.

jwm5 - the tank is around 60"L X 28"W X 40"T. I think this picture provides a sense of scale (that's a normal sized door).



the_deeb said:


>


OoglyBoogly - I need to visit the California Academy of Science one day. That place looks incredible!


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## the_deeb (Mar 19, 2009)

Ok, now for the filtration setup. As I mentioned before, I think it's pretty straightforward compared to some of the crazy plumbing I've seen on here.

Here's a shot of my plumbing weaponry. The part on the bottom is the section that drains the tank and the part on top is my return manifold.



Water exits the tank through two 3/4" bulkheads positioned midway down on the right side of the tank which combine into a 1" line. I drilled an extra hole into the center of the strainers to increase flow, and stuck some pre-filter sponges on there.



The 1" drain line enters a Blueline Velocity T3 pressure-rated pump. I built a little pump platform out plywood lined with foam mat to absorb any vibration but it probably wasn't necessary (I was shocked at how quietly this pump runs!). I placed a union ball valve in front of the pump and a union after it so that I can easily remove it for maintenance without draining the tank.



The Blueline feeds into a pair of Nu-Clear canisters. These filters are very well constructed and I like them a lot. The first one has a 100micron cartridge and the second is filled with bioballs. The media capacity on these things is ridiculous - I stuck in all the bioballs from my old W/D filter and it was only half full!



The filters then lead to my return manifold. The 45-degree outlets closest to you are 1/2" lines that lead up the back and side dripwalls, respectively. The lower outlet is 3/4" and is plumbed into a Hydor ETH 300W and then returns to the submerged part of the tank. The ball valves let me regulate the relative amounts of flow to the dripwalls and the aquatic portion.



The aquatic return enters the tank via a 3/4" bulkhead plumbed to twin 1/2" loc-lines with flare nozzles. It's obscured by my fake tree roots and not particularly visible from the front. The other returns lead to 3/4" PVC pipe spraybars (holes drilled every 1" or so) at the top of the Ecoweb dripwall.



It was a bit of pain to get all the plumbing set up and leak-free. Threaded PVC fittings suck







. I had a particularly persistent leak from the union right after the pump. Re-assembling all the threaded joints with liberal amounts of Great White pipe compound and not over-tightening them mostly took care of the problems. Now that I have everything set up I'm pretty happy with it. The flow rate and media capacity kicks the pants off any other canister I've used before.


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## the_deeb (Mar 19, 2009)

Here are some full tank shots of everything set up and running. I added a little bit of bentonite clay mixture (kitty litter + peat moss and forest moss) into a few parts of the background. The substrate in the tank is pool filter sand mixed with some light brown 3M Colorquartz and a little bit of dark brown and black Estes. I think the combination is a little darker and more natural-looking than plain pool filter sand.

The lighting is a 4ft 4 bulb T5HO unit from fishneedit (which I picked up used for really cheap). I loaded it with 2 54W Giesseman midday bulbs and 2 of the 10,000k bulbs that came with the tank (which actually look to me to be about the same color as the Giessemans). So far I'm only running 2 bulbs at a time because I haven't started fertilizing yet.

The only plants in this shot are two types of selaginella that I stuck into the background. I wasn't running the dripwall yet in these pics because the clay sections hadn't yet stabilized and were washing into the water portion so I gave them a little longer to establish before turning on the flow.





I have since installed sliding glass doors into the top portion, turned on the dripwall and done my first round of planting. The windows are currently all fogged up but I'm planning on installing my air circulation system today so that will hopefully help clear them up. I'll take some updated photos when that's done.


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## Matty (Dec 4, 2009)

Wow, just wow.


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## IWANNAGOFAST (Jan 14, 2008)

This is freaking amazing. definitely made my friday.


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## jwm5 (May 9, 2010)

Matty said:


> Wow, just wow.


^+1 couldn't have said it better


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## Cynth (Sep 11, 2010)

Wow is right! This is so awesome it burns.


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## OoglyBoogly (Oct 19, 2010)

Cynth said:


> Wow is right! This is so awesome it burns.


Might wanna get that checked out 

Just kidding. I want to go to home depot right now and buy foam to carve out my idea! haha


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## OoglyBoogly (Oct 19, 2010)

You know as much as this is a DIY thread you could probably start selling these. Just imagine how awesome it would be for a kid to stare into this in the waiting room of a Doctor's office or dentists office! Damn I'd stare at this while waiting in line for anything.

Ever thought of making an instructable out of this? Do you have a big giant parts list with general prices for materials? I'm sure there are huge amounts of leftovers and scrap bits but I'd love to know how much it would cost in just materials to put one of these together in my spare time while also being lazy and not have to make one myself from combing through your thread. heh...


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## the_deeb (Mar 19, 2009)

Ok guys, I need a little help here:

My light fixture has 4 X 54W T5 bulbs, which can be regulated as 2 independent pairs (ie. 2 ballasts, each of which regulates 2 bulbs). As you can see, the lights are suspended quite high above the water. So far I've just been manually turning the lights on and off but I'd like to get them on to the timers. What lighting interval would you recommend? Should I just use 2 bulbs for most of the day with a brief period of high light (all 4 bulbs) for a little while in the middle of the day?

I'd like to use EI dosing to fertilize the tank but I'm not quite sure how to adapt it to this unusual setup. I know that the EI dosing tables were calculated for high light, densely planted setups but this tank probably qualifies as low light, lightly planted setup. How much should I reduce the dosing? Also, I'm not planning on adding in CO2 since it would probably all gas off in the dripwall anyway. How do the EI dosing parameters change in a non CO2 supplemented tank? Also, are the NPK requirements for emersed plants different than those of submersed ones? How should I factor this in?


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## the_deeb (Mar 19, 2009)

Oh well, I guess most people are only here for the pics.

Here are a few updates after the initial round of planting. The plants so far are:

submerged - anbias nana, java fern 'narrow', java fern 'trident' and a little bit of bolbitis heudelotii.

emersed - riccia covering most of the ecoweb, a tiny bit of christmas moss, two types of selaginella, white rabbit's foot fern, pteris fern, pepromia 'mini melons' and three neos (not sure on the IDs).

It's only been a week or so, but so far none of the plants have really taken off. I think the tank really needs more foliage so I'm on the lookout for other plants that will work well in this setup. I'm open to suggestions.

Also, as you can tell from the pics, my fan system isn't quite able to keep the glass clear. I was hoping for it to be a pure air circulation system but that didn't really do anything to de-fog the glass so I have some small openings in the top for ventilation. I may replace the current 50mm fans with some 80mm fans to more more air.

Overall tank:


Closeups of the water area (believe it or not, there are 11 good-sized clown loaches and a flag tailed prochilodus hiding in the shadows there):




Closeups of the top part (notice all the water streaming down the background):


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## EntoCraig (Jun 7, 2010)

how did i miss this thread???!!! so awesome, well done!


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## IWANNAGOFAST (Jan 14, 2008)

With EI dosing, the whole thing with it is that it's overdosing ferts to make sure that the plants are never with out, so putting too much in isn't going to be an issue. Sure it is set up for a high light tank but you can def. tweak it for a lower light setting. The most important thing is to just keep up with the water changes each week.

I'm not sure how submersed vs emmersed set up would affect this sort of dosing. 

As for lighting, Since it seems the light is pretty high up above the water you could get away with running all the lights for 8 hours, but having a 4 hour burst wouldn't hurt either. You can use light to be the limiting factor in how plants grow, by providing an abundance of ferts and co2, light is the only thing that affects plant growth rate. If you want it faster, go with more light, slower, go with less.

Btw, it looks awesome!

edit: The emmersed plants shouldn't have an issue with co2 since they can pull it from the air, but your submersed plants may not be growing at their best without co2. You could always just dose excel, or just pump a whole lotta co2 into the water to make up for the drip wall off gassing.


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## OoglyBoogly (Oct 19, 2010)

the_deeb said:


> Ok guys, I need a little help here:
> 
> My light fixture has 4 X 54W T5 bulbs, which can be regulated as 2 independent pairs (ie. 2 ballasts, each of which regulates 2 bulbs). As you can see, the lights are suspended quite high above the water. So far I've just been manually turning the lights on and off but I'd like to get them on to the timers. What lighting interval would you recommend? Should I just use 2 bulbs for most of the day with a brief period of high light (all 4 bulbs) for a little while in the middle of the day?


Sorry I don't really know enough to be able to answer your question. I was about to build a 3 ballast 6x 54w T5HO fixture to replace my 48" 2x 40w T12 bulbs but then I realized I'd be crazy to do that without using CO2 since I get algae now with just 2x T12 bulbs!

Try reading up on this for getting an idea if your lights vs distance will be good for your setup and plants. I'm slowly reading it trying to digest the info but I've been a bit ADD the past few weeks so anything that isn't the normal "hay guys look at my pictures" kind of fades away quickly into the background of my attention span.

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/lighting/105774-par-vs-distance-t5-t12-pc.html

I was even thinking about just using 2x ballasts (independantly controlled) for 4 lights that I could run at 2 for most of the day and then the 3rd and 4th bulb for a noon blast of light but IDK if people do it for their fish, for their electricity bill, or if the plants really need some warmup time and cooldown for photosynthesis.

In regard to your glass with condensation. If the humidity/temp in the paludarium is very different from outside of it you'll have a hard time stopping the condensation from forming. Try aiming the fans at the glass which may help atleast keep the glass warm enough so that the condensation doesn't form on it due to the difference in temperature of the glass and air in the paludarium. Kind of like a car window in the winter. You could always try warming up your glass by installing something similar to the heated thin metal strips used on your rear car window. Anyways you're all sorts of on top of being ingenius with dealing with your paludarium so I'm sure you'll figure it out!

Goodluck


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## OoglyBoogly (Oct 19, 2010)

Oh btw is that moss on your walls? If so wat kind is it? I grow moss on the rocks of my pond waterfall and I tweaked all the rocks to have a constant thin flowing layer of water to keep the moss moist. I've read that moss grows best at 40F and it grows a bit differently on my pond rocks compared to when I picked it up off of the ground in its more compact form.

Edit: NVM I went back and reread what you posed... ecoweb is on the walls... covered with riccia... derp XD


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## MikeS (Apr 27, 2008)

Amazing!!!!


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## Rion (Dec 29, 2006)

This is amazing! The fact that this is a DIY tank makes it even more so. If I had the space I'd do a paludarium...


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## Matty (Dec 4, 2009)

I recently went to the aquarium in Gatlinburg Tn this past weekend, They had a killer set up similar to this. I will try to post a vid here once I get it all edited and stuff.


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## Hobbes1911 (Mar 2, 2009)

just .... WOW!!!!


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## Green Leaf Aquariums (Feb 26, 2007)

Very cool


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## rountreesj (Jun 12, 2007)

you could put windshield wipers on the glass, aim fans at the glass, or heck, i dunno...LOL


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## oaomcg (Sep 24, 2010)

that is an amazing set up

i have a feeling that the condensation on the glass is going to be a constant struggle
is there any reason you need the sliding doors there? IMO it would look better if it was just open. 

if you could find a way to keep the glass warm then water wouldn't condense on it. not quite sure how you could pull that off though.

great job though.


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## IWANNAGOFAST (Jan 14, 2008)

apply rainx to the glass, so the water just sheets off?


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## Hyzer (Mar 9, 2010)

oaomcg said:


> i have a feeling that the condensation on the glass is going to be a constant struggle
> is there any reason you need the sliding doors there? IMO it would look better if it was just open. .


I'm guessing he wants to keep the humidity up and critters in there. Maybe those 80mm fans will do the trick.

What a great build deeb! Subscribed.


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## Green Leaf Aquariums (Feb 26, 2007)

What about a fan on a timer/controller that comes on maybe twice a day during viewing hours?


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## JDowns (Mar 6, 2008)

If you can keep the temp inside the tank closer to the temps outside the tank it will keep condensation down.  I have no problems maintaining 90%+ humidity with zero condensation as long as fresh humid air is pumped in. With the T5 lighting directly inside the unit, achieving this is going to be rough. 

Tank looks great. Can't wait to see it grow in. and wonderful job on the build.

As per dosing. I would venture to say you will need very very little. Maybe a pinch once a week. But once things grow in and fish are added. Between run off from the walls from decaying matter and fish waste you will probably be just fine. I would work my way up slowly with dosing given your plant selection.


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## Solid (Jul 19, 2009)

Maybe i missed it somewhere, but what kind of fish/critters, if any, do you plan on keeping in here?


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## Matty (Dec 4, 2009)

Matty said:


> I recently went to the aquarium in Gatlinburg Tn this past weekend, They had a killer set up similar to this. I will try to post a vid here once I get it all edited and stuff.


Here is the video I mentioned earlier. A little into the video is a tank similar to yours that has mud skippers.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YzajN2w0B2c

Anyway, might be a good source of inspiration, not that you need a ton, your tank rules.


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## eeng168 (Apr 22, 2005)

I hate awesome threads like this....

now, I don't even want to look at any of my tanks. :tongue:


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## waterfaller1 (Jul 5, 2006)

Well done & amazing!roud:


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## VaultBoy (Nov 11, 2010)

This makes me feel somehow inadequate

beautiful work


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## F22 (Sep 21, 2008)

epic build dude... i love it.


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## the_deeb (Mar 19, 2009)

Thanks for all the nice comments guys. Time for a little update. It took me a while to find plants that would do well in this setup but it looks like I've got a few that seem to be establishing themselves so hopefully things will start to green up soon. 

Things have been growing pretty slowly, so I thought I'd try some fertilization. I ordered some ferts a few weeks ago from Rex Grigg before reading the posts on this forum about his lack of... responsiveness. I unfortunately haven't received any ferts or heard anything back from him yet. I guess I'll try to get my money back and order from some place else.

The riccia is doing well in some spots but I think it needs more light than I have in large parts of the tank. I recently added a bunch of xmas moss to the tank (thanks eeng168!) so hopefully that will fare a little better. 

I've also recently added in a bunch of new plants from Black Jungle and hydrophyte, but some of them are still looking a little ratty so I'm going to wait until they settle in a bit better before posting full tank shots. But, in the mean time, here are a few pics of some of the new additions to keep people entertained.

First off, a Nepenthes ventricosa. I'm hoping that this will eventually start to vine and cover that suspended branch with nice hanging pitchers.










This is an anubias nana sp. 'broad leaf' from hydrophyte. I'm planning to add a couple more anubias plants at the waterline like this. You may also notice a bunch of the newly added bolbitis on the left had side of the image, which I'm hoping will start to fill in soon.










And finally, my favorite of the new additions: a small school of 5 Toxotes microlepis. It took me a while to track down some of these awesome freshwater archers and it was quite a long road trip to pick them up but I think it was totally worth it. They look great in the tank and I can't wait for them to settle in and start spitting.


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## waterfaller1 (Jul 5, 2006)

OMG..they look great in there..congrats! What a sweet Paludarium.
"can't wait for them to settle in and start spitting":hihi:


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## Noahma (Oct 18, 2009)

the_deeb said:


> Thanks for all the nice comments guys. Time for a little update. It took me a while to find plants that would do well in this setup but it looks like I've got a few that seem to be establishing themselves so hopefully things will start to green up soon.
> 
> Things have been growing pretty slowly, so I thought I'd try some fertilization. I ordered some ferts a few weeks ago from Rex Grigg before reading the posts on this forum about his lack of... responsiveness. I unfortunately haven't received any ferts or heard anything back from him yet. I guess I'll try to get my money back and order from some place else.
> 
> ...


Wow, from what I was just reading, those suckers get BIG lol


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

Amazing. Those are extremely cool fish. I can't wait to see a shot of the whole setup.

That _nana_ 'Broad Leaf' was actually a pretty chunky plant, but it looks tiny in there. I want to someday to a really big setup like this one.


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## AngelfishKid (Dec 7, 2010)

Awesome tank! Those are some sweet fish.


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## the_deeb (Mar 19, 2009)

Thanks guys. I'm really excited about the archers.



Noahma said:


> Wow, from what I was just reading, those suckers get BIG lol


I guess it depends on how you define "big". These are T. microlepis, which are one of the smallest species of archer and typically max out at  around 5-6". I think that's pretty manageable in this tank. I've seen some huge archers before (close to 1') at public aquariums, but they look to be T. chatareus.



hydrophyte said:


> Amazing. Those are extremely cool fish. I can't wait to see a shot of the whole setup.
> 
> That _nana_ 'Broad Leaf' was actually a pretty chunky plant, but it looks tiny in there. I want to someday to a really big setup like this one.


I'll post some updated full tank shots in a couple of weeks. I really like that anubias "Broad Leaf" - I think it's perfectly proportioned for that spot. The A. hastafolia that you sent me is the only think that was really gigantic and it does look a little cramped in it's current spot. I'm guessing some of the current leaves may die off and I hope the new ones will orient themselves more appropriately in the tank.


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## Noahma (Oct 18, 2009)

I had read between 14"-16" on seriously fish




the_deeb said:


> Thanks guys. I'm really excited about the archers.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


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## the_deeb (Mar 19, 2009)

The 16" length on seriously fish refers to T. chatareus, though a couple of their sample photos are of T. microlepis. The various species of archerfish seem to be very frequently misidentified in pics on the web. I think T. jaculatrix is pretty easy to tell apart because of it's even banding. T. microlepis and T. chatareus both have alternating large and small bands, though the bands are generally more uneven in T. microlepis. The best way to distinguish those two is the presence of two distinct black spots on the back edge of the dorsal fin in T. microlepis.

I think the best online resource for tips on accurately IDing the different archer species is Neale Monks' excellent page: http://homepage.mac.com/nmonks/Projects/FAQ/3c.html


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## Noahma (Oct 18, 2009)

the_deeb said:


> The 16" length on seriously fish refers to T. chatareus, though a couple of their sample photos are of T. microlepis. The various species of archerfish seem to be very frequently misidentified in pics on the web. I think T. jaculatrix is pretty easy to tell apart because of it's even banding. T. microlepis and T. chatareus both have alternating large and small bands, though the bands are generally more uneven in T. microlepis. The best way to distinguish those two is the presence of two distinct black spots on the back edge of the dorsal fin in T. microlepis.
> 
> I think the best online resource for tips on accurately IDing the different archer species is Neale Monks' excellent page: http://homepage.mac.com/nmonks/Projects/FAQ/3c.html


That would explain that lol, thanks for the explanation.


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

the_deeb said:


> I'll post some updated full tank shots in a couple of weeks. I really like that anubias "Broad Leaf" - I think it's perfectly proportioned for that spot. The A. hastafolia that you sent me is the only think that was really gigantic and it does look a little cramped in it's current spot. I'm guessing some of the current leaves may die off and I hope the new ones will orient themselves more appropriately in the tank.


You could just trim off all the existing foliage of that _A. hastifolia_ except for perhaps the newest leaf. Then as you say the new leaves will grow into the space better, and they might start out smaller too.


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## the_deeb (Mar 19, 2009)

My loaches were out in full force this morning so I thought I'd snap some updated shots. Please pardon the dirty glass.


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## F22 (Sep 21, 2008)

That's so awesome. Killer work. I want to start my build now lol


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## Da Plant Man (Apr 7, 2010)

You need a low growing plant on the sand, it looks great but that is one thing I would do, either than that; I WANT YOU TANK! It is amazing!


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## Captivate05 (Feb 23, 2010)

I officially hate you for setting up my dream tank. I hope you're happy. :biggrin:

The fish look so happy and natural in there, and I can't wait until all your plants really start filling in. Awesome job!


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## Hobbes1911 (Mar 2, 2009)

very cool mate. Keep up the good work. Are you planning on adding more underwater flora? some crypts or other plants?


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## the_deeb (Mar 19, 2009)

Thanks guys! I think some low-growing plants, like crypts or microswords, would look great around the tree roots. Unfortunately my loaches and geophagus will probably uproot and/or tear them up, but perhaps I shouldn't rule them out without trying. I guess it might be time to head back to the Swap n Shop!


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## Hobbes1911 (Mar 2, 2009)

you could "pot" the plants that way the fish would stay off of them


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## sam22sam (Nov 9, 2010)

Oh Wow... this is so life like.. man you would give nature a complex if nature itself was not so complicated... :icon_bigg.


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## problemman (Aug 19, 2005)

Omg I'm in love!


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## the_deeb (Mar 19, 2009)

I took a couple of videos of my archers shooting at pellets that I stuck to the wall. These guys are incredibly accurate, especially when the pellets are in motion. Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ek1Y7lc88pM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_JADPuZ0zc


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## Centromochlus (May 19, 2008)

Looks amazing! Great job.

Love the clown loaches.


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## sanj (Jan 11, 2004)

Simply awesome. This is a cut above the rest and then some. I am talking in leage with the Medicineman (the other amazing set up ive seen on here). how did i miss this thread?

Are you a carpenter or somthing similar? The build is really nice, it does not look diy to me at all. 

It is great to see builds like this, it helps people to see what can be achieved. When it is all grown out this is going to be a lush piece of paradise. Very well done!


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## the_deeb (Mar 19, 2009)

Thanks sanj, that's very generous of you. Medicineman's setup is pretty incredible. I'm not a carpenter at all. I like building stuff but I have very few tools and I'm definitely an amateur. I think the main things that allow me to produce a nice end-product are patience and persistence.

I added some more plants to the emersed area so here's another update. I'm starting to get a nice layer of xmas moss and mini riccia established on the wet parts of the "stump". I'm pretty happy with the way this is planted now - just needs a little more time to grow in. Thanks to hydrophyte for all the anubias and eeng168 for the xmas moss!


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## problemman (Aug 19, 2005)

That's real nice!


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## F22 (Sep 21, 2008)

awesome shot.


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## the_deeb (Mar 19, 2009)

I went out of town for a week and the tank had gotten pretty overgrown by the time I got back. Here's an updated shot after a trim:


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## noclue111 (Mar 7, 2011)

how many gallons of water does the display hold?


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## problemman (Aug 19, 2005)

I so need to get mine going


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## problemman (Aug 19, 2005)

double post!


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

Wow that looks fantastic you are growing those plants really well.

It looks like those _Anubias_ have done pretty well for you.


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## J-P (Oct 17, 2010)

OMG!! The ideas are a flowing. This is inspirational. Thank you!


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## albirdy (Jul 16, 2008)

wow. im about to make a super ghetto version of this.


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## WonderKeeper (May 26, 2011)

Beautiful, cool arches


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## 150EH (Dec 6, 2004)

This is a really cool project and although I have seen the size of it as it stood on end during construction, I still can't seem to grasp the size of the finished product. I think a photo with a person standing next to the tank would really let everyone get a feel for the scale of this tank, what do you think????


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## Wingsdlc (Dec 9, 2005)

Wow! How did I miss this? Where in NC are you? I bet it looks even better in person!


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## Sharkfood (May 2, 2010)

I can't believe I haven't seen this thread until now. That's a top notch paludarium!

How did you apply the epoxy? Paint brush? I'm not very familiar with epoxy, but the fact that the can says "resin" makes me think that it is thick and gel like.


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## coil1002 (Jun 18, 2011)

Nice work !!!!!


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## scapegoat (Jun 3, 2010)

i love this. i told the woman that are unborn child needs one of these.


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## jkan0228 (Feb 6, 2011)

I can't believe I haven't seen this! Super cool man.
That redish plant in the first pic is just stunning!


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## soundgy (Jul 8, 2010)

This is fantastic! Great Job!


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## NJAquaBarren (Sep 16, 2009)

Just found this. Amazing job. Especially since you worked in so many disciplines to pull it together. Very nice, you should be proud.

What lighting did you wind up with? Such a deep tank, I would have thought 4 bulbs of t5ho would fry the plants at the top.

Great, great, inspiring to see.


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## lamiskool (Jul 1, 2011)

i seriously want to start a vivarium after looking at all of these pictures.....those archer fish are also so cool,


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## dbLbogie (May 1, 2011)

Arrrrrrg I got tricked. I thought new pics were up _*sigh*_

New FTS please??!!


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## ChadRamsey (Nov 3, 2011)

this is so beautiful.

how about an updated pic or 10


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## Centromochlus (May 19, 2008)

ChadRamsey said:


> this is so beautiful.
> 
> how about an updated pic or 10


The owner of this tank took it down a couple of years ago, unfortunately. It was quite a magnificent paludarium.

http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/pa...-300gal-paludarium-project-15.html#post580706


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## AlanLe (Jan 10, 2013)

Any update on this tank?


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## majorwoo (Dec 25, 2012)

AlanLe said:


> Any update on this tank?







AzFishKid said:


> The owner of this tank took it down a couple of years ago, unfortunately. It was quite a magnificent paludarium.
> 
> http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/pa...-300gal-paludarium-project-15.html#post580706



That being said, I must thank you anyway. I would never have found it if you hadn't resurrected this ancient thread.


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## the_deeb (Mar 19, 2009)

Yes, sadly I had to take the tank down when I moved to NYC, which was incredibly depressing. Lesson learned - if you're anticipating a future move, don't build a tank that's too big to fit in a small elevator or narrow stairwell  That's why the new project I'm working on is going to be disassembleable. 

I realize that I have an old video of the paludarium that I never posted here. In memorium: 

http://youtu.be/Z2hnbhsb2Ao


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## lamiskool (Jul 1, 2011)

Man i remember looking at this tank when I first started going onto this site, sad to see it gone. It was my favorite tank on tpt


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## All your base (Dec 6, 2006)

the_deeb said:


> That's why the new project I'm working on is going to be disassembleable.


Gonna share anything else about the new project?


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## the_deeb (Mar 19, 2009)

The project is a 150g custom shallow riparium. DIY everything.

I started a thread in the DIY section on the stand. A build journal for the tank will be starting soon hopefully.


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## rickztahone (Jul 20, 2009)

the_deeb said:


> Yes, sadly I had to take the tank down when I moved to NYC, which was incredibly depressing. Lesson learned - if you're anticipating a future move, don't build a tank that's too big to fit in a small elevator or narrow stairwell  That's why the new project I'm working on is going to be disassembleable.
> 
> I realize that I have an old video of the paludarium that I never posted here. In memorium:
> 
> http://youtu.be/Z2hnbhsb2Ao


Did you end up selling the tank locally? It was a beautiful setup! Great vids too.


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## Byggeren30 (Nov 12, 2014)

*Loving it so much*

I like so much to read this. I have been thinking for a long time to build me an paludarium, and when I saw this wonderful paludarium I think to myself that this is it. You have made so good information about the building proses, and made it easy to follow. 
How is it going with your paludarium now.? 
Did you get it up and running again.?
Is it something that you would do different if you want to build a new one.?

From Kenneth


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