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90g Cliffside Paludarium Build (Let's try this again)

121K views 92 replies 31 participants last post by  DutchMuch 
#1 ·
OK. Sorry for the trouble with the last post attempt. Hopefully, this post will not create a problem.

This is my first post though I have been lurking for a while and have really enjoyed the creativity and inspiration provided by all of you. I'm looking forward to learning more!

Here is my new paludarium build and my first attempt at a build such as this. My hope is to create the appearance of a cliff with land mass jutting out above and beach area below. The water section will be sparsely planted. My thought was to create a bonsai forest on top of the cliff. I am not sure of options for species that can interact with the land section and would love your input on this...

Stats:

Tank dimensions- 47" x 22" D x 19.5" H
Light- Medium-high LEDs though I have not measured PAR levels- about 12" above water level
Substrate- Medium Sand on the bottom with some Microbe-Lift Aquatic Plant Media. I used some spare Fluval Stratum and top soil for the land area
CO2 injection
Filtration is via a 45g diy sump with biomedia and separate refugium
I am also using a MistKing misting system for the emersed plants/bonsai

Background- These are real rocks that are foamed together with black expanding foam to create a nice stable cliff-like appearance (no worry of falling rocks here)





Rocks were chosen to fit together and then foamed. Sand is piled up initially and pressed into foam before it fully cures/sets to give a more natural appearance. I like the way this has turned out so far. Will let you know how it stands up over time.





I used styrofoam to support the rocks while the foam cured and then removed it. The styrofoam was replaced with a PVC and egg crate false bottom to support the land area.





View from behind showing the foam 'seams' that will completely separate the land section.



Plumbing is hidden behind the cliff and enters the water area through a couple of small supply holes built into the cliff wall. Detail view below.



I used some weed barrier fabric over the egg crate to allow water to travel under the front gravel section in the area of the submersed cliff. This will allow this area to be 'flooded' so I can have some emersed plants that like wet feet. I am thinking of an HC carpet here that will be partially emersed. In the areas of land that I want to keep dry, I am using some spare EPDM rubber pond liner that I had laying around that I siliconed to the back side of the rock cliff. This is being supported by the false bottom.



Perspective view of the tank positioned in the living room wall unit.



Starting to plant and stock with some colored skirt tetras, danios, and Endlers.





Couple of detail shots.





Side is viewable as well showing open top. Water is still hazy in this pic.



I'm experimenting with some mosses for the land portion. Need something that likes light!





This is where I'm at right now in the build. I will post updates when I've had a chance to plant the land section.

Are there any suggestions on a semi-aquatic species that will get along with fish and perhaps come out on the land section without risk of escape through the open top? FW crab maybe?

Also, any thoughts on some nice submersed plants that are small leaved and will maintain the desired scale? I don't want a broad-leafed or stem plant that will look too large in perspective.

Thanks for your input in advance.
 
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#2 ·
This looks great, I can't wait to see it fully planted and grown!

Take a look at Marselia, Anubias barteri 'Nana Petite', Hydrocotyle tripartita, and Ranunculus inudatus. All will grow submerged or emersed, and have the fine texture you are looking for.
 
#6 ·
Lonesome, I hope your last post is visible to everyone--I notice that it is highlighted in blue like the post in your first thread that no one could see except me. Strange! If anyone has problems seeing it, please let me know and I will copy and re-post.

Donald and Aaron, Lonesome replied to your posts in the "blue" post.

I grow bonsai too, and a little forest of Ficus nerifolia v. salicifolia would look fantastic.
 
#7 ·
Bonsai would be really nice indeed. But the rock wall is very very well done!

PS. post not visible indeed Michael...
 
#8 ·
Michael, too weird. The post is not visible. When I posted yesterday, I got a message saying that the post had to be reviewed by a moderator before it could be published. Guess I'm on the watch list!
No worries, I had copied the response just in case and am pasting below...

"Donald, thank you. I hope I can realize the potential and not blow it on the planting! I am toying with the idea of doing a forest of bonsai trees on top surrounded by rolling moss and low-growing cover plants.

Aaron, you probably see more wood because wood is cheaper than stone! That being said, I got these from a store fairly local to me called AB Bonsai that I read about on one of the forums. They sell the stone under the name Gray Yin stone although, to my eye, it looks identical to Seiryu stone and much cheaper! If you buy it in bulk from them, you can get the stone at less than $1/lb (cheap in relative terms of course...river rock is 10 cents a pound!). The bags they sell have a lot of smaller pieces but they allowed me to comb through their stock to pick out the choice ones. One advantage of this type of scape is that you can use relatively thinner, lighter pieces that do not need to be able to stand alone and 'hold' the focal space as in an Iwagumi layout. Still, at about 100lbs of stone for this layout, only something this expensive can be called a hobby!"
 
#9 ·
Something is definitely wrong. You are not on any "watch list"--I don't think such exists. No one has given you any infractions, which would be the way a moderator would limit your posts if that were necessary for reason. Obviously that is not the case, since you have a moderator and 3 very senior members of APC following your thread closely.

The only thing I can think of is that your ISP is associated with spam, and you are being screened automatically for that reason.
 
#11 ·
I am re-posting for Lonesome who is still being blocked. Tech support, this is ridiculous!

Here's my first attempt at planting the land area. The bonsai is a trident maple...normally an outdoor species but I am going to try my hand at growing it under the grow lights. Might have to uproot it and move it outside come winter time...we'll see. I plan to carry the bonsai forest idea along the back wall with a couple more 'forest' plantings. The ground covers are all varieties of mosses that supposedly enjoy light. I'm looking forward to seeing how they fill in. Your critique is welcome.









 
#14 ·
Very excellent job! How do you keep the mosses from drying out....do you have a misting system in place, or do you water by hand?

A picture of the while setup finished would be phenomenal.....could you post one please? Or, rather, would you send one to Michael so he could post it on your behalf, please? ;)

Nice job on originality!
 
#16 ·
OK, time to check if I am still unwanted and unloved by APC filters...

I am using the MistKing misting system and so far have had a great experience with it. I highly recommend it. I have 2 nozzles plumbed through the shelf above the tank. Pic below. I am misting for 5 minutes twice a day right now and the mosses seem to be liking it so far. The Mistking nozzles have a fairly wide spray pattern but the 2 nozzles are not quite getting me full coverage for the 4ft length of the tank. I may need to add another nozzle in future.





My setup under the hood. The tank on the far left is the RO/DI reservoir for auto-topoff. I use this for the misting system as well. Would love to use 'pre-fertilized' tank water but apparently the misting nozzles are pretty sensitive to obstruction with deposits. Anyone have experience on that?



So much for my DIY skills. One of the glass dividers I siliconed in the sump has cracked.



The tank as it stands in the morning light with a great shot of me in reflection. Suffice it to say that I will have to work on my photo skills if I ever hope to submit anything to ADA.



It is time now to work on planting the water portion. As yet no problems with algae. I could really use your help on this one Donald! I just saw your old scape...must have been pretty painful to break that down. Thanks for your input on the tank guys!
 
#18 ·
Since I can post pics now, I'm going a little pic crazy. Here are a couple of the living room with tank in context...with and without guts exposed...

My wife will love that I left the pillows in a mess for the picture.





All questions are welcome except for what is on TV. I have no relationship to Bazooka Joe.
 
#19 ·
What a magnificent piece of work, Lonesomeshark. I'd be happy to do whatever I can to help you. Aroids for the rock work, possibly? Smaller buces would look pretty nice on rock face under the water.

Nice that you plumbed it with the MistKing. I water mine by hand, which I don't mind much, but there is no realistic way for me to add a similar set up to mine without it being obvious. Must be a nice convenience! :D

The trick will be to see if this is sustainable for the long haul. If it is, you have one of the more creative and imaginative set ups that I've seen in a long time. Major props to you for thinking "big" and taking some risk. This should be even more amazing as time goes on.

Feel free to PM me! Thanks for the extra pics!

Don
 
#20 ·
Thank you Don! I really appreciate the support of all of you senior members. I agree some nice bucephalandra will look really good in there. I will plan on it. I have a nice little crypt going and I picked up an Anubias petite which scales well (I think Michael had suggested). I put in some E. tenellus micro along the base of the rock which I'm kinda digging right now. I was thinking of planting this not as a carpet but in clumps to look like the little thickets of beach grass that sit on the rise at the edge of the beach. Will update pics when there is something to show.

About the only issue I can see with this setup at start up is the distance from light to substrate- about 30 to 32 inches on average. I hope this doesn't limit me too much. I think I'll be ok though.

Also, I agree that we'll have to see how this plays out over time. I will say that a major limitation of this build is that it is more or less a permanent exhibit as opposed to a traveling show. There will be no "I'm bored...let's break it down and start over" in a year. That would be difficult enough that I would sooner move and hope to sell to a fish geek! :rolleyes:

Jason
 
#21 ·
Really really nice and a great addition to your room. Really like the wood. I want to make a build in aquarium one day when I buy a house (this one is rental so not interested in doing it right now) and think I'll be doing something like this with the wood (although no emersed part).

One small detail: I did noticed the couch is standing the wrong way:p
 
#23 ·
Johan, too true. Time for some redecoration? I think I will get rid of the couch completely and just pull up a stool. :D

Aaron, I did not do the custom cabinetry. I'm more of a tinker kinda guy...little cabinet stuff here...little electrical there. But, I leave the finish work to the professionals. I know just enough to hopefully not burn down the house...
 
#25 ·
Re: 90g Cliffside Paludarium Build- Update 8/12/13 Page 3

Hi guys,

It has been about 3 months since my original post so I thought I would update with some pics. I have planted the land area with a bonsai forest of Ming aralia and Serissa foetida which are doing really well so far. Some of the terrestrial mosses have survived and a few have dried out despite twice daily misting although these mostly crumped out during an ill-advised 3-day blackout I undertook for algae issues. A few of the mosses and the emersed HC are thriving. I have added a couple of terrestrial critters- a pair of red devil vampire crabs- which are fascinating but only active at dusk and dawn. They have both gone through a successful molt already.

I am far less happy with the aquatic section so far, mostly because I have much to learn about planted tanks and am really taking it slow in filling this out so I can evaluate what kind of scape I really like. I had a real problem with diatoms in the first couple of months which some folks in my local SCAPE club helped me track back to my sand substrate. This is finally under control. Oh, the things I could grow if I had even half the skills of most of you...as always, I really appreciate your comments.

Species so far include java fern, java moss, flame moss, staurogyne repens, blyxa japonica, subwassertang, anubias nana 'petite', glossostigma, hc.







 
#26 ·
The forest and hardscape all look great! My serissa always got spider mites, the extra humidity must be helping with that problem.

You will need to use very small-leaved aquatic plants to stay in scale with the forest. The Java ferns already look a little too large and coarse. But overall, this is one of the best paludariums I've seen recently.
 
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