[Yo-han]

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

 

[AaronT]

This looks even cooler to see it as part of the room. Did you do the custom cabinetry as well?

 

[lonesomeshark]

Johan, too true. Time for some redecoration? I think I will get rid of the couch completely and just pull up a stool.

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...

 

[houseofcards]

Fantastic, congrats!

 

[lonesomeshark]

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.

 

[Michael]

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.

 

[DonaldmBoyer]

I agree with Michael. Use thread leaf java fern if you can get some (not Needle leaf, Thread leaf).....I think BigStick (Jeff) has some. Otherwise it looks awesome!

You may have better luck using Hygrolon, which would wick up, or at least "retain," water and moisture for the mosses. Otherwise, you might think about getting some sort of automatic mister which is what I'm currently investigating. That would really help your mosses!

Question: how do you keep the crabs from crawling out?

 

[bigstick120]

Great looking tank!

I agree about the java fern, I do have some much thinner threadleaf if you would like to scale down.

 

[lonesomeshark]

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.

Agreed. The java fern is too large already for this scale. Appreciate the comments. I have heard that the serissa are finicky, but so far so good. We'll see how it develops over time.

 

[lonesomeshark]

I agree with Michael. Use thread leaf java fern if you can get some (not Needle leaf, Thread leaf).....I think BigStick (Jeff) has some. Otherwise it looks awesome!

You may have better luck using Hygrolon, which would wick up, or at least "retain," water and moisture for the mosses. Otherwise, you might think about getting some sort of automatic mister which is what I'm currently investigating. That would really help your mosses!

Question: how do you keep the crabs from crawling out?

Thanks, Don. I had not heard of the thread leaf variety before! I will hit up BigStick for some. Not being all that familiar, it's been tricky finding size appropriate species for the water section that are not too slow growing and algae magnets...I like the look of the nana petite so far. Was thinking of some more bushy-esque plants that can be trimmed to stay fairly low. Downoi? Are there any small erios? Other suggestions?

Thank you for pointing me to the Hygrolon. I have a MistKing going 10 minutes twice a day now and it seems to be working well. I had no idea these mosses were so light sensitive. Some of them went completely ?dormant? with the blackout period and are only now just starting to perk back up. If they don't respond to my liking, I will look at getting the Hygrolon.

The crabs are funny. I was worried about them being escape artists but they seem to be fairly space-bound in the setup. They have each chosen a spot, dug a small burrow/cave, and stay fairly close to it. They'll go off to hunt for a little while but not too far (incidentally, my cricket problem at night has been resolved- they seem to be fairly good hunters). I have noticed that they like to be touching or just under water's edge through the night.

 

[lonesomeshark]

Great looking tank!

I agree about the java fern, I do have some much thinner threadleaf if you would like to scale down.

Thanks, Jeff. I would love to try some of your threadleaf. Open to any other suggestions too. PM'd you.

 

[Phil Edwards]

I'm going to go out on a limb and disagree with everyone regarding plant size and visual scale. The combination of massive rock wall and small above-water plants give a strong impression of height and distance compared to the aquatic section. If you want to maintain a single scale throughout the system you'll need to either lower the water level, use TINY plants and fish, take advantage of the dramatic potential for depth of field, or all of the above. Even something the size of a Cardinal Tetra will be grossly out of scale compared to the bonsai.

When I first saw the finished product I immediately thought of Ansel Adam's pictures of Yosemite and Yellowstone.http://content.answcdn.com/main/con...mg/oxford/Oxford_Photo/0198662718.yellowstone-and-yosemite-national-parks.1.jpg You've got tremendous potential to create something truly extraordinary here. Use the water to create the impression of "nearness" while maximizing the inherent visual distance of the rock wall and bonsai. Bigger plants, or large stands of fine-leaves ones, up front and smaller ones in back. Utricularia gramminifolia and Eliocharis species would be particularly useful when shoved in cracks in the rocks.

 

[Michael]

Phil, that is an interesting suggestion. In Japanese gardens this technique is called forced or textural perspective, in the west it is called tromp l'oeil.

Another thought I had was to simulate a kelp forest in the foreground to give the impression of the Pacific Northwest.

 

[lonesomeshark]

Wow, Phil, what an interesting idea! I can't help but feel a little scaper's block with the aquatic portion as something just isn't feeling quite right- it feels a little planar or two-dimensional. I think your idea would definitely help me add a new dimension to the scape. Maybe I could even add a little hardscape near the front glass along with the bigger/taller plants to enhance the contrasting effect. Thanks, Michael, too for your input. Very cool ideas! I'm gonna let them percolate for a bit.

 

[Tattooedfool83]

This is amazing!

 

[lonesomeshark]

Thanks, Tattooedfool83. I always like posting here because I invariably get some very thoughtful ideas on design. I have taken all your comments to heart, and especially Phil's thoughts on creating greater perspective which I think will really enhance this layout. This is my first attempt at creating more depth with the scape. It has morphed from a beach scene to more of a forested valley a la Phil's great example and I am having some fun going where that takes me. I like the depth that the hardscape near the front glass creates. I don't think it is too overwhelming but would love your impressions on that.

I threw in some hygrophila pinnatifida to simulate some tree-like growth in the foreground to test what impression that gives. As of now, I am thinking of filling in the background valleys between rock scapes with dense growth of stems trimmed to give the feel of forest advancing up the slope. The big question here is should I go with more of the taller shapes up front to force perspective even further? Or, stick with smaller volume to emphasize the massive forest up top? As always, I appreciate your impressions along the way in helping me improve the scape even more.

P.S. Sorry for the awful iPhone pics. The water is still a little cloudy from disturbing the sand.

 

[Phil Edwards]

It's kind of hard to tell where it's going to go at the moment. Gonna wait to see things grow so I can give a more thoughtful response.

 

[bigstick120]

Going to have to play the waiting game before I can offer any feedback, Im thinking some anubias petite in the rock cracks would give a nice impression alongside the moss.

 

[Michael]

I like where it is going, but will agree with Phil and Bigstick that we need some time.

What I can't get over is how good your terrestrial planting is--it really does look like a forest! I can imagine tiny bears wandering out of it.

 

[DonkeyFish]

Just stumbled on this thread and literally am beside myself. What an amazing setup. I can not wait to see where this goes! Everything you "try" transforms it to an even more beautiful level! Sheesh! Thank you for the inspiration!