# 140 gal paludarium



## HX67 (Aug 18, 2013)

Hi there.

I finally finished the tank for my diy background made earlier.


















































Trying to figure out a convenient water flow for the drip wall and waterfall, vid with not much going on&#8230;:





Thanks for looking And keep up with the great work diying!


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## The Cichlid Guy (Oct 18, 2014)

Wow! That looks very realistic.

What do you plan on stocking it with?


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## HX67 (Aug 18, 2013)

Thanks for your comment, The Cichlid Guy.

I'm pretty happy with especially the diy wood myself.

I'm looking at stocking it with some semi-aquatic crabs and some smallish fish.
The water capacity will be around 35-40 gallons, so no large fish.
Water will be propelled probably with one OR2500, divided in three: drip wall, waterflow and an extra spraybar under water. It seems to make quite a flow, so I'll have to figure out a stream loving fish for this one.
Hillstream loaches are something I like a lot&#8230; and I'd love to see if they take that waterfall as a mini fish ladder!

Thanks again for the comment.


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## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

Great job on the background and the driftwood! Until you mentioned it, I did not realize you also made the driftwood.


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## HX67 (Aug 18, 2013)

Thank you, Deeda.


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## boomer92 (Apr 17, 2013)

One of the best backgrounds I've seen. Very nice.


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## HX67 (Aug 18, 2013)

Thank you, boomer92.

Still fiddling with the water flow & letting the pieces cure.
Took the water level up a bit. The roots may end up looking cool, penetrating the water surface.









Thanks for looking.


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## Als49 (Jul 11, 2014)

Nice! Very natural looking DIY wood!


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## Mcdaphnia (Dec 16, 2003)

Beautiful background. You are very talented. I can see a tank like this half filled with water as perfect for archer fish and as pictured, for mudskippers.


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## HX67 (Aug 18, 2013)

Thanks, Als 49.



Mcdaphnia said:


> Beautiful background. You are very talented. I can see a tank like this half filled with water as perfect for archer fish and as pictured, for mudskippers.


Thank you for your words.

Funny how my projects seem to lean towards brackish environments. I keep thinking how well fiddler crabs would fit this tank.

But I've already got a mudskipperarium with a diy rootsie scape

















And another brackish 250 gal tank with diy scape









I sort of made a promise to myself, that this one is going to be fresh, so I get to play with plants a bit more freely.

Can't wait to get started with some moss shake!


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## Mcdaphnia (Dec 16, 2003)

The various Java ferns and most Asian mosses are able to tolerate a degree of salt. I am not sure about Bolbitis, but I know it handles hard alkaline water and high sodium water very well.


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## Als49 (Jul 11, 2014)

Dwarf mudskippers would be nice 

Vallisneria also tolerates hard water. And mangrove for sure for brackish is their native habitat.


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## Mcdaphnia (Dec 16, 2003)

Vallisneria is in at least one of the African rift lakes. Those are hard water but not brackish. However V. spiralis and V. americana are tolerant of brackish water. Anubias, Cryptocorynes such as wendtii and undulata, and Bacopa are salt tolerant. Bolbitis heteroclita, a terestrial relative of B. heudelotii, is salt tolerant.

In the aquarium, or situated in a refugium where it can get sufficient space and overhead light, the red mangrove usually does better in fresh water or brackish than in saltwater, despite its salty habitat in nature.


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## HX67 (Aug 18, 2013)

Yea, I know there are plants that tolerate brackish. I've got several mosses, Vals, a couple of species of Crypts, Samolus valerandi, Nymphea lotus and black mangrove growing in the low-end brackish mudskipper tank mentioned above

Into this I'm planning to plant Tillies and maybe some small orchids and such, in addition to submerged vegetation, so no salty habitats this time...


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## Als49 (Jul 11, 2014)

I'd love to see Juncea and Stricta there


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## Mcdaphnia (Dec 16, 2003)

The next time my wife and I are in Finland, if that is where you are, we'd love to see these aquariums in person if you are not a distance from our Finnish daughter and her family.


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## HX67 (Aug 18, 2013)

Als49 said:


> I'd love to see Juncea and Stricta there


Me, too. But my restricted collection only includes _caput-medusae, araujei, brachycaulos multiflora, bulbosa, capitata, capitata_ "peach" and_ xerographica_ at the moment, so I'll go with some of those for now.



Mcdaphnia said:


> The next time my wife and I are in Finland, if that is where you are, we'd love to see these aquariums in person if you are not a distance from our Finnish daughter and her family.


Finland is correct. Around the capital region to be more exact.
Sure, if other scheduling matches. Work takes me outta town quite a lot, but gimme a ping when you're around.


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## james1983 (Dec 23, 2007)

Wow the driftwood is amazing! Care to share how it was made?


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## HX67 (Aug 18, 2013)

Hey, thanks.
Sure. Which one of the shown would you like to study?


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## james1983 (Dec 23, 2007)

HX67 said:


> Hey, thanks.
> Sure. Which one of the shown would you like to study?


The picture show the wood out of the water, above the mudskipper tank picture. I've been wanting to do a south american root system forever, but can't find any nice root decor.


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## HX67 (Aug 18, 2013)

Here's a walkthrough of the mudsie scape.

I hope you're inspired!


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## Handyjoe (Jan 11, 2015)

HX67, I have never seen any man made thing that looks so realistic. You are so gifted! Are you an artist as your profession? Could you share with us how you made those tree branches/drift wood? What materials to use, ect. Greatly appreciated! Very nice work!
Joe.


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## HX67 (Aug 18, 2013)

Wow. Thanks, Handyjoe.
I'm a builder by trade. Architect by hobby.
A client addressed to me as "a builder artist". I carry that title with pride.
I do some sculpting, in addition to these naturalistic hardscapings, but that's another story&#8230;

No magic in making the wood-a-like barkhitecture.
Here's a shot of the branches starting to take form on top of the rock wall.
I took apart an older clump of branch structure I have made and rearranged it for this one









The basics are there: a skeleton with pvc conduit, stainless steel wire and vinyl string.

On top of that I put some tile adhesive and coloured grout









&#8230;and shade it a bit with darker colours.









If I need more bulk, I start with polystyrene

















Add pvc and fill in with GS foam









Shape









&#8230;and do the grout thing

















There.
Thanks again for your kind words, I hope this clarifies the process.
Some more samples in my blog www.planethx.com


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## Handyjoe (Jan 11, 2015)

Thank you so much for your time walking me through your process, Mr. Builder Artist. It seem simple and straight forward to you, but I don't think I could even get close to duplicating it, let alone starting it conceptually! I pride myself as a details oriented contractor, but I guess I'll starting calling myself Joe, instead of Handyjoe. Now I know I am not that handy .
Your work is very inspiring. Thanks again!


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## HX67 (Aug 18, 2013)

Thanks for the follow-up, Handyjoe.

But what you're forgetting here is the meaning of practise. These things are very close to an obsession to me, and I've been trialing and erroring with them on and off since late eighties&#8230;
Anyone can. I'm sure you can.


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## Handyjoe (Jan 11, 2015)

HX67, you are right. Practice makes perfect, as the saying goes. I shall give it a try when I have some time. Thank you for your encouragement!
Cheers!
Joe.


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## HX67 (Aug 18, 2013)

Slowly getting some moss growth on the scape:

























Thanks for looking!


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## Fishnut71 (Dec 7, 2014)

Mad skillz!!! =D>


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## Mcdaphnia (Dec 16, 2003)

I have had some Riccia (aquatic liverwort) growing on my Mattenfilters above the water line and slightly below. Perhaps that could supplement the mosses.


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## HX67 (Aug 18, 2013)

Fishnut71 said:


> Mad skillz!!! =D>


Nah, just a lot of trial & error.



Mcdaphnia said:


> I have had some Riccia (aquatic liverwort) growing on my Mattenfilters above the water line and slightly below. Perhaps that could supplement the mosses.


_Riccia_ would grow fast on the wet parts of the scape for sure. But I'm a bit of a lazy pruner and don't want to let anything cover and hide the _whole_ scape. Just areas here and there&#8230;

Some sort of slow growing vine with small leafs could fit the bill. Anyone know of a peperomia that fits the description? Reddish colors would liven up the look, I guess.
And a more tree-like plant for the left back corner, I think.

I'm not sure if I want to put any aquatic mosses, I tend to end up with with a moss-filled water part with those.


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## HX67 (Aug 18, 2013)

A quick vid of the still early planting stage of the tank.
Thanks for watching.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_CcOjQy ... e=youtu.be


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## Handyjoe (Jan 11, 2015)

I've said it before, and am going to say it again....Simply Amazing! Wish I could do something like it! Thanks for sharing!
Joe.


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## HX67 (Aug 18, 2013)

Thank you, Joe, and my pleasure.
Here's a full tank shot, while I'm trying to figure out what to plant in the water section.









Looking for some slow growers down there, too.


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## Handyjoe (Jan 11, 2015)

I planted some Penny Wort in a tank. First planted submerge under water. Some leaves will eventually made it to the surface. Kind of cool looking. You may google it to see if it fits the bill?
Joe.


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## HX67 (Aug 18, 2013)

Pennyworth is a good suggestion, Joe.
But my experience with it (along with my lazynes in grooming) would lead to believe that it would grow too fast and fill in the whole tank in no time. At least the species of _Hydrocotyle_s I've kept, have really taken over the humid paludariums, land and water alike.

I guess I need something that grows only a dash faster than plastic plants&#8230; Tough call?


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## Handyjoe (Jan 11, 2015)

HX67 said:


> Pennyworth is a good suggestion, Joe.
> I guess I need something that grows only a dash faster than plastic plants&#8230; Tough call?


Haha, :lol: how about plastic plants, the kind that allow you to hot glue on more leaves as time goes by?... 

Kidding aside, what about the Anubia species? It's a slow grower. I read somewhere that it can be planted under or above water with just the root system submerged. It'd grow a bit faster with leaves above water... I have a few under water in my aquarium right now. I do like the look of this plant. Just a thought.
Joe.


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## HX67 (Aug 18, 2013)

I've got Anubias nana struggling in a fish tank, and have been thinking about it, too. I think it would feel like home just tied onto the submerged roots down there. Might go for it.

Next on the list is making root pots for some pitcher plants I've got on stock for this. Stay tuned.


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## Als49 (Jul 11, 2014)

Look very refreshing!

What tilly are they? Stricta, cotton candy and pseudobalenyi?


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## HX67 (Aug 18, 2013)

Hi, Als49. Thanks for your comment.

The Tillies are _brachycaulos multiflora_ and _caput-medusae_.
_Peperomias_ are _deppeana_ and _caperata_ rosso.


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## Als49 (Jul 11, 2014)

Your caput medusae very big compared to mine  How well does it cope with the humidity there since it's xeric?


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## HX67 (Aug 18, 2013)

They've only been there for a week, and I'm keeping my eye on them, but can't say if they'll stay or not.
So far the top is open, so the tank is not too humid. I guess I'll decide on the top construction after I choose the animals for it&#8230;


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## HX67 (Aug 18, 2013)

The first fishies are in


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## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

Very nice job and the hillstream loach really seems to be enjoying the new setup. Thanks for the update!!!


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## HX67 (Aug 18, 2013)

Thank you, Deeda!

They really amuse me to no end, surfing all over the stream.

Anyone willing to take a shot at ID:ing them?
Sold under _Sewellia_ cf _breviventralis_, but are not.
I'm confused by the current classification of _Sewellia_ SEW01 - SEW04, but they're bound to be somewhere along those lines?
A couple of shots:

































Thanks for anyone willing to take time for it.


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## Chasmodes (Jul 9, 2015)

I really love your set up and your artistic ability is amazing. I really enjoyed your video (and replied to it) showing the loaches climb up and hang out in your waterfall/stream. I can't wait for updates.

Your aquascaping is very inspiring to me. I'm building a native US stream tank and hopefully I can create half the quality of work as you did!


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## HX67 (Aug 18, 2013)

Thanks for your feedback, Chasmodes!
Both here and YT.
Very gratifying to hear you're inspired.

Please ping me when you do updates on your project. And good luck with it!


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## Chasmodes (Jul 9, 2015)

Thanks HX, I certainly will. BTW, I love your blog too!


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## HX67 (Aug 18, 2013)

Thanks, Chasmodes.
The blog will be modernised a bit once I get around to it.

Meanwhile, a bit sidetracking:
I finally finished overhauling my mudskipper paludarium. The one with the hardscape rootsies presented earlier in this thread.
I had to dismantle the whole thing and get rid of all plants after a severe mealybug infestation.
To anyone interested, here's some footage of the water circulation in the 10ish little puddle system:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKDcgM ... 4Q7nOAes8A

Thanks for looking!


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