Paludarium

[mr130gallon]

ok, i have a 28 gallon aquarium that i will be setting up as a paludarium, the tank is 31"x15"x14"

my problem is how i should do the concrete in the middle that will seperate the water and the land.

which one do you think is the best?

 

[Assaye]

Guess it depends if the species you plan to keep need more water or more land =/

 

[mr130gallon]

i dont know, i will probably have a fire belly newt, some guppies or other small fish, most likely some shrimp, maybe a frog or toad, and i was thinking, i doubt it would work but an anole lizard, but it probably wont have enough room, i need to re-research anoles. but probably a bit more fish.

i personally like number 3 because both areas have almost maxed out area, plus it has the "beach" type of thing so the newt/frog can get onto the land side easily

 

[Assaye]

i dont know, i will probably have a fire belly newt, some guppies or other small fish, most likely some shrimp, maybe a frog or toad, and i was thinking, i doubt it would work but an anole lizard, but it probably wont have enough room, i need to re-research anoles. but probably a bit more fish.

i personally like number 3 because both areas have almost maxed out area, plus it has the "beach" type of thing so the newt/frog can get onto the land side easily

Fire bellied newts need cold water - like, under 20 C. They are highly temperature intolerant. Just a warning.

I didn't see three earlier. It looks good. I think 2 is better for beasties climbing in and out of water, though.

Took me a while to work out how your diagrams worked. Having a thick day.

 

[OldMan47]

Your first and last arrangements will require the most strength from the concrete that separates the two states. The second one will require less strength and has the benefit, in my limited experience, of giving your animals that require a land type area a place to walk up onto the dry area. Please let us know how things work out for you as I have no experience in this area and would love to learn from your experiences.

 

[mr130gallon]

i dont know, i will probably have a fire belly newt, some guppies or other small fish, most likely some shrimp, maybe a frog or toad, and i was thinking, i doubt it would work but an anole lizard, but it probably wont have enough room, i need to re-research anoles. but probably a bit more fish.

i personally like number 3 because both areas have almost maxed out area, plus it has the "beach" type of thing so the newt/frog can get onto the land side easily

Fire bellied newts need cold water - like, under 20 C. They are highly temperature intolerant. Just a warning.

I didn't see three earlier. It looks good. I think 2 is better for beasties climbing in and out of water, though.

Took me a while to work out how your diagrams worked. Having a thick day.

yeah, as soon as i started researching i relized the newts needed colder temps lol.

three is soppossed to have the easy climbing in/out, as well as more water volume, i dont know if the diagram shows it well.


i will be starting a build thread when i start building it, but one thing i dont know is, does concrete expand when it dries, and if so, how much would expand?

 

[NinjaSmurf]

I'm not really sure I would use concrete, wouldn't just aquarium sealant and a sheet of plexi-glass work better? You'd probably have to glue small rocks to the plexi to make it more like a beach area, or suction cup one of those 3-D backgrounds to it. And if it doesn't work right you'd be able to cut it back out of the tank.


I thought this set-up was interesting, they divided it the other way...
My link

 

[Jenste]

I havent experience with designing the tank.....but I DO know you should not mix different species of reptiles and amphibians together - newts should not be kept with frogs and vice versa - they both secrete toxins into the water and while the fish remain unaffected, another amphibian or reptile species would end up suffering from poisoning to the point of limb decay and then death!

 

[GAB99]

I havent experience with designing the tank.....but I DO know you should not mix different species of reptiles and amphibians together - newts should not be kept with frogs and vice versa - they both secrete toxins into the water and while the fish remain unaffected, another amphibian or reptile species would end up suffering from poisoning to the point of limb decay and then death!

thats...just awful

and hey i was gonna do the same with my snake in a 30 gallon and since she is more land based id go for 2 for her


so it IMO depends on the time the land animal spends in water, 1 if its 12 hr+ and can reach up,

2 for 0-6 hours a day


3 for 6-11


also if you want live plants both land and water based along with if you want the run off into the pond or not

 

[mr130gallon]

I'm not really sure I would use concrete, wouldn't just aquarium sealant and a sheet of plexi-glass work better? You'd probably have to glue small rocks to the plexi to make it more like a beach area, or suction cup one of those 3-D backgrounds to it. And if it doesn't work right you'd be able to cut it back out of the tank.


I thought this set-up was interesting, they divided it the other way...
My link

i wont be doing the paludarium with the setup in the link, i was thinking about plexiglass or plastic, but concrete could look more realistic if i stick rocks nd sand to it while it drys, but i see your point about being able to cut it out, i couldnt cut out concrete, but would the place i get the plexiglass from be able to cut it to size?

I havent experience with designing the tank.....but I DO know you should not mix different species of reptiles and amphibians together - newts should not be kept with frogs and vice versa - they both secrete toxins into the water and while the fish remain unaffected, another amphibian or reptile species would end up suffering from poisoning to the point of limb decay and then death!

thanks for that information, pheww now i wont accidently kill my pets.

 

[NinjaSmurf]

I'm sure they could cut it to size, and if they can't you should be able to it with a box cutter. There are plenty of ways to make it look natural, it's just a matter of what kind of thing you are going for, beach, rocky...

 

[Mikaila31]

Well the third design is what I used and I prefer the overhang look. Someday (like in a couple years) I really want to get a 75 or 125gal and do a very similar layout/build as my little 5gal paludarium. After experimenting with my design I really like the connection between the water and land. What I mean by that is I like the dividing wall to not be water tight. Maybe like a slowly seeping wall . I guess I'm also partial to the "keep it simple method". Just go pick up some flat rock, ideally slate or shale, and silicon it together. With LOTS of silicon..... IMO you also want a good slope on the land side so that the topsoil is not mud. Downside is building a rock wall takes quite a long time....

 

[mr130gallon]

what kind of soil did you use on the land side? and you used moss to hold the soil in place right?