paludariums

[snakeylesnake]

Hi there,
I was wondering if anyone has any experience in paludariums?
I am planning on making one in my basement based upon a 6'x2'x2' aquarium with the total height being 6-7'
I would like to have it with all live plants, fish and maybe water dragons or arboreal snakes (gonysoma) or even some boids.
So if anyone has one, or has thought of having one, i'd appreciate any experiences.
cheers
Paul

[Bartman]

cant help you, but id really love to know what it was exactly?

[ortega]

sounds cool, although I have no experience either. Recently I have become intrested vivariums and the paludariums sound really cool! If the base is an aquarium what is the rest going to be made out of, I mean 6 to 7 feet is big!

[snakeylesnake]

the tank will be the bottom (no Sh*t) and the rest will be made against a wall. it will be enclosed, and have sliding glass doors at the front.
I guess that the easiest way to describe the one i want to make, is a fish tank with a snake tank on top but everything is open. I will have area of land and the rest of the "floor" will be open water. It will have lots of grape vine going from the fish tank to the snake tank, the back wall will be cork bark, with live epihitic plants, bromeliads and the odd orchid. The rest of the plants will be either monstera, dracerna, ficus or philodendren.
I wont begin making it for at least a year, but i'll be sure to take loads of pics.
cheers
paul

[Bartman]

what would you put in it?

[snakeylesnake]

not too sure yet, but maybe some water dragons, basiliscs or might go for arboreal snakes. ie mangroves, red tail rats etc
cheers
paul

[guapote's gape]

I've dealt with Paludariums a fair bit in my life.
The largest one I built was 21 feet long, floor to ceiling, encased a twelve foot aqaurium in it as well as a extensive orchid and bromeliad collection.
Only tips I can offer is palnning, planning and more planning.
Really critical that ventilation and maintenace issues are dealt with correctly otherwise your beautifull display will be become the worst pink elephant you've ever had the displeasure of dealing with.
Guapote

[snakeylesnake]

thanks GG. i hope to get all done next year sometime when money allows! im going to treble layer insulate the back wall with styrofoam, and tin foil plus a layer or two of treated plywood. Same for the sides. although im toying with the idea of using screening for some of the sides. the top will have a false ceiling that will house all the lights. i might also have false sides next to the aquarium to have some lighting for the water area.
cheers
paul

[ortega]

This sounds like a huge project...is the whole enviroment going to be a self sustaining eco-system, or will the maintnance requirements be high? Will you have to clean the fish tank like a normal aquarium? I know im not helping answer your question but im really intrested in this concept.

[snakeylesnake]

from what i know, and have tried before. the aquarium will act as one big filter for any defecation from the reptiles. everyday maintanence will include the usual ie spraying, watering plants, also in the beginning i will need to "train" certain plants for them to go where i want them to. i figure as long as i get a decent filtration system going in the aqua, the rest should fall into normal vivarium husbandry. I emphasis SHOULD!
cheers
paul

[ortega]

is the "land part" going to be above the aquarium tank, or is the base going to be larger than 6'x2'x2'? If the base is the size of the tank I guess you are going to fill one side to the top with gravel and cover that with coco fiber and root plants in that? 6' by 2' sounds sufficient to do so. you could have shrimp or crayfish to eat all that crap and an algea eater to keep it looking clean, but if there are many fish there may be too much poop for a self cleaning system. I mean the ideal is for it to not require any cleaning, only misting.

[snakeylesnake]

i'm probablt going to make it in a corner. so that way i can use the extra space at the sides and back for the main land, but i'll also have drift wood to act as "basking" points on the water surface.
the fish will help keep it clean, and i'll also have a couple of canister filters for the aquarium. hopefully the filters and the fish will keep the water clean enough and like u say, the only other maintenance will be spraying etc.
right now im just putting ideas together in my head, but when i get down to it i'll be doing a load more research into good fish to have in their.
cheers
Paul

[J3000]

I was curious about this too after reading is there any pics or web sites I could go too on this subject so I could read more..

[Leviathan]

I know they have one at the Vancouver Aquarium. They house Anacondas in it. You could try emailing them and see if someone there can help. www.vanaqua.org

Alecia

[bear24]

If you want to keep the water clean alot of live aqautic plants will really help. A few of them will even flower if they can grow a stem high enough out of the water. Best of luck and can't wait to see the picks.

[snakeylesnake]

thanks for all the ideas and help. Ive decided to wait until next summer (baby on the way) to put my plans into action.
i will be using a 110 gl tank measuring 48"x18"x30" the tank will be angled into a corner, so the total width will be about 6' and height will be 6-7'
if anyones intersted there are some great ideas at this website.

http://users.belgacom.net/animaldreamdesign/index.htm

cheers
paul

[JRQ]

becareful with the fish becuasee some reptiles are acustomed to eat small fish, plus you can fill the canister filters with 100% polyester stuffing for pillows that is very cheap. I use that in my 10 aquariums.