View Full Version : Paludarium version 1 - testing,testing
azurekoi
16-12-2010, 22:12
Had this old corner tank lying round and spent the day carving polystyrene for it to be turned into a little test paludarium(messy...) - this is the "basics"... Decided to carve the thick flat base land area into a 3 legged cave,anchoring it to the base of the aquarium - do that on the weekend... Will give the White clouds that it will house more swimming space and about double the initial 10liters of aquarium(water) space... Got a nice deep planting pocket on the land base as well as a little waterfall and stream bed(that will act as the filter....Couldnt find a internal filter small enough for it... )
Lighting will initialy be by CFL,but might upgrade to T5's later if needed...
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F-fish suggested to spraypaint the poly as I hate the white look - do that in a brown with green highlights - will soon be covered in terestrial mosses any way...
Any thoughts from you lot? Let it rip...
Interesting start. With what did you carve the polystyrene? Did you use normal spray paint?
How are you keeping the polystyrene down?
Cool looking hard scape so far.
Gerhard
azurekoi
17-12-2010, 06:08
The 3 piecesof the base 1st got siliconed together and left to dry - used sheet if 75mm x 3 for this...
want to carve it into a 3 legged pillar tonight after work + then spraypaint it... the back is from old TV packaging...
Used a knife first,then burned it with a lighter and touched up with a soldering iron...
Wow.. very interesting Mr. azurekoi!!
Please keep us updated!! :D
azurekoi
17-12-2010, 08:29
Will do Warnoob - off to Builders during lunch hour to sort out lights and get some paint... bit more carving tonight and then the painting...should be ready for planting by the weekend...
Looks cool, and should shape up nicely once the caves are carved and the scape is painted.
azurekoi
17-12-2010, 19:03
O.k .... hard day at work but got time to nip out to Builders and grab the spraypaint and got a nifty all-in-one T4 4200K light unit for like R120.... carved the "cave" and spraypainted the sucker... Must still do touch ups wit 2 colours green and a lighter brown craft paint to give it a more "aged" look....
Happy with the lowish Kelvin rating 'cos both aquatic(Java fern and moss) and terrestrial(Bromeliad spc and moss) dont demand high light anyway... Cave came out pretty cool - even though you cant see it all that well in the photos...
f-fish ... spray paint realy came through awesomely dude,thanx... Just a quick question: How long does the curing take and how did you do it? In tank with carbon or just leave it for a coupla weeks?
Much happier with it tonight,chomping at the bit to get it up and running now,but 3 decades of fishkeeping has taught me SOME patients ....lol
Some pics...crappy,I know - but I'm a biologist,not an award winning nature photographer(yet...lol)
58235824 First one shows the light unit @ top of pic and second what it looks like when it is on.....
Getting "dik" excited about this.... off to Safari on Monday for some of the terestrial plants... cant wait!!
Looks good man. What spray paint did you use?
Good job ... really like the 3 pillars. Curing should not be to much of a problem - give it a good wash in the shower then dump it in the tank .. run it for a while with some extra carbon just in case.
Later Ferdie
azurekoi
17-12-2010, 21:53
Firefly ...thanx dude... Got it from Builders... called Spray Mate.... Seems to be the only kind that doesnt glitter or glow-in -the dark that the Zambezi branch stocks...
f-fish: +1 on this one mate...worked like a charm... never had a shower with anything from my myriad tanks in the past,but hey,love new experiences....lol. Got a new bag of Boyu carbon to pop in with it once I touch up with some craft paint tomorrow eve...
Really nice Azurekoi,glad you doing it first so I can follow with my 3ft.
Did you use only a brown?
azurekoi
18-12-2010, 08:10
He,he, Gerhard - so Im the lab rat...like it...
Spray painted it last night and it stank to high heaven...dropped it on the shower floor this morning and much better...
So far only used one colour brown - gonna touch up tonight after work with a lighter brown and 2 greens - using a non toxic craft paint(Plaka) for that....
Running round the nursery this morning pulling bits of moss of moss off the cycads.... Settled on a Bromeliad species for the planting pocket + gonna see if I can get some "Peace in the home" going...mosses on the wall...
Underwater planting will just be Java moss and the Willow type of Java fern....
Vis ... You asked how I'm gonna keep the polystyrene down - good ol Aquarium silicone on floor and walls of tank.... Poly touches everywhere,so should hold and not float(I hope...)
Well the title does say testing :)
azurekoi
18-12-2010, 08:39
Yip,that is the idea....Sort of like a test run for the bigger(75 x 50w x 1m high - water depth round 30cm...) - want to eliminate snags with 1 or 2 smaller ones before tackling the big guy.... Obviously,the big guy will cost a bit,so dont want it to be a disaster from the word go...
Some of my more scarce Nepenthes orchids will be going in this one,so want to get it RIGHT from the word go...Looking at installing a small aircon unit to controll the humidity and a profilux II aquarium controler to regulate it...
1m ? Should be very interesting.
Also getting the last bits together for my 3ft paludarium so want to see
how you progress and then just adapt for mine.
Going to use sundews so will be running the humidity a bit high. Will use a sonic fogger to achieve this
and it ads a very cool effect. You should have a look maybe you can use one 2.
Gerhard
Woo-hoo!!! That looks damn nice mr. azurekoi!!!
Will be following this thread closely!! I'm watchin you dave!! :p :bigsmile:
http://i731.photobucket.com/albums/ww319/Quintin_photos/windhoek_pink-04.jpg
azurekoi
18-12-2010, 09:16
@Vis (http://www.tropicalaquarium.co.za/member.php?u=530) ... Youre gonna have the same headache as me with the sundews how to keep the nutrient rich aquarium water away from the carniverous plants... I am adament that i want a watrfall in the build,gonna be quite tricky to keep this away from the carniverous plants...
Luckily my Nepenthes can almost be grown epiphyticly,so came up with the idea of weaving loose pots out of Willow branches and filling them with the coconut chunks and planting them in there - then suspend them between crosswise bendy branches of Sekelbos - will look like jungle vines criss crossing up into the hights.... + have got a bit of "old mans beard" to complete the effect...
Tried sonic foggers - should work well with your Sundews,as it forms a misty layer at the bottom of the tank - however with the Monkey cups suspended so high up (and the exact temp/humidity changes that they need between day and night) - will need something a bit more "controllable"...
Also want a waterfall but on a small scale and kind of figured out how to keep
the water a way from the sundews. Have to keep the waterfall below the planted area.
This will work in my idea(scape) but would be a propblem otherwise.
Yo dude..
Here's some inspiration for you!! :bigsmile:
http://www.paludariums.net/img/paludarium7.jpg
azurekoi
20-12-2010, 08:03
Hey,like my little guy - just supersized...lol
Putting the final paint touches on this morning and siliconing the poly in place today... + going plant shopping this afternoon...yipee!!!
very strange.. i can view your first page but not ur second page.. says i dont have permission on this server??
I have exactly the same problem. Has to post something to get to the second page!
azurekoi
20-12-2010, 16:10
Had the same problem - just change the general settings to be able to view more threads/page....
Did the touch up painting with the Craft paint this morning... made it look much more natural... Then Nursery hopped for some Tillandsia and Cryptanthus bromeliads and found some AWESOME species - 8 plants for under R150...
Base was siliconed in and walls silloconed to sides - must now just dry.... Did the terrestrial planting so long - very pleased with it...
Foresee the need for a LED or little spot light or two over the aquatic part to punch some light down to there,but laters... Now i need a beer - it's been HARD work...
Some pics - realy gonna have to jack up my photie skills - tank looks much better in real life....
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So... What do you guys think?
azurekoi
You may notice that your thread name has changed slightly.... (took out the parenthasis "...") Basically copied and pasted your thread and renamed it to try and eliminate that error. Seems to be ok now.
azurekoi
20-12-2010, 16:18
Thanks Zoom.... would hate to lose this one and re-do it - chowed a coupla MEG on the pics already.... Sorry for the parenthesis thing - methinks me likes 'em 2 much....lol
It wasn't the parenthesis thing causing the problem. I just needed to copy and paste the whole thread into a new name and just decided to remove it so as not to change the name too much... no worries... I also like them...!
azurekoi
20-12-2010, 16:54
When I started this build,it was more just to play round with some concepts - check how things work out... Many things came out right,many wrong.... Will stick with it as my main objective with this is to learn how to manage the terrestrial part - can tell you now that the Peace in the Home's gonna go BOS,but aiming fot the "jungle" look anyways... now just hold thumbs that the water follows the stream bed and ends up back in the tank and not in my planting pockets...lol
good stuff! cant wait for the water!
any plans for adding moss?
azurekoi
20-12-2010, 18:15
speedz ... Gonna be only moss and the willow type of Java fern(Thanx Slojo - moss has grown about 50% already in tank on back stoep...he,he)... Moss all over the pillar legs and The fern tied to the dangling roots of the stump that are submerged.... only filling it up on the weekend - lotsa live media and water straight from my koi ponds - White clouds will go straight in,depending wether I can find a LFS open on Xmas weekend...lol
Looking good - I dislike that canopy the design does not allow for optimum light placement, but it will help keep the moisture level.
LED's could be very interesting.
Planning on adding some substrate or you just going to paint the base of the tank (on the outside ;-) ?
Later Ferdie
azurekoi
21-12-2010, 07:09
Yeah Ferdie - the less said about "those" canopies the better... but hey it does keep humidity in that the Tillandsia need - substrate will just be PFS - think that a lighter substrate will look better in there....
This setup is really looking great, I am defiantly going to follow it and maybe try this out.
Stupid question and you might of mentioned it in an earlier post but what is the size of that tank?
azurekoi
21-12-2010, 10:18
Thanx Gareth ... Not sure of dimensions,but it's the bigger of the two "standard" diamond shaped corner tanks on the market... Bout 60cm high and 45cm on the long sides... Aquarium part will hold about 20liters when full(I hope...so its actualy a nano paludarium...lol)
SalmonAfrica
21-12-2010, 10:25
I'm watching this thread with much interest, keep it up :)
what are u going to put in it? :) interms of fish and/or frogs etc?
azurekoi
21-12-2010, 10:56
He,he, thanx Tim....wait for the big one....keep waking up at night and furiously scribling down ideas for it....
After 3 decades of fishkeeping,I can honestly say that out of hundreds of tanks I've hade,this one realy fills me with excitement - dont know why I never thought of combining my 2 passions(fish and garden plants) together into one...
---------- Post added at 11:12 ---------- Previous post was at 11:12 ----------
@shihr (http://www.tropicalaquarium.co.za/member.php?u=1054) ... small school of White Clouds as it will be an unheated system... It's in my kitchen and temp is pretty stable,so that will not be a problem...
Frogs? BL mate - so maybe just as a joke I will put some plastic Poison arrow frogs in it just to apease my whack job sense of humour... Could look quite fun to have one peeking out beneath a bromeliad leaf....
oh i didn know they bl.. or maybe a chamelion? that is if they not BL? OR SNAKE? ok.. my imagination is runnin away with me :D hehe
azurekoi
21-12-2010, 13:24
Kept reptiles as a teenager and found after a coupla years that the apeal wore off.... no personality when compared to fish(in my oppinion...) - but then again, a small tree or mangrove viper in the bigger one I'm putting up next year... + it will be able to cope with the high humidity.... Now just to convince my housemate - he's terrified of snakes...lol
Have no plans for including any dry land animals in this set up - available land space is just too small... All the cool stuff one sees in overseas/intrnational paludarium forums are BL in RSA anyway....
azurekoi
24-12-2010, 16:22
Well,the substrates in - water in - moss stuck to "cliff face" and the little waterfall looks REAL good... water is a bit murky,so wont post pics now,should be clear enough for a coupla pics tomorrow....
Terrestrial plants are doing good - imagining it maybe,but the Tillandsia(air plants) seem to be making a fresh flush of leaves... Most of the "Peace-in-the-home" seems to have died off... :( Other bits of it seems to be doing well,hope it takes over...
Monday going out to get some White clouds for it... cant wait!! Oh,uncycled tank you say... using Organic Aqua GT2 on it - amazing stuff + will do a 4liter waterchange per day untill everthing settles down... (water volume is only 14liters - so not only a paludarium,a nano as well....he,he)
hehehehe i dont want to stay stupid so ill ask a "stupid" question hehehe ... whats a nano ?
azurekoi
24-12-2010, 16:44
@Reaper (http://www.tropicalaquarium.co.za/member.php?u=1192) ... Nano aquariums are small tanks,usualy less than 10 gallons ( < 45liters) - the small volume of water makes keeping a nano all the more chalenging due to how easily the waterparameters go wonky....
Read Zoom's thread on his nano....
Oh,and as I feared,the bloody stream is spilling over into the planting pocket....grrr.... gonna have to rethink this one... 2 options:
- Change the bromeliads in the planting pocket to more bog type plants
- silicone a little rock wall between the stream bed and the planting pocket...
Loathing either as that would require taking most of the hardscape and bogwood out again....
Well,I DID say "testing,testing...."
thax hehehe now im alttle more cleverer like we "Boere" say lol
azurekoi
24-12-2010, 17:11
Stick around... yool like to be getting the clevererest if you do....lol
Tank clearing nicely - might post some pics later this evening...
freerider
24-12-2010, 19:41
I'm very interested by this thread, great work there. I hope to do something like this soon.
azurekoi
24-12-2010, 21:10
Tank's cleared a bit,so some pics...
First,this is what happened ... Substrate is a 5mm layer of organic poting soil capped by a mix of Durban beach sand mixed with PFS(Why?... 'cos I can...) stapled some Java moss to the cliff face and tied some J-fern to the 2 submerged "roots"
Filled the stream bed with some sedimentary pebbles from the garden and hid the pump with some larger ones...
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Jeez,my photography sucks.... Looks SO much better in real life - housemate and i keep getting up from the stoep and find each other staring into the tank... and it doesnt even have fish yet...lol!!!
PS: 3rd pic is of the little stream bed leading from the back waterfall to the front one...
first i had to Google Paludarium (http://www.tropicalaquarium.co.za/showthread.php?6029-Paludarium-version-1-testing-testing/page5) because i had no idea what it meant , now that I understand I can see how amazing this project really is. Its looking beautiful!
azurekoi
24-12-2010, 22:48
natnat ... Thanx my friend - major chalenge,but enjoying it... after having had hundreds of tanks in my life,so much fun tackling something from the big unknown.... It's not just maintaining a classic planted aquarium,the land part is such a challenge - so much to learn and test ...
Except for "lucky 13" - is there ANY one else on here that has or has had a paludarium? Can use some input ....
azurekoi
27-12-2010, 06:27
O.K... Things dont always go as planned...lol!!!
Been noticing how the water has slowly been turning more and more tannin coloured... Weird,1st thought it might be something to do with the paint I used,but looking at it well this morning,noticed that there is some overspill from the waterfall and stream area into the main planting pockets's soil....Eish!
Gonna have to pull some of the decor apart today and sillicone a higher rock wall inbetween the stream and pocket... Will also give me the oppertunity to take out some of the Peace in the home that has died...
Had some non fishy friends round this weekend who saw the tank for the 1st time... One of them asked how did Ifind a rock to fit so neatly...lol - must be doing SOMETHING right...lol
azurekoi
27-12-2010, 10:18
Waterfall/stream fixed,now just waiting for the silicone to form a skin so that I can switch it on again...
Bought 6 White clouds(for like R24 - BARGAIN!!!) - the little guys are settling in nicely and colours are coming back already after like a half hour in the tank... Still looking for a nice biggish Cryptocoryne for the left ahnd side of the aquatic part....So if any of you in your wanderings see any - please PM me where....
Water temp is 22,5 degrees and the land area is 28.... that little T4 from builders is putting out quite a bit of heat...lol. Humidity quite high - there is some fogging on the glaas in the morning - this soon dissapears after the lights go on... Photo period of round 12 hours per day...
Will post some pics later when the little guys are fully settled in....
azurekoi
27-12-2010, 20:21
O.K...It's like later and here are the prommised pics....
The little guys have settled in nicely and have already had a munch in Tetra Crisps... Went on a (land)moss collecting trip around the neighbourhood and got some choice pieces that I just pinned to the styrofoam... Kept wet,they should make it and start spreading,albeit slowly... First 3 pics give's a view of the land/water split - next two of the"shoal"...
have this bad habit of naming fish...but these guys are to small to even sex properly yet,so ALL are named Bob for now...lol
Now just for the cycling part of the opperation... Want to increase the shoal size to 10ish eventualy - know that that will be "pushing" it with only 14 liters of water,but its nothing to do a 2l a day waterchange...
What I find crazy is that within a week,I have a veritable piece of jungle standing on my kitchen counter...bloody amazing!!! Done relatively high tech planted systems before and just LOVE the almost instant gratification that this build has given me....... So if any of you are sorta half contemplating doing something like this? GO FOR IT - it's well worth the expense(To date - under R700 for those who would like to know...),time and planning.. + you get to be "dik" creative...
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PS:Think my pics are getting a bit better too...
Wow! what a little ecosystem you created and how fast you got it all together, this is something!
Yoh!! That looks damn smart buddy!! ;)
nice man! does the glass mist up much?
azurekoi
28-12-2010, 08:26
Thanx guys...
shihr ... Glass bit misty in the morning before the lights go on... soon dissapears though...
Tank looks great, I might try this soon.... well done dude.
hey azurekoi, take a look at these paludariums.. thought of u when i saw them..
http://showcase.aquatic-gardeners.org/2009.cgi?&op=ishowcase&category=3&vol=-1
azurekoi
28-12-2010, 14:43
Gareth ... thanx dude...Means a lot coming from you.... Try one - lotsa fun to be had
shihr ... know that site and it's paludariums well... Hmmnn - must look up when the closing is for entries in 2011... If plants have grown in enough,might give it a go...lol - just gonna have to jack up the Photography part...lol
Got a very nice full grown Cryptocoryne at a LPS(Zoom - thanx for the offer mate,but just couldn't resist it... Will take you up on offer when I do the big one) - been eyeing it for a year now.... Wasn't realy for sale,but I can be SO convincing... + bought most of the stuff for this build from them,so they finally capitulated...
Its been grown in rather poor light,so a bit long and leggy - will see how the new growth comes out in my tank...
Had a little baby on that I carfully removed and planted in the planting pocket... Want to see how it grows emersed...
I just must chime in .. good job azurekoi ...
"PS:Think my pics are getting a bit better too..." - lol - the pics get better as the subject matter improves.
R700 is really no bad for this setup - I am assuming that excludes the tank that you had - still good going for a few weeks of heavy DIY and loads of must read TASA content.
Later Ferdie
Looks Good.I love the mosses that you added.
The roots in the water gives it a nice tropical look as well.
p.s.I need you to do a Koi Pond.20M x 3M x 1.5M.Will pm you.
azurekoi
28-12-2010, 18:14
Thanx f-fish and Slojo ....
Jip,tank was a gift a while ago from friends in Durbs - so freebie there.... Slojo,you are right - looks "dik" jungle like... Now looking for some other moss species - dont want it to go overly bos - water space is just too small - especialy now the big Crypt is in...
azurekoi - This looks amazing...should be so nice to have one in the kitchen where one spends most of your time. It gives me the feeling of being in the Mangrove forests. Beautiful man.
azurekoi
30-12-2010, 13:21
Thanx dude... Consider myself a bit of a whizz in the kitchen...lol - spend a lot of time there... nice to have this little tank right there... One problem is that I have picked up 2 cuts to fingers already this week chopping veggies due to the distraction...lol
Getting into a routine now - reading how the land plants care needs to be met... the air plants need a lot more watering than what I expected - like twice daily,also the mosses... a spray bottle is very usefull for this... Still suspect there is some water getting into the planting pocket - water gets a bit tannin stained over 2-3 days... could even be that I am experiencing some leaching from the bottom layer of substrate....
azurekoi
01-01-2011, 16:50
Pulled apart some decor today and yip,waterfall/streambed is STILL spilling over into the planting pocket....Sigh!
But has also got me thinking a bit...The Bromeliads and other plants in planting pocket seem to be doing well in the wet conditions - the small Cryptocoryne has also pushed a new leaf... Now(in my experience...) a slow trickle through a wetland/bog area greatly advances the filtration of a pond...Why not here? It's sorta a mini pond anyway...
Can live with the tannin stained water + frequent water changes helps(+ it's only like 4 liters for a 25% change...lol)
What do you guys think on the "bog filtration" idea?
You could consider replacing plant pocket content with hydroton ...
Later Ferdie
azurekoi
01-01-2011, 17:18
Hear you Ferdie,but that would require pulling most of the upper hard decor out again...Something I am loathe to do at the moment for understandable reasons... + then I might as well just properly fix the streambed...
The substrate is Earth2Earth's Organic seedling mix...great stuff I have used in Diane wahlstadt type setups in the past... + the bacteria in the soil cycles the tank in NO time...
Think I will let this run for 2 weeks or so before changing anything...
azurekoi
02-01-2011, 21:53
Some new pics with the Cryptocoryne ....
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PS: Any of you "plant guru's" want to try identify exact species for me?
http://purevb4.tropicalaquarium.co.za/images/misc/pencil.png
SalmonAfrica
03-01-2011, 07:42
Looking good :) Few people realise how awesome White Clouds really are! I'm sure they'll enjoy the environment! :)
freerider
03-01-2011, 10:14
Looking very good.
azurekoi
03-01-2011, 10:21
Thanx Tim and freerider...
White clouds have been a longtime favourite little fish of mine - tough,hardy and darn pretty as well... Have them for over a week now and they are doing great - munching away at Tetra crisps and the ocasional microworm snack I got from @Marco (http://www.tropicalaquarium.co.za/member.php?u=943)(thanks again dude - onto 5th generation now,and going strong...lol)... For any of you who have small tanks,consider keeping these guys...
Love the way they keep darting into the cave area and then just popping back - sometimes looks like there are no fish in the tank,then boom,they all back again - 3 more weeks of cycling this tank + waterchanges,then want to introduce about 5 more... that will be all livestock it will carry...
azurekoi
03-01-2011, 14:11
WOO - HOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Remember my well wishes to you guys for 2011? One of them was "May you find that rare species at your LFS that you have been looking for for years"...Well my wishes came true!!!
Went to Centurion today on some errands and stopped at a LFS a mate of mine used to frequent when he lived there and recomended...Walk in and what do I find in the 1st tank that I look at? Hyseleotris cyprinoides - The Empire gugeon!!!
First spotted a female and did a double take when I saw the double dorsal fin - franticly scanned the tank for more - saw a coupla more females and then,a little male made his apearance from between some plants(Sorry guys - he was the last one..he,he)... My hart skipped a beat... One of the workers asked if he could help me and I asked how much? @ 1st he didnt have a clue what they where - called them Headstanders,but eventualy educated him and the owner to what they had - they where nice enough to let me catch them for myself....
So now - happily ensconced in their new home - albeit temporary untill they can go into the big tank once it is up...
Will post some pics of them once they have settled in... male is still young(3cm) and does not show adult breeding colours yet - not even a sign of a nuchal hump yet...lol. Female bit bigger at 4cm... Best of all,they come from temperate areas in Australia,so my coldwater tank wont be a problem at all!!!
Here's a pic of what he's going to be like in a coupla months...6007
WOW! Bee- oo- ti- ful! You must be SO stoked! Hurry up with that bigger setup already, I WANT babies of those!!!!
azurekoi
03-01-2011, 14:35
tracyp ... Cant tear myself away from the tank now....lol. they have made the cave area under the land mass their home already - still a bit shy,but that can be expected...
Little guys are 1st going to need to grow a bit - adult size is 8cm - expect them to spawn at about 6cm ish... but hey - you are 1st in line for some babies when the day comes....
azurekoi
03-01-2011, 14:46
He,he Vis - Thought you might like them Gerhard... Now just the challenge of breeding the bony fish with the smallest eggs(and therefor fry...) in the world... well,never shied away from a challenge....
Talking about head standing fish. Was at a LPS in Gauteng area and they also had some exotic fish in a tank labeled head stander :)
well,never shied away from a challenge....
And would be more than worth it when achieved :)
azurekoi
03-01-2011, 15:05
Been searching the net for more info on these guys - not much around it seems - just some idiot dealer in Hong Kong spamming every international fish forum with pics of them(that have been removed - think they cottoned on to him...lol)
Also realised that I posted the wrong pic of them - the species I posted is C.compressa - not C.cyprinoides wich is what I "think" I got... Not sure,they are very young yet...
Her's a pic of a young C.cyprinoides male - not as impressive,but still cool... but still living in hope,as the manager of the shop said some of the bigger males had red in them...6008
azurekoi
04-01-2011, 16:22
Burned some cap today and FINALLY discovered what species of goby it is...H.leuciscus... apart from the fact that it comes from Indonesia and that it grows to 6cm,Google cant help much.... Here is a pic of a male
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Wow awsome setup you got there ..might eventually have one of those ...as regards to the paint that you used ..I want to make a feature in my 3f tank ..the question is .. How did you stop it from leeching into the tank ?? ..wow nice find on the gobies if they to spawn I would love some ...pretty please :)....again the setup looks great welldone
azurekoi
04-01-2011, 18:48
Thanx mc 1...
Both paints I used(spray and a Dala craft paint) where just left to dry - then thrown into the shower and washed off - have experienced no leaching from the paint...
As for breeding - Eish,bit early - but the way they hang out together ALL the time is promising...lol
Not much on the net about them though...
Ok will do that and see if it works for me too ;) ..is it really bad if the "dirt" you the wetland plants in spills into the tank ??or did you us sand that you used in the tank?.. I am sure you will be able to breed them if you put in the effort ;)
azurekoi
04-01-2011, 19:23
As you put it,the "dirt" does not go in the tank,but the organic matter in the potting soil I used does stain the water lightly with tannins - sort of like when you put new driftwood in your tank - I keep it from getting to bad by doing a 3 -4 liter waterchange / day... At least the tannins are preventing any algea from forming...
The flow from the spillover of the stream is REALY slow as well,so expect the terrestrial plants to make it - most have pushed a new leaf or two since planting...
azurekoi
06-01-2011, 22:08
:( Tomorow going to have to pull apart some of the hard decor and seal the stram bed properly... Water in the planting pocket is not allowing enough oxyden to some of the planted Bromeliads... Noticing some yellowing of the basal leaves... Grrr
Gobies settled in nicely and becoming bolder and bolder... They hang together ALL the time...
azurekoi
07-01-2011, 18:46
Did not get round to fixing the stream issue today,but did get some pics of the Gobies...
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Their colour seems very variable depending on mood - male's(1st pic) tail can one moment be Yellow,the next clear... Know the dont look like the pretty pics i posted earlier,but still young and dont have breeding colours yet - waiting patiently.... Last pic is just of the White Clouds... they have coloured up real nice...
FishRMan
07-01-2011, 18:50
Azurekoi you have no idea what this build is doing to my brain! My thoughts run along the lines of well if I just eat dry toast this month I can have a paludarium or if I just sell my sister into slavery I will almost have the cash
azurekoi
07-01-2011, 18:57
@FishRMan (http://www.tropicalaquarium.co.za/member.php?u=1197) - dude,go for it...this has been the most fun I have had in YEARS with a tank - now considering adding a Praying Mantis to the terrestrial part...Could be cool?
Any spare tank you got lying around... Some silicone...Polystyrene I got from old packaging... Soil you get from the garden...Lick of paint....
Dik easy to do this on a budget..he,he
Otherwise,just sell your sister....lol
FishRMan
07-01-2011, 19:06
Dude I love the mantis idea. I really like the way you have created the whole eco system idea that is a paluadrium but still kept it simple. No mexican staring frogs from southern sri lanka sorta things that other people get caught up in
azurekoi
07-01-2011, 19:38
Well to be honest FishRMan - even if Amphibians werent BL - I still would not keep them...Not my thing...
Have a great love for plants and this is what I want to create in the terrestrial part(a Mantis cruising around just makes it"cooler")...the bigger one I am planning is going to be a veritable jungle with carnivorous orchids,lotsa Bromeliads and mosses - In this little one it is real difficult to do "proper" planting - it is just so small...
windfire
09-01-2011, 16:25
hmmmm having two empty tanks and possibly moving back to the commune this year, im thinking this looks like fun lol. i wonder what do you think of using pottery clay for the hard landscaping? there's a type called roc which looks quite natural.... terracotta might look cool too and moss can be cultered on it. you could hollow the clay pieces out to reduce weight. i have an empty stand and 3ft with hood and light.... dude im so gona cause a family war over this lol. i been told no more fish, though i could just add my betta fish to the setup... lol. its looking really good dude keep it up!
azurekoi
10-01-2011, 00:33
Thanx B....(windfire) - go for it!!! As an ex - ceramicist,have also entertained the clay way of making the terrestrial section... just that polystyrene was SO much quicker and easier...
willing to trade my scaping skills for a few of you know what - think you can see that they will be in a GREAT home...lol
windfire
10-01-2011, 20:47
lol well gota get the idea of moving out across to my folks, i'm not very popular at the moment. i'm thinking of going natural aswell, meaning no filter so i gota do some serious research before i start it hehe
azurekoi
15-01-2011, 12:30
@windfire (http://www.tropicalaquarium.co.za/member.php?u=499) ...Hey B,my paludarium doesnt have a true filter either... I couldnt find one small enough to fit in the small space available... I use the stream bed I built as a filter chamber by filling it with small peices of rock and gravel... these give me enough biological action to filter what is actualy a quite heavily stocked tank of 8 fish in 14liters of water...
Now the tank is cycled,I get no amonia or nitrite readings,so it must be working... I do a 2liter water change every 2nd day,sucking up any organic matter + once a week add some biological "clean-up" bacteria...
In adition,there is a VERY slow trickle of water going through the planting pocket,so there is an extra factor of filtration there too...
DesertConvert
04-06-2011, 13:32
Nice paludarium :-) Good meeting you too. See you around.
azurekoi
04-06-2011, 16:14
Nice paludarium :-) Good meeting you too. See you around.
Thanx Martin - great meeting you today....we always a bit swamped on Saturdays...lol
Hmmn...seriously need to update this thread again...Tomorrow is my own fishies maintenance day - will post some updated pics and what's been going down in my paludarium in the mean time...
azurekoi
What a great tank! You've inspired me to turn my little 7l hex into a paludarium.
I'm sorry to hear the peace in the home did not survive. They love shade and lotsa water. At stodels here in Durbanville, they have this amazing peace in the home water feature. I'll take my camera with today and see if I can get a photo. Forgive my rambling... it is my fave plant :D
Which one is the bromeliad in your photos? What an interested addition to the collection! And dude, that fish is amazing! How is it doing?
azurekoi
10-07-2011, 08:40
Linxie - thanx a lot... Yup,paludarium is now(almost) a year older and growing in nicely... This little tank has utterly amazed me - After the peace in the home didnt make it,I tried Creeping Jenny(Gold) - this very quickly went total BOS,so removed it... the Bromeliads i grow in there is a Cryptanthus species..not sure wich...
Now working on getting Willow moss established in the terrestrial part... - lotsa Cristmas moss is now getting going in there too...
Bout two months ago I started extending the lighting period,seen a big improvement in the Broms and the Tillandsia(Single 15w T5 in there)... As for the Hypseleotris Gobies.... Surviving quite well through winter so far in unheated tank - male is 5cm an female about almost to 8cm... Will rehome them soon in new riverine tank... One of my Indian Friends on IndianAquaticForum houses his in a rheophile tank - think they will be much happier in heated water and a bigger volume than 14liters ...lol
As fot you trying a little paludarium,all I can say is ... GO FOR IT - they are fun to plan,build and look after!!!
azurekoi
10-07-2011, 20:57
Here is some updated shots(see,all the bugging me for them DOES work...lol)... some taken through the top of the tank to show some of the terrestrial growth... the tiny cube tank in the last pic is NOT an aquarium btw - just a vivarium for a baby Salmon pink Birdeating tarantula... Also notice the small white bracket fungus starting to grow in bottom left of pic number 1 - Very proud of it and cant wait to see how it develops...
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Cool, thanks for the info :)
I too love that white bracket fungus... unfortunatley I think I killed that which was growing on the stump outside when I planted peace in the home there :(
The tank is looking great, and I think some moss would look awesome.
azurekoi
21-11-2011, 22:17
Havn't updated this in a LOOOONG time...so here goes...
The Hypseleotris Gobies both made it through winter,unheated in any way... I was stressed beyond belief about them,but the cold did not seem to phase them. Both have now put on about 2.5cm of growth since I bought them and are now adults... With adulthood comes agression - guess thats why there is only 2 White clouds left out of the original school of 5... :( The Female is the bully chases the male round incessantly... Guess her swollen,egg filled belly is an indication of her intensions...lol
Terrestrial planting coming along nicely,if slowly - FINALLY getting some of the aquatic mosses to go terrestrial!!! Bromeliads beginning to get their pink colour back - wonder if they still react seasonally even though they are inside?
Some pics (I know you lot want them....he,he) - Realy struggled to get the Gobies in focus - these are the best out of a hundred + shots - just as you focus...the buggers move...lol
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azurekoi
21-11-2011, 22:20
Oh....2nd pic is the Female Goby...3rd is the male - fin colour coming along nicely now - cant see in the pic,but it like an irredescant snow blue colour - real pretty!
azurekoi
22-11-2011, 07:53
O.k - TASA seemed to be down/not working last night...so bump - didnt burn all that cap for nothing uploading pics...lol
Very nice dude! VERY nice
You must try to get some Irish moss! it will look stunning!
FishRMan
22-11-2011, 10:26
Very nice Shawn. These paludariums have me eyeing cracks in the bricks for bits of moss not to mention terrifying my local nursery with long latin names or my personal favourite is the look on the PNA assistants face when I explained why I needed such a big block of poly. Oh the excitement
Looking great Shawn! Can't wait for your big paludarium. Can't believe there's so few paludariums on this forum, since it's so stunning visually. I'm sure you get all the ooh's and aah's like I do when people see these for the first time.
yip, and the pic does not do it any justice! you have to see this in person!
azurekoi
22-11-2011, 12:48
Thanx guys! Vez - got a funny thing in this tank - the planted area is completly flooded,so terrestrial mosses just melt due to it being too wet - thats why I am slowly getting the aquatic ones to go emersed...
Tried sticking them to the polystyrine rock wall,but they dry out and die - to keep my small Tillansia going(It has produced 3 babies in the past year btw),the air needs to be quite dry - had it all covered up and moist and lost quite a few that way...
boebie - Yup - the big one's gonna knock some socks off...he,he - starting on the hardscape over the December hollidays... Thinking a multi - pool forming jungle tree trunk for Mudskippers and knight gobies.... So Brackish AND paludarium.... Want to get the base tank rebuilt to be a lot bigger,might even include archers then - realy get to use all areas of the paludarium then with the Skippers hopping from pool to pool and the Archers shooting down bugs from the overhanging plants....
FishRMan
22-11-2011, 16:36
Shawn did you not find the spray paint ate through the poly? Just did a test spray on mine and was terrified when it started eating away at the poly
Yes it does but spray lightly a first coat - let it dry then build on that coat. Do in a well ventalated area.
eish that sucks, as that Irish moss is flippen awesome! do you think we can convert it to grow under water?hehe anyway, still love your tank dude!
azurekoi
23-11-2011, 05:26
FishRMan - the brand of spraypaint I used di eat at the poly,but not much....actualy helped to get that rocky look quite nicely.... Ferdies right - just spray lightly - although I didnt even bother with a second coat ... Just did it all in one go...
FishRMan
23-11-2011, 12:22
Thanks Shawn. Ill have to check on my test piece again
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