Paladriums...taking the planting "outside"

Just today I went and ordered my new tank for a paladrium I'm to set up(chomping at the bit with the 1 week delivery time....). It's 75cm(length) x 48cm x 48cm high. Hood will be made from beechwood to tie in with rest of kitchen where it will stand on the counter... 2 x 24w T5 lights(R440 for both ballast and 2 x tubes..not bad!!) as the amount of water in it will be only round the 80 liter mark. Substrate - inch deep layer of organic potting soil we sell @ our nursery,covered by half inch mix pool filter silica and durban beach sand(for a bit of hardness buffering...) - sort of a Diana Walstadt planted system...As for fish,open to sugestions.... terrestrial planting on the raised island will feature a host of vines,ferns and bromeliads.... An underwater anubiasJava fern/moss forest looks likely....Now the question: Will Anubias,Java fern and Java moss grow under the intensity of the T5's?

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Oh, and I will be doing a photo esay of this one as it goes along....

 

how about something like archer fish or a male betta or possibly a sorority of betta females. or a small school of some sort of tetra

 

Google ADG Paludarium and check out the images for some very cool tanks and ideas.

 

anubias, java fern & moss are low light plants so with good water flow, low light and water column fert dosing they should be fine.

 

@ Windfire: Archers cool,but will grow WAY to big....I detest Bettas (We all have our little loves and hates...) - mix tera and threadfin rainbows seem likely 2 the moment...
@Vis: Thanx mate,awesome site!!!
@shihr: Know they are low light,that's why i asked Whether anybody has had any sucsess with them under T5's...Dont want to drop like hundreds of rands on plants that's gonna shrivel under the intensive lights...

6 days till I get my tank - Grr!!!!

 

well buy a few first and see what happens.. with java fern sometimes u will see baby ferns on the leaves! cut these and replant.. then u dont have to buy a whole lot and cross ur fingers.. same goes with anubias and java moss..

trim moss and tie somewhere else.. u dont need alot for it to grow everywhere..

anubias, when the rizome grows longer cut a section off with some leaves on it and replant.. easy as that.. only prob is java fern and anubias are pretty slow growers.. so may have to be patient.. java moss on the other hand is pretty quick..

 

Know most of the facts about all the plants shihr - just never kept them under T5's - that was the question....disagree with you on the cutting of the Anubias though - the larger the rhizome,the bigger leaf bio mass the plant can support and as i will be growing it aquaticly and terrestrialy(to flower),I want the big,bushy look rather than the more scraggly,shorter plants....

Just tracked down some cool miniature Thilandsia's today(air plants) - gonna attach these to this root stump with all these wavy arms to hang over the water....now to find some nice looking Sundials and some pitcher plants to drape/grow over said roots...

Oh,anywhere in Pretoria for black slate pieces? Want to build up the terrestrial area out of this(I think for now) - dont quite like the look of the expanda foam covered in palm fibre look all the guys on the salamander forums go for....

 

Gee wizz - think I've bit off a bit more than I can chew with this paludarium...so much to learn! Have now settled on growing pitcher plants(Nepenthes spc) in the terrestrial area - having to take their low nutrient requirements into consideration and marry it to the nutrient rich aquarium area's gonna be a challenge and a half...thinking of doing "vines" like you see in the reptile shop and attaching the pots with the pitcher plants in them between the "vines"....Can hardly wait for Monday to go pick up the tank...

 

Well,tanks been picked up and spent the past 3 hours cleaning the bugger of silicone bits all over the glass...not very happy bout this,but got it at a good price....bit o' elbow grease never hurt anyone....

Also met a specialist Nepenthes grower and was shown round his green house - WOW what an experience!!! Bought a young N. spectabilis x aristolichoides(R180)... these plants are carnivorous and come from mostly Borneo... wont be working on setting the tank up till next pay check - spent WAY to much on it already....just gonna make the canopy in the mean time...set the T5's etc...

On the upside - found a place that sells T5's - 2 x 39W + ballast for under R180....cool!!!! Here is some pic's of the Nepenthes....Enjoy!!!
These are just baby pitchers 'bout inch long... full grown buggers gonna be round 4 to 5 inches....cant wait!!!

PS : Setling on fish like Threadfin Rainbow's,Sparkling gouramis and Endler's livebearers I'm getting from Vis(thanx dude - you are fullfilling a looooooooongtime wishlist there....)... Also heard some of you have some of the Prof's strain here in Gauteng? PM me if you got spares to sell please,pretty please with cheese cake on top....

 

My java ferns and mosses doing well, to well in fact under x2 54wt T5s with Prof ferts and no Co2. Anubias doing ok, but those growng towards the top of the tank are getting alage growing on them. J Moss seems to really enjoy the strong current/flow coming from the FX5 return. Can post pics if you want.

 

Thanx Trevor - thought it would work with the mosses and ferns.... Saw a friends tank recently,growing Anubias emersed and it has gone BOS.... The build is a bit on the backburner @ the moment(eish those finances).... Algea (in relative terms...) does not bother me to much,a spot here or there looks cool to me...