Madagascar Mantella Paludarium

[deranged chipmunk]

Got any good sources for epiphytic orchids and/or jewel orchids?

[flynmnky]

I really don't. :-( most of mine a grocery/hardware store varieties. Ive gotten a few by mail and from some local plants stores. I love phalaenopsis in every color, so they are kind if a no-brainer... (except for tacky blue-I don't think people should dye orchids). But I should mail you one just for answering all my crazy questions! Can't tell you how much you have helped me. :-)

[deranged chipmunk]

I've grown them as well. My mother is a florist, so i get them cheapie cheap and i agree. Dyeing flowers is fine if they are fresh cut and the color you need is not available in nature. But dyeing live plants is just wrong.

And sorry to make you wait until the weekend for another update, but i am setting up a 30g shrimp tank and i need to get it planted before my plants croak.

[flynmnky]

Hahaha! It's fine! Just pretty much constantly brainstorming and sketching on what I want to do, hoping to have mine running by Christmas so really planning hard. Nothing like research ahead of time to save you from big mistakes later! Every question begs more questions so maybe just a small temp tank by then so I can nail down the details. I'm getting close. Starting to work on plants I want and care reqs but getting close to a hijack so I think I'll stop whole I'm ahead! :-)

[deranged chipmunk]

It's really not a problem and don't consider it hijacking. That's the whole reason i wrote the journal the way i did, to leave it open for questions. If anyone doesn't understand how i do what i do or why i did it, please ask. If i can help you make a better home for your frogs, then i have absolutely no problem answering questions. It's what the forum is for after all

[flynmnky]

Yeah I know but was getting ready to take this thing into a whole 'nother direction about the plants I want, not what you want! :-)

If my questions were relevant to YOUR build, I'd ask em, especially since I'm prepared to pay in plants for the information. ;-) Lol!

[deranged chipmunk]

You can always pm me questions unrelated to the thread.

[flynmnky]

You might be sorry you said that... Lol!

[deranged chipmunk]

I already am......lol

[deranged chipmunk]

ok, so it was water testing day here at the chipmunk compound. interesting fact, human/chipmunk hybrids don't float....lol anyway, the goal of the night was to test the fogger set up, and figure out water features. i believe i did. before i get to the pics, i want to mention something i think is kind of important since this is a journal/tutorial. when you are building anything involving a water feature, a paludarium especially, you really need to do water testing. test how your water flows. sometimes, just because your eye sees it one way, does not mean that the water will follow your chosen path. in this case i had a bunch of stuff to figure out, first and foremost was to make sure i got good flow from side to side. next was the fogger and last was the filter and water feature. that's why i needed to fill it up to it's projected level and test full tilt. water testing showed me major obstacle in my 125. i found out that building land with that much foam on it out of the tank without siliconing it down, would be bad. those suckers just floated right up. now, imagine had i gotten it all planed, went to fill it up and never water tested it. disaster, without a doubt. that being said, here's what i did tonight:

the first thing i said i needed to test was the flow from side to side. so i watched my water levels carefully. there was no difference between the sides. there's #1 down. i filled it from the aquatic side and watched my water level under the false bottom. i moved the hose after i took the pic so it would only fill the aquatic section.


btw....i LOVE that hose attachment i made

next came the fogger. unfortunately, i didn't take pics of the failed attempts at tonight's work. didn't dawn on me to take that detailed of a record, but thinking back, i probably should have so you could have seen the process of what it was to what it became. oh, well. maybe on the next build keep in mind now, that the fogger is not as strong as it should be once it gets a bit more crowded in there. but i think you'll get the idea, and i think you'll see why i chose to use it.

i just like the swirl in the fog on that last one also, if you look at the lid of the fogger, you can see how much water is on the underside. i wasn't kidding when i said that those foggers shoot out a fountain.

last was the water feature. putting it in the corner was a major fail. i just didn't get the effect i wanted from the branch i had screwed to the pipe. also, the filter is ridiculously strong, even with the flow set at it's lowest. i was not expecting that. a lot of flow, yes, but not THAT much. i may still play with it a bit tomorrow. i have a thought on this. we'll see how motivated i can get tomorrow....lol so i moved my water feature position to front and center (almost), cut a new hole in another pipe, screwed my branch on, and i like it much better. i think it will be even better once i figure out the flow issue. after i got that worked out i, the architect came over and said "Hey! since we're gonna run that hose over there anyway, why don't we make that section a drip wall?" the contractor cursed him out under his breath, and then calmly said "that's one bang up idea!" so i cut a few holes in my filter hose and i now had the makings of a proper drip wall, see?


that was my only reason for saving that stupid little branch tip. i wanted my water feature to supply water to plants at the top of the stump. now i know i can grow plants all the way up. i'm thinking i am going to put tree fern panels at the drip wall, and maybe doing a clay background for the other half of the background and great stuff for the sides. anyone have any experience with the clay background?

[deranged chipmunk]

got my allowance from my boss yesterday and went shopping today at the hydroponics store!! i could have spent my entire allowance there! lookie at what i bought:



got me a pump, some plant pots and a buttload of fittings to make myself a rain system. maybe that will be a diy project thread....diy misting system. maybe i should see if it works first. hopefully an update will soon follow.

Note: i did not purchase the cup o' joe at the hydroponics store. that was at home away from home #2...lol

[IrishRonin]

Bill this really is looking good can't wait to see it finished, I love paludariums. Ok quick question whats "old planted tank guy"?

[deranged chipmunk]

i've been doing planted aquariums for quite a long time and i feel a LOT older than i am.....lol

[deranged chipmunk]

and thank you how is that stock of empty tanks working out for ya? that would be christmas in july for me....lol

[Adam R]

"the boss" as in "the wife"??..

[IrishRonin]

I see, there is a website called stotmthecastle.com and the guy who does it calls himself the planted tank guy. Anyway I have actually used 95% of them, in down to just 3 10g and the screen ones. I NEED MORE

[deranged chipmunk]

"the boss" as in "the wife"??..

nope. i mean the actual boss at work. i tell him what he pays me, it's more like my allowance when i was a kid....LOL

[deranged chipmunk]

I see, there is a website called stotmthecastle.com and the guy who does it calls himself the planted tank guy. Anyway I have actually used 95% of them, in down to just 3 10g and the screen ones. I NEED MORE

aha....gotcha. yeah, that's not me....lol but here is one of my planted tanks. please forgive the pic, it just got a trim today :


and no matter how many we have, we can never have enough tanks. even if it is our job......LOL

[deranged chipmunk]

ok, update time!! after i did the water testing, reconfigured a few things, and designed a rain system (more on that one in a later post), i got my equipment secured, terrestrial areas wrapped in weekblocker and got ready for some foam:



yes, that is a reflection of me and my 75g planted in the one pic. hey, i never claimed to be a photographer....lol

after that, i started foaming. then added a few pots for plants, and foamed some more. i will let this cure over night and then i should be able to complete the foaming tomorrow night. the easy part is done for mow.



sorry there's not more. building a rain system was a bit more tricky than i expected, and still has to be completed, that will be in the next few updates.

[Pluke]

Man that planted tank is awesome.. how many vivariums/planted tanks/paludariums do you have?