New to the land aspect of things

[thedigitale]

I've been keeping freshwater and reef tanks for many years now, and installed a pond in my yard last year, so I'm pretty familiar with the water side of things, but I've wanted to explore combining water and land in a tank for awhile now. My wife and I went to an orchid show last weekend, and I finally decided to start planning my paludarium.

Here's my plan:

I'm going to start with a 29g tank and hope to have 1 moth orchid as the dramatic centerpiece of the tank. Frogs aren't my main concern right now, as I want to make sure that the tank is stable before I put animals in, but eventually I'd like to add 2 dart frogs. Beyond that, I'll most likely add a handful of neon tetras to keep the water interesting.

I'm planning on having both a mister / rainmaker and a fogger, if for no reason other than the fact that I love the look of them (and the sound of the rain), and if I get adventurous, I'll add a waterfall feature. (I built one for the pond, so it can't be that much different building one in a tank.)

Any advice or helpful build threads anyone wants to point me towards would be greatly appreciated. Otherwise I'll be doing a lot of reading over the next few days and hopefully jumping in shortly. Feel free to tell me that this is way too advanced to start with or that I'm insane... It probably won't deter me, but at least I'll know what I'm getting myself into.

[deranged chipmunk]

First off, welcome to the forum my advice, and maybe I am reading the first paragraph of your post wrong, but if you plan on putting frogs in this tank at any time, they should be your primary concern and focus, not the orchid. The tank should be designed for the frogs, first and foremost, especially when darts are concerned. The reason I say that, is because, not all darts are the same. Say you build a glorious paludarium, and then decide you absolutely LOVE auratus, or a tinc species, which require floor space, you are kind of limited. They would be much happier with a full floor plan tank.

When you say 'moth orchid', I am assuming you mean a phalaenopsis species. Unless you are planning on getting a dwarf cultivar, most phals, will grow too big for an 18" tall tank. Especially when you consider how much height you lose between a false bottom and substrate. Even an 14" dwarf cultivar is going to cut it tight. The other issue with a phal and your plan is with the misting system AND a fogger, you need to watch for rotting. They like humidity, but when you hit the upper 90's, things tend to get dicey with some orchids. Also consider that orchids require excellent air circulation, especially phals, so you may need to add a fan into your design.

As far as threads to check out, hit the vivarium sub forum. There are stickies on vivarium construction that should get you on your way


Education is the most powerful weapon we can use to change the world ~ Nelson Mandela

[Lija]

Omg.... Long time reefer.... Orchid junkie... And moving to dart frog tanks..... Billy, you got a twin here?

welcome to the forums!

[thedigitale]

Omg.... Long time reefer.... Orchid junkie... And moving to dart frog tanks..... Billy, you got a twin here?

welcome to the forums!

Ha! Looks like he's only a couple hours away from me too. Must be something in that NJ/PA air!

[Lija]

I have a VERY bad feeling about this lol

billy + you =.... It's not going to end up well lol do you realize how many dart froggers are around where you live too? Actually, yeah, you're right, it's must be smth with the air!

remember the day you said you have only one tank in your house lol it's not going to be that for much longer, especially when you get dart frogs and you will make a killer tank too! I can see the future! Lol

[thedigitale]

I just have to make the first one REALLY nice so that the wife wants more...

[thedigitale]

First off, welcome to the forum my advice, and maybe I am reading the first paragraph of your post wrong, but if you plan on putting frogs in this tank at any time, they should be your primary concern and focus, not the orchid. The tank should be designed for the frogs, first and foremost, especially when darts are concerned. The reason I say that, is because, not all darts are the same. Say you build a glorious paludarium, and then decide you absolutely LOVE auratus, or a tinc species, which require floor space, you are kind of limited. They would be much happier with a full floor plan tank.

I'd love to have frogs at some point, but the primary focus is going to be on the orchid. If I have a driving desire to put a frog in that isn't compatible with the system I've built, I'll start another tank. I've been known to have multiple fish tanks with single species inhabitants because I couldn't keep them with something else. I try to provide an ideal habitat for any animal I take on, and if I can't, I won't get the animal. If I can't keep frogs in the tank at all, we have some in the pond and can admire them there. Even though I want the focus on the orchid, I found this forum to learn about the frogs so that I can make an educated decision when the time comes.

When you say 'moth orchid', I am assuming you mean a phalaenopsis species. Unless you are planning on getting a dwarf cultivar, most phals, will grow too big for an 18" tall tank. Especially when you consider how much height you lose between a false bottom and substrate. Even an 14" dwarf cultivar is going to cut it tight. The other issue with a phal and your plan is with the misting system AND a fogger, you need to watch for rotting. They like humidity, but when you hit the upper 90's, things tend to get dicey with some orchids. Also consider that orchids require excellent air circulation, especially phals, so you may need to add a fan into your design.

Yes, it's a phalaenopsis. All good to know. I'll have to take all of this into consideration. I have an orchid now that I'm hoping to install in the tank once it's built. It's fairly small, and since all of this is a learning experience for me, I'll just be happy if I can keep it alive. If it flourishes, the 29g will most likely be on an upgrade path sooner rather than later. I'm most interested in being able to grow moss and orchids first. If I can do that, I'll start looking at frogs that will be best suited to the tank.

Ideally, I'd love to have a natural rain looking system, instead of the mister, but all of the ones I've seen seem to be DIY systems. In either case, I'd obviously have to play around with timers to ensure that I was able to maintain a stable humidity at the required level.

I guess my ultimate goal is to create a little slice of rainforest in the house and try to keep everything in it healthy and happy. (While keeping the wife happy enough that she doesn't kill me.)

To give you an idea of our house right now, we have 2 cats, 2 dogs, 2 guinea pigs, 2 bee hives, a saltwater tank, and a pond... So what's a few more animals in our little zoo.

[deranged chipmunk]

Omg.... Long time reefer.... Orchid junkie... And moving to dart frog tanks..... Billy, you got a twin here?

welcome to the forums!

Haha! Not quite Lija, I haven't done a reef tank in about 30 years lol


Education is the most powerful weapon we can use to change the world ~ Nelson Mandela