# Planted Tanks > Vivariums >  My 50cm paludarium-like tank mini journal

## 69efan69

Hi guys just wanna share my setup with u alll..

wanna make a cheap paludarium-like tank to spice up my room.. :Grin: 

got myself a 50cmx35x35 tank and a 2ft styrofoam bg by ocean free..

..

siliconed background to the back and i use the leftovers to make a mini land area for the tank..



siliconed some sand to the "land" area..

 



to be conT ....

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## 69efan69

figuring out the best height to place the "land" thingy..





next we think about how to go about covering up the filter intake a lil bit..



again we used the styrofoam leftover to do the job..





not great but much better i think haha..

to be cont..

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## 69efan69

everything seems fine and we proceeded to silicon the land thingy..





the next night , silicon is cured and we proceeded to start adding cycled water..



we start the filter and make sure the water flows to almost every part of the "land"..





we use java thai moss for the wet wet land area..



to be cont..

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## 69efan69

previewww of the laand part..





water dripping from all sides...



touching up here and thereee...



to be cont..

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## feide

> figuring out the best height to place the "land" thingy..
> 
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> 
> to be cont..


Great job there and looking good!  :Smile: 
Pardon for a noob question, how do you secure the 'land' part to to the styrofoam bg? You use the same method to hide the filter intake?

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## 69efan69

> Great job there and looking good! 
> Pardon for a noob question, how do you secure the 'land' part to to the styrofoam bg? You use the same method to hide the filter intake?


yeapp silicon them together haha. 

here's how it looks now..







im going to add some floating plants like giant duckweed and maybe airplants to the background..



cheers.

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## feide

wow, you must be really skillful to silicon the parts together as the surface looks quite uneven.  :Surprised:

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## 69efan69

> wow, you must be really skillful to silicon the parts together as the surface looks quite uneven.


my friend did all the landscaping part haha credit goes to him lol. he actually used a lighter to burn n mould the sides to tally the background so it'll fit like lego. 

 :Jump for joy:

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## ranmasatome

Woo.. really interesting! great job.

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## Wild Ginger

That's a very detailed photo journal set-up mate! Just make sure the land part adjoining to the back wall has sufficient silicone. You could poke through a few stainless steel rods or acrylic rods to strengthen it.  :Grin: 

So are you planning to have ferns or bromeliads, airplants at the back? Looks like a very promising basic setup to build up upon! :Jump for joy: 

Regards,
Phillipe.

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## eddy planer

That very impressive! This is Crazy!

My hands are damn itchy to construct 6ft tank paludarium and i have at least 65% of materials to create.

Do you have any cork bark to spare? :Embarassed:

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## 69efan69

hahaha thanks guys!




> That's a very detailed photo journal set-up mate! Just make sure the land part adjoining to the back wall has sufficient silicone. You could poke through a few stainless steel rods or acrylic rods to strengthen it. 
> 
> So are you planning to have ferns or bromeliads, airplants at the back? Looks like a very promising basic setup to build up upon!
> 
> Regards,
> Phillipe.


the land part, i put alot of silicon especially on the glass side hope its stable haha.

im still not sure what plants to put hhere.. looking for plants where half of it is underwater while the leaves n stuff are out of the water? is there such plant?  :Opps: 

im def gonna get some small small airplants for the background..

YouTube - Another Paludarium W I P

heres the vid of it.. u can see my friend making small vase like stuff using leftover styrofoam to use it for the airplant.. stil deciding wher to place it..




> That very impressive! This is Crazy!
> 
> My hands are damn itchy to construct 6ft tank paludarium and i have at least 65% of materials to create.
> 
> Do you have any cork bark to spare?


hi bro,

i do not have any cork bark cuz i only use styrofoam and sand..

cheerss :Jump for joy:

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## Wild Ginger

There's a lot of plants which can grow having the bottom half in water and the upper part emmersed. Some being marsh plants and bog plants. Just to name a few which are relatively easy to propogate are as follows:

- Ceratopteris thalicroides ( able to root in shallow waters )
- Anubias afzelii
- Anubias barteri var. barteri
- Anubias gracilis
- Anubias hastifolia
- Bacopa caroliniana ( emits a lemony smell when leaves are crushed )
- Hydrcotyle aka pennyworts
- Echinodorus

Most of the plants if not all are commonly available at the aquarium shops. So you might want to try out. As i noticed that your substrate is not that deep, you might want to get the Anubias species listed instead as you can anchor the roots to the driftwoods in your tank.

Also, you can try putting riccia on your land area since the water spout is located above it. It'll give a nice carpet of bright greens when grown emmersed. Just a suggestion  :Smile: 

Regards,
Phillipe.

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## 69efan69

> There's a lot of plants which can grow having the bottom half in water and the upper part emmersed. Some being marsh plants and bog plants. Just to name a few which are relatively easy to propogate are as follows:
> 
> - Ceratopteris thalicroides ( able to root in shallow waters )
> - Anubias afzelii
> - Anubias barteri var. barteri
> - Anubias gracilis
> - Anubias hastifolia
> - Bacopa caroliniana ( emits a lemony smell when leaves are crushed )
> - Hydrcotyle aka pennyworts
> ...


duddeee thanks for the listtt.. and the riccia idea.. im going for it hahaha  :Jump for joy:  :Jump for joy:

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## 69efan69

here's a little update  :Grin: 

i dont think these floating plants will last though.





cheers  :Jump for joy:

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## gene

nice work, i think the floating plants should survive, as long as theres enough nutrients and light, easy plants  :Wink:

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## boi_wave

im utterly out of words bro, its nice, simple and AWESOME!

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## felix_fx2

Good job,

The floating plant should survive. If it is duckweed very likely to live on as its not a demanding plant.

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## 69efan69

Thanks guys!

here's a little update.. most of my floating plants didnt survive cause im rarely home nowadays and lights are off most of the time haha. but the mosses and nanas are still doing great as expected.  :Jump for joy: 

here are some of the inhabitants.

6 *orange shrimps*..



*1 Geosesarma sp. ..*

always inside the "cave" like burrows on the land area during the day and "hunt" for food at night.. thinking of ways to expand the land area.





spot himmm..



and my main monster,1 young* P.labiatus* .. an old pic. he's fatter and longer today.





.. well there's a 2 endlers and 3 lampeyes that i just cant seemed to get decent pics with.

cheers.  :Grin:

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## AquaZinYaw

W-O-W. (My jaw dropped)  :Surprised: 

You're a lucky guy to have a friend who got talent like this.

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## dkk08

good update!

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## jiiang

> Thanks guys!


wow, it's sooo nice, looks like a corner of natural lake or spring ..
have P.labiatus ever gone out that tank?

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## Xianghao

nice scape. your crab won't climb out?

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## 69efan69

Thanks guys!

so Far the p.labiatus has never tried to escape even in its old tank. 

for the crab, i have never seen it climbing up anywhere or trying to escape. im still working on the cover for the top.. thinking about mesh cover.. keeping my fingers crossed for now..

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## limz_777

try a timer for your lightning , auto on and off since you are not at home most of the time

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## 69efan69

> try a timer for your lightning , auto on and off since you are not at home most of the time


oh yeaa haha i think i'll do that.. thanks!!  :Smile: 

here's just some videos of the critters having their makan time..

YouTube - Vampire Crab

YouTube - Feeding Pachytriton labiatus

oh yeah i need opinions on this one..

i re arrange some stuff and remove the big ol wood to make more space and thinking of new (*underwater*) scape but still no idea... want to make more hiding place for the newt and also more plants but dont know how yet..

*enjoying his mini *temporary* underwater island..


im also thinking about expanding the land area for the crab.. but no "waterfall" so this part will be dry.. what plants/substrate should i use?

here's my *photoshopped* idea...



what do you guys think?  :Confused:

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## AquaZinYaw

Isn't the crab lonely? It's just my opinion that i'm not sure those kind of crab should be solitary.

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## 69efan69

> Isn't the crab lonely? It's just my opinion that i'm not sure those kind of crab should be solitary.


i'll try to do more research and ask around to see if they are territorial or not haha will add more if they are not  :Grin:

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## jiiang

...  :Roll Eyes:  lovely violet crab! I think you should use water fertilizer, 1 or 2 drops for every 3 days, that will make your plants and moss always green - and using silk-cotton will keep the left side wet longer..  :Smile:

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## petspamus

Very nice fish tank. I really love very much...
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## samhon

Does your fishes get eaten?

Nice set up there, where did you get that crabby from?

 :Smile:

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## SCOPE

can share where you buy the Pachytriton labiatus? Look interesting!

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## Fuzzy

I used to keep them many years ago as well, they're really cute.

Haven't seen any for sale in at least the last 5 years.

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## p.albert

wow thats a beautiful setup you got there. pretty interesting pets as well. way to go man.

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## altezza_87

can shed some light on where you got your black styrofoam?

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## NDC

Hi there,
nice set up you have there.
I have same question as Samhon, where can i get the crab??  :Grin:

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## Shaihulud

I saw the crab a few days ago at C328.

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## dkk08

just came back from Y618 got 4 of them should still have about 10 left

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## huhengyi1986

very nice set up! is using cork bark easier?

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## 69efan69

thanks guys!!




> can shed some light on where you got your black styrofoam?


got them from qianhu. =) length 60cm.




> very nice set up! is using cork bark easier?


not sure man im just making use of the leftovers haha.

here's a little update..

the land area like jungle already..



and the cover..



will change to a better light and add some airplants soon.

cheers.

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## knight

> oh yeaa haha i think i'll do that.. thanks!! 
> 
> here's just some videos of the critters having their makan time..
> 
> YouTube - Vampire Crab
> 
> YouTube - Feeding Pachytriton labiatus
> 
> oh yeah i need opinions on this one..
> ...


Good day Bro, 
Very impressive work you have there.

Really tempting to try! Ha... Ha... Ha...

Hey just a though, does it work on a 1 feet tank? I do have a spare tank for trial. But need guidance. 

Cheers
Knight

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## cdckjn

Cool Tank, Your tank inspires me for my idea.

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## ro2f

You tank is my favorite on this site

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## ro2f

BEUTIFULL Tank :Smile:

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## vivaboy76

where did u buy the small colored crab

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## hoverfish

This setup makes me want to start another hobby ! Nice very nice

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## 69efan69

Thanks guys

here are some update. kinda bz lately for tank updates haha.

cheers!

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## Sims

I really need to ask where did you get the purple monster from. I mean which fish shop? Anyone knows? please advice! thanks

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## Neebs

:Shocked: 
Stunning...

What is your water temperature?

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## leepwj

Very nice setup.........bravo bro.

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## dew

I only comment that for better effect, if you only has breadth size light, then you can put the light towards more to left or right side, if able, tilt the light a little so that slight diagonal lighting effect can be achieved, shining across the tank. 

The siliconed background good idea, but don't know long time will drop out anot.

If I am not wrong the DW is less than 6 months old? Cus can see the tannins in the water.

Overall very nice tank.

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## 69efan69

Thanks guys!!

here are some updates.



this crab is my current fav. i always have doubts rearing these mini crabs. fearing they might drown like my last 2 did.. but this one is doing great. knows how to find its way back to the land ..

sometimes 1 whole day on land. and the other, underwater clearing up any leftover bloodworms..living in this tank for a month already.. coping well i guess..






some 20 ought shrimps..





thats all..

cheers!

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## bettafantastic

SO NICE!!!!!
Where you get the * P.labiatus* 
I want to get some too :Smile:

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## Nuur

I did made one before, Froggy tank.

Using dirt and driftwood.

Now no, lol.

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## wongkk

Yah... Where can I get the *P.labiatus* and all the crabs?

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## rafimo

when seaview last sunday saw tank full of red claw crab, . get a few piece for my paludarium set up

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## Splutter

This is damn impressive! Great photo taking skills as well  :Shocked:

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## 69efan69

Thanks guys!

saw the "leftover" of my crab after it succesfully molted.








had a fun mini photo taking session with the "costume" haha.









cheers. :Grin:

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## vivaboy76

so what happen to your vampire crabs and salamander?

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## 69efan69

> so what happen to your vampire crabs and salamander?



newt still doing well. camera shy so hard to take pictures haha always hidden in the greenery at the back.


vampire r.i.p =[

now the red crab still doing well.. spends most of the time on the land area although sometimes i do see it at the bottom of the sea haha

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## vivaboy76

vampire crabs seems not hardy huh.......so first kept my salamader in 1988, very long time ago, then in 90s early 2000s now it seems exintct in singapore......cant get hold of it, u must very lucky....but igot caecilian from clementi shop. though cant subsitute salamander, but more unique,,,,, like a snake...
salamander damn hardy guys...miss those guys

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## 69efan69

> vampire crabs seems not hardy huh.......so first kept my salamader in 1988, very long time ago, then in 90s early 2000s now it seems exintct in singapore......cant get hold of it, u must very lucky....but igot caecilian from clementi shop. though cant subsitute salamander, but more unique,,,,, like a snake...
> salamander damn hardy guys...miss those guys



yep i checked out caecinlians over at youtube. very interesting creatures indeed!

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## vivaboy76

caecilian is interestin i agree but once in the tank, u cant see it at all cos it will burrow into the substrate. will seldom come out. they nocturnal creatures. they are almost blind , totally rely on smell, slight movement of vibrations. they can grow around 10 to 18 inches..... they love live shrimps, yet to expose them to feeder fish. they do love bloodworm,

they do come out to surface to get oxygen and only during feeding time- only this two occassion they come out. I still prefer salamander.but cae is closest to having a snake at home in singapore. great substitute. its looks and moves exactly like a snake.people might definitely think its water snake

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## ndy06

Ckck, a good setup.  :Smile:

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## halene

WOW!!
This is awesome!

where did you buy your * P.labiatus* ??

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## chris168

Amazing and beutiful DIY setup. The feel of the scape like it so much. Very impressive.

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## Jovel

You poison me deep deep to start a tank like this bro. ARGH.

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## marimo

it just blew my mind .. phewwwww into lost jungle
the vampire crab is amazing ! which LFS still have it?
I think put a air pump into water for dissolved oxygen so that you crab can survive longer underwater?

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## Unitedgyc

good job, very interesting, thank you for sharing with us

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## Twigster

Awesome tank. Interesting creatures too =)

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## s98432512

all the awesome tanks here are readlly making me to build one !!!

AWesome !!!

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## 69efan69

Ahhh sorry didnt relpy to most posts.. thanks guy! ahha. gave this tank to my cousin already. really had fun maintaining it.

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## kennethc

Same as AquaZinYaw. Simply amazing. Any ideas how to get these pump filter that can drop water like yours from singapore? I have been looking for them, including rainbar..

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## AhVy

wow....thumbs up! so impressive! How long did you take and how much did you spend for the whole tank setup?

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## eddy planer

Hi efan,

It's a long time I have not heard of you? Any awesome insight or built to show off and made us have blasting time? can we?

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