100 Gallon Tropical Saltwater Paludarium

[dpoltsdsu]

Doing a water test for the next couple of days while the background is being built.

Looks like the system will hold about 25 gallons of saltwater which I am quite pleased with. I think that will be enough water to house quite a bit of coral as the bottom of the setup is spread out quite a bit. The one limitation will be height as far as coral goes though. I’ll have to be a bit careful with what I put in.

 

[dpoltsdsu]

Starting to experiment a bit with the hardscape for this tank. I got this awesome piece of wood for the tank that I personally think looks amazing.

I wanted the look of a piece of driftwood that got caught up on a rocky shoreline. and I think this will do the trick. Its also thick enough toward the bottom where I can plant Epiphytes like Ferns and Bromeliads

 

[BristleWormHater]

Starting to experiment a bit with the hardscape for this tank. I got this awesome piece of wood for the tank that I personally think looks amazing.

I wanted the look of a piece of driftwood that got caught up on a rocky shoreline. and I think this will do the trick. Its also thick enough toward the bottom where I can plant Epiphytes like Ferns and Bromeliads

Nice piece!

 

[SandNRocks]

Always loved these tanks, possibly some inspiration for you! Good luck, cool idea!

 

[dpoltsdsu]

Always loved these tanks, possibly some inspiration for you! Good luck, cool idea!

Thanks! Funny enough, that system is actually why I wanted to do this. As soon as I saw that video, I was hooked on the idea.

 

[dpoltsdsu]

Was walking around Home Depot and found a Neoregelia Bromeliad display that had a ton of plants and pups. I have never seen that there so i went ahead and purchased my first plants for the paludarium! I also found a decent fern that will hopefully do well.

I got to drilling small holes in the wood and placed the stolons of the Bromeliads in the holes and it actually worked out pretty well. Once the small ones grow out a bit I think this will look quite nice. Hopefully they do well. I don’t have a ton of experience keeping plants so this will definitely be a learning experience

 

[dpoltsdsu]

I also obviously got the smaller tank filled in with dirt and a drainage layer. I used lava rocks as the base, separated it with a mesh screen, and filled the rest with an ABG soil mix

 

[silent1mezzo]

Wow, super excited to see this. Following along

 

[dpoltsdsu]

Wow, super excited to see this. Following along

Happy to have you along for the ride!

 

[dpoltsdsu]

Couldn’t help myself and bought a second Neoregelia piece and did some more planting. Im very happy with how the terrestrial section is coming along.

I’m also having an unexpected addition and am adding the first inhabitants to the setup. It’s sooner than expected but it’ll be good for them to get used to the setup before the water goes in..

 

[dpoltsdsu]

Well the first inhabitants of the system are a pair of Green Anoles!

A coworker was going to re-home them and although it’s a bit earlier than expected, they are now at home in the Paludarium. They have been in the system for a few days now and so far they are doing very well. Im glad they are going to be able to get adjusted before any water goes in.

Im hoping this pair will work for the following reasons:

- They drink water from the leaves and don’t typically drink from any source of standing water (which is theoretically perfect for a saltwater Paludarium).

- They are mainly arboreal. This is in line with what I’m seeing as they have stayed in the branches and leaves the entire time I’ve had them. They have not ventured down onto the ground at all. They do have a land area if they need to for whatever reason but they have shown no interest so far.

- They are active, colorful, and diurnal which will go well with the theme of the tank where my goal is to show off the beauty of both land and water. These guys were also running all over Hawaii when I was there which was a big part of the inspiration of this tank.

We’ll see how they do! Fortunately we have quite a bit of time before the background comes and the water is put in so they should have plenty of time to settle. So far they are both eating great and have been super active.

Here’s a picture of one on his leaf!

 

[Fishy Guy]

Love it!

 

[dpoltsdsu]

Well now I'm getting even more excited for the rest of this build. I got some pictures of the background being completed and they look absolutely stunning and are far exceeding my expectations. I think Im going to have them add a side panel as well t\on the left if they can fit it in.

 

[Fishy Guy]

Well now I'm getting even more excited for the rest of this build. I got some pictures of the background being completed and they look absolutely stunning and are far exceeding my expectations. I think Im going to have them add a side panel as well t\on the left if they can fit it in.

Very cool! Can't wait to see it all come together.

 

[dpoltsdsu]

Aquadecor is adding a side panel as well which will take an another couple days and then they will ship it out! Can’t wait to get this thing filled with some water on the bottom!

I also ordered some Mangroves and I am currently acclimating them to saltwater. I feel like this type is system has to have a couple mangroves!

 

[dpoltsdsu]

And a quick update on the planting. I probably went a bit overboard but I think it gives that jungle look I was going for. I think once the ferns grow in on the bottom it’ll really really look filled in. It’s definitely a bit of a learning curve with the plants as I’m much more used to placing coral!

 

[Fishy Guy]

And a quick update on the planting. I probably went a bit overboard but I think it gives that jungle look I was going for. I think once the ferns grow in on the bottom it’ll really really look filled in. It’s definitely a bit of a learning curve with the plants as I’m much more used to placing coral!

Looks great! How are the anoles doing?

 

[dpoltsdsu]

Looks great! How are the anoles doing?

Thanks! The Anoles are still doing great. They don’t seem stressed and are very active and eating well. They still haven’t ventured below the bottom of the “land area” which I’m happy about. So far so good.

I just took a picture of the female a couple mins ago enjoying some UVB. She seems very content haha