• You are viewing the forum as a Guest, please login (you can use your Facebook, Twitter, Google or Microsoft account to login) or register using this link: Log in or Sign Up

Converting Aquarium Into A Paludarium

REDSTEVEO

Member
Joined
31 Mar 2008
Messages
1,473
Location
Planet Earth
This is a speculative enquiry about doing something I've never done before, therefore no knowledge or experience.

I am thinking of converting my 400 Litre Eheim Incpiria Aquarium into a Paludarium. Maybe dropping the water level to just a third of the current depth or less. Then creating some kind of wall at the back for planting mosses, ferns, and other immersed plant species. So I have a few questions.

1. Can this be done?
2. How do I construct a wall along the back?
3. How to cover or disguise the filter pipework?
4. How to install a misting device?
5. Does the top need to be covered?
6. Where to source the equipment?
7. Anything else I need to consider?

Thanks, Steve

Here is the Aquarium as it looks now.
20221015_145331.jpg
20221015_145429.jpg
20221015_145405.jpg
20221015_145405.jpg
 

Attachments

  • 20221015_145340.jpg
    20221015_145340.jpg
    1.8 MB · Views: 104
You can buy a cooper fogger off Amazon, you would need to buy some persplex/glass to make your wall then use silicone to fix.
Theres a youtuber called Serpa Design i would recommend watching some of his vids for how to's.
 
I think there are quite a few ways to make a paludarium/riparium so do you know what you wuld like? You can use some terrestrial plant species where the humidity doesn't need to be that high, so it makes things really simple.

There are two really nice examples of here

One an open fronted design with a drip wall
Marshlands

And another which has evolved a bit but is another simple design

If you would like to use high humidity plants (like aquarium plants such as anubias etc), then a fogger can be useful but if you have a lid, the humidity should be high anyway like in a terrarium.
 
I built one with an open front but you might see some inspiration somewhere….
 
1. Can this be done?
Yes definitely, I have used aquariums a few times, albeit on a smaller scale than you are planning.
2. How do I construct a wall along the back?
I used "Epiweb", once it's covered by moss and other plants you don't really notice it, and it has the advantage over just stacking hardscape in that it doesn't take up nearly as much room front-to-back (something that tends to be in short supply in aquarium).
3. How to cover or disguise the filter pipework?
If you go down the epiweb route you can easily run the filter hoses behind the background, otherwise cover them by hardscape or/and add a Ficus pumila (or other fast growing plant) in front of them.
5. Does the top need to be covered?
This depends on what you want to have growing in there. For aquatic species you can keep the top covered unless you have a heater in there (which would cause a lot of warm humid air, meaning endless condensation on the glass), but otherwise some kind of ventilation is necessary. It doesn't need to be much though, and if you want to keep the top intact you could maybe get away by mounting a computer fan in one of the openings for cables etc in the hood. My paludrium (in one of the threads Mort linked to earlier) gets away with five small openings in the top and a small fan, the sliding panes on the front doesn't aid ventilation at all so it's basically an extra deep aquarium.
1667721513474.jpeg
You could also go down the completely open-topped route, but keep in mind that this would mean frequent top-ups to keep the water level stable.
 
The lower section of the 'arium in my signature might give you some ideas for construction. I didn't separate the land from the water in the traditional way and the filter is hidden in the corner. My dripwall is raised out of an aquarium with a DIY drip systemwith the pipework running behind the plants. For misting systems, look at MistKing, but depending on what you go for build-wise you may not need one.
 
@foxfish and @mort If you re- read my post, it's my 400 litre Eheim Incpiria tank I'm thinking of trying to convert into a Paludarium.

So the open front idea is not an option.

See question 1.

Thanks

I mentioned the open front in relation to the different type of planting route you can go through. You would get similar humidity if you didn't have a lid on the tank. This is good for forest plants that like some humidity but don't need the kind of humidity some aquatic plants need to grow emersed.
So it was really a question of what route you would like to go with the planting that dictates what equipment you might want to go for. An open topped tank where the plants get wet feet is probably the easiest route but if you wanted anubias, bucephalandra etc then you would be better going down the fogger route where ventilation would become more important.
 
Check this guy out on Instagram
 
I mentioned the open front in relation to the different type of planting route you can go through. You would get similar humidity if you didn't have a lid on the tank. This is good for forest plants that like some humidity but don't need the kind of humidity some aquatic plants need to grow emersed.
So it was really a question of what route you would like to go with the planting that dictates what equipment you might want to go for. An open topped tank where the plants get wet feet is probably the easiest route but if you wanted anubias, bucephalandra etc then you would be better going down the fogger route where ventilation would become more important.
I would prefer an open topped paludarium because I wouldn't want to limit the growth of the plants to just under the lid, I.e all at the same height. Does that make sense?
 
I would prefer an open topped paludarium because I wouldn't want to limit the growth of the plants to just under the lid, I.e all at the same height. Does that make sense?

Makes perfect sense. It again depends very much on which plants you would like but there is lots of choice for plants that wouldn't need extra humidity, others that might benefit from a manual spray occassionally, if you didn't want to go down the fogger route.
 
Back
Top