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Need help- setting up riparium in garden?

Sacha

Member
Joined
3 Jan 2014
Messages
992
Location
London
Someone flytipped this at the top of my road:

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I took it home and filled it up. It holds water about 40% of the way up, but the seal has come apart at one of the corners, about halfway up. So it is only half- watertight.

I've decided that I can't be bothered trying to find a filter, hood and lights for it. I've come to the decision that I want to put it in the garden, add substrate, fill it partially with water, and plant it out. It will be a plant display.

Will this work? If so, how do I go about making it happen?
 
I don't know if any tropical species of plants will survive that, but you can always go with pond plants .... "pondarium" ? :p
Might be nice if you keep an open water area to have some salamanders or frogs in it.
 
Pond plants sounds great!

So just fill it about 30%, add some hard scape and stuff it full of pond plants?

What kind of substrate will I want?
 
If you ever catch them fly tipping again Sacha, send them to the top of my road:lol:..nice find that:thumbup:

There are some really great pond plants to have fun with and you could buy a small bag of aquatic compost for the job too. Just the right time of year to start looking and maybe a pic once its set up? Enjoy!!:D

Harry
 
You could go with some crude rocks to make a bank and then trow some of the aquatic compost on top of that, you could keep an open middle, slightly off centre.
I'm not very familiar with what garden centers etc. would offer in the UK but it can't be too far off the Dutch flora.

I'll see if I can look some things up and get the english names and maybe some links[DOUBLEPOST=1395331000][/DOUBLEPOST]Equisetum Hyemale, or close relative, is one iconic plant I've always liked. I found this site that looks like a great source of information on plants: http://www.watersidenursery.co.uk/is/pond.aspx
 
You could go with some crude rocks to make a bank and then trow some of the aquatic compost on top of that, you could keep an open middle, slightly off centre.

My plan is to get the tank completely set up (rock, water, soil etc), and worry about plants afterwards.

So I will just need rocks, soil and water? Shall I just find some rocks on the ground somewhere? How do I go about laying down a substrate for something like this?
 
put something in the tank so the rocks wont break the glass, place large rocks on top, dump soil over rocks.
Unless you can find some good sized rocks outside somewhere, you can always get them at the garden center.
 
Hi Sacha,
are you going to have the tank on the ground or on a bench or something?
If it's on the ground you could sit it on sand but get it level. If on a bench you will need something for it to sit on, maybe some old carpet or a custom made tank mat.

You could put some polystyrene inside to sit the rocks on but I just usually put a 2" layer of substrate and carefully place the rocks on that, just as long as the rocks aren't massive.

The other thing you might consider if it's going to be outside is you'll need a glass cover as, if it rains heavily it will fill the tank.
Rocks collected from the ground will be okay for your purpose but I would look for some that are not lime as then you can control the water parameters for whatever you decide to keep in there. Sun will also be an issue as you don't want any direct sunlight or it will just turn green. I reckon you will still need to do water changes and wipe the glass etc but it should be fun.:thumbup:. I know you are aware of most of this but just kicking a few ideas around for you.

Harry.
 
Thanks for the advice Harry.

I have a hood that I can use to cover the top from rain.
It's going to be on floor level- i was hoping to put it directly on the patio paving?
I'll be using pure RO and chucking in some ferts every now and again
 
Thanks for the advice Harry.

I have a hood that I can use to cover the top from rain.
It's going to be on floor level- i was hoping to put it directly on the patio paving?
I'll be using pure RO and chucking in some ferts every now and again

Sounds good Sacha, I just wonder with the hood whether the daylight will be right? A glass cover will encourage the plants to grow upwards whereas a cover may be too dark. Could be wrong as You will have the daylight all around but worth thinking about. You could try the hood and change it for glass if you're not happy.
 
I thought you said the tank leaks about a 3rd of the way up ... how is the rain going to fill it then ?
 
Yes that too. If it does rain heavily, it will fill to 1/3 and then just leak out of the tank. But that process might make the break in the seal even larger.
 
I thought you said the tank leaks about a 3rd of the way up ... how is the rain going to fill it then ?

It all depends how fast it leaks. Usually a tank tends to 'seep' once the silicone starts to go and then heavy rain would indeed fill it. also as Sacha says if full it would put extra strain on the seal. With all that in mind Sacha, and seeing it's not going to be in your living room, how about buying a tube of sealant and having a go at making it water tight? Just a thought.:)
 
I probably will have a go with some sealant too. Didn't think it would be necessary if only partially filling the tank, but I suppose I might as well.
 
Anyone have any more ideas for this? Substrate, plants, hardscape?
 
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