# 20 Tall Riparium



## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

I'm working on another new riparium. This one is going into a 20 Gallon High (24" wide X 12" deep X 16" tall).










This is the the smallest size that i have successfully used for ripariums: it is difficult to hide the planting hardware in a smaller tank. The height of this tank is just enough to accommodate short/medium statured plants.

I am not a big fan of blue backgrounds for aquariums, but wish to try one for this display.










This paint should dry to a somewhat darker, more subdued color.

I don't have any single prevailing theme in mind for planting this one. In the emersed area I intend to use a few hardy low/moderate light plants, such as _Cryptocoryne_. In order to accommodate the humidity requirements of the crypts, the tank will be mostly covered with a glass canopy. I will also use just a couple-three crypts in the underwater portion.

Here is the empty tank with background.










I used the *golden ratio* as a guide for determining depth of water. This consistently produces a pleasing result. To find the dividing line that would separate the underwater and above water portions I first measured between the bottom of the top plastic frame and the top of the bottom plastic frame, finding a distance of 14.4". By multiplying this value by .6, (rounded down from the golden ratio conjugate, .618033...) I determined that the above water area would be 8.64" tall. So, the water should fill the bottom 5.75" of the tank.










Here is the tank with a quick hardscape. I have found that it is easy to situate rounded river rocks in a nice arrangement. I also used the golden section for the hardscape, placing the largest rock approximately along this line.










The sand substrate is also an inexpensive, easy to work with material--white pool filter sand. It is important to use light-colored substrates in planted ripariums. The emersed plants can begin to throw a lot of shade as they grow and darken the underwater area. Light colors reflect light and brighten the underwater area.










Lastly, a layer of light-colored, rounded pebbles tops the sand. These little stones help to blend the larger rocks and sand layer.










I will add live plants soon.


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## chunkylover817 (Sep 28, 2007)

???wuts a riparium? the only other thing ive heard near that word is terrarium..


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

check those links in my sig there is some information there.

other similar types of setups are paludariums and vivariums. the main difference between ripariums and these other kinds is that ripariums don't have any built-up land area--the plants are just supported with floating and hanging planters.


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## chunkylover817 (Sep 28, 2007)

lol whoa, thats cool, cant wait to see how ur comes out. What plants are ya gonna put in?


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

I just set the tank up with most of the plants and took a bunch of pictures as I worked. Here is one of the final shots.










I need to add more midground plants--you can stull see some of the hardware here.

I'll post more soon with details about planting.


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

Here are the plants that i have in there so far, from left:


creeping jenny (_Lysimacchia nummularia_)
_Cryptocoryne wendtii_ 'Bronze'
peace lily (_Spathiphyllum_ sp.)
creeping jenny (a second pot)
chameleon plant (_Houttuynia cordata_ 'Chameleon')
mondo grass (_Ophiopogon japonicus_)

I have several more to add.


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## santo71 (Oct 18, 2006)

this intrigues me, i'll be checking out the links your sig for more information!


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

santo71 said:


> this intrigues me, i'll be checking out the links your sig for more information!


Well just let me know if you have any particular questions. I have quite a bit of information up and I can suggest specific links.

I am going to work on this some more tonight, but I post a larger picture from my latest result.










Like I said before, it still needs more plants.


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

I finished up the planting tonight, adding a couple more plants in Hanging Planters and several more Trellis Rafts. I also planted a few sparse underwater plants.










If you look closely you can see some of the planting hardware, but this will become obscured as everything grows in.


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## kimcadmus (Nov 23, 2008)

Looking great. I really like those hanging planters, they really clear up some realestate for water/fauna.


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

thanks so much. that is a major advantage of this kind of setup over a paludarium or vivarium--that there is much more underwater space for fish and aquatic plants.

that last shot shows two more emergent plants: _Polygonum_ 'Kawagoneum'; _Hemigraphis_ 'Red Equator'. i have two low-tech plants in the underwater area: _C. wendtii_ '?'; _Hygrophila_ sp.

i am going to take a few more pictures then disassemble it and move the whole thing out of the photo studio and its spot in the room. then i will add some fish.


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

Here is a shot down into the tank, before I take it apart.


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## trackhazard (Sep 20, 2006)

You set up your south american biotope riparium in a rimless open top tank . Your crypt tank is done in what looks like a standard tank with lids. Do you find it necessary to have the lids in order to keep everything going? I am really interested in pulling something off like this but I live in a fairly dry climate (southern california) and w/ our AC in the summer and the tank not being completely full, I am wondering if the evaporation might be too much and if this will be viable in a 75 gal open top tank.

Your thoughts are appreciated.

Charlie


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## cs_gardener (Apr 28, 2006)

Nice setup. While the hanging planters look great it just didn't look quite right until you had plants in the water. Your use of the golden ratio is well done, I find it hard to stop looking at your tank.


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

trackhazard said:


> You set up your south american biotope riparium in a rimless open top tank . Your crypt tank is done in what looks like a standard tank with lids. Do you find it necessary to have the lids in order to keep everything going? I am really interested in pulling something off like this but I live in a fairly dry climate (southern california) and w/ our AC in the summer and the tank not being completely full, I am wondering if the evaporation might be too much and if this will be viable in a 75 gal open top tank.
> 
> Your thoughts are appreciated.
> 
> Charlie


whether or not a glass top is used depends upon plant selection. the emersed forms of some aquarium plants (e.g., _Anubias_, _Cryptocoryne_, some stem plants) require very humidity (>90%) all the time. another large class of plants that can be used in ripariums are pond marginals: that South America tank has a number of those. these plants do better with drier air and more air circulation, so an open-top display is more appropriate.

one could also use other measures to create the right humidity conditions, such as a fan, for plants that need more air circulation, or a mister, for crypts and similar plants.

some _Echinodorus_ swords and other amphibious plants have very different immersed and emersed forms, these actually require somewhat drier air for emersed culture, or they will never switch leaf type.


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

cs_gardener said:


> Nice setup. While the hanging planters look great it just didn't look quite right until you had plants in the water. Your use of the golden ratio is well done, I find it hard to stop looking at your tank.


thanks very much. i agree it is important to have a few underwater plants--they create visual link between the underwater and above water areas.


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

I moved the tank and set it up in its semi-permanent spot. I got a couple of shots tonight.










Notice the 1 1/2" gap in the front of the glass canopy. This encourages warm air to rise along the front pane of glass, thereby discouraging water condensation. I removed the single crypt that i had in here, so all of the plants will be able to handle the lower relative humidity. Most of these are pond type plants, so they will prosper better with a little more air circulation.

I also installed a simple internal power filter.










I need to work on the underwater area to get a more coherent arrangement, but I think that the emersed plants look alright. If you look closely you can see a couple of fish.


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## trackhazard (Sep 20, 2006)

That looks fantastic.

EQ question:

Do you like using internal filters or canister filters for these applications? I notice that you use both on two different projects.

Charlie


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

thanks again. i do prefer to use canister filters because they require much less frequent servicing and because they make it easier to hide hardware out of the way. canisters do require simple plumbing retrofit so that their intakes & returns can reach down to the water level. i have some pictures of this i should dig up.

i used an internal power filter in this one because it was cheap and easy to set up. and to show one more variation for filtration.


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## chunkylover817 (Sep 28, 2007)

wow! tanks looking great there!keep it up X)


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

Here is a quick update from tonight.










This planting looks rather dull--like a plain wall of foliage. It is difficult to pull off one of these displays in a tank just 12" deep. It is nice though for some bright green here in the room, and I like to watch the fish.

I just replanted that _Bacopa monnieri_ there on the left. It should perk up within a few days.

I acquired that powder blue gourami for just two bucks. Really it is a homely fish, but it is nice for photography because that light blue coloration shows up well. If you look closely you can also see one of the _Dario dario_.


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## bratyboy2 (Feb 5, 2008)

did u think of doing maybe a red water lily in there?i think it would add a element of a new color and would add to the natural feel your going with here


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## macclellan (Feb 28, 2007)

hydrophyte said:


> It is difficult to pull off one of these displays in a tank just 12" deep.


20T are 18". Or did you mean the above water portion? It looks like the water is 1/3 up, so that makes sense. If so, I see what you mean.

Do you have a list of "nano" emmersed plants? That would be helpful.


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## trackhazard (Sep 20, 2006)

Macclellan: 
He's referring to the depth of the tank front to back which is around 12" for a 20g tall.


Hydrophyte: 
What is the plant off center to the left side hanging over the mondo grass? Long medium width lighter green leaves and what looks like a thick woody stem.

- Charlie


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## macclellan (Feb 28, 2007)

Ah, duh.


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

trackhazard said:


> Macclellan:
> Hydrophyte:
> What is the plant off center to the left side hanging over the mondo grass? Long medium width lighter green leaves and what looks like a thick woody stem.
> 
> - Charlie


That's a good one, _Ruellia brittoniana_ 'Katie'. It's a very easy plant to grow and stays short. You can bend and prune the branches in a manner similar to bonsai training to get it to grow into the right shape. With bright light and ferts it will flower abundantly. This tank is probably a little too dim for flowers on that plant.


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## bratyboy2 (Feb 5, 2008)

what about the lily or hydro kompact?


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## houseofcards (Feb 16, 2005)

I like the emersed plant selection and positioning. Looks real nice. From my view a larger piece of hardscape between the submersed and emersed plants would add another layer of depth and complexity. Nevertheless looking good.


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

houseofcards said:


> I like the emersed plant selection and positioning. Looks real nice. From my view a larger piece of hardscape between the submersed and emersed plants would add another layer of depth and complexity. Nevertheless looking good.


My 65 has some manzanita that extends beyond the water's surface and looks real nice, but it's already pretty tight in this little tank.


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## MonopolyBag (Jan 11, 2008)

What is the best way of getting the Canister filter to get down that far if someone wanted to use an external canister filter?


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