# Tough Paladarium Refit



## Dryn (Sep 6, 2007)

I have had an Exo-Terra 18x18x24 for about a year and it has functioned as a living vivarium for a few frogs, but I have wanted something different for a while, and on my day off, I made it into a paladarium. (I will try to post pics later) 

The entire back and side were covered in fake rock that I made out of styrofoam and grout. I continued that process and make an -l_ shaped divider for the bottom with the same process and relegated the "land" to the back corner. The left side and front are filled with about 6in of water. 

The hardest part of the process was some sort of filtration system. I had an internal filter, powerhead, and two submersible pump/filters for terrariums. My problem was that I wanted the filtration concealed, but easily accessible. The exoterra has cord holes at the back of the lid, so the filtration had to be in the back. 

First, I tried the internal filter. It worked fine, but was hard to conceal. Then I tried the powerhead. It shot water all the way to the front of the tank... way to much! Then I tried the internal two terrarium filters. If you've never dealt with one of these I suggest that you never do. They suck. There is a very small 2in pump very loosely connected to a small box full of carbon and a sponge for filtration. The only positive that they have is that they can be slid underneath stuff. I zip-tied the filter box to the pump after having it repeatedly fall off and slid it behind some fake rocks that were modified to let it fit (one good thing about fake rocks!) The z-shaped tubing that came with the filter were then arranged to allow the outflow to be routed around the fake rocks. Voila! Success. A small square fake rock went on top and concealed the whole thing.

Now I have a fully-functional paladarium.

In the water a ball of sphagnum moss in wabi-kuza style is planted with a few small crypts, pelia, and two bamboo shoots. Stones and other plants are in the future.

On the land side of the tank I filled it up with 4in of clay aggragate for "fill" and then added about two gallons of sphagnum moss and planted it with ferns, violets, begonias, and two jewel orchids. I am pretty sure all of the roots will rot off and the plants will die due to excessive moisture, but we'll see.

My plan is to get some emersed plants and fill the boggy area up with them. I have a peace lily that I bought as a small stem with a couple of leaves that grew into a massive giant in a few months, but I don't really want to add that. I am envisioning a tank full of emersed swords, java ferns, and anubias species! Wouldn't that be a sight.

I will try for pictures in the future and I will definitely answer any questions about paladariums from anyone who wants to know.


----------



## kenny1tothe6 (Aug 12, 2007)

I'm hoping to have my FB newt tank kinda like this...I hope it works out well for you!!


----------



## Dryn (Sep 6, 2007)

I can't believe you actually read all of that. Thanks. I get carried away sometimes. The pain of being a novice writer I suppose.


----------



## bigbluebetta (Apr 21, 2004)

Bump; any chance that paladarium is still running? Just wondering if you (or anyone else) were able to grow aquatics and marginals together with an internal filter. I heard of others running sumps with Exo-Terra's, but that seems like a lot going on if you don't plan on keeping any fauna in the setup like me.

I am thinking of transitioning over exclusively to riparium's/paladarium's since I used to grow mini-orchids and carnivorous plants in terrariums ages ago, but never thought of consolidating them all in a setup with aquatics...


----------

