# make your own paludarium



## xtr-xtr (Mar 20, 2004)

hi,
it will try to explain how I make this paluario for dendrobates.
I request excuses if I do not express well in english.

Due to the size of the frogs and the food of these it was necessary to cover all the small holes in which they were possible to be clogged.
A zone done with xaxim has been let to be able to nail orquideas and other plants with facility.

It includes a cascade and a small lake, the depth of this does not surpass 1.5cm or the frogs, by rare that it seems, can be drowned.

It have an external filter and heater. Two ventilators of computer in the vent of the frontal part have been put to avoid the condensation in the front crystal and it is had including a system of aspersion with two exits in the superior frontal corners.

I have cut a base and we have stuck it with silicone to the crystal before applying spray of polyurethane to avoid that this directamete exerts pressure on the crystal and breaks it. Also I have put the tube to raise the water of the cascade. 
In order to begin to apply polyurethane in spray is better to make it in horizontal form and several phases being left dry the foam a little between each application.










some trunks have been introduced to guide the water of the cascade and to avoid water splashes in the crystal. Also i have introduced flowerpots in some parts










Once we have the wished form we began to apply the resin and to hook the Coco fiber. The process must do by parts and often it is necessary to change the position to cover all the zones. Also it is possible that it is necessary to give two layers in some zones.

Little by little all the corners are covered, the flowerpots also are covered with resin on the inside. It is important to equip with a water-drainage the flowerpots.




























Once we have finished we make the part of the ground. This is a part with xaxim and another one with two polyurethane plates forming a lake with another small cascade.

Once mounted the ground and verified the good operation of the cascade the most important and more rewarding phase arrives. The planted one. We began putting ferns. The truth is that they are very decorative and a good option easy to obtain. Although the temperature could be a problem... 28ºC.



















In this photo we can see the ground and the wall of the bottom of xaxim and the lake in the part of the right. The ground is elevated 10cm on the bottom to avoid that xaxim is flooding, it must be dunked but not flooded

At the end I including several orquideas and several types of bromilaceas and I have covered several parts with moss










The rain diffusers help to maintain the humidity of the plants and the atmosphere of the paludarium creating the necessary microclimate for the good march. The ventilators introduce air that hits the front crystal avoiding that dims.










pic with the diffusers in march










detail of the ventilators





































that is all folks


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## pineapple (May 4, 2004)

Beatiful setup. I have only kept fish tanks, now my wife might have to put up with something new. Very inspiring. Many thanks for the excellent post.

Andrew Cribb


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## JanS (Apr 14, 2004)

Wow, very informative. Thanks for posting - I may consider something like that some day down the road and it's nice to have a road map laid out for you. Aquatic plants are some of the few I have keeping me busy as it is.....

Your end result is just beautiful!


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## fishyfishy (Jun 6, 2004)

wow. that is awesome. It reminds me of El Salvador. it's very beautiful.


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## Sir_BlackhOle (Jan 25, 2004)

very cool....what kind of plants/animals are in there?


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## xtr-xtr (Mar 20, 2004)

Thanks to all for the commentaries, I am glad that you like

The plants are of the family of the orquideas and bromelias and also something of moss.


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## xtr-xtr (Mar 20, 2004)

animals... dendrobates like these.


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## MiamiAG (Jan 13, 2004)

I hadn't seen this before. Truly wonderful!

I might have to try this one day. Of course, I won't show my wife the frogs.


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## Daemonfly (Mar 21, 2004)

I love the look of these DIY foam tanks, usually look quite realistic.

I'm thinking one could probably do the same thing for a realistic "river-bank" scene in an aquarium. You'd probably have to change the coco fiber to a crushed substrate (I was thinking flourite, or similar, depending on wanted color).


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## xtr-xtr (Mar 20, 2004)

you can use the material that you want (whenever it is neutral) and just dust it upon the dyed resin. like these


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