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oh theres certainly pros to plastic, but theres alos just something so exciting about seeing your tank mature
heres mine, were about 8 mths in...
ive designed it as a room divider when I need it to be, so instead of being front and back its end/end division....
ive still got a ton of work to do on the water side, aquatic plants are hard to get a hold of here so im trying to grow out what ive got and then divide up lol.
but im pretty happy with my anchor plants on my land side and over the last few days my moss has real started taking hold
its still got a lot of growing and maturing to do, but I used real beginner friendly low maintenance low light loving plants, things like pothos and saphillum, heck, I think the mosses are the hardest things to grow LOL!
and other than topping up the water side once a week I haven't actually had to water this in about 6 mths...., I have a heat pad on it and glass tops so inside temps hover between 72 (nighttime low) and 74-76 (daytime temps) water maintains at 68-72....so between the temp and the plants and the water it builds enough humidity to essentially "rain" and water the plants for me...
I love looking every day to see little tiny new leaves or my moss starting to green up!
Nice job.
My problem is i like the idea of creating a static swamp diorama and i'm not so interested in growing a garden in an Aquarium.
Real plants maybe added once the paludarium is up and running for a while but to start i like the hands free plastic plants approach while i'm getting used to the landscaping/plumbing/heating and lighting aspects of the paludarium..
Its going to take a while. at this point i've taken out my canister filter and am going with the hang on the back filter while i watch 55 gallons of water evaporate and try to come up with creative ideas.
At the moment this process has me interested=Expanding foam covered with a thin layer of cement,the creative potential is captivating.. http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/12...now-frogs.html
ive done the expanding foam/cement on a few projects, works well
just rmemeber the cement will leachinto any water its touching for quite some time afterwards so youll ned to either remove the fish for a while while the background cures, or youll need to build the background seperatly and cure/soak seperatly for a while before putting it in the tank with anything living in the water
I've got plenty of time to do this project so dont mind waiting for things to cure and dry.
Questions=
Is there a difference between regular expanding foam and outdoor expanding foam?
What brand of foam would you recommend?
Does the foam stick to the glass walls of the aquarium or does it need to be anchored once sprayed on and dry?
Is there a product other than cement to coat the foam as i dont want to buy 100lb bag of cement and end up only using a pound or two.
I guess once into the spraying of the foam and applying the cement i can say goodbye to this tank ever being an aquarium again?
Thanks
he sprayfoam will stick to the glass...and your hands, and you, and your desk, and the things, ALL the things, lol, that stuff sticks to EVERYHING! (I actually found it easier to use a piece of thin fom board insulaton from lowes, sprayfoam onto that outside of the tank and then silicone eveyrhting into place.
with the foam, the only way to remove direct insulation is to cut it out in hunks and scrape, youll never get all of it out.
if you build it as a separate piece and silicone in, you can salvage the tank laer if you ever change your mind, you may not get the piece out in one, but it comes of much easier than the sprayfoam direc to the glass.
I believe the outdoor stuff has mildew inhibitors in it...I haven't worked with the outdoor stuff...I know they make a black expanding foam for pond application though, that should be "tank safe" not sure about the regular outdoor stuff.
you can often get smaller bags of cememnt at larger craft stores noe (5-10lb bags even) you could also try painting directly with oil based paint (more likely to stick to the foam without primer, paints designed for model train set making would probably be your best bet.) latex paint wil work on DRY aplications but will just separate and peel anywhere theres moisture.
some people also say screw it and just coat the foam in black silicone and glue coir beeding, mosses ect to them directly raher than fussing with the cement.
, (I actually found it easier to use a piece of thin fom board insulaton from lowes, sprayfoam onto that outside of the tank and then silicone eveyrhting into place.
with the foam,
.
That gives me an idea of getting a block or two of foam and shaping it to the required background shape then glue the shaped pieces in place in the tank then use a bit of expanding foam for general effect.
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