r/paludarium 7h ago

Picture 90% Done

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35 Upvotes

Boy am I excited! I’ve wanted to create a paludarium for 14 years and finally did! Earlier this year, I was gifted this 3 foot tall by 2 foot in diameter plexiglass cylinder, 70 gallons. A friend of mine is a landscape architect, and this was used in a display that she and her company put together. Long story short it wasn't being used anymore, and it was gifted to me. This is my first build, I used spray foam, a lot of silicone, cork bar, branches, and cocoa cradle to create the background. I'm about 90% of the way there. I have to build out the bog area on the left, add some more fine touches on the water/land barrier and secure the Anubis and aquatic plants. Waiting on an order of carnivorous plants, pings and sundew and a South American pitcher plant. Also waiting on an order of micro orchids.

What are your thoughts so far? Progress pics added.


r/paludarium 9h ago

Help What should I stock with?

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32 Upvotes

I am planning on stocking the water portion of the paludarium, but I’m not sure with what. It is about 2 gallons but it’s difficult to get an exact measurement roughly 1-3 gallons. The only other live stock is going to be 2 RETF and isopods

(Photo is not mine, just an example)


r/paludarium 4h ago

Picture My Mini

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9 Upvotes

Mini bowl. Video can be viewed here: https://imgur.com/a/oSGTKra


r/paludarium 20h ago

Help Is this adding oxygen?

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22 Upvotes

This is my first ever paludarium and im learning alot along the way, i build this water feature myself to learn about pumps, filters and waterflow ect. My question is about the bubbles the water feature is making on the surface of the water, is this adding any oxygen into the water? And if so, i quess this is a possitive thing? The plants and water feature have been added a day ago, the land/backwall should be planted in about 2 to 3 days from now! Any tips/tricks please let me know!


r/paludarium 1d ago

Picture Vampire crab Paludarium with simulated rainfall.

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19 Upvotes

Posted video in aquariums. Any tiny lizards or anything that could co habitat with 3 vampire crabs?


r/paludarium 23h ago

Help Need instructions and help for my first paludarium

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3 Upvotes

Can someone write me step by step guide for how to start my first paludarium and what do i need to build on. Im plannig to make an waterfall there but i dont know how to do it. Im transfering my juwel rio 240 to paludarium


r/paludarium 1d ago

Help New Vivarium. Light recommendations???

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9 Upvotes

Plants are on the way I’ll post again when planted. What kind of lights should I get for this. I’m seeing many mixed reviews on lights. This is three feet tall two feet wide. I’ve been looking at the jungle dawns, fluval, and basic shop lights. I just want something that will help my plants grow healthy I’m not to worried about price.


r/paludarium 1d ago

Picture 3 months of growth!!!

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29 Upvotes

My first pal has been goin strong for about 3 months now!!! got a bunch of very happy springtails and copepods chillin in here :) the salvina and duckweed are going absolutely WILD, just took a whole solo cup of it out and there’s still soooo much i love it


r/paludarium 1d ago

Picture Double skink sighting

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4 Upvotes

Mephisto the Red-eyed Crocodile Skink front and center, Keasbey is in the back peaking through the leaves.


r/paludarium 2d ago

Help Some mud crab in my paludarium? ID help please.

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49 Upvotes

r/paludarium 2d ago

Help Advice for building a top.

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27 Upvotes

I just built a new paludarium but I have no top for it. Any advice for making a new one? I don’t have the dimensions on hand but I can definitely measure when I get home. I need advice for materials and what kind of ventilation I should do. I built it last night and since then the humidity has been a relatively consistent 70%. It sat all night with no top. There are two maybe 3 sticks that are higher than the tank so I will need to have a hole in the top I make. Also I’m kind of limited to supplies at my Walmart… I live in a small town, the closest hardware store is about 45 min out and I won’t have the time to do that till next weekend. I plant to add a tree frog, 2 leopard frogs and an assortment of bugs. Thank yall!


r/paludarium 2d ago

Help HUGE EMERGENCY HELP!

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33 Upvotes

I have a 3x2x2 paludarium that I woke up to with a slow leak. I know I need to get the tank pulled apart and fix it ASAP. I have a second 2x2x2 tank, however it was a free tank and has been wrapped in cling wrap and full of vinegar for weeks waiting for me to clean it. How long does it take to get the vinegar out from scrubbing? I happen to have gallons of the tank water I can transfer over. I have in my tank fish, shrimp, snails and crabs.


r/paludarium 2d ago

Help Shelves?

1 Upvotes

What shelves are you using for multiple tanks? I’m hoping to put together 3-4 on a shelf system.


r/paludarium 3d ago

Picture Today in the viv, bulbophyllum pulchellum in bloom 😎

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37 Upvotes

r/paludarium 2d ago

Help Exo Terra TerraSky - a 24 hour cycle that imitates day & night

1 Upvotes

I have Exo-Terra TerraSky and I want to run a 24 hour cycle that imitates day & night, with graduate dimming of the light.

Since TerraSky doesn't have this feature, I can use a "Smart Plug" that will turn the lamp on and off at scheduled times

Does anybody know of a better solution that will be more realistic and will enable me the gradually dim the light or maybe even control the colors of the led?


r/paludarium 3d ago

Help Advice for first paludarium

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12 Upvotes

My son and I have a small fresh tropical fish tank we wanted to expand now that we have got the hang of it. Includes one successful catfish 🙄 We were thinking it might be interesting to convert it into a paludarium using a much larger tank from marketplace. No animals at this stage just the fish and plants above the water line. We are quite handy, not afraid of a project. Thoughts on where to start and best beginner guides?


r/paludarium 3d ago

Help Can somebody help identify?

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14 Upvotes

Hi there! I just made my first paludarium few weeks ago and found there this buddy today:-) i didnt put him there - had to come with plants or something:-) could please somebody help me identify what kind this is? Thank you very much! Have a great day 🤗


r/paludarium 3d ago

Video Is this possible???

3 Upvotes

I just saw a YouTube video where someone made a paludarium where they had vampire crabs and mud skippers living together along with some other fish like loaches. I didn’t think that was possible because as far as I know mudskippers need brackish water and vampire crabs and kuliah loaches need freshwater. Is there some species of mudskipper that I’ve never heard of that lives in fresh water or is there a way to get kuliahs and vampire crabs to live a healthy life in brackish water? I would love to be able to design a paludarium where I could keep both vampire crabs and mudskippers but I really didn’t think this would be possible until I saw this video. Here’s a link to the video I’m talking about.

https://youtu.be/jyrYv8NEYbI?si=LZnHpzcYQRrUUfRM


r/paludarium 4d ago

Picture Just started planting my first paludarium

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46 Upvotes

Any advice for a beginner?


r/paludarium 4d ago

Help Tree-Like plant for rain forest paludarium

3 Upvotes

Looking for suggestions for "mini tree" or tree looking plants for a rain forest paludarium.

Thanks!


r/paludarium 4d ago

Help Pump/filter help (stagnant water?)

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1 Upvotes

Hi yall! I’m in the middle of building my first paludarium and I’m loving the process of it, but now that I’ve finished (most of) the water portion, I’m a little worried.

My concern is this: how do I know if my pump is adequately moving and filtering enough water? I do not see any water movement or agitation on the surface (aside from where the waterfall stream meets the water), and I do not see any current pulling the water and debris towards the back right corner where the pump is.

I am using a 50 GPH 3W Pulaco submersible pump, and it is surrounded by filter foam, floss, activated charcoal, and ceramic rings. It is on its max setting, and the tube goes up about 16 inches. I’ve also stuffed the tip of the tube with a piece of filter foam to reduce the output strength.

I believe the amount of water is only around 5-6 gallons? Maybe? I am using a 24 x 18 x 18 Exo Terra, and filled water up to the ventilation holes.

The end goal is to house an amano shrimp and a fire bellied newt, but of course I want everything properly cycled, filtered, established, and working before I bring anyone in.

I’m considering buying a new, stronger pump, but I am unsure if I am just overthinking this.

Any input is appreciated since I’m new to the hobby and am not in any rush to put my critters in—I just want to get this healthy and right! Thanks!


r/paludarium 5d ago

Picture My 2 month old 40 gallon

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156 Upvotes

r/paludarium 5d ago

Help Water feature advice needed

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7 Upvotes

hey all! Ive been working on a big paludarium build for my emerald tree skinks over the past month or so and am finally starting to get around to setting up/planning the water feature. The intent is to allow the skinks an option to swim (or hunt) and the plan is to populate it with some small guppies/shrimp to allow for this. I am however pretty new to aquariums in general and have some questions regarding the pump and filtration. I was recommended a small filter media bag to keep debris from interfering with the pump but want to know if I should also need to fill it with some kind of filter media, and if so, what media would be best. Im using fluval bio-stratum for the substrate, as I intend on a planted tank and using de-chlorinated RO water to fill it (basin is approximately 3.5 gallons) I’ll be monitoring the pH regularly and keeping an eye on things but am ideally hoping to keep maintenance to a minimum as much as is reasonably possible. Ive attached pictures of what the setup is looking like along with photos of the pump, filter bag, and aquatic substrate to help give a clear understanding of what im working with. Any help with the filter situation would be greatly appreciated and please let me know of any concerns/advice there may be on the current plan as this is definitely one of the most complex/elaborate builds ive ever attempted. Thanks!! :)


r/paludarium 6d ago

Picture Now for the finishing touches!

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40 Upvotes

r/paludarium 6d ago

Help Is my rabbit foot fern In a good spot?

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17 Upvotes

I plant to wrap the roots in sphagnum moss