29 G Paludarium, need advice/ideas

[flyingSquirrel]

Ok all, I am racking my brain trying to decide on a paludarium setup method. I'm doing a 29 gallon paludarium and I want it to look as "natural" as possible.

The problems I am struggling with are:

- trying to decide whether I want to go with the true divider method, or the "water table" method where the land is above the water table and there is not really a divider.

- one of the advantages of a true divider is the land area and soil can be at the same level or below the water on the other side, which allows more planting options. This is especially advantageous when doing a "standard" rectangular tank because there is not much vertical space to begin with after the water is added.

- I would think the water table method is a bit more complex, in addition to reducing the vertical space on the land side.

- regardless of the method, I am trying to think how I am going to conceal the transition from wet to dry side. I don't want a plain vertical division obviously, but it seems like it would be hard to conceal the transition due to the sharp change in height. I guess just a bunch of rocks in a slope?

What are your recommendations? Thanks! :happy:

 

[FrogEyes]

I used dividers when I was a kid. I consider them to be a rather universal failure.

Condensation causes water to move to the land side.
Animal movements cause water to move to the land side.
Animal movements cause land to move to the water side.

The result is mud on both sides, and the difficult tasks of cleaning the water and drying the land. I consider it better to simply put a pump within the land, enclosed by screen or filter media to prevent clogging. The pump will draw water along with soil particles through the gravel or LECA, with the latter acting as a biological filter, and the water will be returned somewhat cleaner and aerated. Just try to plan it out so that the pump is easily accessed, connected, and cleaned, and things like filter sponges can be easily removed and cleaned. Another consideration is to ensure that there is a large volume of water available to the pump - if it's overly enclosed, filter media may quickly clog and choke off the water supply. Then the pump will move water out faster than it comes in.

 

[otolith]

I have gone with the divided method before and liked it a lot. I made the divider about an inch higher than both the water and land areas and used two large pieces of driftwood to conceal the divider and provide a sort of ramp between the two sides. This made a nice transition for the newts to climb up and once the java moss took over pretty much made the plexiglass divider invisible. I also used lots of moss along the rest of the divider area which minimized the amount of dirt that got into the water side and soaked up water when the newts hauled out onto it.

I eventually had problems with leakage though, so be sure that your divider is sturdy enough to withstand the weight of all that water pressing in on it.

 

[flyingSquirrel]

Thanks so far for all the advice! This gives me some good ideas and things to think about. :happy: