Mudskipper paludarium :
This project is diffecult because you need some art sences and sclupture effects , knowledge of the color mixtures
I didn't want to go the traditional "sloping sand"-route in creating a habitat for my mudskippers.
To start with, I had three Periophthalmodon septemradiatus males. This is not the most aggressive nor largest species of 'skippers, but it still wants to form and defend a small territory.
What I wanted was to create a habitat with multiple spots where the fish can hide from each other's sight.
I started with an old 140 gallon sump tank:
Project 6 : Difficulty paludarium
Rock and root paludarium type ( number 4 in part one)
I disassembled the sump of the salt water aquarium to switch to a paludarium and to replace the old, scratched front glass with a new one and painted the trims:
Above : Changing the front glass and paint the frame
Below : making a sketch and thinking about the decoration , equipments layout ..
For hardscape I wanted to make a DIY root system with multiple little shallow pools and an inbuilt plumming to circulate water in the pools.
Platforms and volume of the scape:
Roots bent of pvc and added volume with foam:
A bit of shaping with a knife
A stage after a few layers shaping by brush and cement color with attendance of light , try to put same lights which will be used in the paludarium for better visualize of the final shape ..
Hardscape pretty much finished:
Glued in and the first test was very successful. All the pools were filled up with just one pump feeding the plumbing system in the scape:
All small pools filled with very fine sand and a pump pour the water on the root and fill these small pool to mimic the mudskipper environment
Paludarium is completed .. time to recycling ..
Mudskipper introduced ..
The tank is still maturing. Water is kept at 1.002-1.003. I'm trying to find plants that would co-operate with me, but haven't had too much luck yet.
courtesy to : mudskipper paludarium
1- Its a 18” x ”18” x 24” exoterra. Its not finish yet, theres a lot of work to do with it. I just make de structure, the big part of the decoration (A handmade slate waterfall and a background) and a little bit with the water section and some moss but needs plants and a 18" long cork that i want to use as a plataform above de frontal part of the water section (Near to the latch) to gain some horizontal space. I wonder what kind of frogs do you recomend me to put in this terrarium because i have read some threads about frogs drowned in paludariums and now im a little bit afraid of. Greetings to all of you and a lot of thanks.
Courtesy to : dendroboard
Others , Modifications and conversions
The hobbyist here used a sand on the bottom , hinged roots seems very beautiful !
2-Been a reef keeper for many years, but decided I wanted to get into something different. Working on a 65 gallon paludarium. The sharp dropoffs on the false bottom are for sealed intersections with large driftwood pieces that add significantly to the land area.
courtesy to : dendroaboard
Plastic crate sheet used to shape the structure
Pump's pipe
Pump inlet
eggcrate welded by Heat gun and silicon
GS and pond foam can be painted so i just do that. But you can also use a foam coating like this before you paint...:
Foam Coat, Foam Glue and Foam
Here are some epoxy options...
https://www.polygem.com/products/zoopoxy
Back to our Project :
(1) Choose to use epoxy grout and let it cure for 12 days
(2) painted the grout and the underside with drylock tinted with various colors.
(3) added the tubing and the cork for the back wall drip system
(4) put in some boiled curly willow for roots
Top view
