#108: 18L Paludarium Day Break

Yoki Wong Shaukeiwan, Hong Kong, China

Awards and Comments

First Place
Very impressive in such a small tank. I would have thought it was much larger!
— Karen Randall
Very attractive paludarium! The design and visual impact of the plants both emersed and submerged is very good. The submerged portion of the setup is very nice and the plants were well chosen.


Unfortunately the choice of species for the emersed portion totally offsets the positive of the sumberged portion. Knowing the requirements and size potential of the emersed species is the hardest yet most important aspect of planning a successful paludarium. The Asplenium nidus will get 3-5' tall and the root mass alone will be larger than the 5 gallon aquarium it's housed in. Likewise the Chlorophytum comosum does best with a drier soil and it appears as though the roots are planted very close if not directly in a water logged substrate. The Gardenia Spathiphyllum and Chamaedorea will both outgrow a container twice the size of the tank and can get many feet high. Even the Adiantum raddianum which will do well in wet soils grows too large.
— Phil Edwards
It looks very nice to spread the moss at the bottom of the paludarium. However it could be better if bright color sand were used.
— Takashi Amano

Aquascape Details

Dimensions 60 × 20 × 30 cm
Title Day Break
Volume 18L
Lighting T5 14watt x 1 (4 hours)
Filtration Dual Filtration System AquaClear 200
Plants 1 Asplenium nidus, 2 Spathiphyllum "clevelandii", 3 Adiantum raddianum, 4 Chlorophytum comosum, 5 Gardenia jasminoides ellis, 6 Chamaedorea elegans "bella", 7 Floating Plant, 8 Aubias barteri var. nana, 9 Microsorium pteropus "windelov", 10 Microsorium pteropus, 11 Vesicularia sp
Animals Aplocheilichthys macrophthalmus, Apple snail, Blue shrimp
Materials Driftwood, rocks
Additional Information No CO2, Add 500ml water per day, ADA Green Brighty Special Lights (3ml/3days)

Website problems? contact showcase@aquatic-gardeners.org | privacy policy | terms of use