#109: 450L Paludarium Worlds Collide

Andre Scheffer Johannesburg, South Africa

Awards and Comments

Top Ten
This has grown in and matured very nicely.
— Cory Nudelman
This setup is very well done. The composition draws the eye throughout the setup and there's a lot to observe. The plant selection is great as well.
— Tanner Serpa
Barely a paludarium when you just have a box of plants coming out of the corner of the tank no matter how pretty it is!
— Karen Randall

Aquascape Details

Dimensions 120 × 80 × 50 cm
Title Worlds Collide
Volume 450L
Background "Sandblast" window film on glass, with a LED back light
Lighting 3x 165w dimmable LED with custom diode layout
Filtration Sump with two 3000lph adjustable DC return pumps, one for flow in the water, and the other to take water to the terrestrial section and fogger
Plants Submerged
Alternanthera reineckii "Mini", Anubias spp., Bolbitis heteroclita, Bolbitis heudelotii, Bucephalandra spp., Crepidomanes sp. "Java", Cryptocoryne spp., Fissidens fontanus, Hygrophila pinnatifida, Jungermannia pseudo cyclop, Ludwigia palustris "Super Red", Micranthemum tweediei "Monte Carlo", Microsorum pteropus, Proserpinaca palustris, Ranunculus inundatus, Rotala macrandra, Rotala rotundifolia, Staurogyne repens, Vesicularia ferriei "Weeping"

Emersed / Transitional
Anubias nana, Bolbitis heteroclita "Difformis", Hydrocotyle tripartita, Monosolenium tenerum

Terrestrial
Adiantum raddianum, Arachniodes simplicior, Begonia rex Hybrid, Cryptanthus bivitatus "Rubra", Davallia fejeensis, Dryopteris linearis, Haraella retrocalla, Peperomia caperata, Peperomia sp. "Napoli nights", Peperomia sp. "Zorro", Restrepia antennifera, Restrepia sanguinea, Stelis hirtzii, Syngonium podophyllum "Pixie", Tillandsia juncea, Tillandsia rectangular, Tillandsia tricholepis, Tillandsia tricolor, Tillandsia usneoides, Tolumnia Jairak Firm "Mocha Dot"
Animals Fish
Boraras brigittae (8), Corydoras pygmaeus (20), Dario dario (5), Garra flavatra (5), Otocinclus affinis (3), Pseudomugil luminatus (8), Sewellia lineolata (2), Trigonostigma espei (15)

Aquatics Animals
Neocaridina davidi "Fire Red", Caridina multidentata, Anentome helena

Terrestrial Animals
Porcellio scaber
Materials ADA Amazonia ver2 (water and land), Sand, Manten Stone, Spider Wood
Additional Information The system was set up in December 2019 and I plan to keep it running in its current form for a few years, although I'm sure the planting may evolve over time.
The aquatic section is currently run like a high energy aquarium, with daily lean fertilization, pressurized CO2, and 50% water changed weekly using remineralized RO water.
The lights over the water is on for 8 hours a day, and over the land section 10 hours a day.
I designed the overflow box and weir using clear glass and acrylic respectively, so that it would mostly disappear in front of the back lit background.
Water is pumped from the sump to the land section using multiple thin pipes to keep the Amazonia soil and epiphytic plants above the water line moist, as well as to keep the fogger's reservoir (placed in the back corner) filled with water. The fogger activates once an hour for 15 minutes, or whenever the local relative humidity of the land section drops below 70%. I hand mist all plants twice a week with RO water.

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