My Paludarium Experience

So first of all, I will be building my paludarium in a glass aquarium. They say you can build them out of other things, such as treated wood and glass, but I think that a traditional aquarium would suit me better. Now I have to worry about the design. There has be a section of land and a section of water, but how do I keep them separate? There are four different ways I can do this:

• Shelf or Slope
  • The dry portion rises up out of the water. The typical way to accomplish this is to glue rocks together to make a slope or to carve a styrofoam block and glue sand to the surface. This method looks very natural, but can be difficult to build and maintain.
• Rock and Land Wall
  • This design largely emphasizes the aquatic over the terrestrial. You can either buy or build an aquarium backing that looks like — or is made of — rocks. Place plants into the crevices created by the backing.
• Divided Land and Water
  • You seal off a portion of the tank using glass or wood and sealant of some kind. This method lacks the “true mixing” of land and water, and is often not recommended.
• Emergent Rocks or Driftwood
  • This is probably the easiest method to build and is arguably the most natural looking. Stack and glue rocks or place driftwood so that they rise above the surface of the water. Usually, in this layout, the roots of the plants that grow on the surface of the land should be allowed to grow down into the water.

After reading and considering all four of these ideas, I’m not sure which I prefer. I would probably vote the latter, emergent rocks and driftwood, but I’m not decided yet. I guess I will have to wait and see what I’m planning on growing in here before I can know how to design it. More on this later!

Your emerging driftwood fan,
Jared