HerpsNHarleys Posted January 10, 2013 Report Share Posted January 10, 2013 So as I mentioned in my introduction thread, I am building a water portion of paludarium and would like to make it as natural as possible. One of the issues is the size. The tank I am using is 36" X 18" so for me to put enough gravel in the bottom is going to be two issues..... 1) the cost of the 100 lbs of gravel 2) the weight of 100 lbs of gravel. So what I thought I would do is build a false bottom with hills and valleys and caves and places for live plants to get planted etc. So my questions are as follows: What does everyone use to build artificial landscape. I was thinking grout as that is what I use on the backgrounds I built for the walls of the enclosure. Does anyone know if grout will stand up to being under water? Or am I better using tinted concrete? What are good hardy live plants that would withstand having a lizard swimming around them? What would be good fish to introduce into this environment? As mentioned above I will be constructing caves and hiding spots for them but not too worried as the water dragon can't catch fish due to lost toes (before I got him). Ok that should be about it for this go round....LOL.....as I think of more questions I will be sure to add them. Thanks in advance for any advice/help anyone can give me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperGuppyGirl Posted January 10, 2013 Report Share Posted January 10, 2013 I'm going to say a low light plant such as java fern, anubias, crptycorne but thinking you might have to do some cross referencing to make sure they aren't toxic to your dragon. Had a cousin lose his because of a p plant that ended up being poisonous to his reptile. I would recommend for fish something hardy and able to deal with less than ideal water conditions but fairly inexpensive so if he does decide to snack, your pocketbook doesn't take a beating. Something like Danios or Guppies? The guppies, if you get a male with a few females will continually breed so if he snacks, great population control. Bad side could overwhelm the tank with babies if he doesn't.Danios can be pretty flashy and are continually moving and school nicely. Just some suggestions, but I really don't know much about reptiles, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckmullin Posted January 10, 2013 Report Share Posted January 10, 2013 (edited) I'd be very cautious of grout as it might leech chemicals. A popular method to create shapes would be with expanding spray foam. Easy to work with while still wet throw moss on it to 'glue' it into place it will then grow out to cover the entire area and when dry you can carve it up like a pumpkin to any shape you want. It's a tough time of year to get plants @ the garden centers but as said above anubias, ferns, and similar would be best. Something like this might help you out with toxicity. http://lancaster.unl.edu/factsheets/031.htm http://lllreptile.com/info/library/care-and-husbandry-articles/-/list-of-nontoxic-plants-for-your-terrarium/ http://exoticpets.about.com/od/herpresources/f/plantsvivarium.htm Edited January 10, 2013 by ckmullin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvision Posted January 11, 2013 Report Share Posted January 11, 2013 Have you checked some of the builds on MonsterFishKeepers.com? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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