My Vampire Crabs Ultimate 5 Waterfalls Paludarium

I receive requests for certain projects Non-Stop and there's one I can't seem to escape something for vampire crabs I've wanted to do that for years but only when the time was right and that time is now in this one I'll show you how I made a really Advanced five waterfall vertical palarum for vampire crabs and an array of other Critters given the nature of this build nearly everything including the enclosure had to be custom I'll build most of it from this/ Quin thick glass as you've seen with past build I clean the surfaces with isopropyl alcohol however I've never shown the use of bumpers before adding these along the edges is great for heavier pieces to ensure the silicone isn't squeezed out from there I taped everything off applied silicone accordingly and assembled the tank I also applied an internal bead which I evened out before removing the tape even though the enclosure is large the anchoring tape on the outside stabilized it while the silicone cured overnight there were pieces for the top as well but I drill hole in the one first as before I added bumpers and applied silicone prior to anchoring the glass with tape this enclosure will have one swinging door on the front because of that it will require more support in the form of this plywood I used the tank to get an exact fit and cut it down accordingly between this and the tank I placed a piece of EVA foam that will level everything out and protect the glass other boards were linked to this one as well first I took measurements to create the top piece then I used this to cut down the sides which I pre-drilled for screws I cleaned the glass taped along the boards and applied a lot of silicone I even did out with a squeegee to ensure the entire surface was covered before clamping the board in place I did the same for the sides but I also applied wood glue where the screws went after everything cured I could account for these stainless steel hinges I painted them black for a cleaner look and attached them to the frame however I didn't want the screws to be visible so I cut out another set of boards that I glued and screwed together I also had to remove some material on the back to account for the hinches after securing it to the front I taped it off and painted it black I also had to address this gap on top as I've shown with other projects I combined all the necessary components to create what's essentially a window screen I just had to lock it in with some silicone with the enclosure now assembled I addressed the framework for the land and water features first I Jed a hole near the bottom for the filters intake then I cut down glass for the substrate trays these needed holes for drainage I marked the outside of the tank for a guide and secured the pieces accordingly once stable I could account for the waterfalls I knew these would be too complicated to make without a reference it took hours of meticulous work to create that out of cardboard but it was worth the effort I doubt this makes much sense now but it will shortly anyway I double checked the dimensions and transferred them over to Glass other materials would have been easier to work with but this is a great way to make use of offcuts from other projects anyway I cut them down to size and processed them as usual by sanding the edges and rinsing off debris I marked along the cardboard on the outside of the tank so I knew exactly where to place everything to begin I stuck these strips to the tank and to the drop off piece I assembled this box as well eventually the pieces were stable enough to be combined together once the silicone cured I flipped the tank over and made the secondary structures this was laborious and that's kind of the theme of this project because I had to assemble everything in sections needless to say I was relieved when this part was done but there was an oversight I should have actually drilled two holes in the top not just that one I prefer not to do this on an unsupported surface it's much easier to crack the glass but I didn't have a choice thankfully there were no issues these holes were made for ballheads I connected Barbed fittings on the outside of them and vinyl tube loops on the inside of course I used toes clamps on everything I then combined these together with a Y connection before linking to the filter I wasn't sure what to expect but despite a few issues it looked promising you'll see here that I missed the spot on the right it was leaking I also misaligned the pieces on the left which caused only one of the overflows to work I simply patched the hole and added another piece of glass to the left I assumed it would work better but it didn't the right stopped flowing all together and the water level fix didn't work I had to raise that yet again and add ball valves to control the flow and after all of that it finally worked as intended no leaks and the waterfall although erratic will function perfectly when combined with other materials I knew one land area wouldn't be enough though so I created additional partitions above the first I also attached window screen to retain the substrate what I just made is wacky and ugly but meant solely for function these glass boxes will Ser as the foundation for waterfalls and land features it will all appear very cohesive in the end but before I can do any of that I'll add some background elements I took measurements of a few spots and cut down compressed cork panels I applied dabs of silicone On The Backs and press them into the glass these panels won't serve as the main background but will make it easier to integrate other components later on everything was already beginning to look better but there was another oversight the filter I origin wanted to use which had a built-in heater what in Prime with this configuration another one did but that meant I'd have to get the heater directly into the tank the only possible way to pull that off was to drill a hole in the side to run cords I held my breath as I drilled and thankfully I made it through with no problems now as for the scape I won't really do much on the sides so I applied window tint film to refine the appearance before moving it to the stand as you can see it's pretty low which explains why I had issues with the filter Also regarding the heater I ran the cord through the hole and covered it with a piece of expanded PVC board which I stuck to the glass with mounting tape and sealed on the inside with duct seal putty with this I can access and remove the heater without disturbing the rest of Escape I suppose this is probably also a good time to mention that I just have some LED spotlights on top after installing a strainer for the filters intake I was ready to escape I experimented with different branches until I decided to use these large fine leg pieces of spiderwood however they're too large for the tank so I had to cut them down that simultaneously made them fit and essentially doubled my Hardscape as I placed them I was mindful to connect the areas with multiple access points the crabs will easily climb on these surfaces but having multiple routes and visual barriers as they travel will help to fuse aggression once the arrangement came together I applied expanding foam and key locations for stability I later removed the excess and continued scaping this was when I began including chunks of lava rock and cork bark which I also foamed in although I was able to do some in the upper sections I essentially had to work from the bottom up I crafted a foundation from another Branch with stones placed around it I did my best to inconspicuously apply the foam within moving up to the main waterfall I did more or less the same thing but without Driftwood when I step back to investigate my progress however I wasn't pleased with the branch from before I decided to pull it out and rework it completely this is pretty much what I did for the entire scape I'd add a few Stones wedge them in as needed apply some foam and allow it to stabilize before moving on there's something notable about the cork though I wanted it to appear like it was peeling off the main branches instead of just being another background element within everything I added smaller branches to assist in Building height and for textural contrast all in all it was a slow process that took several days to complete but eventually it came together till now I was really pleased with the progress but I knew it would look better with even more detail placing small Roots throughout took it all to the next level I just had to lock them in with super glue which I hid with rock dust and cocoa fiber typically I'd also hide excess foam with this technique but it Blends well enough that I won't bother I was pretty excited to be done scaping by this point and just wanted to see it with water unsurprisingly the water flowed even better with all the rock work that said only four of them worked the same one that was giving me problems earlier was at it yet again I just sprayed some foam on the right Spillway to fix it I also placed java moss in a few locations to ease the flow and get a better idea of how to proceed the best place to start was with more moss in the waterfalls The Continuous Cascade provides an excellent habitat for Moss so I figured I might as well use a lot ssas or Tong can grow in this environment as well usually it's kept fully underwater but it will work like this as well and it looks incredible all of these plants also made it very easy to hide any remaining foam from before since Moss is the theme Here I figured spagna Moss was a great choice as well I placed this within the transitional zones just outside the waterfalls these capillary wicking ropes were a useful inclusion they'll extend the growing surface up and onto the rocks for even more Moss before getting heavy in the details I finished up the land areas I began by placing a filter sponge in each to create a buffer zone under the substrate this substrate is similar to what I usually use and it's already fully established and teaming with life like springtails I just had to add it a little at a time to avoid making a mess Above This I built up thick layers of Lea litter and Botanicals the crabs love digging and sifting through these types of things so I knew it was important to use a lot you know I couldn't do something like this without F pum cor aolia their small leaves were absolutely perfect for this design I worked in bunches of sanella unata for even more texture bringing in larger foliage with pelonia weapons helped ground the sense of scale finally I placed cuttings of hemigraphis oronda within the waterfalls as I'm sure you'd guess I'll add more soon but I wanted to finish the water feature first I cleaned it out before adding substrate bags which contain various materials for the plants then I concealed them with black sand followed by cryptic corini I'll intentionally add duckweed later so I had to use plants that could handle low light conditions I filled it back up added some anubus NAA petite and handfuls of Botanicals the final plants I added were more Hemi graus and fonia on the polling area and handfuls of duckweed in the water with that it was pretty much done I just had to install the door in the hinges along Ong with the magnet catch which doubles as a handle I absolutely love how discreet the door is on this design however there was a gap on the side I had to fill with a gasket that means it's finally ready for Animals Panda King isopod seemed like a great option for the cleanup crew in this environment seeing them explore their new home was great but they wouldn't be alone for long the crabs will eat them if given the opportunity so I let them get settled in first seeing the pods alone got me excited though the second animals go into such a space it becomes more real I added bladder snails to the water for an aquatic Cleanup Crew they'll blissfully do their thing alongside a small school of Ember tetras I went with these because they'll remain small and we leave the crabs alone as they mol in the water however they're also agile enough not to be caught by the crabs as they explore last but not least are the vampire crabs I've been slowly building up the colony since Fe February so it's great to finally get them out of quarantine and into a proper setup seeing this first stor weave through the plants and disappear into the darkness was surreal I placed the second near the main polling area where he clung to a rock the next went directly into this area and what I could only describe as a picture perfect moment it immediately began sifting through the Mosses as it moved toward the back this one climbed straight up the waterfall While others nestled into Driftwood Rocky crevices and leaf litter while this one decided to venture down into the water after sealing it up and stepping back I could finally breathe well sort of I'm sure you saw the mess side to clean up in the animal room anyway I've been planning this build for a long time and working on it non-stop for several weeks so it's awesome to finally have it done I'm excited to see how it and the life within grows and changes with time it's still very new after all and it shows a few of the cuting need time to rehydrate The Vines have yet to fill the canopy and the water is a bit murky although the filter contains prec cycled media and I did my best to clean off The Hardscape it sells to process lava rock dust particles left over from construction there are more animals I plan to add down here and elsewhere too but I felt it best to let it fill in more first with this setup I had a very specific idea in mind something with several waterfalls that also meets the animals requirements even though there's a lot of water here there's also a lot of land the equivalent footprint to a 20-g aquarium to be specific and both are required for best results additionally I wanted the crabs to be able to climb everywhere and I think I did a good job with that there's virtually nowhere they can't go and there are multiple routes for everything this is ideal because they can get away from each other when desired and have plenty of areas to forage this will be especially important for their offspring which could otherwise end up on their parents menu finally the package it's all housed within showcases it all beautifully other than the visible silicone seams on the front I'm extremely pleased with how it turned out I'll definitely build more enclosures like this in the future in the end I'm extremely happy to have finally brought this one to life for all who wanted to see it and for the animals that live within [Music]

Channel: SerpaDesign

Views: 254,261

Keywords: vampire crab, paludarium, aqua terrarium, waterfalls, vivarium, terrarium, naturalistic, nature design, diy, do it yourself

Id: _079wgd6Nrc

Length: 14min 36sec (876 seconds)

Published: Sat Mar 30 2024