sgabyss

is it just me, or is it hard to track down portland white cement in this town? I am hitting roadblocks trying to gather the supplies for making my base rock. What a bummer. I'm sure i will find something that will work, but I would appreciate any suggestions.

Thank you PowderBlue. Unfortunately I am on my desktop, so I will have to find another work around to resize my pictures. I do appreciate your suggestion, and will try that method if I cant get it to work on my desktop.

Thank you for the ideas JManrow. I plan to, but havn't yet, look up these species and more. Does anyone else know of saltwater plants that tend to grow-up and out above the water surface? PS. I want to show some progress pictures on my forum posts, but it states that I have a 2kb max file size... any advice how I can get my picutes that small?

vanz, I'm glad to hear that you have tried your hand at mixed environments also How have you enjoyed it so far? Thoughts about my setup: mangrove might be fun to place near the back since there will be plenty of head room for it to grow into. Salt build up around the waterfall feature may become a problem over time. I will have to test to see if the ultrasonic fogger works in saltwater (my guess is yes, and dont worry it is far removed from the fish and coral area). want to minimize nutrient runoff from the planted section, so hidden pots are out, and replace with arboreal species.

Whats a paludarium you ask? yes, you could google it but I will summarize it in 5 words: A terrarium over an aquarium. I have had one up and running in my house for the last two years as a fresh water system Now I will be changing it into a saltwater environment. I have always enjoyed the challenge of creating new systems, so I converted a 6' x 5' china hutch into an enclosed tropical terrarium over an 50gal water tight aquarium. Now I will convert it again, into my 2nd saltwater reef. The first was a 15gal nano that we kept for 3 years. The first step in this process will be two decide on my base rock shape and material. I am leaning toward DIY concrete rock, seeded with live rock rubble. Please feel free to provide your opinion of the best low-cost dry rock option (concrete, pumas stones, retail dry rock, manufactured rock..?) Looking forward to sharing this adventure with you all, Seth

what a paludarium you say? well it is a two stage terrarium containing a dry planted area typically above an aquautic area. I have it built and running fresh water now, but think its finally time to take on the challage of converting to salt.... yes, there are many challenges involved here . I hope to attend some PNWMAS gatherings in the near future, and continue my vlog about my progress. see you round, and feel free to ask questions. Seth