Constraints and Specs for Paudarium

Top 5 Specs:

• Must hold water:
  • The tank must hold water in order to be successful.  This is fairly obvious but surprisingly difficult to accomplish.
• Durability:
  • The tank has to be able to hold up long-term.  I plan on having this tank setup for many years and therefore the glass and all other aspects of the tank need to be durable enough to work over long periods of time.
• Have to make everything look natural:
  • In order to pull off a successful tank, all of the wires from the filter and heater need to be hidden in order for the tank to look as natural as possible.
• Water must not flow into land area from waterfall:
  • This is currently the main issue that I am working on.  I chose a rather porus piece of sandstone to create the waterfall feature out of and it has been leaking into the lan area of the paludarium.  This means that the soil would be completely wet and that the water from the aquatic section would slowly drain into the land area as there is no way to pump it back out.
• Must complete aesthetic:
  • In order to complete my nature/jungle aesthetic, the tank must be densely planted on both the land and water sections.

Top 5 Constraints:

• Must fit on designed table:
  • I have a designated table that is only 30 x 14 inches, so the tank must sit on that table.
• Can only use fish safe materials:
  • Since the tank will be home to several fish and invertebrate species, all of the materials used on the tank have to be safe for them.
• Has to have enough water for fish:
  • Based on the type of fish being housed, the land area is limited in size due to the fact that there must be enough water for the fish to be comfortable.
• Plant selection must thrive in provided environment:
  • Given that I am creating a simulated environment that is very limited in size and lighting, all of the plants both terrestrial and aquatic must be able to grow in the provided conditions together.
• Evaporation:
  • The design of the tank currently does not have a lid, so the temperature of the water and the intensity of the light have to be suitable so that there is not extreme evaporation going on.