Wy Renegade
Aquarium Advice Addict
Little back history first off. Too many years ago to remember exactly when it was, I had an opportunity to attend a workshop on carnivorous plants. I got so excited during the workshop about the plants, that I immediately began to plan a bog terrarium of some kind around them. My initial schemes included a plastic terrarium partially full of sand/peat moss mix with holes drilled in the bottom sitting over a aquarium/sump of RO water with a powerhead on a timer pumping water to mist the carnivorous plants.
Over time however the plans began to change into more of a 1/2 terrarium and 1/2 aquarium tank. About the time I was making that decision, I walked into the LPS and came across a 20gal Long turtle tank. Of course, it seemed perfect for the task; so I purchased it and brought it into my classroom. I started out by sectioning off a portion of the tank using aquarium-safe silicon and river rocks to create a barrier. The left side of the barrier (about a 1/3 of the total area) would be the terrarium (or bog), and the right side would be open water (or pool). I of course didn't worry about getting the barrier water tight, as I wanted to create a boggy environment - my only consideration in using the silicon was to insure that the rocks did not move. I then created a mixture of 50% peat (sphangum) moss and 50% play sand, which I used to fill in the terrarium portion. To ensure the sand/moss mixture didn't erode into the water portion, I used two layers of industrial weed barrier against the rock wall.
The right-hand portion was then filled with a very shallow layer of aquarium gravel, and RO water. I added a piece of cottonwood bark to transition between the terrarium and the pool, thinking I might add some salamanders or newts of some type eventually and they might like to crawl back and forth.
Filtration was the standard hang-on-the-side filter that came with the turtle tank and I used a standard 29" strip light as the light.
I then proceeded to fill the bog portion with assorted carnivorous plants - I ordered Venus Fly Traps, assorted Sundews, and assorted Pitcher plants. As you might expect, they proceeded over the course of the next year to slowly wither away and die out. Evidently failing to seal the rock barrier had been a mistake, and the bog was simply too wet to support the carnivous plants.
Disappointed by the failure of the carnivorous plants, I never the less plunged ahead, as the bog tank had captured my interest. Over the years the tank has changed considerably. I've added a second double bulb strip light, and a second filter to the tank. I added some moss plucked from alongside the school building, a native fern removed from a wet area on our local mountains, various plants purchased from the local nurseries as well as a number of "bog" plants purchased on line and from school suppliers. A variety of aquatic plants and animals have also occuppied the pool area over the years, including Betas, guppies (both feeder and fancy), hermit crabs, pond snails, stoneflies, damselflies, caddisflies, scuds, crayfish. Some of the plants I've grow include a swordplant, ascaris, muskwort, and sometype of grass.
I don't have any older pictures of the tank, but below are some that were taken back in '07 or '08. You'll have to excuse the quality of my photos, I didn't have photoshop back then.
Close-up of the whole tank;
this was shortly after I'd added the native fern (you can see it as the taller plant on the left), and the moss, also have some Baby's Tears mixed in as well.
The bog;
Little better picture of the bog area and the plants.
The log;
Shows the transition from the pool to the bog, with the log creating a transition piece.
Waterfall;
I used river rock and slate to create a waterfall effect around my filter.
Over time however the plans began to change into more of a 1/2 terrarium and 1/2 aquarium tank. About the time I was making that decision, I walked into the LPS and came across a 20gal Long turtle tank. Of course, it seemed perfect for the task; so I purchased it and brought it into my classroom. I started out by sectioning off a portion of the tank using aquarium-safe silicon and river rocks to create a barrier. The left side of the barrier (about a 1/3 of the total area) would be the terrarium (or bog), and the right side would be open water (or pool). I of course didn't worry about getting the barrier water tight, as I wanted to create a boggy environment - my only consideration in using the silicon was to insure that the rocks did not move. I then created a mixture of 50% peat (sphangum) moss and 50% play sand, which I used to fill in the terrarium portion. To ensure the sand/moss mixture didn't erode into the water portion, I used two layers of industrial weed barrier against the rock wall.
The right-hand portion was then filled with a very shallow layer of aquarium gravel, and RO water. I added a piece of cottonwood bark to transition between the terrarium and the pool, thinking I might add some salamanders or newts of some type eventually and they might like to crawl back and forth.
Filtration was the standard hang-on-the-side filter that came with the turtle tank and I used a standard 29" strip light as the light.
I then proceeded to fill the bog portion with assorted carnivorous plants - I ordered Venus Fly Traps, assorted Sundews, and assorted Pitcher plants. As you might expect, they proceeded over the course of the next year to slowly wither away and die out. Evidently failing to seal the rock barrier had been a mistake, and the bog was simply too wet to support the carnivous plants.
Disappointed by the failure of the carnivorous plants, I never the less plunged ahead, as the bog tank had captured my interest. Over the years the tank has changed considerably. I've added a second double bulb strip light, and a second filter to the tank. I added some moss plucked from alongside the school building, a native fern removed from a wet area on our local mountains, various plants purchased from the local nurseries as well as a number of "bog" plants purchased on line and from school suppliers. A variety of aquatic plants and animals have also occuppied the pool area over the years, including Betas, guppies (both feeder and fancy), hermit crabs, pond snails, stoneflies, damselflies, caddisflies, scuds, crayfish. Some of the plants I've grow include a swordplant, ascaris, muskwort, and sometype of grass.
I don't have any older pictures of the tank, but below are some that were taken back in '07 or '08. You'll have to excuse the quality of my photos, I didn't have photoshop back then.
Close-up of the whole tank;
this was shortly after I'd added the native fern (you can see it as the taller plant on the left), and the moss, also have some Baby's Tears mixed in as well.
The bog;
Little better picture of the bog area and the plants.
The log;
Shows the transition from the pool to the bog, with the log creating a transition piece.
Waterfall;
I used river rock and slate to create a waterfall effect around my filter.