Prion i see yours has a overflow. Is there any type of hob or in tank filter i can use? Id like to try a waterfall if possible
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Hey Skittle, sorry I'm just responding now but I don't have time to lurk on here like I used to, haha.
Are you talking about fake driftwood "roots" reaching in or actual plant roots? You'll find pothos are the easiest thing ever to grow in a paludarium and their roots go everywhere. I've actually gotten to the point in my tank now where the "land" area is at least partially held together by the mass of pothos roots in it.
I wouldn't recommend a HOB for this. If your water level is not near the top of the tank, a HOB will have to struggle to lift the water so high and the waterfall effect from that could stir things up too much. Internal can work, but most commonly available internal filters simply aren't that robust.
The advantage to having a drilled tank in this case is that my water level stays more or less the same. Actually rather than lowering over the course of the week it rises, due to the filter mesh getting clogged and slowing down the downflow. I clean that weekly.
Anyway, I'd highly recommend you try a canister if you're not getting a tank with a drilled overflow. It should be easy to hide the tubing, and the output tube can be easily positioned to create a waterfall. The spraybar most come with might help with that as well. I'd recommend getting one slightly more powerful than what you assume you'd like your water flow to be, as the power of the pump will likely be impacted by having to pump up and down such high vertical distances. When I originally connected an aquaclear CF500 to my swamp, which is in a 30'' tall tank, the canister couldn't really pump the water that high by itself so I actually attached a magdrive to its input tube.
If you're looking for "rooty" wood, go for manzanita. Manzaman (or something similar) in the vendors section has good stuff.
Another cool experiment I'm trying (which I will post on later) is using curly willow instead of manzanita. It's commonly sold at florists and live branches grow roots and new sprigs and leaves, and has a really cool corkscrew look. My LFS (Local Flower Store) told me the leaves usually dry out eventually but I doubt that will happen in the paludarium.
