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Paludariums



Subject: Paludariums
> 
>      I dont know what the tecnical term is, but I have a questio
> about the tank setup style where you have a tank half water and 
> land.  

There are two terms that I know of:  Paludarium or Aqua-terrarium

>I think that thats great and all, but it seems like a gla
> cleaning nightmare!  How do you keep a white evapooration line o
> the front of the glass?  Do you have to scrub it off every day o

It would depend on how hard your water is.  In the case of my 
Paludarium, (now in operation for almost 4 years) I find that 
scrubbing the glass weekly along with a water changes and normal 
tank maintenance takes care of most of it.  

Eventually, enough scale does build up that I drop the water level 
very low every 4 months or so and let the glass at the water level 
dry.  Then I use a Jungle product called "Lime Off" to clean off 
the scale.  I am very careful not to let the liquid drip into the 
water, but the directions say that it is non-toxic once dry, and 
that has been my experience with it. It does a good job of 
removing the scale, (although it takes some "elbow grease" as 
well!<g>) and has never harmed any of the fish in the tank, 
several of whom are still original inhabitants.

Karen Randall
Aquatic Gardeners Assoc.
Boston, MA