I'm glad to hear you're doing a paludarium.



I've seen examples on the internet where they've used silicon to bond the glass to the wood for one side of the pool (their design was for an aquarium) and faux rock to make up the other sides, with the edges sealed with silicon.



And you'll get a better and more water tight bond between the silicone and the wood if the wood is sealed first, which is why I stress that whatever sealer you choose is something that silicone sticks well to.



As such, I would recommend you limit your choices to Drylok, epoxy resin and solvent-based epoxy paint.



My design is made of wood, with sliding glass doors and a glass window into the pool. But, I'm not sure how well that would work or if somebody has tried something better.



I have built a few of these, although mine had access from the back so I did not use sliding doors. I think sliders are a good idea and will only require some sort of basic support above the water-viewing window for the lower track to be attached to.



"If the bond between the sealed wood and either the glass or the pond does not matter"



Hard to explain what I meant and I won't bother since you are doing a paludarium. You need a watertight seal between the glass and the pond and likely between the wood and the lower glass so you'll need a sealer that silicone will stick to. If the pond has been free standing in the middle of a (non-paludarium) cage and the only glass was mounted on sliding track then you would not have needed to worry about it.



I was considering using tempered glass for the pool and doors. Safety glass would be better?



Talk to your glass guy, but my understand is that safety glass it easier to put a polished edge on. Even if you use roller track you'll want the vertical edges to be polished and rounded for safety reasons. If you use plastic track you'll need the horizontal edges polished and rounded so they will slide.



And with that said, I think the size you're considering probably will require roller track.


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Currently keeping:



3.5.5 Gonyosoma oxycephalum (Javan, mixed colors)

0.0.3 Rhynchophis boulengeri

0.2 Lampropeltis triangulum multistriata

0.2 Lampropeltis triangulum gaigeae

0.0.3 Rhamphiophis rubropunctatus

1.1.1 Morelia viridis (Aru & Merauke locale types)

1.0 Morelia clastolepis

1.0 Rhodesian Ridgeback

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