Sorry, it is the first photo that shows the foaming. It is test running for a few days and then the final planting and finishing touches, including rocks around and in the pond, and some better plant arrangements, and a couple of water changes, perhaps. I had to slit the weed cloth that was lining the pond, as it didn't allow enough free drainage of the water and tended to flood over into the substrate.
While the majority of the water actually falls directly into the pond, some does seep over the bark onto the back substrate, but this drains relatively cleanly back into the false bottom.
I'm not pretending this is a thing of beauty, especially at this early date, but it will improve as I mess with it further and the various mosses, etc. begin to colonize the cork bark. It is not the only way to build a false bottom, either, by any means. It's just one way that I've found to be relatively simple and that works without a lot of technical skills.
I get my cork bark from The Cork Store* in bulk, which comes unsterilized and generally uncleaned. You can also purchase individual pieces from the various terrarium folk, or a pet store. I merely wash it off if it's dusty, cut it to fit, and use it without boiling or extensive sanitizing. In most cases, it is full of surprises, such as spores of mosses that will grow on it, as well as a couple of different delightful ferns that may eventually appear over time. The lichens that adhere to it, unfortunately don't last long in wet, humid conditions.
*The Cork Store
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Patty
Pahsimeroi, Idaho
4 D. auratus blue
5 D. galactonotus pumpkin orange splash back
7 D. imitator
6 D. leucomelas
4 D. pumilio Bastimentos
4 D. fantasticus
6 P. terribilis mint and organe
4 D. reticulatus
4 D. castaneoticus
2 D. azureus
4 P vittatus
2 P. lugubris
