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Post by Farya on May 1, 2015 10:35:30 GMT -5
Hello Everyone!
I hope everyone is doing well. I see that some members have left and we got some new ones - welcome aboard! For me, it has been 2 years, and I decided to come back with a vengeance! As some of you may know, I was in the CP scene for a while but not so heavily as some of the pros here, namely DVG, Maiden, Mabudon, Lloyd, Bonfield, Vraev, Devon and a few others whose names I have forgotten ( sorry, it will all come back! ).
Anyway, about 2 years ago my small CPs plant collection died on me because of my inexperience with CPs and I almost gave up on all CP things. I say this with great sadness and remorse that I missed it every day! I don't have any other hobbies, except for occasionally seeking out new nurseries for tropicals and succulents, but I just coudn't let go of carnivorous plants! There is just something about them that keeps their hold on me and their hold has never really tethered off!
So, as a result, I have decided to build my very own terrarium, complete with everything that's needed in order to maintain CPs. This tme I shall practice and take all precautions. I am thinking of either 50 or 60 gallon terrarium, what do you guys think? Any suggestions or advice as to its size? I am going to build it from scratch - including my terrarium! Shall I go for plexiglass or glass?
One more thing - To Everyone on this forum: THANK YOU in advance to all of you who have provided your input, suggestions, comments, stories, ideas and advisories regarding all things CPs! I shall be referring to some of your posts in the upcoming days for my new project!
Happy growing All
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Post by H2O on May 1, 2015 10:47:26 GMT -5
Awesome to have you back.
It's great to have goal like you do, it definitely helps keep interest while your collection is growing.
I've built many terrariums over the years although most were for orchids and frogs. It depends on what types of carnivorous plants are you hoping to put into it? Are you thinking Nepenthes and other typicals? Or more towards a terrestrial planted terrarium with Drosera, Pinguicula, Utricularia ect? Dimensions will change depending on what you want. For planted terrariums you'll have little need for height (only to accommodate flowers stalks) and will want as much floor space as possible. If you have the space 4 feet long works very well because of the availability of light fixtures at that length, it also gives you a little more space to play with the landscape.
Can't wait to see what you come up with.
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Post by WillyCKH on May 1, 2015 11:35:59 GMT -5
That's really exciting and cool, keep us posted~! I am new to CP so I can't help suggesting anything since I have only a bowl of moss which is the closest thing to a Terrarium. If you want to build your own LED grow light though, I can offer some tips and advises on circuits and stuff.
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Post by vraev on May 1, 2015 13:55:20 GMT -5
Welcome back. Its hard to leave once u get bitten with the CP bug. Check out the various threads here... Avery and myself have pretty extensive threads on terrarium growing of CPs with reasonable success. It depends on the plants you want to grow of course. One suggestion regd your plan... I wanted to make my own tank with glass ass well (BTW...u would want to use glass... some acrylic can start becoming opaque / translucent under constant high light exposure. Acrylic can also start to bend when its tall. Not to mention, with our level of maintenance, it is a lot easier to get scratches on.)....but decided its cheaper and easier to get one of the ready made tanks. Depends on your purpose, I would suggest keep a look out on kijiji for used exo terra which u can drill into and make it your very own. I would strongly suggest to invest heavily into your lights. It is the one key feature that can control the success of your plant culture. Do not skimp on this and I am sure eventually you will end up growing some amazing plants.
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Post by Farya on May 1, 2015 14:09:16 GMT -5
Awesome to have you back. It's great to have goal like you do, it definitely helps keep interest while your collection is growing. I've built many terrariums over the years although most were for orchids and frogs. It depends on what types of carnivorous plants are you hoping to put into it? Are you thinking Nepenthes and other typicals? Or more towards a terrestrial planted terrarium with Drosera, Pinguicula, Utricularia ect? Dimensions will change depending on what you want. For planted terrariums you'll have little need for height (only to accommodate flowers stalks) and will want as much floor space as possible. If you have the space 4 feet long works very well because of the availability of light fixtures at that length, it also gives you a little more space to play with the landscape. Can't wait to see what you come up with. Hey H2O, thanks for the advise. That's awesome . I plan on starting again with Dionaeas and Droseras, because, what I understand, Helis and Sarrs prefer a bit more cooler environments but still need the humidity; there are a few rules governing cooler temperature CPs vs. warmer termperature CPs so I will practice caution. I am also planning on using plexiglass instead of glass (still deciding on this) and 2 x T8s or T5s bulbs, along with everything else. I can't wait to begin! Gosh, I feel myself tearing LMAO! Eventually I would like to add a few others species as well, so let's see how far I can go. Some of you guys have really awesome-looking setups too that I can't contain my jealousy Lol. This is going to be a pretty big project and I'm sure that by the time I have completed building my terrarium, I doubt I will have any money left over for other goodies (gunna cry over this one). Anyway, another question: should I also get a plant humidifier to keep things nice and moist or the terrarium would siffice? I don't want my plants to start becoming "translucent" and "decayingly" soft tot he touch form excessive humidity / sweating. I was also thinking of making a solid wooden base for stability for the terrarium too but I hate the look of wood Lol (no offense to wood carvers / wood lovers out there (including my dad hehhee). Maybe once I have put everything together I will revisit the idea of a wooden base. 'Til then, you all enjoy your up-coming weekends. It's supposed to be real nice this weekend here in Toronto.
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Post by Farya on May 1, 2015 14:24:59 GMT -5
That's really exciting and cool, keep us posted~! I am new to CP so I can't help suggesting anything since I have only a bowl of moss which is the closest thing to a Terrarium. If you want to build your own LED grow light though, I can offer some tips and advises on circuits and stuff. Willyckh, that has GOT to be the cutest little terrarium I have ever seen! And look you got some nice moss growing there too and they look happy! As for the circuitry and light, I may need your advice. BTW, how do you know about circuitry and lighting? Uh-huh we got ourselves a genius here When you're not looking I'm gunna steal your little terra and add it to my ginormous terra, 'cuz it's too cute Oh and I noticed what appears to be a heating pad there...? Am I right in assuming so? It's neat; where did you get it from? Nurseries?
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Post by WillyCKH on May 1, 2015 14:39:49 GMT -5
That's really exciting and cool, keep us posted~! I am new to CP so I can't help suggesting anything since I have only a bowl of moss which is the closest thing to a Terrarium. If you want to build your own LED grow light though, I can offer some tips and advises on circuits and stuff. Willyckh, that has GOT to be the cutest little terrarium I have ever seen! And look you got some nice moss growing there too and they look happy! As for the circuitry and light, I may need your advice. BTW, how do you know about circuitry and lighting? Uh-huh we got ourselves a genius here When you're not looking I'm gunna steal your little terra and add it to my ginormous terra, 'cuz it's too cute Oh and I noticed what appears to be a heating pad there...? Am I right in assuming so? It's neat; where did you get it from? Nurseries? Thank you! My moss in the little terrarium are now much bigger now, the photo above is from a month ago. I will show you a picture tonight when I get home. I am studying Mechatronic Systems Engineering in SFU, and part of the degree is related to electrical stuff (MSE is a combination of mechanical, electrical and software engineering). Beside that, it is my interest to build things too, I am currently making an automatic system to grow plants! The temperature sticker is bought from Amazon, for ~$3. It's pretty neat to show the temperature around it, quite useful for aquarium and terrariums as it doesn't use electricity and quite durable.
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Post by Farya on May 1, 2015 14:52:47 GMT -5
Welcome back. Its hard to leave once u get bitten with the CP bug. Check out the various threads here... Avery and myself have pretty extensive threads on terrarium growing of CPs with reasonable success. It depends on the plants you want to grow of course. One suggestion regd your plan... I wanted to make my own tank with glass ass well (BTW...u would want to use glass... some acrylic can start becoming opaque / translucent under constant high light exposure. Acrylic can also start to bend when its tall. Not to mention, with our level of maintenance, it is a lot easier to get scratches on.)....but decided its cheaper and easier to get one of the ready made tanks. Depends on your purpose, I would suggest keep a look out on kijiji for used exo terra which u can drill into and make it your very own. I would strongly suggest to invest heavily into your lights. It is the one key feature that can control the success of your plant culture. Do not skimp on this and I am sure eventually you will end up growing some amazing plants. Vraev!! You're still here SWEEEEEEEET! If memory serves me well, I remember you had some really, really nice-looking plants. BTW, I just creeped your youtube video and found your radion freshwater fixture video...? Is that simulated lightening and thunderstorm I see there?!!? WHOA That is really neat stuff you got there! Anyway, I also want to get glass as opposed to plexiglass or acrylics because of the deterioration and the bending under extreme temperatures. And I definately will be concentrating on lighting because this is the eare where I need to concentrate on in order for my plants to survive. I have no plants or seeds yet and want to build my terra first and then look at that avenue. I'm gunna be looking for the pros here to buy stuff off of since I don't have to trade as of yet Lol (don't laugh too hard - it'll hurt my fragile ego). I looked in Kijiji and Craigslist but didn't like anything and plus I want to build my own from scratch - from start to finish and then revel in its glory ROFL I know this project of mine of mine will be costly but I'd rather start off fresh and do everything right than years before where I was a noob. Now I got you pros to look forward to! Oh, humidifier...? Need or no need? Thanks so much in advance.
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Post by vraev on May 1, 2015 19:53:58 GMT -5
Welcome back. Its hard to leave once u get bitten with the CP bug. Check out the various threads here... Avery and myself have pretty extensive threads on terrarium growing of CPs with reasonable success. It depends on the plants you want to grow of course. One suggestion regd your plan... I wanted to make my own tank with glass ass well (BTW...u would want to use glass... some acrylic can start becoming opaque / translucent under constant high light exposure. Acrylic can also start to bend when its tall. Not to mention, with our level of maintenance, it is a lot easier to get scratches on.)....but decided its cheaper and easier to get one of the ready made tanks. Depends on your purpose, I would suggest keep a look out on kijiji for used exo terra which u can drill into and make it your very own. I would strongly suggest to invest heavily into your lights. It is the one key feature that can control the success of your plant culture. Do not skimp on this and I am sure eventually you will end up growing some amazing plants. Vraev!! You're still here SWEEEEEEEET! If memory serves me well, I remember you had some really, really nice-looking plants. BTW, I just creeped your youtube video and found your radion freshwater fixture video...? Is that simulated lightening and thunderstorm I see there?!!? WHOA That is really neat stuff you got there! Anyway, I also want to get glass as opposed to plexiglass or acrylics because of the deterioration and the bending under extreme temperatures. And I definately will be concentrating on lighting because this is the eare where I need to concentrate on in order for my plants to survive. I have no plants or seeds yet and want to build my terra first and then look at that avenue. I'm gunna be looking for the pros here to buy stuff off of since I don't have to trade as of yet Lol (don't laugh too hard - it'll hurt my fragile ego). I looked in Kijiji and Craigslist but didn't like anything and plus I want to build my own from scratch - from start to finish and then revel in its glory ROFL I know this project of mine of mine will be costly but I'd rather start off fresh and do everything right than years before where I was a noob. Now I got you pros to look forward to! Oh, humidifier...? Need or no need? Thanks so much in advance. Hey Farya. check out my thread on my tanks: ocps.proboards.com/thread/6404/orchid-collection-exo-terra-tanksI used to have a lot bigger tanks (2), each of which were almost 3 times the size of my current one. But life sometimes hits hard and you have to adapt. Anyways..I understand your need to make your own tank. I would suggest www.dendroboard.com for some good construction journals. I myself have found that forum very useful for my own projects. You will not be disappointed. But just based on the info from there, I think making tanks is definitely laborious. The end result might work out very well though. Regd humidifer, I myself am not using one. I bought one from walmart in US on my recent visit and FAILED miserably. I mean serious FAIL. I got one which was $13. I booked it as check in baggage...lol...and it ended up being not an ultrasonic humidifier. So I am literally sitting here with a huge useless box. lol! Either way...I have been growing in my tanks without a humidifier for over 2y. So I am definitely sure its possible. Yet...depends on the plants u want to grow for sure. You also need to reach a critical plant mass after which the tank will sustain the humidity itself.
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Post by WillyCKH on May 1, 2015 20:58:07 GMT -5
Here's the mini terrarium today... Sphagnum moss grows really happily inside a terrarium, maybe you should get some growing along with your future collection!
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Post by lloyd on May 1, 2015 21:34:26 GMT -5
The thing to realize is that almost any set up will grow some plants for some time in good health. The more difficult the plant and the longer you want to keep them (in good health) determines how much work you do. I'm a middle of the roader: everybody I know thinks I'm crazy to go to so much trouble for my vegetable buddies but I'm not any way as hard core as lots of other people in the OCPS (except maybe about TC). So just build the set-up you want and see how it goes, adjusting the plants to the set-up or visa-versa and see what happens. Of course if you buy more expensive plants you want to take more care matching the set-up to the plant.
I would go for T5HO's. I think right now they're the best way to go.
Good to have you back.
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Post by nwflytrap on May 5, 2015 14:56:24 GMT -5
Welcome back! I started a 50 gallon terrarium last spring. The dead sphagnum is now live and about 2" thick. It's not really set up yet, as I only have 4 pots sitting in it at the moment and 4 dome lights with CFL bulbs. I'm planning to pick up a 36" T5 for it tomorrow. Plants are D capensis, natalensis and other dews, a butterwort, and a heli minor. The minor has tripled in size and flowered in there, so I'm doing something right. It's even turned into a true terrarium with animal life, as I have a large jumping spider that moved in there a few weeks ago. He learned quickly to avoid the dews.
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Post by Farya on May 11, 2015 14:26:56 GMT -5
Willyckh, that has GOT to be the cutest little terrarium I have ever seen! And look you got some nice moss growing there too and they look happy! As for the circuitry and light, I may need your advice. BTW, how do you know about circuitry and lighting? Uh-huh we got ourselves a genius here When you're not looking I'm gunna steal your little terra and add it to my ginormous terra, 'cuz it's too cute Oh and I noticed what appears to be a heating pad there...? Am I right in assuming so? It's neat; where did you get it from? Nurseries? Thank you! My moss in the little terrarium are now much bigger now, the photo above is from a month ago. I will show you a picture tonight when I get home. I am studying Mechatronic Systems Engineering in SFU, and part of the degree is related to electrical stuff (MSE is a combination of mechanical, electrical and software engineering). Beside that, it is my interest to build things too, I am currently making an automatic system to grow plants! The temperature sticker is bought from Amazon, for ~$3. It's pretty neat to show the temperature around it, quite useful for aquarium and terrariums as it doesn't use electricity and quite durable. Hey Willyckh, I did the same thing as you: revived and grew some of the Chillean LFS that I currently have. They seemed to really like humidity inside glassware and turned a nice green and its spores / buds turned a dark pink too *so happy* I could cry Lol .Now, when you say you're studying MSE, that's pretty cool stuff. I gotta give it to ya, ^5 Lol, I envy those like you that study electrical engineering; sure need a lot of dedication and perseverance. Keep us posted on yoru automatic growing system; that would be really neat to see . And I'm gonna buy a temperature pad too, because it becomes quite handy when you need it. Will check out Amazon and eBay, etc tonight. Happy growing bud; maybe in the future once I have established everything, we can start trading plants and seeds.
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Post by Farya on May 11, 2015 14:37:28 GMT -5
Vraev!! You're still here SWEEEEEEEET! If memory serves me well, I remember you had some really, really nice-looking plants. BTW, I just creeped your youtube video and found your radion freshwater fixture video...? Is that simulated lightening and thunderstorm I see there?!!? WHOA That is really neat stuff you got there! Anyway, I also want to get glass as opposed to plexiglass or acrylics because of the deterioration and the bending under extreme temperatures. And I definately will be concentrating on lighting because this is the eare where I need to concentrate on in order for my plants to survive. I have no plants or seeds yet and want to build my terra first and then look at that avenue. I'm gunna be looking for the pros here to buy stuff off of since I don't have to trade as of yet Lol (don't laugh too hard - it'll hurt my fragile ego). I looked in Kijiji and Craigslist but didn't like anything and plus I want to build my own from scratch - from start to finish and then revel in its glory ROFL I know this project of mine of mine will be costly but I'd rather start off fresh and do everything right than years before where I was a noob. Now I got you pros to look forward to! Oh, humidifier...? Need or no need? Thanks so much in advance. Hey Farya. check out my thread on my tanks: ocps.proboards.com/thread/6404/orchid-collection-exo-terra-tanksI used to have a lot bigger tanks (2), each of which were almost 3 times the size of my current one. But life sometimes hits hard and you have to adapt. Anyways..I understand your need to make your own tank. I would suggest www.dendroboard.com for some good construction journals. I myself have found that forum very useful for my own projects. You will not be disappointed. But just based on the info from there, I think making tanks is definitely laborious. The end result might work out very well though. Regd humidifer, I myself am not using one. I bought one from walmart in US on my recent visit and FAILED miserably. I mean serious FAIL. I got one which was $13. I booked it as check in baggage...lol...and it ended up being not an ultrasonic humidifier. So I am literally sitting here with a huge useless box. lol! Either way...I have been growing in my tanks without a humidifier for over 2y. So I am definitely sure its possible. Yet...depends on the plants u want to grow for sure. You also need to reach a critical plant mass after which the tank will sustain the humidity itself. Hey Vraev, I checked threads about your tanks and holly molly, you got a real nice setup dude!! You and a few others here really go overboard and it's AWESOME! Damn, you are good. I wish I had the skills and patience that you do Lol. I decided not to get the humidifier; with the right conditions, like you mentioned above, I don't think it will be necessary, at least not right now. Too bad about your humidifier from the States - who told you to put something as fragile as that in your checking in baggage Lol That's alright though, we all learn from out mistakes I'm gonna try to upload a few of my CP pictures that I had back then; I miss them :_( I can't wait until I get everything ready....so excited and happy and all that mushy stuff Lol. By the way, nice FB pictures of your plants and stuff; you make me jelly with envy ROFL!
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Post by Farya on May 11, 2015 18:02:15 GMT -5
Welcome back! I started a 50 gallon terrarium last spring. The dead sphagnum is now live and about 2" thick. It's not really set up yet, as I only have 4 pots sitting in it at the moment and 4 dome lights with CFL bulbs. I'm planning to pick up a 36" T5 for it tomorrow. Plants are D capensis, natalensis and other dews, a butterwort, and a heli minor. The minor has tripled in size and flowered in there, so I'm doing something right. It's even turned into a true terrarium with animal life, as I have a large jumping spider that moved in there a few weeks ago. He learned quickly to avoid the dews. Hey nwflytrap, thanks man Feels damn good to be back. So 50 gallon eh? That's sweet 'cuz I'm doing the same - 50 gallon and I'm sooo excited! Dude, at least you got plants! I don't even have them yet ROFL, but that's gonna end soon as soon as I get this bad boy up Can you take a picture of your terra? When you have time of course; I wanna get an idea of setup and all that. And you know what? Sphagnum is a fast grower! At least for it has always been. I find the Chilean and New Zealand moss to be the best when it comes down to CP. Mine have been growing like crazy and turning a nice red in the tips, which I think are the spores / buds. And how did you get the spider in there? Take a picture of it, got name for your new pet yet? How 'bout Legs, Skyros, Diablo, Spindra, Sativa or SlenderSpider or better yet, Prowler / Fobia Don't they prefer drier conditions...? Or maybe they're digging their new place Lol. LOLLLL@learned to avoid the dews! It's a nasty world out there lol I'm gonna post pics up of my old collection *shedding tears*
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