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Post by flamingcarnivores on Jul 15, 2016 11:39:36 GMT -5
Hi everyone,
It has been awhile since I've posted anything but I am seeking some advice in regards to a terrarium project I am working on. I plan to build two 48"x24"x18" terrariums using 2"x2"s. The inside will be lined with mylar and 6mm poly on the top just below the lights. The bottom will be lined with basic plant trays. I plan to use dollar store pots that you can hang on a balcony. I'll also mount a computer fan for air circulation. My temperature averages between 72-75f in my current set up. I use 4 T5s on one set up and 6 T8s on the other.
My intention to create a planted-esque like setup grouping similar plants per pot, mainly subtropical drosera, Mexican pings, cephalotus and a Brocchinia. I am curious if these specifications would be sufficient to continue to grow the plants. I am entertaining the idea of layering some lava rock and moss in the trays to increase humidity.
I am also wondering if anyone has used Caribsea's Supernatural aquarium substrate as a substitute for silica sand. I use it in my tropical fish aquarium and the company claims the substrate is inert and wont affect PH, hardness or alkalinity. I live north of Toronto and have a lot of difficulty finding appropriate grade silica sand.
Has anyone had success including turface is their ping mediums? I currently used a mixture of equal parts vermiculite, perlite, lava rock, fine silica sand and peat with a little bit of worm castings. They grow exceptionally well but I'm looking to use a more inorganic mixture.
Any advice or feedback would be greatly appreciated.
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Post by morphman on Jul 15, 2016 14:06:20 GMT -5
Hi there,
My advice would be to try to buy some cheap aquariums off kijiiji instead of building them. Doing it yourself will probably cost more, take longer and you end up with something not as good as a glass enclosure for the purpose of holding humidity and not rotting/deteriorating. You can treat the wood but it will cost a bit and eventually it will still end up deteriorating. There are many people handier than myself who might disagree but this is my opinion. I also think you should make the height 24" and the width 18". A shorter tank heats up more and has less variety of light intensity so it will limit what you can keep.
The use of inert substrates is something I've been experimenting with for a few years now since I had a bunch of extra stuff from when I was into aquariums. I haven't used turface but I've used a few different aquarium substrates and I think they work awesome. Try it out and see what the results are in your conditions and keep us posted. I personally use an orchid media I make myself and it's loaded with organics.
Hope this helps somehow.
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Post by joeelliott on Jul 15, 2016 19:00:10 GMT -5
I agree with Morphman about home built terrariums, they do well for a while but eventually moisture degrades them. Personally I am a big fan of the exoterras. That said if you are going to use wood to make the terrarium I suggest that you use fiberglass resin to coat it instead of varathane. The resin will last infinitely longer and you stand a much better chance of avoiding moisture issues.
I can't comment on the aquarium substrate for cp use but I have used it in the past in terrariums with regular plants. Works well and unlike dirt it doesn't tend to trap pockets of H2S gas once the soil becomes saturated with water; a problem I tend to run into with multi levels of plants, tops ones dry out fast and the stuff in the bottom is still wet, ends up with too much water in the bottom and rotting vegetation.
If you are near a livestock feed store check out the decomposed granite (chicken grit) I like using it when I can't get decent sand.
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Post by flamingcarnivores on Jul 18, 2016 8:14:35 GMT -5
Great advice thank you for your replies. One last question, I found a landscaping depot just outside of London, ON that sells crushed granite and silica pebbles. These aggregates are about 3/16". I believe the granite is the grit that you were talking about but I am wondering if Silica pebbles would be similar to silica sand. Any thoughts? creativelandscapedepot.com/mag-steps-stone-ground.pdf
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Post by joeelliott on Jul 18, 2016 19:24:40 GMT -5
Your welcome, the silica pebbles look like your standard river pebbles, After a good wash they will work fine. If you are wondering if they will be composed similar to silica sand I would guess that they should be fairly close.
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Post by Dennis Z on Jul 18, 2016 20:20:52 GMT -5
I had success with Fafard's sand. I find that most course-grit sands that don't contain calcium carbonate should work fine for most carnivorous plants.
Any reptile-designated glass enclosure works great with plants. I personally prefer the Zoo-med style ones over Exo-Terra since the Zoo-med brand only have one glass panel for the door, thus giving me a better overall view of the plants. You also can use egg crate at the bottom to prevent plants from sitting in water.
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Post by flamingcarnivores on Aug 26, 2016 8:21:12 GMT -5
Hey everyone,
Thought I would post some pictures of my plant terrariums. I took everyone's advice and went with aquariums instead. Tuned out pretty good.
My temps range between 78-79 f with high humidity. I used a 12v computer fan but I think there might be too much air flow in the first picture. Two of my heliumphora pullings shriveled up over night. Albeit, I found dividing them difficult and these ones didn't have roots attached.
Thank you for everyone's input. Enjoy
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Post by WillyCKH on Aug 26, 2016 10:01:43 GMT -5
Such lovely terrariums! I really like how organized the plants are arranged! Which utricularia is it in the second photo?
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Post by flamingcarnivores on Aug 26, 2016 10:36:40 GMT -5
Thanks, I am a bit of a perfectionist The one closet to the edge of the tank is U. tridentata and the other is U. 'Lavinia Whateley'
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Post by RuBisCO on Aug 26, 2016 10:46:21 GMT -5
Looking great! What humidity are you getting in there? It might look to be a little on the dry side? Curious.
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Post by flamingcarnivores on Aug 26, 2016 13:04:01 GMT -5
I'll have to measure it when I get home. I had condensation on the inside when I set up the aquarium. When I added the computer fan it went away but I feel that it created too much airflow which decreased the humidity. I have a one inch gap in the middle of the aquarium with an AC running in my apartment that creates airflow around it. I am hoping this will allow some air movement within the tank.
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Post by flamingcarnivores on Aug 30, 2016 9:24:37 GMT -5
RuBisCO, you were right the humidity wasn't ideal in the terrarium; thanks for pointing that out. I think there was too much air flow. I've since set up an ultrasonic humidifier that runs twice a day and moved the fans to blow air over the glass cover of the terrarium. This has helped decrease the temps as well.
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Post by RuBisCO on Aug 30, 2016 9:52:41 GMT -5
Great!
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Post by hebtwo on Aug 31, 2016 13:26:05 GMT -5
Looking good. Keep us posted.
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