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Help setting up a Terrarium?
KiTA
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Has anyone set up a terrarium?
I grow some small carnivorous plants -- Venus Flytraps, some Pitcher Plants, a Sundew or 5, etc.
My new apartment doesn't get enough sunlight to support their growth, and I'm worried they're going to kick the bucket without some extra light.
So the plan right now is a small terrarium for my plants in order to keep them growing as best as I can. However, I've never set up one, so, I'm a bit lost.
As far as I know, what I'll need to get is:
* Cube-shaped Fishtank
* "Lid" fitted for such
* 2x (or more) Light Bulbs
* "Ballast"
* Timer of some kind
The Fishtank should be easy, there are several tropical fish stores in town. The Lid is my major worry, I have no idea what to ask for. Do I just go into Lowes or Home Depot or PetSmart or something and go "I'm trying to set up a terrarium" and see what they have to say? Most lids I see are for fish, so they open on one side and only hold 1 bulb -- I need one that doesn't open and has 2 light mounts.
Apparently finding cooling is also important, a small fan or somesuch blowing air through the opening.
The Light bulbs are apparently easy, Following This overly complex guide at Sarracenia.com, he mentions just using a mix of cool white and warm white bulbs -- no fancy grow-lights here -- although the idea of using a bank of red and blue LEDs may be an option in the distant future.
I figure I have 1, maybe 2 weeks before my plants start to croak, so... kinda worried. Some of them I can give away (the flower pots, etc) and some will do just fine in bright shade (the strawberries, the stevia, etc), but... My CPs are mine, and I'd really rather keep them:
2x S. leucophylla (aka "White Trumpet")
1x S. x 'Judith Hindle'
2x VFT (Typical form)
1x Mixed pot (D. scorpioides (Pygmy), D. pulchella x nitidula (Pygmy), P. moranensis and P. grandiflora in one big 7" Pot)
1x Mixed pot (D. tokaiensis x2, D. adelae, D. capensis 'alba' in a 7" Translucent fishbowl)
1x N. Ventricosa (about a 10-12" pot)
1x D. capensis (typical form)
1x S. purpurea (about a 6" pot)
1x S. purpurea (2" pot -- this one's died and come back multiple times)
Obviously the Sarracenias ("S."s above) will likely need to do their own thing, as they get a bit tall -- the Purpureas are an exception, and supposedly they can survive in shade -- and in sub-zero temperatures, so they can sit outside. The N. Ventricosa should be OK in shade, I believe, it is a rainforest plant that's acclimated to my room and seems fine. The stuff in the big 7" pots will likely need repotting in smaller pots to fit in any Terrarium.
My major worry is one of the Venus Flytraps and my D. Capensis, those are my two first CP and I'm most worried about them dying on me. The Pygmys are also really cool and I'd hate to lose them after finally getting the silly things to survive. In theory all my Sundews and Butterworts would grow in one terrarium just fine, as they're all tropical plants that do not need a dormancy.
I grow some small carnivorous plants -- Venus Flytraps, some Pitcher Plants, a Sundew or 5, etc.
My new apartment doesn't get enough sunlight to support their growth, and I'm worried they're going to kick the bucket without some extra light.
So the plan right now is a small terrarium for my plants in order to keep them growing as best as I can. However, I've never set up one, so, I'm a bit lost.
As far as I know, what I'll need to get is:
* Cube-shaped Fishtank
* "Lid" fitted for such
* 2x (or more) Light Bulbs
* "Ballast"
* Timer of some kind
The Fishtank should be easy, there are several tropical fish stores in town. The Lid is my major worry, I have no idea what to ask for. Do I just go into Lowes or Home Depot or PetSmart or something and go "I'm trying to set up a terrarium" and see what they have to say? Most lids I see are for fish, so they open on one side and only hold 1 bulb -- I need one that doesn't open and has 2 light mounts.
Apparently finding cooling is also important, a small fan or somesuch blowing air through the opening.
The Light bulbs are apparently easy, Following This overly complex guide at Sarracenia.com, he mentions just using a mix of cool white and warm white bulbs -- no fancy grow-lights here -- although the idea of using a bank of red and blue LEDs may be an option in the distant future.
I figure I have 1, maybe 2 weeks before my plants start to croak, so... kinda worried. Some of them I can give away (the flower pots, etc) and some will do just fine in bright shade (the strawberries, the stevia, etc), but... My CPs are mine, and I'd really rather keep them:
2x S. leucophylla (aka "White Trumpet")
1x S. x 'Judith Hindle'
2x VFT (Typical form)
1x Mixed pot (D. scorpioides (Pygmy), D. pulchella x nitidula (Pygmy), P. moranensis and P. grandiflora in one big 7" Pot)
1x Mixed pot (D. tokaiensis x2, D. adelae, D. capensis 'alba' in a 7" Translucent fishbowl)
1x N. Ventricosa (about a 10-12" pot)
1x D. capensis (typical form)
1x S. purpurea (about a 6" pot)
1x S. purpurea (2" pot -- this one's died and come back multiple times)
Obviously the Sarracenias ("S."s above) will likely need to do their own thing, as they get a bit tall -- the Purpureas are an exception, and supposedly they can survive in shade -- and in sub-zero temperatures, so they can sit outside. The N. Ventricosa should be OK in shade, I believe, it is a rainforest plant that's acclimated to my room and seems fine. The stuff in the big 7" pots will likely need repotting in smaller pots to fit in any Terrarium.
My major worry is one of the Venus Flytraps and my D. Capensis, those are my two first CP and I'm most worried about them dying on me. The Pygmys are also really cool and I'd hate to lose them after finally getting the silly things to survive. In theory all my Sundews and Butterworts would grow in one terrarium just fine, as they're all tropical plants that do not need a dormancy.
KiTA on
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The S. 'Judith Hindle' has been outside for a few months, and man, she's almost full to the brim with flies, earwigs, wasps, etc etc. It's freaky to watch. Unfortunately she'll get to about a foot and a half tall, so a terrarium is right out -- but I'm looking into a shelf mounted shop light setup, or just a lid on stilts or somethin.
Of course, I've never had carnivorous plants (they tend to not like Colorado) so my advice may not be worth the bytes it's printed in.
You might want to see how much a custom tank would cost to build if some of your plants won't fit in a more standard size, but I've also seen tanks at Petsmart that are pretty tall.This one for example is 24 inches high. May be a bit larger then you're looking for though.
One annoyance is that every time I go in looking for grow lights the various prudes around here all give me looks like I'm wearing a hemp top hat and a "4:20 NOW" T-shirt or something. Heh.