A fly trap terrarium.

[Superfly]

Hello, Ive been doing a lot of reading on the forum here and figured I better ask for advice if I plan on having any type of luck with a project like this.

I've noticed that you guys really frown on growing fly traps in any kind of terrarium, but I'm a poor college student who is stuck in a dorm that only gets 3 hours of sunlight max. I don't have the option of planting outside either. Sadly, Im really only interested in fly traps, so I wouldn't really have the motivation to put any other species in there. If you guys think this would be a viable project, then I wouldn't mind putting a lot of time into in order to make it just right.

Most of the terrariums I've seen on here keep the plants potted. I suppose this is just to keep soil mixtures/water levels separate for the different plants?

I have a 5.5 gallon fish tank (rectangular/long) that I plan on using. I've read that fly traps like occasional rain, but not very much humidity. So what if I used this for a bottom substrate,
http://www.herpsupplies.com/product.cfm?groupid=13390&id=HYD310
and then put the recommended potting mixture above that, with a screen divider. Then I would run a pump in the corner to run bottom water up to the top of the tank and into some kind of drip style tubing. This would be set on a timer to go off a few times per day.

I might be able to rig up some kind of float/valve system inside the tank so that it would hold a steady water level, but that would be an extra credit project

Then for light... It seems like just about every terrarium I've seen on here has a comment about "lack of light". I haven't really done a whole lot of research or shopping around yet, but I do realize that a LOT of light will be needed. This will also be on a timer, so I can slowly adjust the hours per day in order to mimic the seasons.

I will probably setup one of those computer fans for ventilation to keep humidity relatively low. I'll also have to wait and see how the light setup affects the temperature of the tank and so I'll have to play that by ear.

I won't be able to start this for about two weeks, so that's why I'd rather get "shut down" now if its a bad idea. Im very open to comments and suggestions so please don't hold back.

Thanks a lot for the help ahead of time.

 

[Capensis]

You might want to change the amount of photoperiod for each season. And for the lights, I hear that T5s are very bright.

Edit: You don't need a fan to keep the humidity low, it's just that they can tolerate low humidity so have humidity 60% or 70% probably won't hurt it. Plus, it won't really mater if the temp gets up to about the low 90s, they love the sun.

 

[cmm889]

you can totally grow VFT's inside in a tank, I'm a broke college student who was in the dorms when I first started also and I got zero sunlight so I feel your pain. It's very doable, people frown upon growing them indoors becuase its unnecessary usually is all.... and they require a ton of light...

I used a 20 gallon tank on its side with a couple cfls in the shoplight housings... and all my flytraps were a deep red and growing strong...

you dont need a substrate on the bottom just use the tray method for watering the vft's can adjust to almost any humidity.... the higher the better so long as its not like a 100% or something crazy.... I've grown them in a tank with 85% humidity and they did well, on a rack in my room with no tank and like 25% humidity and they did well and outside they did well... theyr very versatile...

you should be fine, use the vft's growth as a gauge to see if your giving them enough light... if you can give em enough light the rest is just easy

any other questions feel free to ask

 

[SirKristoff]

Dont forget dormancy Chris, the plants would need to be given a cold winter dormancy from about october/november until march or april.

 

[DavyJones]

I would even go as far as saying that wouldn't really need a terrarrium. They just take up a lot of space. Get a small table lamp, and the brightest CFL bulb you can find, and set the lamp and plant on a windowsill. Problem solved. When I had VFTs this is what I did and had success. The issue comes at dormancy time.

 

[D_muscipula]

You say you are really only interested in flytraps. Well after seeing some nepenthes I think you might change your mind.

 

[SirKristoff]

Hamata pics, HAMATA PICS NOW lol.
that will get him into neps....easily

 

[cmm889]

I avoided dormancy my first year of growing and grew right thru it. Its not good in the long run and can result in dead plants next season not to mention slower growth... but if your a new grower the thought of putting your new flytraps in a fridge for a couple months may sound really unattractive...

you could start over from pullings and skip the dormancy period and put em thru next fall... that may be a bit advanced for a new grower though...

there are options available if you choose to put em thru dormancy... fridge,windowsill,outside,garage,basement,attic haha cold and dark is all...

you may search around see if you cant find a tropical plant to appeal to your new hobby interest to maintain you if you choose to not skip dormancy with your vft's...

-Chris

 

[BigBella]

Hello, Ive been doing a lot of reading on the forum here and figured I better ask for advice if I plan on having any type of luck with a project like this.

I've noticed that you guys really frown on growing fly traps in any kind of terrarium, but I'm a poor college student who is stuck in a dorm that only gets 3 hours of sunlight max. I don't have the option of planting outside either. Sadly, Im really only interested in fly traps, so I wouldn't really have the motivation to put any other species in there. If you guys think this would be a viable project, then I wouldn't mind putting a lot of time into in order to make it just right.

I too had limited space and light at colledge, colleridge, college, and grew a number of plants in a small terrarium with very good results. I pulled off keeping some beautiful Dionaea under lights -- all very brightly colored and endlessly hungry. Since my house-mate at the time had questionable personal habits (and who is now pursuing public office -- go figure) and left food around, there were no shortage of flies for them either . . .

I have never been too pleased with the whole planted terraria thing and would personally keep the plants in separate pots, since I have found that good drainage with Dionaea is fairly important and hard to come by otherwise. Definitely follow the advice of others here, and allow for dormancy. I think failures with the species for that reason are a common as too little light or too much water . . .

 

[Superfly]

Well, I've always been into growing Dionaea and for dormancy I would usually keep them where they were at, since the house got pretty cold in the winter. They would send a leaf up every now and then, but they always came back pretty strong in the spring. I've always had bad luck with trying to use the refrigerator.

As far as lighting, I've noticed the T5's are a bit pricey haha. Halogens seem to put out too much heat for the amount of "useable" light that they produce. The fluorescent tube that I have now for the fish tank is only 14 watts "Aqua Glow", and I'm assuming thats way too little. Will I be able to find a pretty cheap double tube setup at Home Depot thats only 10-12 inches long? Will I need to get the right bulbs from a reptile/fish shop?

And will the water/rain feature be necessary or beneficial? I'd rather plant them into the substrate rather than keep them in the pots.

Thanks so much for the quick replies, you guys are awesome!