Exo Terra advice please!!

[ps3isawesome]

HOnestly, this is looking more complicated on what to buy as I read through old exoterra posts.

So I really like the exo terra, should i get the short or tall one? also does the compact top work?

Thanks!! I really just want an easy setup. What kind of light bulb would you all suggest? I'll prob need a fan too.

This would be the home to my high land Nepenthes. I have a 10 gallon fish tank sitting around doing nothing.

 

[swords]

You'll need a sheet of glass or something to cover the screen top of the Exo Terra so it will hold humidity.

That lamp only holds a 26 W CFL at most, if you're trying to grow HL Neps that won't be nearly enough light. I use those twisty bulbs in the lamp on my drawing table but not for plants. T5 High Output for plant lighting. I have no idea how you plan to adequately cooling the Exo Terra a fan will not do much unless it's pushing cold & humidified air into the tank.

 

[ps3isawesome]

Well my room is super cool and it never reaches over 75. But I understand the lighting will heat up the area. What kind of lighting fixture will I need to fit the T5

I really don't want a misting system....... But I guess I have to

 

[swords]

For HL plants you will need nights of around 50-55*F year round, not just in winter.

T5 High Output lighting is sold in 24" or 48" light tubes, just like "regular" fluorescent lights but T5 HO are made for growing plants and corals.
Here's what I use: http://htgsupply.com/Product-HTG-Supply-4-Foot-2-Lamp-High-Output-T5-Fixture
I have two of those fixtures over my HL enclosure (4 bulbs total).

Exo Terras are generally quite small and cumbersome for all the stuff you need to properly equip a HL Nepenthes enclosure. Much easier to grow LL Neps in there but they won't fit in there long either if you grow them well & they are happy.

 

[HeliGoddess]

I've been out of the hobby for a few years and haven't used any of the following methods for quite some time, so keep that in mind...

I had an ExoTerra that I grew highland neps in along with helis. For lighting I used two of their compact tops with 2 23W 5000k bulbs and 2 23W 6500k bulbs. This setup worked but I think more light would have been better. Looking back on things now that I've been in the reef aquarium hobby I definitely think T5s are the way to go. They produce more lumens per watt than most other fluorescents and are available in all sorts of spectrums and color combinations.

For cooling and humidity I used a cool mist humidifier that had plumbing running to the top of the terrarium. I had a small case fan blowing into the terrarium right next to the output of the humidifier. The fan ran 24/7 (it was not a high cfm fan) and the humidifier turned on for 15 minutes every three hours. This achieved daytime temperatures around 75 and nighttime temps close to 60-65. Humidity was almost constantly around 85%.

If you're set on getting an ExoTerra I would recommend getting some type of ultrasonic humidifier that you can run for a few minutes every few hours. I personally would run a misting system as well. I would remove the screen top completely and get glass cut to fit the top of the terrarium but leave about 1-2" in the back that is open. This will allow for some ventilation and gives you a place to run cords and tubing into the terrarium. For lighting I would recommend the AquaticLife Dual T5HO Link fixtures. I would put 2 fixtures over a tall terrarium and 1 over a shorter terrarium. For bulbs I like Giesemann bulbs. They are well known for producing some of the best bulbs in the aquarium industry. I believe they sell a 6000K bulb and a 10000K bulb that would work well for terrariums.

 

[vraev]

The compact top is not sufficient and IMO not good at all for highland neps. believe me...I have tried.

check out my exo's here: http://www.terraforums.com/forums/s...boot-Starting-anew-with-some-of-my-old-plants

As swords said, they are good tanks for seedlings/small neps. But you need to have a plan once they grow up. Even lighting wise, T5 or LED are the way to go. For such a small tank, the heat can get bottled up and slowly kill the plants. Once again...from experience.