TerraForums Venus Flytrap, Nepenthes, Drosera and more talk
Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!
Clint
Stay chooned in for more!
oh yeah, the sand is VERY sandy. like 2/1 sand/peat with a layer of orchid barkcharcoal/cocopeat along the bottom. i had GREAT success with this soil growing sarracenia and droseras outside this summer, so i thought i would try it in this terrarium. on the bottom of the tank is eggcrate, then some landscaping material that lets water, but not soil, through, then the substrate. I dont know if this makes a different, but there are plugs of sphagnum moss all on top of the substrate.
Clint
Stay chooned in for more!
i measured it, its a 1 inch gap. it runs the entire length of the tank. i cant make the gap on the side, its like a glass cover you buy at the petstore.
When i move the cover and make the gap at the front it just makes things worse (i guess since all the lights are at the front.
My temps vary from 78-85 F in the day and around 68-72 F at night. This will be a lowland tank. i'm aiming form my humidity to be a minimum of 80. all that is in there now is sphagnum moss, D. Adelea sp. and i think D. nidiformis. sp.
When i move the cover and make the gap at the front it just makes things worse (i guess since all the lights are at the front.
My temps vary from 78-85 F in the day and around 68-72 F at night. This will be a lowland tank. i'm aiming form my humidity to be a minimum of 80. all that is in there now is sphagnum moss, D. Adelea sp. and i think D. nidiformis. sp.
48 sq inches of gap is lot. If the tank if 12 inches wide, then 1/12 of the cover space is open. I would recommend buying a piece of glass (or plexi) to use as a cover. Get the glass to fit. You can then change the amount you allow open as your weather changes in the area. This is one of the cheap methods. You could also put an aquarium heater in a jar and place the jar in the aquarium, but you should probably still hae tighter top.
Clint
Stay chooned in for more!
I recently went through the same set of problems, and this is what I did. First of all; plastic wrap in an emergency- it's cheap and easy to use and remove. This will buy you some time. Then, don't go to Home Depot unless you live in a small town or want to pay too much for plexi. I wouldn't recommend glass either for a one or two inch strip because it's not stable enough. Find a Plexi distributor, they have better Plexi for less money and you can often sweet talk them into just giving you some of their scraps (because they are small business owners and actually care about people) if your are only trying to cover a small tank (a 4 footer may be a little out of their charitable nature).
Now for ventilation. You can either buy one of those way-too-expensive made-for-aquarium air circulators, or you can find yourseld an old computer on the side of the road or at goodwill (or whereever) and rip out the power source and take the fan out. You'll also have to find the appropriate transformer (again, think goodwill), this will likely be a 110 to 12v and around 1.00 amp or so. Look for something that may plug into a walkman from a wall socket. Don't get a big fan, get a tiny one- these things are designed to move a LOT of air and a big one will make a wind tunnel out of your terrarium. Big ones also make a #### of a racket.
Next you rig up something semi-professional looking so your significant other doens't complain about the hack job you did because you're so cheap and you'll be in business the economic way.
Now for ventilation. You can either buy one of those way-too-expensive made-for-aquarium air circulators, or you can find yourseld an old computer on the side of the road or at goodwill (or whereever) and rip out the power source and take the fan out. You'll also have to find the appropriate transformer (again, think goodwill), this will likely be a 110 to 12v and around 1.00 amp or so. Look for something that may plug into a walkman from a wall socket. Don't get a big fan, get a tiny one- these things are designed to move a LOT of air and a big one will make a wind tunnel out of your terrarium. Big ones also make a #### of a racket.
Next you rig up something semi-professional looking so your significant other doens't complain about the hack job you did because you're so cheap and you'll be in business the economic way.
One more thing to add to the above, a variable ventilation port. Is all this worth the trouble of saving a couple bucks? It is and it isn't. It's really not economical when you weigh out the time and effort you will have to put into it, but there is the satisfaction of having exactly what you want and that you did it yourself rather than running to your nearest specialty store and shelling out dollars. If you have the dollars and feel like it's not worth the inconvenience, then it probably isn't.
Jason
Jason
