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How to Set Up My Terrarium?

Vbkid

Getting There...
Having a decent amount of free time over my winter break, I want to finally put in some effort and get a decent terrarium set up for some of my plants. I plan to have the terrarium itself next to a sunny window back at school so it will be getting both natural and artificial lighting. I will be keeping some common dews, sarr seedlings, and N. Ventrata and N. x Miranda in it. What would my optimal conditions be? I currently have a 2-strip light fixture with 2 5000k bulbs in it, and I have a computer fan wired up that I could attach somehow if necessary for airflow. I will be using just a small 20 gal aquarium (only one I have)...I also have a heating mat that can be placed under everything to generate heat.

So how would everyone go about getting good conditions in a setup such as mine?
Any input is very helpful, I've yet to create a close off growing environment such as this one.
Much appreciated,
Kyle
 
Well i started with a 10 gallon tank with sand and soil in the bottom with the plants planted in it, after several months i realized it was more of a pain this way rather than keeping the plants potted and leavind the water in the tank and the plants in the standing water. The dews and sars like to be in standing water so maybe devide the tank in half so they can be in the water on one side and use maybe upside down pots on the other half for the nepenthes as they dont like to be constantly water logged. In terms of being closed off i would leave at least 10% of the lid open for mine i cut a piece of really thin wood and angled it with a hinge against the wall so the front was on the tank but about an inch in the back leaving the sides open. As far as the heating pack if you are growing just those two nepenthes they are highlanders and as long as nighttime temps dont fall below 50 and get to at least 65 they should be fine without the heat. Being in a window the sun will naturally heat up the tank so definatly use the fan for circulization to prevent any mold. As far as the lights do 12 hrs a day winter and at least 14 hrs a day summer, depending on how much sun the window gets. the standing water will also keep the humidity up as well. One more thing depending on the dews u have some need a winter dormancy period as well as the sarrs so leaving them in the tank year round isnt ideal, so leaving them in the pots allows you to place them in a colder area during winter to give them the dormancy needed. I hope this helps if u need ne more help feel free to pm me.

Ryan
 
Thanks Ryan,
As far as the seedlings I am planning on them going their first 2 winters without dormancy, from what I've read they do ok up until the third winter. With the fan, do I just need to have it blowing over the top of the tank? How do I reconcile both good air circulation as well as good humidity?
 
what do u have for a lid mine i cut a hole in the center of it and use the fan casing and put it in the hold blowing out so it sucked air in for the gaps and blew it out the top
 
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