Tell me about your large terrarium setup

[swords]

I built myself a 4 ft tall x 2 ft deep by 2 ft wide terrarium out of plywood and plexiglass. Since wood is porous I can't seem to keep the humidity high enough. 8-(
I've decided to give it to my cousin for her new python and build myself a new one.

Instead of throwing away &#3650-100 again I was wondering if any of you DIYers might share descriptions and/or photos of your setups. I'm thinking in terms of 4ft x2ft x 2ft (apx 100 gallons or larger). I want to be able to maintain 80-100% humidity as effortlessly as possible. A huge aquarium would be nice but the price is so much cheaper homemade.

Thanks for your thoughts!

 

[dblnikl]

hi there,
i have been thinking about building a custom enclosure too. one idea i had was to use the same sheets of material that is used on bathroom walls and showers. i'm not sure of its exact name, but it's shiny white, non-porous, and i'm pretty sure it's sold in 4 x 8 sheets.it's a kind of paneling. should be available in just about any DIY store. i think it would be a good liner on the inside of the enclosure, sealing the corners and seams with silicone or caulk would probably be good too. hope this helps!

 

[swords]

Say...! I never thought of that! I will hit the Home Depot tomorrow and check the price of materials!

Any idea how this is cut to size? I assume it would crack even with a fine jigsaw blade but maybe not...?

 

[RamPuppy]

swords,

I can't remember the addresses off the top of my head, but there is a DIY hobby within the aquarium community of building fish tanks from plywood... they use some type of epoxy sealant I think... I can't remember exactly... check it out though... they make massive ones, 3, 4, 500 galloners.... I think you might be able to find it on www.thekrib.com

I would think keeping your current one and applying a coat of waterproofing to the inside panels would be a more economical solution for you.

 

[Gafoto]

This is what I have:

A 6' x 6' x 2' terrarium consisting of two levels.  Three of the walls are made out of that 4' x 8' slick white sheeting.  The third wall is some thick plastic found at Wal-Mart and attached by velcro.

The middle shelf is slightly lower than the middle to provide ample room for nepenthes vines and such.  It has a lighting diffuser grid to keep the Neps from being wet and a pipe that drains excess water to the shelf at the bottom.

The bottom has no grid, is much shorter, is undrained and is perfect for growing any non-nep short enuf to fit.

Each level has two Flourescent fixtures suspended by chains making a total of eight bulbs.

The trays are also made out of the sheeting.  The edges are painted wood and sealed by silicon glue.

This terrarium is freakin' huge however (more of a mobile home than greenhouse) and might not suit ur needs.  The whole thing works pretty well and maintains the humidity at 70-100+.  Natrually the adding of water to it makes the humidity jump.

The bottom is perfect for (but not yet limited to): Sundews, Bladderworts, VFTs, Cobras.

The top: Neps, Butterworts (mostly bcs they get roasted with the close lights on the bottom).  Also orchids, AVs, and other tropicals grow well on the top level.

As you have guessed the top has lights suspended higher than the bottom level.

Whew! :biggrin:

 

[dblnikl]

hey gafoto, is there any way you could post a picture or 2 of your terrarium? i'd love to see what it looks like! please?!

 

[swords]

Wow, yes please I'd love to see it as well!

Huge is the direction I'm heading! My dream terrarium is 8 ft L x 8ft H x 4ft D, I could have the space for my mega-varium but it would mean getting rid of my 40 gallon planted killifish tank... or the couch....!

 

[Kim]

It might be much less expensive for you to just use a good sealer on the plywood portion. You could use an epoxy paint or resin and this would end the porous part of the plywood and retain humidity. Good luck.

Kim

 

[Gafoto]

Here's me and the terrarium previous to getting my order from PFT.  ON the left are some orchids, begonias, african violets, and selaginella

This one shows the two levels of the terrarium.  It's actaully much brighter than in the picture.  At the bottom you can see the algae that has infested the water of the lower level.

Here's a close-up of the neps and such.  The pot w/tray is my dead heliamphora that I just got in the mail.  It couldn't handle the trip.  You can also see the lighting diffuser grid.

 

[Martin]

so much space...

soooo much emty space for new plants...

sooooooo muuuuuuuuuuch spaaaaaaaaaaceeeee.... !!!!

uuuuuaaaaahhhaaauuuoouuuo

Martin

mine is 120cm x 60cm x 85cm

 

[swords]

Thanks for the photos guys!

Gafoto, are heliamphora known for dying in transit? I was thinking of buying one but if they're supertouchy maybe I won't...

Kim, what kind of sealer would I use? Is there a certain brand like Thompsons Water Seal or something like that that I should look for? I don't want to use anything that might leave toxic residue when wetted wth water.

 

[dblnikl]

thanks for the pictures gafoto and martin, it's cool to see other peoples setups to help with ideas on our own! you both have cool setups!!!! thanks

 

[Joachim]

OK, here goes mine.

Joachim

 

[whispersiren]

Wow, your pictures are so inspiring! My own terrarium suddenly feels so small and so cramped... collecting plants can get way out of control... though i suppose its better than pets (like those crazy people that have like 20 cats)...

Joachim: what are your dementions? (ooh that sounds kind of perverted... grin) Is your terrarium homemade? Is natural lightning all you use?

Martin: what kind of light is yours? Is it metal hallide?

Gafoto: oh you are a lucky man... Was that space originally a closet?

Oh dear, I've been fantasizing about a greenhouse like this:

packed with plants, spilling over with pitchers, a vining twisted mess of green love.

(big grin)

 

[Martin]

Hi,

I use 70W "high pressure sodium" lights. <- I hope this is the correct translation.
The most effective light, but it has yellow color. (Your eyes adept after a while but slide film doesn't)

Martin

 

[Joachim]

Whiseperson, not being sure what you mean by demention I'll try it with the dimension ;-) Mine is 120cm x 60cm x 80cm, exact the same size Martins has. The window is east facing and gets lot of direct sunlight but I do have additional fluorescent grow lights which are needed in winter. I bought the terrarium in a local pet shop and I think it was made for geckos, frogs, etc. A nice feature is you can shift the front to one side or remove it in a few seconds to watch your plants from eye to eye ;-) Some of the plants living inside can be seen on my PFT page.

Joachim

 

[JoeC]

Ive been thinking about building a terrarium myself, but havent really thought to post anything.  A couple questions ill add is do you need to have any sort of ventilation or active air circulation? also I notice that all the pictures show the plants in individuals pots and what not....im curious if there is any reason for that or would it be ok to grow all the plants you have in there in one big slue of moss and stuff....

 

[whispersiren]

Doh! guess i was a bit "demented" myself at 2:40am when i posted that (chuckle) At least you got the idea, though!

-whiseperson

 

[swords]

Joe,

I have a large (75 gallon) terrarium which has everything planted and decorated in a natural way, see:
<image src="http://the-natural-aquarium.com/75cloudnoon.jpg">

I'm building my large terrarium so that I can make it a naturalistic setting with a giant cork tree trunk with nepenthes planted in it, along with cycads, masdevallia/dracula orchids and other epiphytes. But I will be using cuttings from my nepenthes and not my mother plants, those still get their own pot so they can be babied.

 

[JoeC]

swords....that right there is totally sweet
Thats just about what I envision mine to look like.
(although i figure it will come out quite different)
Do you circulate the water or anything?

Well..thanks for the cool pic...
JC