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Post by sunfighter on Jul 6, 2015 3:00:37 GMT
I've set up a 20 gal. aquarium ( 24"x17"x12" ) as a terrarium. I have an undergravel filter under the substrate with an airlift tube extending an inch above the lip of the tank. I can use this to adjust the water level with a siphon if the plants tell me that it's too wet in there. I can also do an occasional water change if it seems like a good idea. I have a small fan ( 3/4 " diameter 7 cfm ) mounted in the hood. I wonder if It should blow in or out. I'm thinking in. The light is a Marineland LED plant light. The substrate ( 2 parts peat, 2 parts sphagnum and 1 part perlite ) slopes from 5" in front to 8" in the back with 4" of water ( measured by a sight glass installed in the front ) in order to afford a moisture gradient. I'm not sure which plants would prefer the wetter conditions in front and which would be happier in the back. I have Drosera dielsiana, D. spatulata, D capensis, Utricularia sandersonii, some other unidentified utricularia that hitch hiked in here with lavender flowers with yellow centers, pinguicula x waser and a small Nepenthes ventricosa. The nepenthes will remain in a pot in the back and the sandersonii will go down in front. I'm going to try keeping a flytrap and Saracenia purpurea in there by leaving them in their pots and rotating them. I will have two of each, with one spending summers in my refrigerator. That may or may not work. The flytrap and the pitcher will be planted up in the back with the nepenthes, but their pots will be buried in the substrate. I'll top dress most of the setup with sphagnum in hopes that some of it will come to life. I would be really interested in anyone's thoughts on all of this. The plants are very happy on the picnic table in the back yard ( except the nepenthes which is getting sunburned and will have to be moved ) and can stay there for the restr of the summer. I'm real unclear about where on the slope ( moisture gradient ) I should plant some of these things.
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Yaron
Full Member
Posts: 24
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Post by Yaron on Jul 11, 2015 7:50:58 GMT
Hi. The VFT won't do well in there. It likes both full sunlight (at least 4 hours a day) and dryer conditions. For VFTs you need 1" water level at the most, in the back. Whatever direction you have your fan, make sure you have an intake/outtake on the opposit side of the terrarium, to creat air flow. That will prevent mold. For the plants listed, I would suggest 1:1 peat perlite mix, and maybe some sphag on top. The sphag in your mix will break down quickly, and force you to do often soil replacements to keep TDS down. As for the pots, how do you intend to get water in them daily? I have set up in my terrarium a wster pump in the rear, that draws water from the bottom, and puts it out into the pots. It us on a timer set for 3 times daily, with 3 minutes each. This way when I go on vacations I don't worry
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Post by sunfighter on Aug 17, 2015 21:12:05 GMT
Well, it's been set up for about a month now and everything is good so far. New growth on all of the plants, flowers on the droseras.the fan seems to be adequate to prevent mold. I Temp pretty steady at 75f RH at 70%. I tried to attach a pic, but the file is too big (?). A jpg.
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Post by sunfighter on Aug 21, 2015 15:46:21 GMT
I was unprepared for the directionality of the LEDs. The area directly under the lights is noticeably brighter than down in front. I don't recall anyone mentioning that in lighting discussions. I've filled in the front with a single T8, but it's not really enough. The plants affected are D. spatulata and they're growing fine and blooming. but not showing much of that nice red coloration. I only have 4" of space on the front of the canopy, not enough for another of the same LED fixtures ( not to mention the $200 price tag ), so I'm looking for something a little smaller. Maybe a T5, but I hate changing bulbs every year. Sunfighter
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Post by sunfighter on Aug 26, 2015 15:45:01 GMT
Hello Yaron. My VFT is located almost directly under the fan and seems to pretty happy, lots of new growth. The pots have drainage holes in them and water flows in Justas well as out. I am a little concerned about the breakdown of the sphagnum because it may lead to compaction, I should have used more perlite. I'm not sure why you're concerned with TDS. Your conductivity meter actually is a conductivity meter that converts mho to TDS. Anything that dissolves in water will increase conductivity. This includes the nitrogen compounds and salts that we're all concerned with, but also tannins and proteins which leach out of the peat right away. TDS is an excellent way to make sure the water we use is pure, but once it goes into the substrate it doesn't tell you very much.
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