Starting a terrarium

[mmlr38]

So, I have been reading through old posts on here trying to get my head around what is involved with starting a terrarium and now I have a few questions:

1) What are my options for lighting? I have read tons of options, but there is a lot of lingo out there and I don't understand all of it. I just want something that won't break the bank and that will keep the plants healthy (planning on germinating sarrcenia and dionaea). I guess I would like to have lighting set up for less than $100 and something that doesn't use too much electricity (this isn't a huge concern though).

2) I am sure it depends on the lighting option I go with, but how close should the lights be placed to the plants?

3) Is it bad to place the terrarium in a place where it will also get indirect sunlight?

4) I will need some form of heating for it since my house is usually between 60 and 68 degrees F. I read what JustLikeAPill suggested here:
icps.proboards105.com/index.cgi?board=indoor&action=display&thread=1375
Does this work well for heating?

Many thanks in advance,
Matt

[ICPS-bob]

Hey Matt,

1st suggestion, contact the Colorado Carnivorous Plant Society. They probably have all sorts of suggestions for your climate.
www.coloradocarnivorousplantsociety.com/contact_us.htm

I lived in Fort Collins for several years and grew Sarracenia and Dionaea outdoors from spring through fall and then indoors on my windowsill during winter. No terrarium.

Sorry for the dodge of your question. I am not a terrarium guy.

[mmlr38]

Bob,

Thanks for the reply. I have tried to get in contact with the CCPS, but I never got a response. Last year I grew my Dionaea outside and then I brought them in on the unheated south facing porch in November. They just started coming out of dormancy a couple of weeks ago...putting out a few leaves. Amazingly every single plant made it through the winter (it was the first year I have had them and I have about 15 plants of various sizes).

In any case, I am planning on using the terrarium to grow sarracenia and dionaea from seed. I could probably do it without the terrarium (maybe?), but I would like to give them a jump start and grow them through the winter and then put them outside next spring.

[ICPS-bob]

There is a whole lot of discussion here about Terraria - Cultivation & Equipment
www.cpukforum.com/forum/index.php?showforum=42

[Brian Barnes]

Hi! I grow many CP year-round inside and in the greenhouse as well...
I use two setups, consisting of 100 gal aquariums placed on their side, so that you can get very close to the plants without them burning, due to the glass layer between the lights and the plants.
This does work quite well for sprouting many types of CP seed year-round.
Lighting consists of six-40W Ott-lite bulbs per tank. Based on your temperature figures, the inside of your tank should still run in the 75 to 78F range, due to the heating nature of the bulbs. I place my seed pots 2 or 3 inches below the bulbs, in what i call "the blasting zone" on a 14 hr photo-period. Pots are kept wet but not saturated. In my experience, the pots don't need a propagating dome, due to the surface humidity of the pot and the glass layer, which rests slightly above...I do use two very small fans, positioned at a distance, blowing over the tops of the lighting fixtures and slightly into the chamber to provide some moving air and cooling.
I've grown everything from Drosophyllum to Heliamphora for years with this set-up, and it's proven successful for my growing conditions, including seed germination.
Good Luck and Happy Growing!
Brian.

[mmlr38]

Brian,

Thanks so much for the feedback. It was very helpful. I hadn't really thought about placing the tank on its side to provide a layer of glass to protect from the heat. I was lucky enough to get my hands on a 90 gallon aquarium for $50 from a seller on craiglsist, so that should make my set up very similar to yours.

I think you answered a couple of questions I had already, one of which was photo-period. I assume from your post that a 14 hr photo-period is good for germinating and for growing?

So, when you say you use 40W Ott-lite bulbs, are they special in any way. Are they these kinds of bulbs?:
www.jerrysartarama.com/art-supply/catalogs/0055311000000/

I assume that they will fit a standard 48" fluorescent fixture? Is there any difference between an Ott-lite and a standard fluorescent tube? I assume that it puts out better light for growing? Are there higher end 40W 48" bulbs that fit standard fluorescent fixtures that work better?

I understand how the bulbs will heat up the tank enough when they are on, but what about at night time? Would it be bad to let the temps drop down into the low 60s (for germination)?

Thanks again for the feedback.

[timv]

I can save you tons of time, money and research as far as lighting. Those twisty, cheap, cool white bulbs you get on sale for under a buck are all you need. That's it, bottom line.

I'm already selling plants on ebay from a 100 watt cool white bulb, some of my wife's aluminum foil I stole and a cracked 10 gallon aquarium. Total cost under ten bucks, started three years ago.

This year I got fancy, though, and put in a 6 dollar mechanical timer so I can ignore irritating things like turning lights on and off.

[saltee]

Just throwing my two cents in- you could get a nice settup on ebay really cheap- probably under the aquarium section. as bulbs go, a strong PC would be fine as mentioned by timv- try to get something with a rating of apprx 6500k sorry for the light lingo, but look for that number and you cant go wrong.


Mini- lesson in the kelvin scale- the kelvin number refers to the lights specteral qualities- a low K rating ex. 5000-6500K means it emits on the red, orange, and yellow area of the color spectrum. A medium rating of 6500-1000k emits yellow, green, and blue. And a high rating of 1000k+ emits blue, violet, and ultra-violet. Plants need the lower end.

[Clint]

Power Compacts are great lights, but if you buy a fixture, do your research. I bought a 65 watt Jebo Odyssea brand light, before doing my research. Everyone said they were pieces of crap, and, surprise surprise, mine lasted about a month. You can't go wrong with Coralife Aqualights, though.

[mmlr38]

Thanks for the feedback everyone. I ended up just going with 48" 40W bulbs made by some company in Germany. I got six of them with 3 shop light fixtures. Here are the stats for the bulbs:
- 2450 Lumens
- Color rendering index: 93
- Color Temperature: 5850 Kelvin

They fit perfectly over the length of the aquarium. I bought a couple of VFTs at the Home Depot here. I think they had been in the store since last summer, but I picked out 2 of them that looked the best then brought them home and pulled them all apart. I have the pullings in different media (LFSM, Peat, and pure distilled water) and with and without rooting hormone...a little experiment while I am waiting for my seeds from the ICPS seed bank that I ordered a week or so ago.

[brokken]

I keep my highland neps in a terrarium that stays outside all winter and use the egg-crate raised above a pool of water which is heated by a heater and they survived and did best when I switched them to this method. The warm water provides radiant heat during the cold nights. During the summer, I disconnect the heater and leave them to their own devices.