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deathjester

deathjester
Hey all.
Time for my first post!
I have started as a winter project a Highland Nepenthes Terrarium. An i'm quite please with the results! There is still a lot of improvements that could and may be done. But not bad for a first timer I think. A terrarium with lights was the only way to go since my window is... well look at the picture.:censor:
Picture393-1.jpg

.... ya, artificial light it is then. So Here is the terrarium
Picture396.jpg


It's made from a used 45 gallon fish tank(36Lx24Tx12W) snagged it from Craigslist for 30 bucks! cleaned it then added a mix of 2 bags small rocks and 1 medium bag charcoal (The growy kind). Added a speraity layer thing. Then Piled on 5 inches of 70% bark mulch and 30% Sphagnum Peat Moss.
Picture399.jpg


I Had the gauges mounted at the top of the terrarium but they gave me wacky reading's, i will get to that later.

For the lighting I am using two 4ft duel bulb, T8 lights with reflectors from Home depo. 20 bucks a pop. I am running 1 cool white and 1 natural sun light AKA "soft white" in each strip. They rest over the tank edged and overhang, but I like that as i can grow other stuff in the over hang. They are 15inch from plats right now:scratch: is that to far?
<a href="http://s96.photobucket.com/albums/l178/deathjester2000/?action=view&current=Picture400.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l178/deathjester2000/Picture400.jpg" border="0" alt="side light"></a>
Picture401.jpg

Growing in the over hang is "lucky" my lucky bamboo.:blush:
Picture398.jpg

I added Tinfoil around the terrarium to help reflect some light back. Also I have added weather stripping to make the lights sit better and have less gaps. Over all I think they work well. Got them on a cheap o timer, running for 14.5 hours a day. They heat up the terrarium perfectly to around 75C every day and the gap on each side seems to be that magic number for humidity control. Humidity hangs around 60% all day long, then at night spikes to 80% or 90%. It seems to have trouble dropping bellow 60C at night. I'm testing something now and might have got it.
Picture394.jpg

This little puppy i use to control the humidity. Cost a whopping 40 bucks with a replacement disk just in case (more then the tank) but i LOVE IT!:hug: The Fogger uses a wireless remote control and has cool patterned LED's. I turn this suck on every morning as I take my morning shower.
The time it take for 1 shower is apparently a 1:1 ratio to get 60% humidity on the dot for most of the day. Amaze your stoner friends with pretty lights and fog to!:poke:
Picture392-1.jpg

Picture311.jpg

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I think this should support my plants fairly well. Controlling the Terrarium is to say the least an art. The more time i spend at it the better i get.
I hope you enjoyed the pictures and reading about my Terrarium. I have never done a wright up on a forum before so this mew turf as well. I would love any and all feed back i can get, comments, questions, Advice would be most appreciated. I have had the plants for a week now and they are starting the long process of acclimatizing.... my Judith finn is exploding with growth already though.
I will post some picks of my collection later when i make a grow list.
Till then ride safe.
 
very nice! what plants do you have there?

be very careful with that substrate. it looks really wet and may mold a bit later on. head over to lowes or home depot and pick up some LFS(long fibered sphagnum moss. it comes in long stands) and use that as a substrate. looks nicer and does not near mold as much as that other stuff. what you could do is wet down the LFS and place a thick layer on top of your peat mix. its all up to you. plus it increases the humidity a bunch. here is how i have my terrarium set up:
100_0012.jpg

its a 10gal tank on its side with straight LFS as a substrate. i cover the front with a piece of plexiglass. the humidity is always up near 70-80% without a humidifier. easy and functional.

the Sarracenia in there needs a winter dormancy. it wont last long in a heated terrarium.

depending on what plants you have (truncata, sanguinea, petiolata and "Ventrata" are some that poke out to me.) you can probably grow them out of a terrarium and just place lights over them. those plants are really forgiving of low humidity and will grow just about anywhere. just a thought.

if my eyes aren't deceiving me, the big plant in the middle is labeled as 'Judith Finn' correct? it's actually a N. "Ventrata" which is a hybrid of N. ventricosa and N. alata. VERY easy plant and was actually my first Nepenthes. there are two other plants in there which could be 'Judith Finn' though. the one with the very red new leaf(most likely) or the one with one of the gauges in the pot. 'Judith Finn' has leaf margins that have a brown hair on them. i cant tell from the pictures if either of them have it though.

thats about all i have to say right now. haha. its all looking good. you have a nice collection to start off with!

Alex
 
get that sarr out of there! looks good, but not the place for sarrs
 
Sweet setup! I'm so afraid of mold that I'm still not trying a terrarium yet.

I'm sure you mean 75F and 60F, and not 75C and 60C? Otherwise you'd have a very well done baked spinach...
 
Thanks for the input Glider, sharp eyes to!
The plant in the middle I had thought was my N. Judith Finn, but on further inspection yep thats a N. Ventrata. the other unlabeled plant is a N. Sp1 hybrid which i think has a lot of Atlata in it. I'm going to stick with growing them in there terrarium for now and may switch out a few of the harder ones for other new additions when the time comes. The humidity here at altitude is probably not bad for them but i wont to grow them under as perfect conditions as i can.
The Sarr in there is my Test plant "freddy" who will make a noble sacrifice of self for my cause. Figured I should make sure i haven't pulled a classic "me" move and done something that would kill my plants our wrights. Snagged him for 5 bucks from a hard ware store. There is what i think is live Sphagnum moss growing in his pot and i'm trying to culture up some.
I'm sorry Freddy you had a good run.
Glider, I will most deffently take your advice on the LFS. I will snagg some today, I love the look it has given your terrarium!
the list of plants I am suppose to have in there are.
N. petiolata
N. truncata (highland)
N. ephippiata
N. Sp1
N. Judith finn
N. sanguinea
N. alata
o and freddy!

The N. Judith Finn could only then be the none labeled plant with ought the gauge on it...... I think it is a Alata thought as the piture is going all red.
Thanks for the input!
 
nice! you will find out soon enough that a plants identity cant be placed solely on the looks of the pitcher. heres my N. alata:
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b226/nappy123/Carnivorous Plants 2/100_0354.jpg
Nepenthes identity usually relies on leaf structure and flower structure. since you dont have flowers yet you go by the leaves. N. alata leaves dont look like the plant you have and they are very similar to 'Judith Finn's leaves. and the pitcher color also varies with the amount of light given, age of pitcher(a bunch of my neps pitchers turn orangeish red when close to dying off) or a change in conditions. the plant is young too so that could play a role. everything looks healthy though. good luck with growing your new babies! and have fun with ephippiata. its one of my favorites =]

Alex
 
Good choice picking a 48" light, always if possible stay with 48" lights. When you go to replace the bulbs glance over at the 36" bulbs and you will know why :-)). With 2 bulbs @ 15" you could probably move them closer with no problems, I'm growing my ampullarias approx. 8-9" from 2 T5HOs and they are not getting too much light, they are actually growing up toward the light until there pitchers get filled with water and thus weight them down to horizontal. So I'm thinking they want more light than I'm giving them, but they are growing and look healthy.

I used/use sphagnum as a vivarium substate for many years without any issue with molds. I have never used a bark type medium thou, so I'm not sure how that will work out. Another alternative to consider if the bark mix does not work out is the hydroponics clay pellets. Its sold under alot of name brands and sizes, they are all basically the same thing, fired clay balls. They will not break down over time and wick water nicely. Its what I'm primarily using in my vivariums.

I also started out with the analog gauges and ended up with the digital ones, I'm much happier now :-D. They are outside the vivarium and are just nicer all around, and I don't get those huh? reading anymore.

Also played around with those fogger things for about 6 months with mostly bad results, hopefully you will have better luck and I did. I gave up a few years back. If your looking to increase humidity there are much easier methods. If your trying for that cool fog effect, well I can't help you, I never found an easy way.

The only thing you might want to consider is adding a fan, I have them in some of my vivariums and they do help but are not "required". The plants in the vivariums with the fans are growing plants with stronger bases, to deal with the constant flow of air. It may sound silly but when I pull out a Utric, for example, with an 8" flower stalk that has never felt any air flow that stalk is VERY fragile. The Neps are not nearly as bad but there is a noticable difference between the Neps in the tanks with/without fans.

If you have the skills/time/space you should definetly turn that tank on its side like glider14 did. The difference is amazing. Well with one vivarium you may not notice it, but these thing breed! Did you get your neutered?
 
looks nice!

For mold control in a terrarium, add springtails to the substrate. They will eat the mold right up!
 
Hey Deathjester-

Looks like your on your way to becoming a pro CP'er.

Not a bad first time set up.

I agree with using LFS, it will help with humidity.

Fellow CP'ers here are great for help and advice.

Have you ever heard of a young fella named Jeremiah Harris, he is also from Colorado, so you might want pick his brain (he is kinda like a god among CP'ers). Never met the person, but he sounds like a nice guy.

Since he is not a vendor, I think I can post his website: http://www.coloradocarnivorousplantsociety.com/

Check it out :boogie:

Welcome to the world of CP and Good Growing :banana2:
E

ps. poor Freddy :-(
 
  • #10
Thanks for all the info guys much appreciated!:boogie:

I will snag some LFS when i get some more cash, there terrarium + plants has made money a bit tight for the month.
Glider do you have any more pictures of your terrarium?:poke:
Did you cover the bottom with straight up LFS then just put the pots on top of it?

I am making a fan to complete my terrarium system like you said I should RSS. Yet again I just need the last few bucks for a 3 inch 120v fan from radio shack... soon o so soon.:censor:

With this set up due you expect i will be able to grow my plant to a high quality level?
I see photos of peoples nepenthes with super colorful perfect trap, but due not no how long or how well they have been growing there plants. it seems like my plants are "happy" but will i get most likely show quality, just normal plants, less???????

Ether way i'm sure I will have fun!:jester:
 
  • #11
i dont really have a picture of how it is right now. im in college and the plants are at home. haha. here it is though back in may of 08. back then they set on top of the LSF. now i have the live sphagnum growing on it and the plants are now set directly on the glass with the LFS surrounding them. so when you lift the pots up there is a big hole in the LFS mat.
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b226/nappy123/Carnivorous Plants 2/100_0240.jpg

either way will work. just a matter of what you like best.

Alex
 
  • #12
Ya know, I wanted to do just that with the LFS and was disuaded. Here's what I have going, sans a heat mat:

Picture004-6.jpg


Temps range from low 70's - low 80's and humidity goes from the 50's - 80%
 
  • #13
AH-HA! Awesome that just hit my question that I had int even asked yet right an the head.:banana2:
My terrarium has almost that exact same fluctuations of temp and heat.:-O
Get to about 80-83 during the day at max then drops to the 65-70 range at night were the humidity spikes at 80 to 85% humidity. Do you think this will be fine for my highland Nepenthes? None are ultra highland Like N. Raja. Also they all seam to be settling in Fine... except my SP1. I think it still might be setteling in though. My Nepenthes. Atlata is to say the lease exploding. Since I have had it, (3 weeks) it made 3 traps!
got any Pictures of your Nepenthes?
 
  • #14
I accept:the Sarracenia in there needs a winter dormancy. it wont last long in a heated terrarium.
Those plants are really forgiving of low humidity and will grow just about anywhere. just a thought.
 
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