So I have a small collection of plants, some doing well, others not so well. Lately I've gotten the bug to upgrade my growing conditions and I'm thinking about upgrading my old wireframe Lowes rack into a terrarium, or adding a terrarium to my collection as I can.
My plan is to source things locally when possible, which means Petsmart for the aquarium shell and perhaps the lid, Lowes for the fixture. (I'm all for going through an online vendor instead, though, if the price + shipping fee is sufficiently better than buying locally).
I was thinking something like this, although I'd need to go measure my fixture:
http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3804445
That's a pretty standard looking 55 gallon tank, which I understand will be about 48" wide with some change, perfect for my T8 bulbs. Presumably I'd want the same aquarium without the extra kit, although I imagine some of it (the strip thermometer) may be useful. No clue.
Now, the next step would be a lid, right? Is it possible to find a pre-made, 4x48 T8 fixture + lid out there somewhere, or am I going to need to try and fabricate my own out of wood? Or would it be wiser to just get a piece of glass that would fit over the top of the terrarium and lay the fixture directly on top of that? Should I look into upgrading my lighting at the same time? Are 6500K T8s still the best option out there? D'Amato's Savage Garden's section on Terrariums suggests T5s, for example, as does this faq on the ICPS site (apparently I'm a few years behind the times with lighting tech).
How heavy is this thing going to be all told? I presume just placing it on the ol' coffee table as a centerpiece isn't an option?
Edit: Wow, reading up on T5-HOs, apparently I'm WAY behind the times and need to upgrade. Apparently 2 T5-HO bulbs are equivalent to 4 T8s? I wonder how hard sourcing T5-HO lamps are?
Edit2: Apparently Petsmart has a brand called Zoo Med:
http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=13149677&f=PAD/psNotAvailInUS/No
Which does have a T5-HO 4x 48" Hood option that looks like it would clip on top of an aquarium... Hm. That would be about $250 total.
My plan is to source things locally when possible, which means Petsmart for the aquarium shell and perhaps the lid, Lowes for the fixture. (I'm all for going through an online vendor instead, though, if the price + shipping fee is sufficiently better than buying locally).
I was thinking something like this, although I'd need to go measure my fixture:
http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3804445
That's a pretty standard looking 55 gallon tank, which I understand will be about 48" wide with some change, perfect for my T8 bulbs. Presumably I'd want the same aquarium without the extra kit, although I imagine some of it (the strip thermometer) may be useful. No clue.
Now, the next step would be a lid, right? Is it possible to find a pre-made, 4x48 T8 fixture + lid out there somewhere, or am I going to need to try and fabricate my own out of wood? Or would it be wiser to just get a piece of glass that would fit over the top of the terrarium and lay the fixture directly on top of that? Should I look into upgrading my lighting at the same time? Are 6500K T8s still the best option out there? D'Amato's Savage Garden's section on Terrariums suggests T5s, for example, as does this faq on the ICPS site (apparently I'm a few years behind the times with lighting tech).
How heavy is this thing going to be all told? I presume just placing it on the ol' coffee table as a centerpiece isn't an option?
Edit: Wow, reading up on T5-HOs, apparently I'm WAY behind the times and need to upgrade. Apparently 2 T5-HO bulbs are equivalent to 4 T8s? I wonder how hard sourcing T5-HO lamps are?
Edit2: Apparently Petsmart has a brand called Zoo Med:
http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=13149677&f=PAD/psNotAvailInUS/No
Which does have a T5-HO 4x 48" Hood option that looks like it would clip on top of an aquarium... Hm. That would be about $250 total.
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