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50 gallon indoor winter dormancy (how to?)

50 gallon indoor winter dormancy (how to?)


i was wondering if any one knew of any mini air conditioning units or other methods that could be used for an unmovable indoor Terra that would need a 40F winter dormancy for about 3 month's out of the year. any ideals what could work for that situation?

thx for reading.
 
That would be really, really expensive to run it like that.

why can't you just leave them outside?
 
It may be too late, but I think the best way to keep temperate plants in a terrarium (if you must) is to have them in pots.  Then, they can be sealed in plastic bags and placed in the fridge for 3 months.

Trying to cool a terrarium enough to induce dormancy would be very expensive, as JustLikeAPill noted.

Patrick
 
if there is no other option, try digging out every plant when they become dormant and putting them in bags or pots and put them into dormancy.

another idea i have been experimenting with is the idea of pumping refridgerated water inside a tube and winding it in the soil of the terrarium. heres my idea:

get a water pump for lizards and and a few meters of aquarium tubeing. connect the tubeing to the output of the pump. wrap the tubeing onto a metal rod or something, or just clump it into a ball. shove the ball into a refridgerater or a cheap cooler (im lucky enough to have a refridgerator in my basement right next to my tank), or cold running water or in front of an air conditioner. make sure the tubeing is not to big so that it leaves the refridgerator door open, the rubber sealing around the door should seal around the tubeing. lead the end of the tubeing out of the fridge or cooling device and winde it around the soil. connect the end to the input of the pump.

this should allow the pump to pump water through a tube into the cooling device and coole the water. the water is then transported into the terraium and onto the soil. and by heat transfer, the water absorbs the heat of the soil, cooling it. the warm water then reinters the cooling device for more cooling.

watch out for freezer burn if your using a fridge. im not responsible for any damage and this is a untested idea. Zongyi
 
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