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Mini-terrarium

So, i got this extremely tiny beta-tank.

http://www.arcatapet.com/item.cfm?cat=8539

(I have a beta, he has a condo compared to this in a large glass vase)

It's a reasonable size, and could hold a 1-3 yr. old VFT(which is on its way to my house atm.) and was wondering if this would be nice for such a thing, especially for starters.

I've seen, repeatedly, that VFT's don't need terra's, but i'm in a particularly dry zone 8(a) section of Texas desert mountain area(totally un-humidity/temp friendly), and if my bleeding nasal passages are any indication, i need better humidity control.

So, the neat thing about this little 'tank' i the plastic grill on the bottom. I figured it would be good for moderate drainage. I figured a layer of gravel(1 in) on the bottom, then sand/sphagum(2 in) up top. So that's about half-way up to the top of this thing.(5 inches total all the way up).

There's also a drain on the thing, but no stand to hold it up. I'd have to cut out some arches on the bottom if I do a standard tray watering method. I'm told that top-watering is bad, but it could hold water for quite a while and maintain humidity very well with decent ventilation.

So, comment/suggestions? Should I change the ratio of substrate? I have the light/temp thing figured out, on a west-facing windowsill with about ~2-3hrs of direct sunlight; the room is sometimes uncomfortably warm. But I want to make sure I get the terrarium humidity/watering/substrate thing figured out. I figure this is a good starting terrarium for those < 3 years old/sproutlings until I get a decent collection started, then I can move it into a 10gal terra and start a mini-bog.
 
We discused many times about the fly traps humidity issue.....believe me, they don't realy need it. I grow mine in a low humidity and they are fine. You can search the forums for thoese threads on humidity and you will see that everyone will say to just put them outside. There are a few growers in Arizona that grow them in the desert with no problem, so humidity should not be a problem for you in Texas. I know it's hard to believe...every beginer has this problem...i had it too...but once you get over it and place your plant outside you will see that is going to be just fine in your low humidity environment.
 
John,
IMO, there are two problems with your betta-tank idea.

1. terrarium.
2. indoors.

yes, your outdoor climate is less than ideal for VFTs..
but I would still suggest growing your VFTs outdoors..
even your dry climate is better than trying to grow them indoors on a windowsill in a terrarium! seriously...

I would still grow them outdoors, maybe use a bigger, deeper tray than usual, so the tray doesnt dry out every day..
then, depending on your winter climate, you will either need to use a variation on "the fridge method" or just keep your plants outside all winter if its warm enough..

a mini-bog, or even a "not so mini" bog might eventually work well for you..
a big surface area of damp moss will increase the local humidity somewhat near the plants,
and you also have a larger water supply (compared to a small pot in a tray) which will allow an easier time of maintaining adequate water, especially in your dry climate.
you wont have to watch a tiny tray every day to be sure it doesnt dry out..
just re-fill the bog once or twice a week, depending on the rate of evaporation..

In a climate such as yours, I would consider the bog route..
then your unusually low humidity shouldnt be an issue at all...

Scot
 
haha, i should have known, i was running on old info with this one so i didn't know what to expect really.

Well, since I have these things, is there any other use for them? I figure I could just forgo the lid and leave it open to eliminate the terrarium bit and use it as a normal pot. With the drain I could just dremmel the hell out of it and use the tray method as well to avoid top-watering(or is that, once again, a non-issue?).

Also, if nothing else, would it be good for germination? I'm aware that it takes nearly forever to grow CP's from seed, but It might be nice to sprout some droseras in before transferring them to my other 10gal terrarium. Now I'm desperate to find uses for these things since I got them on an uninformed impulse XD
 
yes, you can do that....and many droseras reach maturity in one year form seed so i would not say ''forever''......just make sure you have some air circulation to prevent fungus/mold.
 
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