Terrarium Ventilation

[CreatureTom]

Ok so I'm planning on setting up a highland Nep terrarium pretty soon and I think I've almost got it all sorted, it's a 30 gallon tank (long) so for those that don't know thats 3ft long, about 16" high and 1ft wide. For humidity I think I'll be spraying every morning and I plan to have a buncha sphagnum moss inbetween pots to help with humidity and make it look nice and natural-ish. And I think after a long long long search I've got some decent lights for my small collection. What I'm now wondering about is how much ventilation it will need. Will it need many holes in the lid? I'm planning on getting a little computer fan to turn on at night but how drastic must the air ventilation be? Thanks a lot for any advice!

 

[Monkey]

In my terrarium, I have it covered completely during the day, and only open the top to vent during the cooler nights. I have a 55G terrarium and all I have is one computer fan running 24/7 on one side, it keeps air moving throughout, and it seems to be enough because I haven't really had any mold problems since.

 

[robthered]

Some use fans, some dont.

I for one use fans. In my 4 foot long Aquarium I have 2 80mm CPU fans side by side, blowing on one end, and 2 within my AC cooling setup (one 80mm in front of the rad and one 180mm in back). 3 of the 4 fans blow directly onto the plants. They all run 24/7 365. RH ranges from 80 - 100 RH. The plants seem to enjoy the extra air flow. The tank is also open about 1cm between the tank and the lid.

I'd say as long as the fan's dont affect the RH too much you're golden. I wouldnt set it up where it would pull air into the tank, rather that is just circulates the air within the tank. leave a small gap in the lid to allow some air to flow in, but if you put the fan near it it might pull the RH down quite a bit.

I also have a reptifogger and hygrotherm setup in it too. the Hygrotherm controls the RH and temps; it's pretty awesome, and if you have about 80 bucks to spend I'd highly recommend it.

 

[CreatureTom]

Thanks for the quick and helpful replies I think I'll have a fan going in the day to remove some excess heat from the lighting, but away from a small crack in the lid to allow air in. And then in the night I'll probably spray again and have the lid half on to allow a temperature drop. As this is my first terarrium and I'm a very short-for-cash student, I'll keep it simple for now