myles' high and lowland terrarium builds

[mylesG]

hey TF I been saying I'd make a thread for my terrariums n here it is. I'm in the process of gathering my supplies and puttin em together. Each tank will be 30 gallons, one glass and one acrylic.

-lighting each with t5s
-hygrotherm controllers, one for each tank.
-humidifying with a reptifogger for each... going to rig a universal water rez for the foggers that will feed each bottle. they drain far to quickly as is.
- diy cooler system for the highland tank
-heat mat stuck to the back wall in lowland to keep temp up when lights are off
-black eggcrate on the bottom of each with plants set on that
-LFS around the pots
-still deciding on backdrop... might choose a jungle type scene or just mylar to maximize light.

that be all that is coming to me atm...I'll also have a seperate tank for my mexican pings but they don't need anywhere near as many toys to keep em happy.

I went to take pics yesterday and my memory card literally fell apart in my hands... new one on the way but pics will have to wait

Only question I have is what temps should i keep my highland n lowland tanks at? Also, should i have a day to nighttime temp drop in my lowland tank? obv not as substantial or cool as the highland but even just 5 degrees cooler at night?

I appreciate any support and input you guys n girls have for me. I promise pics soon as that lil plastic card gets here!

 

[CreatureTom]

I'm pretty clueless when it comes to lowlanders but ideal highland temps are typically 70F in the day and 50F in the night. For a lot of people (including me) these temperatures are a bit low and most highland Neps apart from the particularly fussy ones will be fine in slightly higher temperatures as long as they get a decent nighttime drop. In the summer my Neps grow at around 75-78F in the day and 56-60F at night and whilst they do slow down a bit, they seem perfectly happy.

 

[mylesG]

Thanks alot for the info since i won't have a tank for intermediates, highland intermediates will be in there too.... will they find the lower (70 day 50 night) temps suitable as well?

 

[mcmcnair]

I grow my lowlanders in around 90F during the day and it drops to about 70-75F at night and I'm growing all sorts of lowlanders, just look at my growlist. I'm going to be posting pictures of all of my plants soon. I just finished a new setup and I just need to get around to taking pictures.

 

[mylesG]

heres an update guys... finally got my new memory card

last night i built the frame for the lights to be hung from. it works perfectly.

my lil ping tank and current lowland tank on the right.

some quick plant shots. will do more in a seperate thread

and here the 4 footers light mixture.... two 6500k, one 3000k and one super actinic to bring out the real deep colors. at least thats the plan!

 

[tje25]

Looking good!!! Got a great start going there

 

[mylesG]

thanks man I have a few more that i just got confirmation shipped out today. always good news!

 

[CreatureTom]

Thanks alot for the info since i won't have a tank for intermediates, highland intermediates will be in there too.... will they find the lower (70 day 50 night) temps suitable as well?

They'll live, I've got several more intermediate Neps and in the winter they get lower temperatures than they'd prefer. They grow slowly compared to when its hotter but they are ultimately okay.

 

[potted_plants]

Looking nice!

 

[Kyle]

going to rig a universal water rez for the foggers that will feed each bottle. they drain far to quickly as is.

If reptifoggers work the same way normal ultrasonic humidifiers do, they rely on the vacuum formed inside the bottle to not dump water all over the place. Punching a hole in the bottle removes that vacuum. Given the fact that reptifoggers DO just use a bottle as a reservoir, you have plenty of room to experiment - if you ruin one, oh well, go drink another soda. XD But I tried using a 5g bucket as the reservoir for a normal ultrasonic and it failed miserably. Even though I used a double-ring bulkhead on the reservoir and the bucket as well as an airtight lid on the bucket, it just dumped water all over the place. Suspect the bucket wasn't rigid enough or had too much surface area to "give" or even gravity, I don't know. All I know is I drilled a hole in a perfectly good humidifier for nothin'! LOL. That said, if you truly want a powerful, versatile humidifier (albeit expensive, relatively speaking - although, you are​ using two hygrotherms, so you seem to like to go big or go home like I do, lol), build yourself a bucket humidifier. I did quite some time ago and never looked back. ^.^

 

[mylesG]

thank you veryyyy much for posting kyle! hadn't consider the vacuum.... was planning on sealing the larger bucket but airtight might be tough.

first off, awesome idea on the bucket humidifier. if it'll make my life easier on the reloads of water, im in!

can you throw up links to what I'd need for the bucket humidifiers? I am not super handy and need things explained pretty simply to me. But its not from lack of trying on my part!

The only problem i foresee is that i have two tanks on two hygrotherms. I want them to keep each tanks' humidity at set points. Can I do this with one bucket humidifier or would i need one for each tank?

again, really appreciate the input before i drilled holes anywhere i would regret.

 

[mylesG]

They'll live, I've got several more intermediate Neps and in the winter they get lower temperatures than they'd prefer. They grow slowly compared to when its hotter but they are ultimately okay.

i am thinking of compromising and aiming for high 50s to maybe 60 degrees and that way it'll keep more of the plants happier. what you think bout that?

Looking nice!

thanks bud will be much more fun when new pitchers staart poppin!!!!

 

[Nepenthesis]

Suh-weet!

I love the setups! My terrarium was never this fancy, but I was considering setting up another for lowlanders, but I probably couldn't keep them for long since they grow so big so fast. It looks really cool with those foggers turned on. Was considering getting one for my greenhouse but they looked kinda 'spensive.

 

[mylesG]

thanks pineapple!

I am already having to think about what im gunna do when they outgrow the tanks....gunna keep my eye out for bigger tanks for cheap in my area till then.

 

[Favian]

that set up looks awesome Mylesg!

 

[mylesG]

just potted up my new arrivals and repotted all the others yesterday. now everybody is in net pots with a perlite coco chunk and chopped sphag mix of equal parts. nice and airy as the humidity is always going to be 90+ for them

will do individual plant shots with ID later on.... gotta get my cooler system setup n running now that it finally showed up

oh n the eggcrate came as well n is in place under the plants.

 

[Favian]

man that fog! I love it. great set up. looking forward to pictures & more about the set up

 

[mylesG]

thanks man, im already thinking about making my own acrylic enclosures to maximize space on this shelf.... the tanks are 12 inches wide. I am thinkin about doubling that for width and going from about 18 high to about 30. these plants need room to spread their leaves n vines!!!! it wouldnt be crazy expensicve if I cut and bond the sheets myself.... would def be worth doing once I replenish plant funds

 

[Favian]

you know I've always wanted a aquarium in the wall as a divider. maybe a vivarium with HL would be better instead. lol I hear you man, terrariums can get expensive. how about doing an indoor green house like Mass's? If i had the room inside the house I'd do that

 

[mylesG]

If I had the room I would but this allows my plants to live in my bedroom and I can enjoy them at a glance anytime. If I evntually get a greenhouse, I still think I'd have a tank in my bedroom. I like my plants to be directly in my living space

vivarium/terrariums are easier to setup as dividers sincee they dont weigh so much. big fish tanks get heavy FAST n before ya know it, you taking about needigng a cement foundation to support the sucker!