Newbe soil ?

[peregrine3751]

Hi all;
I'm new to carnivorous plants, been gardening for about all my life. I have a 50gal. aquarium that I would like to make into a carnivorous plant terrarium. What soil mix should I use ? And should I put a drainage layer under the soil ? I've got really good lighting . Any info on getting started would help .
Thanks
peregrine3751

 

[Jmenprkr]

WELCOME TO THE FORUMS
well i just use a fift fifty mix of sphagnum (long fibered) and perlite

 

[goldtrap2690]

welcome to the forums , well it depends on what cps ytou want to grow in that terraium because not all cps are the same .

 

[Spectabilis73]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (Jmenprkr @ June 29 2003,11:53)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">WELCOME TO THE FORUMS
well i just use a fift fifty mix of sphagnum (long fibered)  and perlite[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
that will not work for a long period of time. You HAVE to have some kind of organic media in the soil. I use, for my terrarium, an equal mixture of:
Peat/Perlite/Sand
Yu can add some LFS if you want, but it's not really needed in a terrarium, unless you're rooting nepenthes cuttings

 

[peregrine3751]

Thanks;
I'm thinking about peat and sand. But do I need a drainage layer under the soil mix as in most terrarium ?
peregrine3751

 

[D muscipula]

Peregrine, before you do anything else you need to decide what kind of CPs you're going to keep in the terrarium. Although it's not nearly as "natural", keeping the separate plants in their own pots is a much easier and sustainable way to keep a CP terrarium. If you absolutely want to have the plants all directly in the soil at the bottom of the terrarium, it will affect your plant options.

 

[peregrine3751]

Hi all;
Well I've been looking at the care sheets from this site and others. I think I'm going to put them in pots. I would like to try some Venus Flytraps, Sundews ( D. Adelae or D. Spathulata ), Nepenthers ( Rafflesiana or Ventricoas ), and maybe a Butterwort ( P. Primuliflora ). I don't know how much I can fit in the tank but I'm going to start slow with just a few plants.
Peregrine3751