Well I guess this is my first post, I have been lurking around here for awhile know, so I am looking to jump into the world of CP I do gardening though mostly only eatables, and I think CP will give me something nice to work on in a terrarium setting,

My First question Involves Lighting, I am designing a terrarium, The idea is for it to double as a coffee table, I plan to have lights as shown, though I am not sure what kind would best suit that size of space, I also plan to include some long wave UV lights because I will be including florescent minerals to the display as i collect them, here are the rough designs I tossed together to give a good visual

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My Second Question is about Planting a terrarium, because some CP need a wintering season, does this affect when I should be planting my terrarium? or are there some CP that don't require this process thus are better suited for a terrarium environment?


Thanks for all the help ^_^

Cheers.

The one thing I would say is that UV lights are un-necessary for CPs.

Yes well like I said, the UV lights aren't for the CPs they are for the florescent Minerals



Rocks which have special UV properties, it will be a dual Terrarium, Decorated with Fluorescent minerals :) I am more or less wondering about Lights for growing/maintaining healthy CPs (also if the UV would have a adverse affect) I have been doing research on lights myself but I am thinking specifically for this size of terrarium, thanks!

opps! sorry I missed that part. Also I am not sure if I would mix mineral exhibits with CP exhibits. Well...even if u do keep them totally seperate...I have never read about anything of this sort...so I am pretty skeptical. But...if those minerals get into the CP soil (through water), I have no idea what kind of effects u might have.... the one I would expect is "death" as most CP's are pretty sensitive to minerals.

Okay! i don't know ur tastes...but personally my suggestion would be: Skip the minerals, skip the UV lights and go for a nice landscape terrarium with some Cps and other tropical foliage. It will look fabulous and very peaceful. You could add a nice water feature too and it will look like a slice of paradise. Again as I said...this would be my suggestion...but obviously you have your own tastes. :)

check this for ideas: http://www.wildsky.net/vivarium/evivariu.htm