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Future terrarium novice in the making


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For a while I've had an aquarium at the back of my mind. Some would say it's a pretty place for one. Anyway, the one I'm thinking of is at my old house in the next county (4 hour round trip and expensive petrol away). It's a 2'x1'x1'. It is the final one in my possession from my fishkeeping years. I'll have to bin the lid as it's really crap and possibly save the light section for a future project (not this one). I also have something that I bought with birthday money from mother-in-law years ago that's never been out of its box. A power unit for 2 florescent bulbs. I got it so I could have a better planted tank but could never get anyone to make me a hood that would take double lights.

I shall have to get a sheet of glass cut to fit the top (allowing for ventilation of course) and I can (for now anyway) just plonk the two light tubes (which I also have to buy) on the top of the glass until I can get some sort of simple framework and reflector built for them properly.

I've not done anything about it yet for a couple of reasons, firstly I couldn't make up my mind what to grow in it, and still haven't. Secondly I don't have the plants for putting in there (the whole idea is to have somewhere to grow things that my greenhouse is too cold for but without providing any supplemental heat other than the ambient temperature of the spare room it's in. Finally it's going to cost about €40 to get down there to collect it, plus the cost of the two bulbs and the sheet of glass, then there's buying the stock, practical square pots to grow things in, and new bags of grit and perlite. Naturally I need to get the equipment and sundries first and I've no income during the summer.

Anyhow, money trouble and geographic separation asside, any help, advice, plant/seed donations will be most appreciated.

Richard

Edited by Richard Bunn
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Bellow is a list of what I have in mind so far. Eventually I want to put up some shelf units in my study and have grow lights under each one so some of the plants I've picked can go there eventually. I just thought I'd start off with the terrarium and then expand to shelves as the collection grows.

Terrarium

Nepenthes:

Bloody Mary

glabrata

Drosera:

adelae

auriculata or peltata type (something self supporting)

capensis 'red'

carbarup

cistiflora

erythrorhiza ssp squamosa

madagascariensis

nidiformis

petiolaris??

prolifera

whittakeri

Pygmy Sundews

Genlisia:

hispidula

Utricularia:

alpina

bisquamata 'Betty's Bay' (in winter)

livida (in winter)

sandersonii (in winter)

Edited by Richard Bunn
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  • 8 months later...

Terrarium finished.  

 

13494220205_2f230d24ed_o.jpg

 

Contents:

 

(propagator) - Seeds of B. liniflora and D. burmannii Humpty Doo

 

(Pots) - Heliamphora ionasii x heterodoxa (or perhaps the cross is the other way around, see my growlist), D. capensis (Vogelgaat Nature Reserve), D. capensis All Red, D. regia (just to give it a head start for the season), U. uniflora, D. aliciae (didn't do so well in the greenhouse over the winter but still alive), D. slackii (did very well in the greenhouse all winter sat right next to feeble aliciae), D. adelae, D. madagascariensis (just to give it a head start), U. livida (what's left of it anyway), U. sandersonii, U. bisquamata 'Betty's Bay'. White cups are my pygmies, D. callistos Brookton Form, D. 'Dork's Pink', D. lasiantha x omissa.  

 

Temperature is around 20c and humidity is usually just over 50%.  

 

All pots stood in water although the 2 Utrics that are in little white pots are undrained so I can keep them wetter/flooded.  

 

Lighting is 2 x 15w aquarium plant tubes with reflectors.  They are secured very technically by being plonked on top of 2 green plant canes that rest across the top of the aquarium.  Told you I wasn't techie.

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  • 1 year later...

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