Biorb Terrarium would it work?

[carnivorousDan]

Been looking for a modern style terrarium for in my home as iv run out of space but if it looks good i may be able to pull a few string with my girl. I come across the biorb style terrarium :

http://m.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_nkw=biorb+terrarium&isNewKw=1&_sop=12&_pgn=1&epp=24&itemId=&fads=1&mfs=GOCLK&acimp=0&sqp=biorb+terrarium&_trksid=p2053742.m2428.l1313.TR0.TRC0.Xbiorb+terrarium

Would this work if i was to put sundews, helis, neps and some orchids in ( to keep her happy)

They are abit price but i have been looking for for a cabnet or somethin similar to fill the space. What do yous think?

Open to any suggestions or experiances. Thanks

Dan

Edited June 5, 2015 by carnivorousDan

[Jaicen]

It would 'work' in that it would provide a humid environment.
However, you'd probably have to add some mechanical air exchange using a pump, and then come up with some way of lighting it as the standard Biorb lights are low power LED's not suitable for plants.
The primary issue would be getting in to manage and maintain your plants, I imagine that would be tricky with only a single small top opening.

I think an Exo terra would make a better option, and be a lot cheaper. You can usually get them used on Gumtree for not much money.

 

tl:dr - You can, but there are better options.

[carnivorousDan]

It would 'work' in that it would provide a humid environment.

However, you'd probably have to add some mechanical air exchange using a pump, and then come up with some way of lighting it as the standard Biorb lights are low power LED's not suitable for plants.

The primary issue would be getting in to manage and maintain your plants, I imagine that would be tricky with only a single small top opening.

I think an Exo terra would make a better option, and be a lot cheaper. You can usually get them used on Gumtree for not much money.

tl:dr - You can, but there are better options.

It has an extraction fan which constantly replaces the air in there, the leds ate specifically designed for growing plants as it is ment for plants and not as a aquarium. Thanks

Dan

[Jaicen]

Sorry, I was assuming that you had a standard Biorb. The link posted just takes me to the ebay homepage.

In this case, I can't help!

[carnivorousDan]

Sorry the link musnt of worked, here it is on the biorb website

http://www.biorbair.com

Dan

[Carnivorous-Owen]

I don't have near as much experience as many of the others here on this forum, but i think it would work fine, especially as the biorb air itself is designed as a terrarium.

 

I didn't actually realise the item existed until i saw your post (and link), it seems awesome. If i had the money, i would probably buy one. The CPS would look awesome in there and personally would think they be perfect.

 

PS. If you do buy, please make a thread or keep us updated on how there all doing in there!! :)

[FredG]

Heck! I paid less than half that for my last greenhouse.

[carnivorousDan]

I don't have near as much experience as many of the others here on this forum, but i think it would work fine, especially as the biorb air itself is designed as a terrarium.

I didn't actually realise the item existed until i saw your post (and link), it seems awesome. If i had the money, i would probably buy one. The CPS would look awesome in there and personally would think they be perfect.

PS. If you do buy, please make a thread or keep us updated on how there all doing in there!! :)

I think it would look good too, its the technology that you sre paying for really as you can set a temp and humidity reading and it will automatically keep it to what you want, also the leds rotate to give the affect of the sun, not sure what plants to use yet as delifferent plant require different soil.

Yea fred it is double what i am looking to pay for a greenhouse also but i need a terrarium for in he house and its about the only thing that will look contempulary in my living room.

Thanks

Dan

[JMHoff]

WOW Dan that looks amazing...and expensive. I didn't find the specifications for lightning and misting anywhere in the website but I guess it would work just fine with not so itchy cps.

 

As Owen said before: if you buy one of those please keep the updates coming

[carnivorousDan]

WOW Dan that looks amazing...and expensive. I didn't find the specifications for lightning and misting anywhere in the website but I guess it would work just fine with not so itchy cps.

As Owen said before: if you buy one of those please keep the updates coming

Icouldnt find exact spec for lighting either except it says hi powered led, the reviews seem to be good on them. Will definatly be making a thread when i purchase one. Thanks

Danu

[carnivorousDan]

Got some info on the biorb today- i ask what spec the leds where and also if i can use rain water to fill the resivoir with for the plants and use it in the humidity chamber and this is what i was sent:

"There are no issues in using rain water or distilled water to fill the base reservoir within the biorbAIR, I would be very cautious about using it to fill the misting unit though!"

I then asked why i should be cautios about using rain water and this was he reply:

The Humidimist we supply is very low in TDS, this stops any carbonate build up on the sides of the globe. The lighting is set to match daylight at around 6500k.

My question is 1. As rain water is low in tds is this some scam to make me by there misting liquid all the time

2. Is the lighting spectrum of 6500k good enough?

3. What plants could i keep in this year round that will not require a dormancy like vft etc.

Any help will be appreciated.

Thanks

Dan

[Stu]

1. As rain water is low in tds is this some scam to make me by there misting liquid all the time

No, without seeing/dismantling a unit, I can't be sure, but I'd guess that the mist is created by a ceramic membrane vibrating ultrasonically. These can easily get clogged or destroyed by dissolved minerals in the water. Due to the cost of the terrarium in the first place, I'd be inclined to use RO/distilled water in it (shouldn't need to buy any overpriced branded stuff from them).

2. Is the lighting spectrum of 6500k good enough?

Hard to say on this information alone. Plants primarily use the blue and red wavelengths of light to grow. 6500K White LEDs put out a fair amount of blue but usually not a great deal of red. From what I understand, blue is used for vegetative growth and red more for flowering. You still don't know the the intensity of the lighting though so light colour temperature doesn't tell you the whole picture.

3. What plants could i keep in this year round that will not require a dormancy like vft etc.

Basically avoid VFT or Sarracenia that require dormancy. A cephalotus would look great in there, some tropical/warm climate drosera. Could alternatively have heliamphora but these would require different conditions to the others so not together.

[JMHoff]

Everything Stu just wrote ^^

 

 

I watched a review on Youtube where they mentioned the automatic light system, according to the review Biorb has a 12 hours ligt+1 hour dim +11 hours dark automatic program.

 

Sounds fantastic imho but I still wonder how good the lights are

Edited June 11, 2015 by JMHoff

[Hud357]

Got some info on the biorb today- i ask what spec the leds where and also if i can use rain water to fill the resivoir with for the plants and use it in the humidity chamber and this is what i was sent:

"There are no issues in using rain water or distilled water to fill the base reservoir within the biorbAIR, I would be very cautious about using it to fill the misting unit though!"

I then asked why i should be cautios about using rain water and this was he reply:

The Humidimist we supply is very low in TDS, this stops any carbonate build up on the sides of the globe. The lighting is set to match daylight at around 6500k.

My question is 1. As rain water is low in tds is this some scam to make me by there misting liquid all the time

2. Is the lighting spectrum of 6500k good enough?

3. What plants could i keep in this year round that will not require a dormancy like vft etc.

Any help will be appreciated.

Thanks

Dan

 

1. As rain water is low in tds is this some scam to make me by there misting liquid all the time

 

Rainwater could be just as bad in that it is likeley to contain all manner of stuff from the atmosphere and your collection system. On the upside, you will probably not need a lot so it may be viable to filter the rainwater through coffee filter papers. Certainly most tap waters would result in the buildup of 'gunk' and filtering them domestically is unlikley to help much.

 

2. Is the lighting spectrum of 6500k good enough?

 

I grow my stuff under 'warm white' LED's and they seem fine so I wouldn't worry too much about spectrum. I know that this is a contentious issue for some, so I wont get into it. I'm just not that sophisticated.

 

3. What plants could i keep in this year round that will not require a dormancy like vft etc.

 

As others have said, avoid those that require dormancy. I pretty much killed a bunch of VFT's recently. They were obtained around Nov. last year as nice healthy plants and grew really well ... right up until March when they started dying off rapidly. I may have removed them fast enough for them to survive but that is about it. I'll be lucky if they make it through the Summer.

 

You might get away with putting them in there for a part of their natural growing season but I would take them out well before they need to go dormant.

 

The ones that seem not to care one jot about their artificial environment (for me) are Heliamphora , Nepenthes, Utricularia (Alpina etc) and tropical sundews. I am going to drop a Ceph in there soon as that looks like it might enjoy the conditions.

Edited June 11, 2015 by Hud357

[JMHoff]

Do you own a Biorb Air Hud357? In that case you can keep us update in how it works with CPs.

 

I'm thinking about ordering one, even my wife liked the idea of having one in a common area of our apartment

[Hud357]

Do you own a Biorb Air Hud357? In that case you can keep us update in how it works with CPs.

 

I'm thinking about ordering one, even my wife liked the idea of having one in a common area of our apartment

 

No mine is just a regular old fish tank. ( http://www.cpukforum.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=54092#entry365894 )

Edited June 12, 2015 by Hud357

[North West Neps]

As rain water is low in tds is this some scam to make me by there misting liquid all the time

 

 

Let's face it, i believe this unit is primarily going to be bought by people who just want a nice talking point in the centre of their coffee table (hence the smart design), and so they're more than likely to just fill it from their tap water.

So the Humidimist is probably designed for the general tap water users to help protect their unit. But if you're going to use RO/deionised water for cp's, then i wouldn't imagine the Humidimist needs to be bought. It's probably only deionised water itself.

[Jaicen]

Maybe it contains an anti-microbial agent? Could be the manufacturer covering themselves re: Leigionella or something!

[cutopia]

What about the coconut coir that comes with the unit? Is it safe for use with carnivorous plants? Some of the advice I've read on coconut coir indicates that it should be leeched in rainwater for a couple weeks before using with carnivores! I don't know if this is really needed though. Has anyone used it with their biorb for carnivores?