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Fully automated highland terrarium (with arduino)


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Hi carni-growers!

Today I am doing this post to share with you my last project: a highland landscaped terrarium.

The goal of this was really simple: have a really nice landscaped terrarium to keep it in my living room & have a highland room to keep my Heliamphora collection.

So I bought an old exoterra terrarium (60cmx60cmx45cm : height x width x depth), and I built a ‘structure’ around it. So the goal was to increase the insulation, and have a nice terrarium box.

This is the setup:  

 

  1)      Watering

Really basic system, with high pressure pump, nozzle, water level security (to avoid running the pump without water).

2)      Temperature

Night: 12-15°C

Day: 23-27°C

I don’t heat the tank (I don’t need it with the LED just over it), but I need to cool it. For this I use an aquarium chiller (hailea HC 130A) which is under the tank, in a furniture (built for the tank). Cold water goes into the terrarium with a pump, and then into the 3 heat sinks (with fans) and comes back to the chiller.

I also made a water cooling unit with PVC pipes, and mesh fabric. The fabric is always wet, and the air is coming through thanks to 2 fans. So water is evaporating, and thus airflow is getting a bit colder.

3)      Ventilation

3 fans for air flow, plus 2 fans for the water cooling unit. They are running during the day. I will adjust frequency according to the plants reaction during the next months.

4)      Light

I am using Led lighting. There is 8x20W COB led. Leds are cooled with heat sinks and fans.

5)      Landscaping

Walls are covered with polyurethane moss, cork oak, and black mesh fabric. So the mosses, and orchids will grow on it. I wanted something really natural, without pots, labels, etc. So everything is hidden (but all the labels are in place ^^).

In the bottom there is Dibond aluminium base over a seedling plate to make a small water reserve (to avoid plant soaking in the water). On top I put some horticultural felt to keep moist under the post, and to bring some water for my water cooling unit.

6)      Regulation system

The most important part of this tank (because without it nothing can run automatically): the regulation system. I built it with an Arduino Mega board, with many electrical connections, and computer programing (my brother helped me for this part). So everything can be ‘ON’, or ‘OFF’, or ‘AUTO’. I can change the setup/timing really easily. In the next weeks, I will add a Bluetooth module to control it directly from my smartphone.

7)      Plants (The really most important part ;) )

This is the list of actual plants in my tank, but I am still looking for some heliamphora and some Utricularia

ORCHIDS:

Barbosella cucullata

Bromeliacée sp.

Bulbophyllum barbigerum

Cleisostoma scolopendrifolium

Earina autumnalis

Epidendrum porpax

Lockhartia sp.

Masdevallia erinacea

Masdevallia nidifica

Masdevallia pyxis

Masdevallia striatella

Neolauchea pulchella

Neoregelia liliputiana

Pleurothallis /lepenthes sp.

Pleurothallis hemirhoda

Pleurothallis picta

Pleurothallis rodrigoi

Pleurothallis sertularioides

Pleurothallis tripterantha

Pleurothallis viduata

Psychopsiella limminghei

Restrepia echo

Restrepia sp. (en pot)

Restrepia sp. X 6 (dont Restrepia elegans)

Restrepia trichoglossa

Restrepia vasquezii

Stellis sp.

 

CARNIVOROUS PLANTS:

Catopsis berteroniana

Heliamphora heterodoxa x minor

Heliamphora huberi (Akopan Tepui)

Heliamphora arenicola (Tramen Tepui)

Heliamphora chimantensis (Chimanta Tepui, Venezuela)

Heliamphora minor

Heliamphora ciliata

Heliamphora pulchella (Amuri Tepui, Venezuela)

Heliamphora hispida (Cerro Neblina, Venezuela)

Heliamphora x 'tequila'

Cephalotus follicularis

Utricularia tricolor

Drosera adelae

ORTHER:

Paepalanthus tortilis

Xyris sp. (Neblina)

 

And then the pictures of the building and the terrarium:

Global view :

1506606116-img-20170927-wa0004.png

My old electrical system
1506606117-wp-20170606-19-11-19-pro.png

My old highland terrarium (5 years old)
1506606116-wp-20170606-19-11-26-pro.png

1506606957-wp-20170826-16-39-41-pro.png

The new tank
1506606117-wp-20170607-15-43-02-pro.png

Insulation of the tank
1506606117-wp-20170714-11-25-53-pro.png

Backgroung making
1506606117-wp-20170715-18-10-10-pro.png

Global view of making
1506606117-wp-20170715-18-10-37-pro.png

Left side view
1506606118-wp-20170720-09-11-49-pro.png

Covering with black mesh fabric

1506606954-wp-20170722-14-18-34-pro.png

View from top
1506606118-wp-20170721-15-58-06-pro.png

Water cooling unit
1506606119-wp-20170727-18-11-52-pro.png

Soldering station
1506606119-wp-20170821-17-08-14-pro.png

Regulation system making
1506606119-wp-20170823-19-59-35-pro.png

Regulation system (almost finished)

1506606954-wp-20170824-20-36-07-pro.png

1506606956-wp-20170908-19-02-32-pro.png
 

I will add more pictures later to show you the plant growth =)

If you have any question feel free to ask me ☺

Cheers

Benjamin

(Sorry for my English, I am French ^^)

Edited by carniben
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This is a few pictures of my plants :

Heliamphora ciliata

1506673685-dsc1799-1.png

Heliamphora chimantensis (Chimanta Tepui, Venezuela)
1506673686-dsc1807-2.png

Heliamphora hispida (Cerro Neblina, Venezuela)
1506673686-dsc1809-3.png

Heliamphora huberi (Akopan Tepui)
1506673686-dsc1811-4.png

Heliamphora huberi (Akopan Tepui)
1506673686-dsc1822-5.png

Heliamphora arenicola (Tramen Tepui)
1506673686-dsc1824-6.png

Heliamphora ciliata
1506673691-dsc1838-7.png

Heliamphora huberi (Akopan Tepui)
1506673691-dsc1841-8.png

Heliamphora huberi (Akopan Tepui)
1506673691-dsc1842-9.png

Heliamphora arenicola (Tramen Tepui)
1506673695-dsc1843-10.png

A nice bryophyte
1506673694-dsc1846-11.png

Heliamphora hispida (Cerro Neblina, Venezuela)
1506673694-dsc1849-12.png

 

Edited by carniben
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  • 4 weeks later...

Some new pictures

Heliamphora chimantensis (Chimanta Tepui, Venezuela)

1509129618-dsc2196-2.png

Heliamphora exappendiculata (Cimanta Tepui, Venezuela)
1509129610-dsc2212-3.png

Heliamphora huberi (Akopan Tepui)

1509129879-dsc2216-4.png

Heliamphora minor
1509129878-dsc2217-5.png

Heliamphora arenicola (Tramen Tepui)

1509130500-dsc2195-1.png

Heliamphora pulchella (Amuri Tepui, Venezuela)
1509130493-dsc2218-6.png

Heliamphora arenicola (Tramen Tepui)
1509130462-dsc2219-7.png

Heliamphora exappendiculata (Cimanta Tepui, Venezuela)

1509130887-dsc2220-8.png

Heliamphora purpurascens (Ptari Tepui, BCP clone 36/31)
1509130892-dsc2221-9.png

Heliamphora huberi (Akopan Tepui)
1509130893-dsc2230-10.png

image.png

image.png

Edited by carniben
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