Terrarium Globe

[brandon4291]

This was an acrylic bowl and stand purchased from www.naturesocean.com (fantasy bowl)

I have had reefs in them, but nothing beats the ultra-low maintenance of a heavily planted bog or terrarium system. Above it is a 150 HQI Pendant, 10K. At this height, it is just enough to keep temps stable which affords a constant humidity. There are various ferns, bog plants and all natural landscaping consisting of grapevine and various lichen-encrusted forest stones. All held together by Lowe's triple-expanding foam, the idea seen below from black jungle.



See the website www.blackjungle.com for one neat idea in fastening a backround to the terrarium. An aquarist from Germany I believe had the nift idea to roll the tank on it's back, lay in rounds of driftwood and stones and shoot it all full of expanding epoxy foam from Lowe's or Home Depot.

Don't fill it too much, just enough to harden around the stone and driftwood protrusions and there you have a molded rainforest aquascape. Before foam injection, I chose to run a single 1/2" tube up the back for a hidden waterfall effect. I hollowed out parts of the foam and installed a terrarium substrate consisting of wood chips, peat, vermiculite and a little african violet mix all wrapped in a panty-hose planter. A little forest bedding is placed over the improv panty-hose planters and they are covered, but movable if needed.


A small waterfall trickles and splatters over various protrusions and mists the system quite well. The splatter effect is working well, but the test of time will see how the uppermost plants react to the light intensity. I have considered using a fake terrarium vine to shade the upper plants, and be the first line of defense from the intensity of the focused beam HQI. Even at 4 feet of spacing, it's bright for forest-goers

There are recesses and caves for low-light java ferns and the like.

Choice of inhabitants is still not firm yet. I am interested in slow, continual nitrogen sustenance and little to no system taxation or effort.
I'm thinking a small stinkpot turtle, feeding Hartz shrimp pellets is the simplest aquarium task possible and stinkpots are actually not all that wasteful... Currently it's just one betta in his rice-patty kingdom.

The second shot is the tank during curing, just water, stone and wood. Next is the final closeup with all plants. Dating is from this weekend! My digicam has a memory issue in which it assigns a random, invalid date with every pic/

 

[brandon4291]

White fungus is the aiptasia of the terrarium keeper.

Bread mold, without the green.

they simply show up in places of ideal nutrient/humidity and moisture balances. They germinate, and either live or die as a colony based on surrounding conditions and it's those conditions I hope to alter while maintaining the cycling balance of the terrarium.

The stuff can wreck a terrarium! To prevent a blanketing of cotton, I am going to reduce the humidity and possibly even spray the two sprouted areas with a mild solution of hydrogen peroxide or diluted lemon juice as an experiment. The by-product runoff would be mild and short-lived, yet possibly enough of a pH or environmental alteration to kill off the immediate mold colony. If you all know any tricks throw them at me! My wood isn't through cycling to half aquatic either, it smells like wet wood but not spoiled. just things getting used to wet as far as I can tell...

I consider this the 'cycling' of the bog terrarium. This is a high-humidity environment while many terrariums have dry spells and/or marked air motion that retards the settling and growth phases of mycorrhizae (fruiting bodies). I want it wet like a rain forest in there, but it's possible I'll need to install side computer fans in a push/pull configuration in order to evacuate and replace all humid air twice a week.

 

[RobertoVespucci]

Acetylsalicylic acid, the ingrediant in aspirin, has some antifungal ability. I've used it in potting soil for starting pips. Many plants produce salicylic acid on their own, so that would be even better. Last place I saw that readily available was in wart removers. Several years ago, but maybe still.

 

[brandon4291]

Awesome, I could mix up a light batch (pestle it w di water) and give it a squirt. That's a neat tip, have you ever had mold issues in damp terrariums? They haven't said much about it on the blackjungle website, and their large terrarium looks pretty moist to me.

B

 

[RobertoVespucci]

I've only had one terrarium and it wasn't that damp. Some succulents in a 5 gallon carboy with a stopper (found the setup instructions in an old TIME LIFE book). Did well for about a year until it was knocked off the balcony.

Have you tried bleaching the soil before you put it in? A full shot glass of bleach to one gallon of water is about the right ratio. Then you want to just dampen the soil, stir well, and completely dry. Used that in botany, but what made me think of it was that's what my mum does to the hummus she grows mushrooms in.

 

[brandon4291]

Good call for sure. I definately skipped the sterilization...soils would be a great import for mold spores as well, so that will be redone next time.

now I remember reading about pressure-cooking and the like for the management of mushroom colonies.

The left-side colony of mold responded well (died) to a light peroxide spraying. The right side is on my carpeting fern, wonder what the overspray would do...likely nothing if I had to guess

 

[Anonymous]

Could you microwave or bake the soul to kill fungus spores possibly?

Looks awesome brandon, I am thinking of trying my hand at a small paludarium this summer.