Exo Terra intermediate/highland terrarium
Posted: Wed Aug 09, 2017 1:13 am
I wanted to post a picture and description of my Exo Terra 18 inch cube terrarium that I am currently using to grow intermediate and highland Nepenthes. There is an N. hamata in the the front that is classified as a highland. In the back left is N. vogelii and back right is N. ramispina. I get conflicting information as to whether the last two are intermediate or highland so I'm growing them with the Hamata for now.
The terrarium has a false bottom about an inch and a half deep that holds a reservoir of water to increase humidity. There is sphagnum growing throughout the terrarium as well as a few other terrarium plants I put in to test their acceptance of the growing conditions for a future more permanent and larger enclosure.
The lights are two 18 inch Finnex Ray 2 LED fixtures. They have 7000k leds and are too bright for the height if the terrarium. I use a plastic screen to reduce the light. Notice the red coloration in some of the leaves and vine of the Ramispina. The sphagnum suffered a bit also. The Vogelii and Hamata leaves lost some of the red coloration after I installed the screen. The Finnex lights are excellent lights and I use them on my aquariums. I also plan to use them on the large terrarium I plan to build soon.
There is a Zoomed temperature/humidity controller in the back. I really only use it to monitor the conditions and removed the humidifier since the humidity never drops to a low level. I have two of the Zoomed controllers and they have worked great for me for about 3 years now. The computer fan in the back is a Noiseblocker 80mm and is super quiet and has a low cfm that circulates air just enough to prevent condensation and mold. Personally, I think most people use fans that move too much air and it has a negative effect on humidity. Low cfm fans have pretty much negated the need for humidifiers for me anymore.
The last significant piece of equipment is the Mist King misting system. It is nothing short of awesome. Set it up and forget it other than adding water to the reservoir on occasion. I have the Ultimate Value version. It runs once every 3 hours for 10 seconds starting at 6am until 9pm. Humidity never drops below 80% and stays over 90% at night when lights go out.
I'll post how I keep it cool at night below.
The terrarium has a false bottom about an inch and a half deep that holds a reservoir of water to increase humidity. There is sphagnum growing throughout the terrarium as well as a few other terrarium plants I put in to test their acceptance of the growing conditions for a future more permanent and larger enclosure.
The lights are two 18 inch Finnex Ray 2 LED fixtures. They have 7000k leds and are too bright for the height if the terrarium. I use a plastic screen to reduce the light. Notice the red coloration in some of the leaves and vine of the Ramispina. The sphagnum suffered a bit also. The Vogelii and Hamata leaves lost some of the red coloration after I installed the screen. The Finnex lights are excellent lights and I use them on my aquariums. I also plan to use them on the large terrarium I plan to build soon.
There is a Zoomed temperature/humidity controller in the back. I really only use it to monitor the conditions and removed the humidifier since the humidity never drops to a low level. I have two of the Zoomed controllers and they have worked great for me for about 3 years now. The computer fan in the back is a Noiseblocker 80mm and is super quiet and has a low cfm that circulates air just enough to prevent condensation and mold. Personally, I think most people use fans that move too much air and it has a negative effect on humidity. Low cfm fans have pretty much negated the need for humidifiers for me anymore.
The last significant piece of equipment is the Mist King misting system. It is nothing short of awesome. Set it up and forget it other than adding water to the reservoir on occasion. I have the Ultimate Value version. It runs once every 3 hours for 10 seconds starting at 6am until 9pm. Humidity never drops below 80% and stays over 90% at night when lights go out.
I'll post how I keep it cool at night below.