First ever terrarium (24/6/25).
Please give me some suggestions or advice for next time. The layers seem a bit too big which makes the taller plant not grow well which is annoying. I know I have some other areas of improvement so let me know.
by FelixTheCat691
6 Comments
Imo the only problem is the substrate layer being way too thick. I’d keep the height of the layer below 1/3 of the container.
The plants in this terrarium will soon reach the top. My suggestion is that once the plants reach the top, you can remove the lid for good because the leaves of the plants will help trap moisture in the container. After that just let the plant grow above and beyond the top and it will become a cool open top terrarium! With no moss (i think? I dont see any) and such a huge drainage layer you have, I bet you can still just water it once per 2 weeks or even longer
Beautiful but i feel like the base is too much. Too high. And no space
False bottom shouldn’t be that high
Awesome 🙂 Good job champ!!
You should use a piece of screen mesh(like substrate barrier or plastic window screen mesh) to keep the substrate from mixing with your drainage layer. Without one, you actually end up losing out on water reservoir space as everything eventually compacts down into it. You can buy some cheap at pretty much any hardware store. Only use plastic mesh, not metal as it can corrode.
I would also recommend you not do the layering of substrate either. Keep in mind that horticultural charcoal does not do any filtering, and only activated carbon does. The difference is in how they are created. If your charcoal does not audibly hiss when wet and sound very bubbly, it is not activated and this not doing any real filtering. One is an additive to make soil more airy and provide habitat for springtails, the other is a temporary filter media that stops drawing in impurities at most 3 months after wetting.
I would suggest sticking to this order: rocks/Leca/stone/lava rocks for drainage(Lexa or lava rocks recommended), substrate barrier, very thin layer of sphagnum, optional drizzle of activated carbon(unneeded if you set up with distilled or rodi water), soil mixture.
Leca or lava rocks are porous and are more capable than river stone or aquarium pebbles at wicking water from the drainage layer back up to the soil. Sphagnum moss on top of the drainage layer should be no more than a strand or two thick and helps to distribute the water from the drainage layer back into the soil evenly. Placing a small amount of activated carbon on top of the sphagnum places it in its prime location to do what you want it to do(filter water passing into the drainage layer and filtering water that moves into the soil. Again: activated carbon stops drawing in impurities after 3 months maximum and then just turns into a soil additive. Setup with distilled and water with distilled and you should not create any issues with needing to worry about impurities capture.
Sand is also not the best idea to use in a layer, and is mostly there for looks. It is oftentimes too dense for plant roots to dig through, and it is actually beneficial to the terrarium for plants to reach down into the drainage layer eventually if they have high water needs. I can’t tell if the white stuff is sand or just very fine perlite, but you should do without it. Perlite layering also is unnecessary, especially if it is miracle gro(soaked in fertilizer), but it is less problematic than sand. Decorative layering is a temporary form of terrarium making and I have not seen many 2-3 year old terrariums still alive with a decorative set of layers.
Others have also mentioned making the substrate layers less high, and I agree with them.
Substrate is a little deep for the size of container. The false bottom design can usually be omited for small jars, and the layers can be thinner. You’ll be pruning sooner, but that’s the only issue I forsee with your build.