Me terrarium and progress over about 18 months.
Exo Terra 45cm X 45cm X 60cm high. Lighting is an 18w Arcadia LumenIZE Jungle Dawn (programmable) and a 12w Exo Terra TerraSky Planted (on a timer). Humidity controlled by an Ink Bird controller hooked up to an Exo Terra humidifier and a small fan. There is also an Exo Terra Monsoon Solo with two nozzles for watering.
Climbers – Ficus Thunbergii, Marcgravia rectiflora, Solanum Ecuador, and Raphidophora cryptantha.
Orchids – Bulbophyllum ornitissium X putidum, Schoenorchis fragrans, Stereochilus pachyphyllus, Cleisostoma crochetii, Angraecum didieri, Dendrobium jenkinsii.
Other plants – Nepenthes ampullaria (Green), Syngonium, Neoregalia, Anthurium, Tillandsia air plants.
This was my first terrarium and has been a gradual project to put together as I figured things out. The Ficus Thunbergii and Syngonium need regular trimming. The Dendrobium jenkinsii will probably have to come out as I can't give it a cold and dry wintering. The Nepenthes ampullaria will probably outgrow the space quickly but I love it.
On equipment – I started with the Exo Terra TerraSky light but quickly found that it is pretty useless. I was drawn in to the sunrise and sunset functions but quickly learned that this is pointless as everything is controlled manually with no automation. By contrast, I love the programmable Arcadia LumenIZE Jungle Dawn. For watering – The Monsoon Solo is realistically too small for a setup like this with planted walls. I wish I got something with more nozzles. I supplement with manual spraying. For humidity – The Exo Terra humidifier controlled by an Ink Bird works very well to keep 80%RH, but it took a lot of playing around to get it working correctly without water pooling and backflow issues.
by JoshNZ
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