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By Aozora
Posts:  281
Joined:  Sat Sep 24, 2016 6:33 am
#276824
I have my terrarium designed so that I can give water from the bottom (as you can see in the bottom right of the picture), I did this so that I do not get algae growth on top of the soil, or so i tought.

Image

as you can see there are some brown/bronze algue like patches on top of the soil, and i was wondering if someone has any idea how to get rid of it and how to prevend it?

i was also going to place some seeds in there but im not sure if the algue would be harmfull to them.


and finally, I've heard that it is better to give water from the top instead of the bottom, in nature rain comes from above so it actually makes sense. but i was just wondering if its true that top watering is better as most people use the tray method. (just asking in case I have to change my terrarium to make the plants feel more at home)
By Smooter80
Posts:  1038
Joined:  Wed Feb 17, 2016 5:33 pm
#276827
For many CPs, terrariums just make growing them more difficult.

That appears to be some sort of fungus which is an air flow problem. I see a few issues you may consider changing. Sarrs are temperate plants and need a few cold months of resting time. They do best outside, no extra humidity needed.

Capensis is subtropical and will not like the cold Winter a Sarr needs. They can be grown year round on a bright windowsill or under lights. They don't need the extra humidity of a terrarium.

Most CPs need drainage holes at the bottom of their containers. If there is no where for your water to drain, minirals will build up over time. It's best to add pearlite or silica sand to your Peat for better aeration.
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By Aozora
Posts:  281
Joined:  Sat Sep 24, 2016 6:33 am
#276836
Smooter80 wrote:For many CPs, terrariums just make growing them more difficult.

That appears to be some sort of fungus which is an air flow problem. I see a few issues you may consider changing. Sarrs are temperate plants and need a few cold months of resting time. They do best outside, no extra humidity needed.

Capensis is subtropical and will not like the cold Winter a Sarr needs. They can be grown year round on a bright windowsill or under lights. They don't need the extra humidity of a terrarium.

Most CPs need drainage holes at the bottom of their containers. If there is no where for your water to drain, minirals will build up over time. It's best to add pearlite or silica sand to your Peat for better aeration.
Thanks for the reply, but i doubt its an air flow issue as my temperate plants which are in my window sill (which gets fresh air 24h a day) also has this problem.

As for the sarracenia, i ran out of space and as it is a pretty big plant i decided to keep it out of dormancy for one year.

And about the perlite, my soil is a 40/60 mix of perlite and peat, i just placed a little top layer of peat on it so the perlite stays in place. I do however might need something like rocks on the bottom for even better drainage.

Before i forget to mention, ill be getting my heliamphora H. x M. next week and they need high humidity, so a terrarium is definitely a must :P
By Aozora
Posts:  281
Joined:  Sat Sep 24, 2016 6:33 am
#276875
i just noticed that there are forming some green patches on top of the brown stuff.

Image


also as for humidity, when i keep the lid on the humudity gets to around 80%, and when i keep it off it drops to 60-65%. but the problem with 80% humidity is that the glass gets all foggy, which doesnt happen with 60-65%. would it be best to keep the lid open at all times?

also as to the watering question, i still really like to know which is best, so if someone could help me out with that it would be great.
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By boarderlib
Posts:  1641
Joined:  Fri Dec 04, 2015 1:13 pm
#276889
I completely agree with smooter. The algae is an air flow issue. You house blocks 90% of air flow, even right next to an open window. The majority of the air flow is blocked by parts of the house, and the screen in the window. Until that issue is fixed then you'll be dealing with algae.

The plants you already have in there the Sarr, and the Capensis will never be truly happy in a terrarium. Capensis actually prefers lower humidity levels, that's why the leaves are bowing down like they are.

The Heli is the only plant you've listed that would prefer the extra humidity of a terrarium. That's why that's all I grow in my terrarium. I have a rack setup for my seedlings, subtropical, and tropical plants. IE my plants that are grown outside in the summer that don't require dormancy. They are placed on the rack during our winters, since my winter would kill them.

The glass gets foggy like that because of lack of air flow.

Best of luck, and happy growing!


Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk
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By Adelaide
Posts:  538
Joined:  Wed Apr 06, 2011 10:05 pm
#276898
Boaderlib and Smooter are giving you good advice. To be successful with terrariums you need to do your research and have proper set-ups (lighting, airlfow, substrate layers, etc).

You placed a layer of pure peat on top of your peat/perlite mixture to keep the perlite in place and effectively blocked off airflow in your soil medium by doing this. The purpose of perlite is to provide space for air to get down into the soil and it needs to be exposed to the surface to do this.

Algae flourishes is oxygen deprived environments so your problem is definitely aeration.
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By Aozora
Posts:  281
Joined:  Sat Sep 24, 2016 6:33 am
#276910
Adelaide wrote:Boaderlib and Smooter are giving you good advice. To be successful with terrariums you need to do your research and have proper set-ups (lighting, airlfow, substrate layers, etc).

You placed a layer of pure peat on top of your peat/perlite mixture to keep the perlite in place and effectively blocked off airflow in your soil medium by doing this. The purpose of perlite is to provide space for air to get down into the soil and it needs to be exposed to the surface to do this.

Algae flourishes is oxygen deprived environments so your problem is definitely aeration.
To be honest i did quite some research about it, even asked around (email) some growers in the Netherlands as they said that this setup would be good. Some of them even said that they use a closed container with just pure peat as soil.

But thanks to everyone here i now know a lot more, so ill be making some changes.

Going to place an inch of gravel on the bottom, on top of that some root cloth so that the soil mix of peat/perlite/sphagnum on top of that wont leak into the gravel, and some live sphagnum on top of that.

Was also thinking of getting a ultrasonic fog machine, to get some cooler temperatures, air flow and a more controlled humidity.


If any more suggestions, they are welcome :D
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