Exo-Terra Nano Vivarium?

SinCrisis

Your suggestion about crafts earlier, i looked on amazon and i found the below:


which i think is stiff enough where I wont need the egg crate if I have enough support underneath.

I also found:
and

Which i think will work as substrate? the exo terra plantation soil is too big a bag for what I need as well, this is cheaper and it comes in smaller bags. I figured I could mix the peat moss with some ultrafine gravel and make the first layer of substrate, then sphagnum moss, which is only 0.50 blended in and on top. I also found coconut coir, but I can't use coconut coir in my garden, but the peat and moss I can so I think i am opting for this over the coconut coir. If I do start a larger terrarium, Ill probably get the coir.

For future terrariums, you are right, I already have plans to get a bigger terrarium and to have my own frog vivarium. However, I cannot do that until I move and that wont be for another year at least. I really do not want to hold onto the egg crate for that long as my current room is already small. Im living with 2 fish tanks already. This nano vivarium will take up the little space i have left :(. Also i found a place that sells 3 carnivorous plants for around 20 bucks and one is red so I think that solves my red plant contrast issue.

What non carnivorous plants will grow well in a peat soil mix? I am hoping for some ground cover and some ferns? Will those work?

Redknee

The plastic canvas might work if it's strong nuff to hold the weight of the substrate. Not sure what that thing is, seems good but cant be sure.
The organic peat moss could be a problem because of water retention, mixed with gravel it might work tho if you get a good mix. Maybe 50-50. But not ultrafine gravel, that will just choke the roots. 3-5mm gravel would do.
Plants will grow in it... I've seen a fern grow on the wall of a house, I shit you not. The roots were in a crack in the brick wall about half a foot from the ground.
Forget the spagnum moss, there is no need for it, it will rot in a matter of days, at best it will hold for 2 weeks.
Good luck with finding a new place, I know I could use about... 20 more rooms

SinCrisis

haha I hear you, if i every got my own house, i would def set aside a aquarium/vivarium room. I would totally do that humidify the entire room thing i see people doing so their tanks all have mesh tops and still have enough humidity for their amphibians.

Anyway, the terrarium has been tested for leaks and has passed. Gonna order the mesh today, after I find another 20 dollars worth of things for the free shipping...

Got any ideas for ground cover plants? I want to be able to see bare substrate, but I want that woodsy/marshy look.

I love how you laid out your vivarium, how did you decide where to put everything?

Redknee

Just let your imagination run wild. You could use a few oak leafs(dry) on the substrate to give it a more natural look or forest moss, whatever suits you. Ground plants... As in a sort of carpet? Hmmm I'll think about it and let you know.

SinCrisis

Hey Redknee, I wanna thank you for your patience and helping me out, I know im just dumping a lot of questions on you. >.< I really appreciate the advice and help you've been giving me to get this vivarium off the ground.

Also, do you use a hygrometer?

Redknee

No problem, glad you learned something new.
I did use an exo terra digital and a couple of non digital but in general hygros suck. If you can buy a digital expensive one it might not lie but who wants to spend 100$ on a damn hygro. At one point I had 3 of them and each said somethig else. So I ended up learning from the look of the vivarium how high/low the humidity is.
Usually if the glass has condensation on it(like on the front doors or the lid) the humidity is over 85-90%. Also the substrate should be moist(but not soaked) and you should never let it dry out. Keep it nice and moist. If you spray it every day or every other day it should do fine, just dont over spray. To wet is just as bad as to dry.
There is a way to tell how much a hygro is off by but... Well here it goes:
Take 1 coffee cup and put 3/4 salt and 1/4 water in it. Till the salt is moist but no water is actually over it, it should look like the sand on the beach...
Then place the cup in a ziplock bag and place the hygro in the same bag and close it up so that is air tight. Let it stay there for 24-48 hours then read what the hygro sais. If it's working right it should say 75% humidity because that is exactly the humidity level in the bag. If it sais something else you will know by how much it's of. My exo terra digital said 80% so it was of by +5%. My non digital said 60% so it was of by -15%.
Problem is that even if you do know by how much it is of you cant be sure that in time it wont go of by a lot more... So checking it every month with this method should be a must if you want to be able to trust your hygro.
In any case in time you will learn how to "read" your viv just by the looks of it.
If something is unclear lemme know.

SinCrisis

OK so I found a old Analog Hygrometer designed for cigar humidors. Would that work? It's accurate, but I am not sure how to mount it.. Any ideas?

Also ended up getting PVC connectors which is also the perfect height(2 inches) and brings the top layer flush with the bottom lid. However, because of this height, I also have the option of making a hill or mound with the false bottom. The PVC seems very very strong, I want to cut into it so that water will circulate through it. Good idea or bad idea?

Lastly, how do you feel about the use of java moss? If I drape java moss onto driftwood, will they curtain down?

Redknee

Cut the pvc, do whatever you want with it, the size of your viv will not pose any problems weight wise.
Java moss will grow and curtain down but only is it's wet most of the time, you would need 100% humidity for that. Pretty hard to keep without daily misting. The cigar hygro migit do the trick, those are usually pretty good. Does it have any mounting device on the back? Something to hang it on a nail or any sort of support? If not you could just glue it wherever you want it just make sure that when you mist you dont soak it. Keep water away from it as much as you can or it will lie like a hag on the burning stake.

SinCrisis

Cigar hygro does not have a mounting thing on the back. It looked like its designed to be slotted into a hole drilled in the wood. The area around the head of the dial shows grooves to improve grip and prevent humidity escape. I do not want to drill my tank. The exo terra does have grooves in the top lid for air tubing or mist tubing so maybe i can create a harness to hand it in the back like a grandfather clock pendulum. Still need to salt test the hygro though.

The mesh should be arriving today. Should be able to set up how I want the false bottom. I think I might just keep it flat since most marshes and bogs don't have hills and cliffs. How about just java moss matting the top of the peat layer? will that work and serve as a grassy top?

Also, i found some places talking about the Exo Terra mesh top corroding. Have you had that problem? Im wondering if I need to remove my mesh to avoid the trouble later...

Lastly, air circulation. How do you keep your humidity but also have fresh air cycling in? Do you use a fan?

Redknee

Remove the mesh on the top and replace with glass or plexy as I said before, best way to keep your viv out of trouble.
For air circulation I use a fan hooked to a 12V DC adapter that runs 15 mins every 6 hours. Just pushes air inside the tank. But with such a small viv as yours you will kill the humidity with a fan, I think that opening the viv doors every 24-48 hours(when you mist) will be nuff to get some fresh air in there.
It depends a lot on how well your substrate can drain(mold wise).
You could also just drill a few holes in the top of the tank(in the glass that you will use to replace the metal mesh) and just get a bit of air circulation from there. 2-4 holes depending on size should sufice. Remember that the exo terra also gets some air circulation from the front vent it has(just under the doors there is that thingy with holes in it) and also the doors do not close perfectly on the sides and some air can get through there also.
Since you dont have any animals in there air is not a big problem. And even with animals inside you dont need a ton of air, remember that plants also provide oxygen.
Not sure about the moss... You will have to try it yourself and see how it goes, in theory it should work ok but... I wont put all my money on that. Get forest moss or even tree moss if you can find any like in a park if there are no forests around you. Moss will grow in a lof of places and some of those places might be just under your nose.