About to try reptiles, need ideas :)

[Viridis]

Got me coconut fibers. Looks like dirt, should be easily hidden.


Ok, so I tie them to hardscape, and they'll eventually hold their own weight?
Sounds less of a headache.

Eventually, yep. Some species take longer than others to anchor themselves. If you up the humidity while you're establishing the plants (before the animals go in), it'll help promote root growth.

Cotton threat it is!


I found the solution!
Cut my blue filtration foam around the heater and use the succion cups to keep it in one spot without touching it.

That should work!

Turns out they're stuck at the post... So monday it is!


How do you find them easier than I do, and you're an ocean away. xD

I'm not sure... I was looking up greenhouse stuff and that site popped up haha.

Another quick question!

Can loose coconut fiber substrate (ZooMed Eco Earth in my case) be immersed?
Can peat? (Pretty sure that can)

I want to make sure it doesn't rot or anything in my pool.

Any organic matter exposed to moisture and microbes will eventually decompose/rot. Peat is already partially/completely decomposed, so it may not affect much when in the water, aside from releasing a lot of tannins (depending on at what depth it was harvested), and softening of the water.

 

[Madou]

Eventually, yep. Some species take longer than others to anchor themselves. If you up the humidity while you're establishing the plants (before the animals go in), it'll help promote root growth.


That should work!


I'm not sure... I was looking up greenhouse stuff and that site popped up haha.



Any organic matter exposed to moisture and microbes will eventually decompose/rot. Peat is already partially/completely decomposed, so it may not affect much when in the water, aside from releasing a lot of tannins (depending on at what depth it was harvested), and softening of the water.

I'll post pictures of what I have so far, not quite finished, but gives an idea.
I need a LOT more moss, different kinds. I wouldn't mind wood moss and sphangus or whatever the name is in English.

And I need to cover my walls cause I don't like the look of cork...
I gotta figure the water too, since I had no idea peat floats... Which makes it not a very good substrate underwater rofl.
Perhaps just gravel, I don't intend to plant anyway. I need duckweed and a couple pistias or perhaps a small lotus, I have some laying around in my tank, refusing to root into the sand.

Have not started with any branch yet, so it's basically just a buncha plants!

My terra was leaking from the upper levels because of the rain, so I fixed that... it does run right now, but i'm not sure if it's enough water. It all falls on the roots, but doesn't actually wet most of the leaves, does that mean I still need to mist?

I'll post them tonight or tomorrow, though I might be drinking for my birthday then. ;P

 

[Audaxcity]

Happy birthday!

 

[Viridis]

I'll post pictures of what I have so far, not quite finished, but gives an idea.
I need a LOT more moss, different kinds. I wouldn't mind wood moss and sphangus or whatever the name is in English.

Sphagnum

Just a tip for moss: they need a decent amount of light indoors to grow well. They will survive under lower light, but really take off with higher light, especially moss such as Sphagnum spp.

Oh, also, if you are growing Sphagnum outside of the tank too, mix some sugar into the water. It's been shown in increase the growth rate by upto 39 times. See here.

Have not started with any branch yet, so it's basically just a buncha plants!

My terra was leaking from the upper levels because of the rain, so I fixed that... it does run right now, but i'm not sure if it's enough water. It all falls on the roots, but doesn't actually wet most of the leaves, does that mean I still need to mist?

While the plants are establishing, up the humidity as much as possible. After that, as long as they look okay, and are getting water, I wouldn't worry about it too much; just keep an eye on them.

I'll post them tonight or tomorrow, though I might be drinking for my birthday then. ;P

Happy Birthday!

 

[Madou]

Sphagnum

Just a tip for moss: they need a decent amount of light indoors to grow well. They will survive under lower light, but really take off with higher light, especially moss such as Sphagnum spp.

Right now it's only Java. I heard they drage water from one side of the "leaves" to the other even if only one side gets water. I hope that's true, because not all of it gets water xD

I have a White/pink daylight LED ramp (should see it on the pictures) 6000-8000 kelvins.
Bottom seems lighty enough but it's not halfway done just yet so that might change.

Oh, also, if you are growing Sphagnum outside of the tank too, mix some sugar into the water. It's been shown in increase the growth rate by upto 39 times. See here.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21616902
Now that's an interesting fact! I have no idea how to make Sphagnum, so I was hoping to buy it already green... I see them selling packs of some brownish thing, dunno what that is, but I'll figure it out.

While the plants are establishing, up the humidity as much as possible. After that, as long as they look okay, and are getting water, I wouldn't worry about it too much; just keep an eye on them.

Right now it's rain + misting 2-3 times a day. Haven't started the heater yet, the leaks were worse than I thought, I'm still testing to see if they're finally fixed (there's silicon all over the place, but i'll make it look better once it's leak-proof).

Happy Birthday!

Thank you!

Looks goddam awful right now, but you can see the rain system, most of the plants (there's a fern hidden behind the brom on the bottom) and some of the water area. Water is way too dark, I'm assuming by changing it every day, it'll eventually clear up a bit (though, peat will still make it brownish).

I plan on replacing the Java moss on the bottom by forest moss, use that java up on the walls, and sphagnum on the edge of the pool, with duckweed and a Nymphea (zankeri I believe) in the water. I need to figure out a way to put something on the white filtration layer that doesn't float or end in the bottom of the water, perhaps volcanic gravel, that should stick to the tread. I have a nice straight piece of wood that'll be half in the water, half on the ground for natural display with something on it, perhaps more moss or some plant.

 

[Viridis]

Now that's an interesting fact! I have no idea how to make Sphagnum, so I was hoping to buy it already green... I see them selling packs of some brownish thing, dunno what that is, but I'll figure it out.

Look around for carnivorous plant growers (There's quite a few in the UK, so that might be a good place to look if they ship to Belgium). They are almost guaranteed to have live sphagnum, and probably enough to sell you some. The brown stuff (either Chilean or New Zealand) will sprout eventually, but it can take a while depending on the quality of the moss.

In order to grow it even faster, temps of 30-35°C and 24/7 lighting would increase growth on top of the sugar water. I can find the papers for those if you'd like.

Looks goddam awful right now, but you can see the rain system, most of the plants (there's a fern hidden behind the brom on the bottom) and some of the water area. Water is way too dark, I'm assuming by changing it every day, it'll eventually clear up a bit (though, peat will still make it brownish).

I plan on replacing the Java moss on the bottom by forest moss, use that java up on the walls, and sphagnum on the edge of the pool, with duckweed and a Nymphea (zankeri I believe) in the water. I need to figure out a way to put something on the white filtration layer that doesn't float or end in the bottom of the water, perhaps volcanic gravel, that should stick to the tread. I have a nice straight piece of wood that'll be half in the water, half on the ground for natural display with something on it, perhaps more moss or some plant.

View attachment 1314408 View attachment 1314409 View attachment 1314410

Looking good! Is the brom on the bottom left in the peat? If so, I'd watch it just incase. you might need to mount it.

 

[Madou]

[/QUOTE]Look around for carnivorous plant growers (There's quite a few in the UK, so that might be a good place to look if they ship to Belgium). They are almost guaranteed to have live sphagnum, and probably enough to sell you some. The brown stuff (either Chilean or New Zealand) will sprout eventually, but it can take a while depending on the quality of the moss.

In order to grow it even faster, temps of 30-35°C and 24/7 lighting would increase growth on top of the sugar water. I can find the papers for those if you'd like.[/QUOTE]

It's alright, sounds like a headache and i'm not the more patient of people. ;P
Good thinking, I need to see if there are carnivorous plant growers around here.
I actually do want some pitcher plants but i'm afraid my babies would get eaten. :O

[/QUOTE]Looking good! Is the brom on the bottom left in the peat? If so, I'd watch it just incase. you might need to mount it.[/QUOTE]
It is. I actually used loose peat to hold it in place.
Definitely going to mount it. left it there until I have a decent piece of wood to put over the water. My one I wanted to use proves to be too big to fit nicely.

 

[Madou]

Looks like I fail at quotes xD

 

[Madou]

Ok, looks like the plants have doubled...
Still short on moss but I may have found someone who can order them for me.

I was wondering though. Can I leave my rain going all day, all night?
Feels like I might rot my plants roots with constant flowing water. nothing stagnant at any point, but still water almost constantly. I read that the "tank" of broms needs to be empty at all time, but I don't need 24/7 rain for that.

What do you think, V Viridis ? Perhaps I can do a 4h water, 4h dry kinda cycle?
Might even benefit the L. williamsis, they may enjoy a little break from the rain rofl.

There are timers where I can put intervals of 30 mins throughout the day, I can figure out something that'll keep both my plant and critters happy?

 

[Viridis]

Ok, looks like the plants have doubled...
Still short on moss but I may have found someone who can order them for me.

I was wondering though. Can I leave my rain going all day, all night?
Feels like I might rot my plants roots with constant flowing water. nothing stagnant at any point, but still water almost constantly. I read that the "tank" of broms needs to be empty at all time, but I don't need 24/7 rain for that.

What do you think, V Viridis ? Perhaps I can do a 4h water, 4h dry kinda cycle?
Might even benefit the L. williamsis, they may enjoy a little break from the rain rofl.

There are timers where I can put intervals of 30 mins throughout the day, I can figure out something that'll keep both my plant and critters happy?

If you have a way for the excess water to drain from the tank, constant water might work while the plants are establishing; I'd watch the bases of the bromelids for rot, but other than that it shouldn't be a problem. Of course I can't guarantee that. Once the plants are established, you only need to do enough to keep the humidity where it needs to be and to keep animals and plants hydrated; which could be 4on/4off, or even on an hour in the morning and again in the evening. It'll take some tweaking.

The axils of the bromeliads can have water in them, infact this is why some people use them to breed certain dartfrog species. Not all broms naturally hold water though, and the water generally drains immediately in those that don't. Infact, water in the crowns of bromeliads could act as water sources for the geckos.