New Viv Questions with Pics

[Andry]

Can I use just orchid bark for my substrate for darts? That and the dry leaves? I like the way it looks plus I don't plan on planting anything on the ground. Let me know if this would be ok.

[dart345]

If you plan on having plants I would consider a substrate mix, then lay the leaves on top. The leaves will serve as 2 purposes: 1 to keep some of the moisture in the substrate, and 2 to prevent the darts from moving soil to one place to another spot.

I do not know much about orchid bark, I do not there some nutes in it, but mainly ideal for using with orchid plants. Ideally, I would either just make substrate or purchase it premixed.

I purchase a substrate mixed, since I was working with a small scale it seemed ideal since the mix I have is slighty acidic, I believe and is ideal for hosting darts and plants.

If you plan on purchasing the plants through a provider online you can more then likey get some good deals on already mixed substrate. I purchased mine locally from a dart breeder.

Based on what your telling me, if you do not plan on planting anything, I would make sure the ph levels would not be thrown off using the orchid bark. I just do not know much on orchid bark, so do not base your decision off my answer, I wait for someone else such as grimm or beckdg to reply and see what they say as well.

[Andry]

Thanks. I have a mix already that I had planned to add to the viv. It is Coco fiber mixed with Orchid Planting Soil which was a recommended mix by some thread I read. But I put that in my RETF viv and it seems that my pothos does not like it. So far the philandendron (both kind) seem to be doing okay, but both my pothos seem to be dying so I had to put it in water. I just don't know how much to water the plants. I'm terrible at this. I never know if I'm watering too much or too little.

[dart345]

Some of the plants will show you when its too dry or over-watered. The signs of being too dry are more evident then the signs of being over-watered, which can be confused with lack of nutrients or lighting. If considering plants, I look up what they are needing water wise, that way you arrange accordingly. I am not what kind of pothos you have so I can not really assist you on attempting to revive them. As far the philandendron go, they are hardy plants can stand dark places if need be.


As for overwatering, the good thing with using a false bottom is that the soil when it reaches a saturation point, the excess simply runs off into the false bottom.

For my setup, I have the substrate, fiberglass mesh, then leca balls, another sheet of fiberglass mesh, then the egg crate material for the false bottom before it reaches the actually bottom of the tank. In a way those filters will help keep the substrate in its own area, and the water will go through all those "stages" thus allowing any particles it brings down to be left behind before going into the pump area, which is reinforced with fiberglass mesh.

What is good about a terrarium, is the high humidity, including if you are going with a water feature, which aides in keeping high humidity, along with any living plants, moss, and daily misting helps stabilize everything where basically kinda takes the guessing work out of knowing when to water...

I would recommend a good mister thought, some people may not know, but mister sprayers do vary... Some are really poor when it comes to dispersing the water into the mist, almost like a spray bottle. I am not saying that will not work, but I believe the finer the mist the better. You are using less water yet covering more surface area, and whats great is that everything benefits from the misting.

[Andry]

I also have a problem with the wire mesh in the pond area. What do you do with the part that goes towards the glass? I actually added great stuff to the edge there so that the edge won't poke my frogs. THe rest gets covered by the substrate.

Grimm. Any input on the orchid bark as substrate? Although I ready added the coco fiber / orchid soil mix As substrate but for future I would like to know.

I'm guessing I water my plants That are on the backdrop with a syringe? They are to slanted to water with just a cup.

[dart345]

umm I was told to use fiberglass mesh. I do not know why, but I am not going to NOT do what I was told.. lol

My guess is that the metals that can be found in other screens often rust, which can create a problem, it can throw off the PH and ruin the water with rust stains...

I used fiberglass mesh and I just went ahead and silicone it to the glass, that way it can not move and will be secured...

As far as the plants in the backdrop you do not need to water with a syringe... You can mist them and they will absorb the water that way.... Believe it or not, people have actually even fed plants this way, which is a great way... They call it foliar feeding..and thats a different story, I am not recommending you to give em nutrients that way, but simply when it comes to watering the plants, the mist will work fine...

[Andry]

So should I mist daily then? Since the soil should be moist for the bromeliad as well as the pothos?

[dart345]

Depends on the humidity levels, but typically yes once or twice a day. I also make sure you have a digital humidty and temperature reading in the bottom of the tank... maybe even one at top too...

You will get different readings in certain parts of the tank. As far as the soil goes, the pothos typically prefer to dry out between waterings... I hope that helps when deciding where you plant placement should go. The broms, the majority of the broms do well in a variety of environment. They can last some droughts if left unattended for whatever reason, and the only issue you should worry about is over watering which can cause root rot. Although, I also hear the water inside the broms can be a problem, as it stagnates... that though seems like a minor issue with a quick fix.

[Andry]

Thanks!

[dart345]

No problem, glad to help out, if you have any other questions let me know.