Terrarium Growing for Beginners

  1. Gadgets
  2. Tank – Petco fish tank – Petco occasionally sells fish tanks for one dollar per gallon of tank. Ordinarily a 40 gallon fish tank cost $130. Check craigslist and Garage Sales for a better deal.
  3. Tank lid – Available at That Fish Place Pricing depends on size
  4. Humidifier – Zoomed Reptifogger – Available at Petco, Amazon, Ebay – Cost: $43
  5. Hygrotherm Temperature and humidity controller – Available at Amazon, Petco Cost: $59.57
  6. Lights – I use three 2 ft T5 24 watt bulbs. Available on Amazon. Look for PLANT lights, not REPTILE lights. Pet stores do not usually carry bright enough bulbs. You could go to a hydroponics store to find bright enough lights, just don’t get a used fixture because they tend to use older, less efficient bulbs. Get only T5 or brighter. Here is the exact fixture I use: Cost: $37.99
  1. Fans – I use 3 standard computer fans. Available on Amazon. I use two inside the terrarium and one on the top of the terrarium blowing in. Here is a link to the exact fan I use. If you are nifty with electronics, you can wire an old computer fan to plug into the wall. Cost: $28.99
  1. Optional: Weather Station. The one I use is “La Crosse Wireless Weather Station” Available at Brookstone.
  2. Sidenote: These things are almost always available used on eBay or sometimes Amazon. Look around for better prices.
  1. Plants that do well
  2. Plants that grow in cloud or rain forests such as Masdevallia, Lepanthes, Porroglossum, Stelis, Barbosella, Dracula etc. J&l Orchids is an EXCELLENT source for the very best pleurothallids. If you are not sure if a plant is suited to terrarium culture, you can ask the grower (or me!). Andy’s Orchids has quite a few warm growing pleuros, but not many are listed on his website.
  3. Mounted orchids
  4. Warm growing Pleurothallids. Pleurothallids are the very leafy, pseudobulbless cloud and rainforest growing type plants. Pretty much anything without a pseudobulb can grow well in a terrarium. Though plants with a pseudobulb can sometimes do fine too.
  5. Sidenote: Masdevallias almost always do better potted for me for some reason. I try to pot them in very loose media such as Perlite mixed with large bark, crushed up treefern, or a combination of crushed treefern and packing peanuts
  6. Plants that don’t do so well (for me anyways)
  7. Orchids potted in a moisture-retentive media such as moss
  8. Large orchids, I grow miniatures due to space limitations
  9. Problems you might face
  10. Mold
  11. Solution: Increase air circulation and spray mold directly with 70% isopropyl alcohol. Eventually, the spores die.
  12. Plant fungus such as Black Rot
  13. Solution: Increase air circulation, and choose orchids that enjoy a very humid environment.
  14. Root rot
  15. Solution: Grow mounted orchids with little media, or grow potted orchids in very loose media. If plant is still having issues, place closer to the fan.
  16. Snails or other pests
  17. Snails solution: Garlic or Bush snails are my most common pest. I have no magic cure for snails. Quarantine all incoming new orchids for at least a week to check for bugs and other issues, or you can soak new plants and see if any snails float out.
  18. False Spider Mites: leaves greyish red pitted indentations on the leaves. Particularly afflicts Pleurothallids. Solution: Avid, or other miticide. Hairspray
  19. Terrarium too hot
  20. Solution: Tough one. Keeping the room cool is 1st defense. A fan that blows into the terrarium helps quite a bit.
  21. Best advice I can give is to buy warm growing plants, or plants suited to the temps of your terrarium.
  22. Pay attention to your microclimates
  23. Side closest to the fan is going to be much less humid than the side closer to the terrarium. Grow plants that like high wind current and don’t mind less moisture. Such as potted masdevallias