First, I would like to congratulate you on reading so much first! A 29 gallon tank is a good size to start with. Not too big and not too small. Whether a false bottom will be neccessary or not depends on what kind of water feature you want, or if you even want one. If you don't choose a false bottom, don't bother with gravel for 'extra drainage'. The plant roots grow down into it anyways, so you may as well use that space for soil, or whatever other substrate you choose.

I don't know if your lights are enough because you don't say what their Wattage is. They should be fine for broms though. Caladiums will be a bit large, don't you think? They also go dormant seasonally, so unless you want to rotate them, you'll have bare spots for half the year (and the tubers will rot in the wet soil). I would suggest ferns and other plants that require high humidity. And make sure you stick with the smaller broms, like tillandsias and cryptanthus. Can you give some more specific ideas of what you want for your terrarium? We could help you more then! =)

I would prefer to stay away from a water feature for my first terr. I would just like a nice full terr. I really like ferns, orchids (but I am not sure if I am ready for them quite yet) I liked the caladium because they offer alot of variety and contrasting colors. I am unsure about what substrate I want to use. I dont want to have any problems with poor drainage and I have read so many things about drainage and there does not seem to be any concise and specific way to go about it. I definitely want to have mosses, if there are any specific ones that can be recommended that would be very helpful and any other plant suggestions or first time DOs and Donts would help out alot. I have alot of experience with fresh and SW fish tanks and alot of reptile experience but I have none when it comes to plants.
Thank you very much.
Bob Eckels
roberteckels@yahoo.com
AIM Handle: Jeveltr

If you don't want a water feature, then there is absolutely no need for a false bottom. Just stick the substrate of your choice in the tank, about 3" thick (you really don't need more than that, though I recommend varying the grade of the landscape for more interest. And this doesn't mean tiny little hills and valleys, but dramatic ones). You want something that contains organic matter, so don't just use pure perlite (though this could work, it doesn't look very natural) or something like that. I have used normal potting soil and now cedar bark mulch, and both work. The soil did stay too soggy, so it's a wonder nothing died, and parts of the bark are drying out too much, but that should be remedied as soon as I install my misting system. Just so you know, the higher parts, closer to the lights, will dry out faster, so site your plants accordingly. Those would be good places for streptocarpus or something else that likes to dry between waterings. You will only get that with a looser substrate like bark though, so don't count on it.

If you know nothing about plants, do a search on this forum for 'plants for terrariums'. You will find some very good info. The 'moss' (in quotes because it is not a true moss) most recommended for terrariums is selaginella. It is called club moss as a common name, and it is easy to find at florists and other places that sell plants around Valentine's Day (for some unknown reason). You can also order a few different varieties from BlackJungle. You should check out their site, BTW, because you will find some good info. there, regardless of whether you actually buy from them or not. Another good supplier of terrarium plants is Cloud Jungle Epiphytes (also online). They have a better selection and are cheaper than Black Jungle. And don't worry too much that you are not experienced with plants. With a little reading you can choose the right plants, and pretty much all plants love terrariums, so you should do just fine. =)

I have started the terrarium. I layed down a layer of coco fiber for the bottom layer of the substrate and then a layer of peat moss and a very thin layer of tropical plant potting soil. I added 2 plants yesterday 1 golden pothos, and 1 fitonia "pink vein" I landscaped the terr. with a very low front left corner a higher back right corner. I contoured the subsrate to be "random" looking because nature is random. I have not added any bark or wood yet because I havent found anything that will hold up to the conditions in the terr. that is a reasonable price. my local pet store has cork bark curls, tubes, and flats but the lowest price is 15.99 for 5" x 5". which is a bit outrageous. I will give updates and pics as they come about.

That pothos will take over very quickly unless you trim it back all the time. You will probably want to replace it with something less aggressive and with smaller leaves eventually. Also, pothos is so easily grown outside of a terrarium, so why would you want to take up space with plants like that? Get some more fussy things that require high humidity, like ferns and bromeliads. I know what you mean about the outrageous prices of cork and wood in pet stores! You can use wild-collected wood if you boil it through sterilizing or bleaching. Bleaching it does literally bleach it, but I think it looks cool! If you have any oak or other very hard woods, or cedar handy, use that.

Sahoyaref,
Thank you very much for all the info you have given me. I started with the pothos because the terrarium is pretty drab. It was a cut from my parents, who have had one in a hanging basket for more than 10 years. so I figured why not :) I have a plant that I got yesterday but the name completely escapes me at this moment. if I have forgotten it all together I will try to search for it and come up with the name if not I will post a pic and see if anyone can ID it for me. Once again thank you very much for the information you have provided on this forum in my thread and many others. It has been priceless. I really appreciate it
Bob

BTW, for those of you whoa re eco-minded. THere is a worldwide shortage of cork, currently. This is the reason for the outrageous prices of cork items as well as rubber corks in wine bottles.

Sam

Hi Bob!
I also have a 29 gal fish tank and I went with the pebbles in the bottom, charcoal in the middle and the 3" to 4" of potting soil. It just depends of what you like.
Here's a pic of mine, the plants are still small, they'll gorw some, but they are mostly miniatures.
I do have a mini Caladium in it, is in a 3" plastic pot, to keep it small, is doing very well.
You can see more pics from when I started to finish on my album.
Good luck, it'll turn out really good.

sahoy:
you should post one of your pics, that is a gorgeous terrarium you got there!
Ana :)

Here is a link that might be useful: My terrarium

hello all and thank you for the responses. I was wondering if anyone could recommend a good low growing ground cover.

Lady Bug... very nice looking terrarium. I really like how it looks ver open but there is alot going on. your terrarium has given me many great ideas.

one more question... can I use collected moss? will it die off because of the humidity and warmth? does it require a dormancy period?

There are lots of good low-growing ground-covers. The one most commonly used in terrariums is Ficus pumila. There is an all-green version and a variegated version. Be warned that it does grow very quickly and needs regular trimming back to keep it in bounds, but the leaves are small and well-suited to the smaller environment of a terrarium. There are also small-leaved ivies, but all english ivies prefer to be grown cooler (terrariums can get rather warm), and they will also take over your terrarium. And though I have no experience with Ficus pumila, I would think that English ivy would be more difficult to get rid of, since it would form woody stems that would be harder to cut, and it's roots can be very extensive. It could also revert to a larger-leaved form, and then you'd really be up the creek without a paddle! There is also Ficus quercifolia, which looks like a very tiny ivy, but is not anywhere near as aggressive as F. pumila. You can buy it from Rob's. I've linked them below. I absolutely love it, and will be ordering some from them next summer. I have seen it in a paludarium in a fish store here, and it really is not aggressive. It actually grows kind of slowly, but it is just the cutest thing, and I love it! You could also use selaginella as a ground cover. Looks more like moss than a vine, but does the job nicely!

You can use collected moss, but we are not yet sure if it requires that dormancy. I am currently testing that in my terrarium(s), so we'll have the answer in a couple years. =) I think it would survive for at least a year, so if you want the temporary effect, and would later replace it with some cushion moss or java moss or other good tropical moss, then go ahead. Just don't harvest sphagnum moss from the wild, as it is being over-harvested, and make sure you rinse the moss in RO water and check it for slugs. I imported springtails into my terrarium when I put in some live moss from the forest, but they don't do any damage to plants. Slugs would eat your entire terrarium and would be impossible to get rid of without starting over again, so you want to make sure you don't have any of them! You could just leave the moss soaking in RO water for an hour or two. This would drown any slugs present. And I have found that spring is the best time to collect moss. It grows faster and settles in better, for some reason. And I mean very early spring, when if you go for a walk in the forest, the only green you can see is patches of moss. No grass is growing yet, and no leaves are on the trees and shrubs.

A shortage of cork, eh? That seems odd. I thought it was cultivated. Maybe it's been over-harvested since those cork floor tiles became so popular this year!

Here is a link that might be useful: Rob's mini plants

well I have collected some moss and I gave it a good cleaning and checked for any pests. I also removed the Pothos and added a "Maranta Red" it what the tag says. a Calathea of some sort. I think its a rondtifolia(?) If I have no clue if that is spelt right or if its even the right name. I will post pics soon. Thank you again for all the info.
Bob Eckels

Calatheas are also great for terrariums. You may need to trim it back occasionally if it gets too large, but there are some species that stay smaller. I just don't know what they are. =)

HI, I am very new with terrarium growing, in fact I am in the thinking stages. I have a 20 gal. tank that I used for hermit crabs. I am bout to get out of the hermie hobbie. I have two left and they don't really need that large of a tank. Any suggestions for a new person to get started? What would be the easiest plants to start with? I am thinking of keeping the tank in our basement, which stays bout the same temp. most of the year. It does get a little cool in the winter, as there is only one vent in the basement. I could keep a light on the tank if necessary. --Any suggestions??
Thanks,
Kenett
Springfield, IL