A terrarium can be used to grow carnivorous plants that are used to a much warmer climate than yours. Basically it's a tank with plants in it under a growlight. Here's what you need.
- You need a tank. The bigger the better. Fish tanks work well.
- You need a cover for your tank. You can get a tank hood that leaves an inch or two of space for ventilation or you can get a screen top.
- The tank hood should have a built in light. If you have the screen top just get a portable florescent light. These are the kind of light that carnivorous plants like. Depending on the size of your terrarium you need different wattage. My 20-gallon uses a 15 watt bulb. If you have a huge 50-gallon or something, I would get a 50 watt bulb or two.
- Now you need a heating system. You can use heat pads or heat “rocks” used in reptile tanks.
- This is optional but highly recommended. You should get a temperature and humidity gauge.
- This is also optional but you should get a spray bottle of purified water and mist the tank heavily morning and evening to keep humidity up and for good air circulation
The Plants
You have a few kinds of set-ups with the plants.
- The Potted Style. This way involves putting soil in the bottom of your tank so you can put plants in the soil or put plants in pots on top of it for looks. This way makes cleaning very hard and is heaven for mold and rot.
- The Classic Style. This way involves just putting plants in pots with trays in a heated tank. This gives you the option of very easy clean-up and less mold and rot.
