Nope... the biggest thing to remember is that they need pure water... distilled/RO, that sort of thing. I fill it up to about 1/3 the way up the smallest pot, wait for it to dry up, then fill it up again.
10g plants, CP?
- Thread starter austinpetemo
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would a small pump to keep the water circulating be a good thing?
and i cant really afford RO, so how do you distill water? i live in the country and we us well water, would that be fine?
and i cant really afford RO, so how do you distill water? i live in the country and we us well water, would that be fine?
I'm not sure how to distill water. If the water from your well is relatively pure, I would say give it a try, but my guess is that it would have too much TDS/mineral content and would kill the plants. You can buy distilled relatively cheap at a grocery store. If you're in an area of the country that gets a lot of rain, you can also collect rainwater and use that.
I don't think a pump would hurt, but it's not necessary.
Do you have a Walmart nearby? RO water is like 88 cents per gallon. Just look for anything that says purified by reverse osmosis on the label. I go through maybe a gallon every 1.5-2 weeks. You literally need water that has almost no minerals in it...some areas have water that works but it has to be under 100 ppm or so in TDS. Make sure there are no added salts in the water you buy either...I ran into that problem.
If you look at my setup you'll see that all I have is two clamp lights with daylight CFLs (I think they are 27w each) over the tank with some aluminum foil wrapped around to reflect more light. Seems to be working well and cost me maybe 20 bucks at Home Depot.
The "tray method" is by far the easiest way to grow most CP's. Nepenthes don't appreciate having water logged roots but any sundew (Drosera) species you get should be okay. Just keep about an inch of water at the bottom of the tank. Potted plants are also far easier because some require different soil mixtures, although sundews should be fine in a 1:1 peat and sand/pearlite mix. As JB said moving them around would be a pain when fully planted. It's also just easier to buy potted plants so you don't have to deal with transplant shock. More expensive but worth it IMO.
As for which plants to get I highly recommend the following:
-Drosera adelae
-Drosera binanta
-Drosera capensis
-Drosera spatulata
just for starters. All do well with just light and water and the occasional snack that they have so far been able to catch on their own. I've had relative success growing N. ventricosa, which is probably the easiest Nep, in the same tank just raised out of the water. At this point make sure you stay away from any temperate Drosera or Sarracenia as dormancy time is coming up. This also would include VFTs.
I keep the temp around 78-80F which is basically the ambient room temp plus whatever heat the lights give off. Humidity might be an issue for you since you're in TX. Try to keep it around 40-60% although sometimes less is more. Evaporating water will help.
If you look at my setup you'll see that all I have is two clamp lights with daylight CFLs (I think they are 27w each) over the tank with some aluminum foil wrapped around to reflect more light. Seems to be working well and cost me maybe 20 bucks at Home Depot.
The "tray method" is by far the easiest way to grow most CP's. Nepenthes don't appreciate having water logged roots but any sundew (Drosera) species you get should be okay. Just keep about an inch of water at the bottom of the tank. Potted plants are also far easier because some require different soil mixtures, although sundews should be fine in a 1:1 peat and sand/pearlite mix. As JB said moving them around would be a pain when fully planted. It's also just easier to buy potted plants so you don't have to deal with transplant shock. More expensive but worth it IMO.
As for which plants to get I highly recommend the following:
-Drosera adelae
-Drosera binanta
-Drosera capensis
-Drosera spatulata
just for starters. All do well with just light and water and the occasional snack that they have so far been able to catch on their own. I've had relative success growing N. ventricosa, which is probably the easiest Nep, in the same tank just raised out of the water. At this point make sure you stay away from any temperate Drosera or Sarracenia as dormancy time is coming up. This also would include VFTs.
I keep the temp around 78-80F which is basically the ambient room temp plus whatever heat the lights give off. Humidity might be an issue for you since you're in TX. Try to keep it around 40-60% although sometimes less is more. Evaporating water will help.
It could help depending on the ambient humidity level. Being in Tx, I would say there's a chance anyway. Like Pappy said, if you aim for 50ish% you should be just fine.
ya in the summer the humidity is high some days, its kinda hit or miss. i plan to keep, it in my room and theres like 100gallons of water in my room and it evaporates at a fast rate, so im sure my room is pretty humid.
Looks like great stepping stones have been layed down for you! Good luck! Trust me, it becomes an addiction. I'm wanting to start up my new CP bog again.
