So, having nixed the 75 gallon saltwater idea, I'm going for an inexpensive terrarium idea.
Basic Idea: Plants, wood (former driftwood), and plenty of dirt. Tropical and humid (have terraversa tops, makes it very humid
). I plan to have some kind of 'pond' inside it, probably a 5-10 gallon tupperware. There is about 2in of sand in the tank already, I'm going to leave that there and just cover it over with about 2-3in of dirt.
So, this is my first time with land-based plants/animals, so I'm going to need a lot of help
Lets start with the watery portions because that area I can understand a little. In the 5-10 gallon minipond, I want some kind of fish (for mosquitoes) and some snails, maybe some shrimp as well. I'm currently thinking a single sparkling gourami or a single female betta (idk which, or if either). For shrimp, thinking cherry shrimp. Snails... heh, whatever is small enough really. Plant wise; water lettuce, java moss, algae, and perhaps java fern(?) would be accompanied by some Dwarf Baby Tears. The substrate would be mixed sand and compost/soil (from my compost heap).
- Tell me what is/isn't wrong with this please, don't want to screw anything up
On to the land part... land plants. I know NOTHING about land plants. I want some mosses, maybe some air-plants, perhaps a few mini-ferns and some taller plants (max height would be 2ft, preferably more like 1ft or 1.5ft). Maybe some kind of carpeting plant? I don't really know anything here, so any suggestions are accepted! Oh, a note, I have a T5 HO dual bulb light above the tank. Its for freshwater plants really, idk how it will shape up to terrestrial plants.
STOCK: Oh dear god... I know LESS then nothing about land stock for a 75gal tank. All I've ever kept were hermit crabs when I was younger, and I know little about them... lol, I did keep anols and a tree frog once, but that was a long time ago. So any and all suggestions/examples/ideas/advice is/are accepted gratefully here! The tank has a somewhat tight fitting hood (versa-top) and would have plenty of wood (all my old driftwood from the 75gal) inside it. However, I think it would be safer not to have anything that is an escape artist... also, no large spiders. My family is scared enough of the 1inchers we get around her, let alone some giant tarantula or somethin lol. Anything here would have to be able to swim/not drown in a body of water max 5in deep, and not eat the fish/inverts. So, within that, any ideas? Of course, if nothing fits that I can dump the fish/inverts.
So, basically, I need all the help I can get here. What plants? What dirt? What stock? What equipment? And what have I missed?
Thanks,
~Travis
Basic Idea: Plants, wood (former driftwood), and plenty of dirt. Tropical and humid (have terraversa tops, makes it very humid
). I plan to have some kind of 'pond' inside it, probably a 5-10 gallon tupperware. There is about 2in of sand in the tank already, I'm going to leave that there and just cover it over with about 2-3in of dirt.So, this is my first time with land-based plants/animals, so I'm going to need a lot of help
Lets start with the watery portions because that area I can understand a little. In the 5-10 gallon minipond, I want some kind of fish (for mosquitoes) and some snails, maybe some shrimp as well. I'm currently thinking a single sparkling gourami or a single female betta (idk which, or if either). For shrimp, thinking cherry shrimp. Snails... heh, whatever is small enough really. Plant wise; water lettuce, java moss, algae, and perhaps java fern(?) would be accompanied by some Dwarf Baby Tears. The substrate would be mixed sand and compost/soil (from my compost heap).
- Tell me what is/isn't wrong with this please, don't want to screw anything up
On to the land part... land plants. I know NOTHING about land plants. I want some mosses, maybe some air-plants, perhaps a few mini-ferns and some taller plants (max height would be 2ft, preferably more like 1ft or 1.5ft). Maybe some kind of carpeting plant? I don't really know anything here, so any suggestions are accepted! Oh, a note, I have a T5 HO dual bulb light above the tank. Its for freshwater plants really, idk how it will shape up to terrestrial plants.
STOCK: Oh dear god... I know LESS then nothing about land stock for a 75gal tank. All I've ever kept were hermit crabs when I was younger, and I know little about them... lol, I did keep anols and a tree frog once, but that was a long time ago. So any and all suggestions/examples/ideas/advice is/are accepted gratefully here! The tank has a somewhat tight fitting hood (versa-top) and would have plenty of wood (all my old driftwood from the 75gal) inside it. However, I think it would be safer not to have anything that is an escape artist... also, no large spiders. My family is scared enough of the 1inchers we get around her, let alone some giant tarantula or somethin lol. Anything here would have to be able to swim/not drown in a body of water max 5in deep, and not eat the fish/inverts. So, within that, any ideas? Of course, if nothing fits that I can dump the fish/inverts.
So, basically, I need all the help I can get here. What plants? What dirt? What stock? What equipment? And what have I missed?
Thanks,
~Travis
So, I have the minipond set up, complete with an area for an island (though I will need to weight it down with rocks) and am currently drying out the rocks right now. The dirt will come later, for now it's just sand with a few 'maybe you' plants I'm testing under the T5 light.
