Terrarium Environment

[Cliff43J]

One of the issues that I am experiencing is keeping the substrate moisture level correct to support the plants. Out of frustration, I took my soil moisture tester that I use for my outdoor potted herbs and used it in the terrarium. Much to my surprise, the substrate was far too dry. I am now in the process of adjusting it, and I am finding that it takes quite a bit of water to keep it in the normal range. So far, I am up to adding 32 ounces of water every 2 days in my 40-gallon terrarium. It may take more, or less. Time will tell as I take daily readings and adjust the water accordingly. The accompanying photo shows the moisture reading meter that I have. It isn't the best photo as it comes from my cell phone. I took it into Photoshop to eliminate some of the harsh shadows by hand so the edges may not look all that good, but they will do.

UPDATE: 3 days in a row and I am getting the same results - 32 ounces of water added in the morning is giving me a "normal" reading. By the next day I am getting a "dry:" reading. The high evaporation rate is probably due to the air conditioning which is on 24/7 here in the Coastal Bend of Texas. I shall add a 4 more ounces tomorrow to see if I can stay within the normal range for 24 hours.
fice.

 

[acpart]

It might be interesting for you to post to some dart frog forums because they must have a way to keep plant soil appropriately moist to support the plants. that sounds like an awfully large amount of water. My approach is to capitalize on the plants that can tolerate daily misting conditions. In that area I do particularly well with Pothos. I also have started putting in some plants in pots so I can control the amount of water those plants are getting.

Aliza