16/04/2020
Vivariums and how to build them, part one series one.
So let's start off with a simple question, what is a vivarium?
Basically a vivarium is an enclosed ecosystem consisting of plants and animals cohabitating in a system where elements of light, temperature and humidity are controlled. A vivarium is an ecosystem completely cut off from nature and reliant on the owner to provide the essentials for life.
Vivariums are a great way to study how animals interact with their environments and allows the keeper to keep animals in a very naturalistic way.
How do you go about starting a vivarium and what do you need?
First you must decide which type of ecosystem you want to recreate, this will be dictated by the species of animal you which to keep.
Types of vivarium can be desert, woodland, grassland or jungle. Vivariums with large water areas often used for Keeping amphibians are classed as paludariums, we'll get into paludariums in another episode.
After you've decided on which type of vivarium you wish to create you need to gather your materials for building.
You'll need a container which will be your vivarium, this should be leak proof and transparent to allow as much light in as possible or have a decent hood in which to house your vivarium lighting. Materials such as glass or acrylic are commonly used. Wood enclosures with glass fronts can be used for dryer vivariums but should be waterproofed with paint or fiberglass.
Once you have a container to make your vivarium you'll need to gather your different levels of substrate.
The first layer you'll need is the drainage layer. This layer holds excess water which provides humidity, it also provides somewhere for excess water to drain and stops excess water from waterlogging the soil which would cause your plants roots to rot and the plants to die. There are a few options to choose from when it comes to the drainage layer. Fish tank gravel can be used and so can clay balls called leca, which is a lot lighter then the gravel.
A layer of substrate 4-5cm deep should be placed over the bottom of the tank. While placing the drainage layer a short piece of pvc pipe can be inserted into it, extending into and above your planting medium. This will be so you can insert a pipe into the drainage layer to syphon off excess water.
Once you have your drainage layer in place you need to place a water permiable material over it such as fine window screen, mesh or w**d blocker over it. This will keep your growing medium from sinking down into the drainage layer and mixing with it, which would cause waterlogging of your soil.
Now it's time to work on your soil or growing medium.
Your growing medium should have a number of essential characteristics.
It must be well draining while holding moisture.
It must provide good root anchorage for the plants.
It should provide some nutrients to the plants.
Having covered these points let's look into how to make the growing medium.
The stock standard ingredients for a growing medium consists of materials like cocoa fibre which holds moisture, potting soil which provides nutrients, bark chips which degrade slowly and help aerate the soil, sphagnum moss which holds moisture and sand which improves drainage. Charcoal can be added too which helps cleanse the soil and keeps it smelling fresh.
The different soil mixes depend on what vivarium you wish to create.
A tropical mix for vivariums is generally what is known as an ABG mix. This mix contains tree fern fibre which we don't get in SA but this is not absolutely necessary.
Generally the mix I use consists of equal parts cocoa fibre, fine bark, sphagnum moss, crushed charcoal, umgeni sand and nursery bought potting soil.
I don't dig up soil from the garden as you don't want to introduce pests and parasites into your ecosystem.
All these ingredients are mixed together and water added until sufficiently moist.
A desert soil can be made by mixing equal parts sand, potting soil and cocoa fibre. Generally a desert soil would be more sandy and better draining, holding less moisture.
Once you have you planting medium sorted out it's time to add the hardscape, any number of varieties of wood and stone can be used in a vivarium to give shelter to animals and to create focal points and features for the viewer to look at.
Most good pet stores sell drift wood and vines or roots which do well in vivariums. Rocks can be found in river beds or at the beach. You can disinfect wild collected wood by baking in an oven or by washing with a bleach solution.
Next you need to decide and setup your lighting before planting your vivarium. Some vivariums rely completely on natural light coming in from a nearby window, I wouldn't recommend having animals in this type of vivarium as it's too easy for the enclosure to over heat.
When it comes to lighting there are a couple of options, fluorescent tubes and led lighting.
Fluorescent tubes for plant growth come in a variety of designs, from the 0.2 percent uvb offered by well known reptile brands, which work very well to the red and blue colour index of fish tank tubes which also work for vivarium use.
Generally with fluorescent tubes you'll be using at least two or three per setup to get the best light. This is where led grow lights have the advantage as they offer more light per unit and are better quality.
In my opinion led lights are the better buy but make sure you are buying grow lights with the correct colour index.
Now that you have your lighting sorted out it's time to plant your vivarium.
What plants can you put in a vivarium? That depends on the environment you wish to create and the animals you wish to keep. For instance you won't put a desert succulent in a forest setup.
You can't grow a water loving plant in a vivarium with an animal that requires dry conditions.
Some easy to grow plants for a tropical vivarium would include pilea, pepperomia, bromeliads, ferns, philodendron, calathea and begonia families. A wide variety of plants can be found just in those family groups.
At the end of the day any plant can be grown in a vivarium as long as it's needs are met.
So that is the basics of vivarium building. I'll be going into making backgrounds, growing specialised plants and setting up other types of habitats in future episodes.
