Cooling a terrarium?

[deranged chipmunk]

back in the 80's, i used to cool my saltwater tanks by running my canister hoses through a modified beverage cooler filled with ice water. it wasn't exactly precise, but it was effective. i still do it to this day with some smaller tanks if the heat gets really outrageous. i use the freezer packs only because i have a buttload of them for fishing. saves me loads of cash in ice each year.....lol

[deranged chipmunk]

sorry, forgot to make my point, i was thinking cool the water, cool the air

[Jimbok3]

I've been working on a highland plant terarium for a while now with mixed results. Using peltier chips (and cpu heatsink/fan combo) works to a degree but alone does not do a thing, adding in an ultrasonic fogger and having a small pump circulating water through the cooled "heat" sink works fairly well (About 10 to 15 degree drop). If your willing to mess with electricity (12 volts for the peltier and required fans setup) and adding water to the mix go for it

Forgot to add, don't put your temperate CP's in a cooler at night! They enjoy the heat and humidity (trust me here), use the cooler for the required winter dormancy.

[numpty]

I've been working on a highland plant terarium for a while now with mixed results. Using peltier chips (and cpu heatsink/fan combo) works to a degree but alone does not do a thing, adding in an ultrasonic fogger and having a small pump circulating water through the cooled "heat" sink works fairly well (About 10 to 15 degree drop). If your willing to mess with electricity (12 volts for the peltier and required fans setup) and adding water to the mix go for it

Forgot to add, don't put your temperate CP's in a cooler at night! They enjoy the heat and humidity (trust me here), use the cooler for the required winter dormancy.

Hi! Good to see another CP grower on here.

Interesting observations about the peltier approach. It would have to be a long-term project as I don't have much free time at the moment, but I'll try to scope some stuff out next time I'm in the vicinity of a tech market. Oddly, although they make a lot of the equipment out here, I've always found the electronics to be surprisingly pricey.

About CPs and the cooler ... after a few years of experimenting I actually find this is vital for some of my plants. D. capensis, which everyone thinks is indestructible, will go downhill in summer in no time at all unless I offer cool nights, and I find my Cephs, D. intermedia, Heliamphora, etc, benefit as well. Nights can be just staggeringly hot, especially since I live in a built up area, and while my Sarrs and Dionaea cope okay, others don't. Luckily winter is cool enough for a natural dormancy (again, the conventional wisdom is a bit off as my temperates will happily go dormant when nightly minimum temps are still above 15C/60F ... it seems that photoperiod is a more important trigger).

Again, thanks.

[Jimbok3]

My highland terrarium is for heliamphora and my cephs (the helia died on me while in the hospital for a few days another random fungal outbreak ), I'm surprised that d. capensis is struggling for you mine doesn't care about anything. If your a member of flytrapcare forum, you'll find me with the same username as here.

[beyond colour]

Some other ideas would be to take ice and place it in ziplock bags and place on top of the tank, bakers style racks for the tanks to sit on (they will allow air to flow around the tanks helping cool them.) Like stated above i would invest in a portable AC and maybe a fan and run them during the day while the lights are off. Elevate the lights at least 3" from the top of the tank to allow air to flow between the light and the tank. Living in Texas the summer heat and humidity cause big problems for my frog room since the frogs i keep like it in between 70-80*F. And the outdoor Temps Exceeding 100+ degrees and humidity between 70-80 % .

[Adam R]

sorry, forgot to make my point, i was thinking cool the water, cool the air

my thoughts as well. along with lighting that puts out minimal heat