I don't need to do it until I actually plant the tank, but how does one go about splitting pups off of a bromeliad? A. You can either break the pups off as low down against the mother plants as possible or snip them off with a pair of scissors. You won't hurt the mother plant at all. In fact removing the pups will prompt her to grow more pups Feel free to snip them off anytime after the pups reach 1/3 the size of the mother. Until they are removed they will consume the mother plants nutrients preventing her from creating more pups.

Will the springtails breed in those conditions, or would I need something more? A. The Spring tails will breed in the soil bin you have them in and in the terrarium once they are all dumped in. They are prolific and as long as you keep them very humid (I would cover them with a lid and mist them several times a day)

For the million hearts cuttings, I basically took the cut ends and stuck them into ABG mix in a flower pot. I'm not sure if this is actually how you would go about this, because I've never really had to deal with cuttings. A couple of weeks ago, I cut a leaf from a pothos plant and stuck it in some potting soil, and it hasn't died off, so that's basically all my experience, lol. A. Yes that is all you need. Keep them well watered. These first few weeks are critical for them. They will start to grow roots, but will die quickly if allowed to dry out.

I've also been really thinking about the water section of the tank, particularly in the water to land transition. I've seen tanks where the soil seems to just merge perfectly with the water, and I'd love to somehow do that. Also, I'm not too keen about having an egg crate wall being seen through the water, so I got to thinking. What if I great stuffed the whole egg crate wall besides one little crack/section, so that the water could get through to the rest of the tank. Then, I could just silicone and coco fiber it like normal. Is this feasible? Suggestions, ideas, and critiques are welcome. A. I wouldn't bother with it. You can get some aquatic soil to build up and hide the egg crate or warp the egg crate wall in a couple layers of fiberglass window screen to obscure it from view. Once all the plants get in and going the last thing people will point out if the tiny bit of egg crate they can see but that is just me. I don't see anything wrong with your idea. I would probably use the black spray foam and then just leave it be so it disappears into the water.