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Today’s adventure turned out to be quite an interesting science project. I started this morning studying about moss and lichen, debating whether to order some for the vivarium. After reading various articles about moss and lichen, I decided to venture into the rain and see what I might have growing in the woods out back. I hit the jackpot!

I’m going to, once I finish writing this, hunt a bit online to see if I can identify what species of moss I found. But what I noticed (and harvested) are at least three different kinds distinguished by where they were growing.

First, there was the stuff that grows on the ground (close-up). It’s kind of spikey, and reminds me of a palm tree. I also got a clump that had spore capsules.

Next is the stuff that grows on rocks (close-up). This moss seems to be a combination of two different kinds. What you mostly see are broad-leaves with a few fern-looking stem/leaf combinations thrown in. In this picture, you can see also that growing along with this moss are what appear to be clovers. Since it happened that way naturally, I left it.

Finally, there’s the stuff that grows on trees (close-up). This type definitely looks fern-like. The other interesting observation is that, unlike the other two that seemed to grow in random directions, this stuff grows directionally in nature , with the stems all aligned vertically and growing/pointing up the tree-trunk.

So, I put the moss in the vivarium in the same places I found it outside; ground-moss went on the ground, rock-moss went on rocks and tree-moss when on/near wood. I also decided to remove some plants and rearrange things. After doing more research about the plants I have, I’m afraid that the palm and ferns are going to grow sufficiently that some of the other ‘fillers’ in there would just be too much.

So, as of right now, here’s what it looks like.

A long, long time ago, and some of you remember, I set up a really cool tropical vivarium that housed all sorts of plants and critters. Some of you also remember that after I moved into the country, maintenance of said vivarium became increasingly difficult and it turned into a graveyard. The tank sat for years in the back room with dry ground and dead plants (among other things).

About a week ago, I finally got around to cleaning it out. The plastic cylinders you see were the base of the “false bottom” I used in Vivarium v1. Those came out too, as I’ve decided not to use the “false bottom” concept this time around.

The idea for this one will be similar, but a bit more complex. Here is the test placement of rocks and wood pieces I’ll be using. There will again be a small pond in the middle to support water-growing plants. There will also, again, be a waterfall. But this time, rather than just having the water shoot from a hose mounted to the back, the waterfall will consist of a stream dripping through a small cork-tube (still on order). Under the pond (and around the front and sides) will be a shallow layer of small river rock. The pond will be enclosed by a slice of cork bark on one side and some large rocks on the other.

From this angle you can see where I’ve added Terra-lite behind the cork bark slab. Unfortunately, I didn’t have very much, so I’m also waiting my new shipment to arrive. But conceptually you can see how it will work. The Terra-lite will come up about 3″, then be covered with nylon “screen” material to keep the substrate mixture from settling in it. The substrate, a mixture of topsoil and peat-moss, will cover the Terra-lite forming the “land” areas of the terrarium.

Cool so far, eh?