Hey everyone! I'm new around these parts. My name's Mark and I'm a photographer from Baltimore, MD, USA. Sometime soon, I would like to start a project I've been thinking about for quite a while now. I have a 75g aquarium sitting around, and I'd really like to make the entire tank into a scenery, instead of a fish tank or using it to hold some other critter. Obviously, this would feature a bonsai tree, or a few.

I've done a bit of research, but not too extensively. When learning a new trade, I find it better to learn from the horse's mouth, per se. So, I come to ask you guys if this will even be possible.

Keeping temperature relatively consistent shouldn't be a problem. As of now, I have (2) Power Compact fixtures on the tank. Each contains (2) 96w power compact bulbs. (but, I also have a fixture that would hold a halogen bulb and strip grow light should that be necessary.

As a side note, the tank is only roughly 24" tall, so I don't have all the room in the world.

So, I guess I'm asking the following:

1. Would it be possible to house and grow a bonsai species under these conditions (60-75F, given light conditions)?
2. If so, what species would you recommend?

Once I get some answers to those, I'll ask some more.

Thanks so much in advance!
Mark

Bonsai need free draining soil and air circulation .A terrarium is a closed environment with no drainage.You'll have trouble keeping a bonsai healthy in a terrarium. Try using plants that will survive there, not bonsai trees.

in regards to the drainage comment

would it be possible to do a tropical type of bonsai that has likes alot of humidity and just put a bonsai tree in there with the pot it comes with and then hid the pot with something within the tank?

i know that planting it in the tank itself wouldnt work so if placed a bonsai tree in a pot to allow it to drain and then do some skillful hiding of the pot itself..?

that would allow it to drain normally and the rest of the tank would act like a humidity tray? just a thought

trying to help as sounds interesting

howdy mark,

my father was on a kick with doing this for awhile he was using large antique glassware...one trick to getting stuff to grow is to use charcoal (like in fishtank filters)as the first layer of soil. this will emit carbon dioxide into the small biosphere. as for trees your best bet would be ficus and shefferla they are the most tolerant to having wet feet that i know of. you would need to have them well developed to have any kind of scenery in the tank. lighting may be a problem ,what you have may be too strong but im not positive on that one.
if it is a landscape scene you are trying to achieve maybe you should take a look into penjing,it is a chinese style of bonsai in which multiple trees,plants and figurines are assembled into a landscape. they can get pretty elaborate and may be easier to work with than stuff in a tank...hope this helps some and keep us all posted on your endevor

Hey everyone! Thanks for your comments.

The tank was originally used for poison dart frogs. When you have PDFs, you generally need a soil that drains well. This implies it has a place to drain to. So, what we do is add a layer of screening, then clay balls (hydroton) or egg crate under the layer of soil. So, the MASSIVE amount of water that goes into the tank (sometimes over 2 gallons per day!) goes through the soil. Whatever isn't absorbed goes directly into the bottom of the tank and acts as a humidity sink.

I was thinking, for the tree, if this wouldn't work, I would simply build a 'stand' of sorts for the tree out of eggcrate to elevate it above the rest of the dirt, and put it in the traditional shallow pot. The top of the pot would be level with the top of the soil. Above that, a simple layer of underlaying (moss, or something of the sort) could be used to bridge between the tree dirt and the dirt in the rest of the tank. This way, the tree would look like it is connected with the environment, and yet would still be in its traditional pot with proper drainage and whatnot.

As for ventilation, there is a screen on the tank, not a glass lid. Turning on the ceiling fan (or adding some computer fans to the screen, one blowing in and one blowing out) would allow constant air flow.

That being said, does anyone think it would work in this manner?

Mark

yep any tropical tree would work i guess i have the most expieriance with ficus they are fast growers and are easly reproduced with cuttings.willows might also be an option seeing they usually grow very close to water.these are also reproduced with cuttings there are many species to choose from for different leave styles in both species.i would sugjest a floresent tube grow lamp for additional lighting. they dont create much heat that higher watage bulbs do.

a willow would die very quickly.They don't live well inside. I just read on a garden site that ficus benjamina do well in terrariums..You seem to have the drainage down so keep us posted. I'd like to see the result.

I certainly will keep everyone posted. But, I need to do a bit more digging first.

Does anyone have any advice for lighting? I know the power of the lights in relation to marine life, but I don't know how this translates to the life of trees (or the average sun, part sun, part shade, etc). Again, it's (4) 96watt Power Compacts. Each with their own switch, so, really anywhere between 1 and 4 can be used. Any kelvin rating, so the bulbs could easily be changed to plant growth bulbs.

Thanks,
Mark

Tropical trees need anywhere between 25.000 and 100.000 lux in summer. That's comparable to (in)direct outside sunlight. I'm not sure how that relates to wattages.

You can put trees in an aquarium and they might thrive, but please remember that then they won't be bonsai anymore.