TERRARIUM JOURNAL (9 FEB - 10 MAR)
NOTE: My journal this was also used for the report.
THURSDAY, 9 FEBRUARY:
This was the first day our group and I could properly start creating our terrarium. We started by placing the pebbles as the lowermost level of the terrarium, followed by the charcoal that had been washed beforehand. The layer of pebbles are used to drain a sufficient amount of water in the terrarium, whilst the layer of charcoal is used to filter the air inside the terrarium. After that, we formed the layer of humus which was around 5-6 cm thick to ensure to accommodate the earthworms. Lastly, we placed the fern plant inside the terrarium.
FRIDAY, 10TH FEBRUARY:
Because our terrarium was quite small-sized, the amount of plants we could put into the terrarium was limited. We placed another plant into the terrarium that was fairly tall to ensure that that our terrarium would have a closed canopy. We also put in grass into the terrarium above the hummus layer. The last thing we did was spraying the substrate and the plants with water to see if we can create a water cycle.
THURSDAY, 16TH FEBRUARY:
After leaving it in the lab for a week, our terrarium finally had a water cycle because there were droplets of water that appeared on the plastic top. However, because the top of the terrarium had openings, some of the water left the terrarium. We placed in more plants into the terrarium that are smaller in size than the ones we've already placed. We also sprayed water on the plants because we found out some of the leaves had dried, prompting us to make sure that we spray on all parts of the terrarium, unlike last time when we only sprayed on the top parts of the plant and the ground. Our next plan is to fin a glass covering that could serve as an alternative for the top with openings.
FRIDAY, 17TH FEBRUARY:
We finally placed in the animals in our terrarium, which are snails and earthworms. None of our plants dried out, thankfully, but we still made sure to spray a good amount of water on to the surface as well as the plants of the terrarium so that none of the plants would die. We also replaced the top with the openings in them with a glass covering so that none of the water would leave the terrarium in order to maximize the water cycle.
MONDAY, 20TH FEBRUARY:
After leaving it for two days, our snails had managed to live on! They climbed on to the tall plants that were meant to be the closed canopies of the terrarium. We couldn’t really see if the earthworms had lived though, because they were under the soil. Our water cycle in’t sustain, so we sprayed more water into the terrarium in our second attempt to create a water cycle. We’re planning to bring more earthworms and one more snail next week.
THURSDAY, 23RD FEBRUARY:
Our snails survived! We noticed they ate some of the leaves on the fern plant. We replaced the broken glass in our terrarium with a new one, and we put tape over the shattered glass in the terrarium. We also put it one new snail into the terrarium that was relatively larger in size than the other two snails. We also sprayed more water into the terrarium to see if we sustain the water cycle this time.
TUESDAY, 28TH FEBRUARY (EXHIBITION DAY):
Our snails survived but our plants started to dry out.
FRIDAY, 3RD FEBRUARY:
Like last week, our snails survived but the plants dried out even more. We also noticed that they’re eating the plants on the bottom.
MONDAY, 6TH FEBRUARY:
We assumed all the snails were dead because one of the plants was very much dying. Our terrarium appeared very bleak due to all the unfortunate deaths in our terrarium.
THURSDAY, 9TH MARCH:
We found out two of our snails were still alive, but one of the plants are very much dead.
FRIDAY, 10TH MARCH:
When we were cleaning up our terrarium, we found out there were maggots coming out of one of the dead snails, meaning there are decomposers to break down the dead matter.
This was the first day our group and I could properly start creating our terrarium. We started by placing the pebbles as the lowermost level of the terrarium, followed by the charcoal that had been washed beforehand. The layer of pebbles are used to drain a sufficient amount of water in the terrarium, whilst the layer of charcoal is used to filter the air inside the terrarium. After that, we formed the layer of humus which was around 5-6 cm thick to ensure to accommodate the earthworms. Lastly, we placed the fern plant inside the terrarium.
FRIDAY, 10TH FEBRUARY:
Because our terrarium was quite small-sized, the amount of plants we could put into the terrarium was limited. We placed another plant into the terrarium that was fairly tall to ensure that that our terrarium would have a closed canopy. We also put in grass into the terrarium above the hummus layer. The last thing we did was spraying the substrate and the plants with water to see if we can create a water cycle.
THURSDAY, 16TH FEBRUARY:
After leaving it in the lab for a week, our terrarium finally had a water cycle because there were droplets of water that appeared on the plastic top. However, because the top of the terrarium had openings, some of the water left the terrarium. We placed in more plants into the terrarium that are smaller in size than the ones we've already placed. We also sprayed water on the plants because we found out some of the leaves had dried, prompting us to make sure that we spray on all parts of the terrarium, unlike last time when we only sprayed on the top parts of the plant and the ground. Our next plan is to fin a glass covering that could serve as an alternative for the top with openings.
FRIDAY, 17TH FEBRUARY:
We finally placed in the animals in our terrarium, which are snails and earthworms. None of our plants dried out, thankfully, but we still made sure to spray a good amount of water on to the surface as well as the plants of the terrarium so that none of the plants would die. We also replaced the top with the openings in them with a glass covering so that none of the water would leave the terrarium in order to maximize the water cycle.
MONDAY, 20TH FEBRUARY:
After leaving it for two days, our snails had managed to live on! They climbed on to the tall plants that were meant to be the closed canopies of the terrarium. We couldn’t really see if the earthworms had lived though, because they were under the soil. Our water cycle in’t sustain, so we sprayed more water into the terrarium in our second attempt to create a water cycle. We’re planning to bring more earthworms and one more snail next week.
THURSDAY, 23RD FEBRUARY:
Our snails survived! We noticed they ate some of the leaves on the fern plant. We replaced the broken glass in our terrarium with a new one, and we put tape over the shattered glass in the terrarium. We also put it one new snail into the terrarium that was relatively larger in size than the other two snails. We also sprayed more water into the terrarium to see if we sustain the water cycle this time.
TUESDAY, 28TH FEBRUARY (EXHIBITION DAY):
Our snails survived but our plants started to dry out.
FRIDAY, 3RD FEBRUARY:
Like last week, our snails survived but the plants dried out even more. We also noticed that they’re eating the plants on the bottom.
MONDAY, 6TH FEBRUARY:
We assumed all the snails were dead because one of the plants was very much dying. Our terrarium appeared very bleak due to all the unfortunate deaths in our terrarium.
THURSDAY, 9TH MARCH:
We found out two of our snails were still alive, but one of the plants are very much dead.
FRIDAY, 10TH MARCH:
When we were cleaning up our terrarium, we found out there were maggots coming out of one of the dead snails, meaning there are decomposers to break down the dead matter.