How To Make a SIMPLE But BEAUTIFUL Terrarium Ecosystem!

In this video I'll be showing you how I turn this glass box into a mini terrarium ecosystem that will live for years to come. Let's get straight into it. I'll be using this nano glass tank which I made myself out of picture frame glass. I'm going to start by making the drainage layer. Also known as a false bottom this is a layer of rocks or stones that sit at the bottom of a terrarium and provide a place for excess water to sit. If the excess water was to sit in the substrate layer it would quickly stagnate and cause a speedy end to the terrarium's life. For this build I'm using liqueur but you can use pretty much any small rocks or stones that you've got available. Now it's time for the soil mix. More commonly known as the substrate layer this is the lifeline of your terrarium's health so it's important that you get it right. Before I give you the mix I use there's something that needs to be done first. If I was to pour the substrate in now it would fall through all the gaps and cracks between the liqueur. This is certainly not ideal but there's a simple and easy solution. This is window screen mesh and I use it to act as a substrate barrier. It's cheap to get hold of, easy to cut to size and it won't break down inside a terrarium. All I'm doing is placing the terrarium on top and then using a sharp blade to carefully cut out the size. This certainly doesn't have to be exact and even works a little better if it's slightly too big. With the mesh barrier in place the substrate will have a hard time getting through them small Now it's time to get the substrate layer in. As promised here's the mix I've used to make thousands of successful terrariums. I'll put links to all the different components in the description below and if you're from the UK you can even buy my ready-made substrate mix. After gently patting it down into place it's time to start on the hardscape. The main piece I'll be using is this driftwood. Like always I experimented with multiple different layouts before I finally settled on one. This is what I came up with. I really like how it resembles an old tree stump. I want it to sit a little higher in the left corner so I'm going to add some more substrate in. Creating height at the back of a terrarium is an easy and simple way to improve the sense of depth. Now I'm going to use some substrate to build up some more height behind the wood. This will allow me to have plants sitting higher up behind the driftwood. It ended up being much easier just to pull out the driftwood and pour the substrate in. Now I'm going to add in a few stones to add a little more detail and interest to the hardscape. These are serious stones and I think their grey color will be a nice contrast to the brown driftwood. I only ended up placing a few as I want the main focus to be on the driftwood. Here's the final hardscape. I think it will look great once there's some moss and plants inside. Talking about moss here's what I'll be using for this build. This is cushion moss. It's one of my favorite mosses to use as it's very easy to grow and requires very little maintenance. I'm going to cover pretty much all the substrate in moss. I'm going to start by tearing the moss up into more manageable chunks and then trimming off the base. Cutting this part off won't hurt the moss at all but it will allow it to sit much closer to the substrate which will result in a better looking terrarium. I used some long tweezers to place the moss in piece by piece and then gently press it down onto the substrate. In case you didn't know I actually have an ebook which is perfect for anyone who's new to terrarium making. It contains tons of useful information some of which I'll put up on screen now. It will certainly give you a head start and help you make terrariums that will live for years to come. For the price of a coffee why not level up your knowledge and your terrariums would definitely be grateful for it. I'll leave a link in the description and in the pinned comment if you want to check it out. With the majority of the moss in I'm using some long tweezers to place in some moss in any gaps and cracks. Now all the moss is in it's now time to start planting some plants. I'm starting off with this Fotonia. I propagated these cuttings a while back so they should acclimate quickly and start growing right away. I'm planning on keeping the planting relatively simple to bring more focus onto the hardscape. I'll also be using plants that are relatively slow growing to make this a very low maintenance setup. Now I'm going to add a pop of color with some red Fotonia cuttings. I'm simply going to use some scissors to snip off a few cuttings. Unlike the other Fotonia cuttings these ones won't have roots at the moment. This isn't a problem and I'll show you how I go about planting them to make sure they root and grow in no time. I'll plant their stem into the moss up to the first set of leaves. The high humidity of the terrarium provides perfect conditions and ensures that the plant won't dry out which is perfect. I planted a few of the small cuttings throughout the foreground of the terrarium. I really like the pop of color that they bring. To add some more detail I'm going to plant in a few cuttings of baby tears. This plant has small miniature leaves which I think will look great growing throughout the moss. I've also got this small cutting of Ficus Quercifolia which I'm going to plant growing up the driftwood. As this cutting is so small it will take a little bit of time for it to get established. This terrarium would definitely not be complete without some springtails. These are tiny little bugs that will work 24-7 to keep the terrarium clean and healthy. Their population will self-regulate depending on available food so you've never got to worry about them overrunning the terrarium. With the springtails in it's time to give the terrarium a light spray down. I always recommend to use a small spray bottle as it really helps prevent over-watering. Only water the terrarium until the substrate is damp and not wet or soggy. If this terrarium was left open it would dry up and die in no time. I attached a glass panel with a piece of tape to act as a simple hinge. I then left the terrarium to grow for five weeks. Five weeks have passed and the terrarium is doing great. All the moss and plants have settled in really well and have all been showing signs of new growth. The small red Fotonia has been growing really slowly but this is likely due to it wanting to establish a healthy root system first. When spinning the terrarium round you can get a glimpse of just some of the roots that are growing throughout the substrate. This is a great sign that the terrarium is healthy. As expected the Ficus Quercifolia is growing slowly but it's got a new leaf which is great to see. As you may have noticed there's a healthy population of springtails throughout the terrarium. They've been working hard to keep it clean and mould free. I ended up attaching the lid with a small bead of silicone instead of tape. I think it's much cleaner and definitely a small upgrade. Let me know in the comments if you like how the terrarium turned out and thank you for watching. Why not check out this video as I think you might enjoy it too.