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Can we talk about how everyone layers their terrariums wrong?
I keep seeing people put a thick layer of pebbles at the bottom for drainage, but that actually raises the water table and rots the roots. I switched to using a thin layer of activated charcoal instead, and my plants stopped dying after 3 months. Has anyone else tested this or am I the only one who noticed?
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ryanburns25d ago
Start noticing how this exact same thing happens with house foundations. People think gravel around the base gives good drainage but it just channels water right down under the slab. Same logic as the terrarium pebble layer creating a perched water table that drowns roots. I switched to a thin charcoal layer too and my succulents stopped rotting. It's like everyone learned the pebble thing from one bad YouTube video 15 years ago and nobody questioned it since.
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lee.lucas24d ago
Totally feel you on this one. I had the same lightbulb moment after killing three different terrariums in a row. The pebble layer thing is pure internet copycat nonsense. I switched to a mix of charcoal and chunky perlite and now my little fern and moss setup has been thriving for like 8 months. It's wild how one bad piece of advice can spread like that. Makes you wonder what else we're all doing wrong just because it looks right.
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