r/bioactive

Hey r/terrariums**,**

I wanted to share something I have been building with a lot of love: Phasmida Smart Cloud.

It started from the same frustration many of us have had: checking temperature and humidity all day, worrying when I am away, and wanting better control without constantly opening apps, spreadsheets, and random notes.

So we built one place where a terrarium can be monitored and managed in real time:

• live temperature and humidity tracking
• alerts when values go out of your safe range
• remote controls for lighting and other equipment
• simple scene setup for day and night behavior

The goal was not to overcomplicate terrarium keeping, but to make care more consistent and less stressful, especially when life gets busy.

How we built it:
Honestly, we just coded it ourselves out of love for this hobby. We use modular Arduino-based hardware (super affordable) combined with a cloud platform so data and control stay connected 24/7. A lot of late nights, a lot of testing, and a lot of iteration went into stability, safe alerts, and keeping the interface practical for actual keepers, not just tech people.

Here's the key part: you don't need to buy our hardware. If you already have any IoT setup, just get an API key and connect it. We believe in DIY — that's our core principle.

Why I am posting:
This is our first public intro and we are actively looking for partners – whether that is keepers who want early access and can give real feedback, or businesses that believe in this vision as much as we do. We are enthusiasts building for enthusiasts, and we would love to grow this the right way.

What would you want most from a system like this? What is missing in today's terrarium tools? And if you know someone who should be part of this, let me know.

Check it out: phasmida.eu

Thanks for reading, and thanks for being one of the most inspiring communities around terrariums.

Hi all! I'm pretty new to bioactive enclosures and recently set one up about three weeks ago now. All I've put it life-wise are orange koi isopods and springtails. I had a bit of fungus grow where that food was, but it's since gone away. I just noticed these yesterday. They're moving around a little bit, so I assume it's some kind of critter. I just want to know if it's something I should remove or if they're okay to stay. Thank you all so much!

Edit: This is also a super up close photo. To my knowledge, they're all just in this clump and not spread out anywhere else.

SO this is Piglet, my african fat tailed gecko. i'm trying to set up a bioactive with only plants from her native range. atm, i have one native sansevieria, but the others are not, and i'd like to replace them. does anyone know any good houseplants native to this range that arent crazy toxic (aka fire stick euphorbia)?

This is a rubber ducky isopod and those white dots under her are her babies!! They’re so cute! That’s all.

I built a terrarium a little over a year ago and it’s not doing well. Many of my plants died and I think it’s probably because I didn’t set it up right from the beginning. The first things to go were the plants on the cork. Then, the two terrestrial orchids so probably not as he right substrate either.
I had a fogger that I placed in a plastic cup behind the cork but I would have to be constantly refilling the water everyday because it ran out after an hour.
Also the moss I used was foraged from around my house and maybe being in a tropical terrarium was not their favorite, also I thought they would spread but they never did anything.

I’m looking for something more self sufficient now so a better system for creating a fog (I’m not planning to add anything other than plants and springtails) and air circulation. Some of the orchids that I had preferred to be cooler at night and warmer during the day. I’m curious how people could achieve something like this?
Also, what is the best system for creating high humidity/fog that doesn’t break the he bank? Like, I prefer not spending $200 in a fogger
And how do I get this look with moss? What type of moss is it? And where can I buy this species?

TLR:
Photo 1-3: my terrarium when I built it
Photo 4: my dead terrarium.
Photos 5-7: inspo from Pinterest. I’m looking this moss. Does anyone know what it is and where to find it?
Recommendations for fogger that it’s not too expensive

Noticed them like three days ago. Water bowl to my hognose snake.

My bioactive PCV terrarium started leaking out of the bottom today . I heard dripping and noticed . It’s been set up for about 2 months and has had a chahoua gecko in it for about a month and this is the first I have noticed leaking . When I set it up I did caulk all of the seams but I guess one is probably leaking ? I think I know the answer to this but I’m dreading it , Do I have to take everything out and re caulk this ? How do I go about doing. This in the least stressful way to the chahoua , the plants and the clean up crew ? I did just set up a partially bioactive 18x18x24 as a grow out for another gecko but I haven’t gotten the other gecko yet , should I put her in that if I have to re caulk her tank ?

I've had a bioactive terrarium set up for my rescued alligator lizard for some time, probably 3 or 4 years now. I generally feed her crickets and occasionally mealworms, though if I can catch a juicy house spider outside without dwindling the population I'll feed her those or a nice fat moth to balance out her diet with more naturally-found options. Every once in a while she will opt to let the mealworms live so they'll get away, bury, and pupate into their beetle forms for later consumption. I've had this happen multiple times and am familiar with the darklings that appear as a result.

Just this morning we spotted a new type of bug appearing in the terrarium, seems to be a one-off and already matured? Google identifies it as a California Bordered Plant Bug, which I have seen outside in the wild before but never captured or brought into my home or terrarium. Is it possible the larva was mixed in with the mealworms and got loose/matured in the tank without being noticed up until now? Or is it more likely this guy snuck into the cage somehow, which would've had to have been the main doors, as everything else is sealed tight with cotton balls to keep the pinheads at bay (crickets have been very happy lately, and don't worry, the alligator is largely unbothered) My wife puts an indoor potted flower outside to get sunlight, maybe it snuck in on this? I'm just baffled because I spend A LOT of time watching this tank, mainly to watch the pinheads and seal up anything they may be able to squeeze out of, and am shocked I haven't see this guy until today.

It also has zero issues climbing the glass, plastic, or even along the water hoses for my misting system.. any guesses on how it found its way in here?

Found these little guys in my ball python's tank! I removed them but I can't help but think they're cute. I was surprised to find them in there

Finished this enclosure yesterday, 40 gal breeder with natural stone and sourced plants. Seeded with Dairy Cow Isopods and Orange Springtails. Inspiration and progress pictures at the end.

Been waiting for a Leopard Gecko enclosure like this to pop up online for a decade, and decided that I’d watched enough Serpa Design content to pull it off myself!

i don’t have a fully bioactive setup (yet) but i’ve been an admirer of all of your tanks for a while now!! i have a halfway failed terrarium i made over a year ago - the plants died off long ago because i didn’t do any solid research, just went to the mountains and put a bunch of shit in a jar and hoped for the best (it definitely has way too much soil and doesn’t get enough light for much plant growth). but i say it’s halfway failed because it has been home to hundreds or likely thousands of isopods the entire time. they keep reproducing, so i keep airing it out every once in a while and adding moisture when i think of it as well as small leaves that my houseplants drop so they have food.

all that to say, i just noticed in the past week that there are all these tiny specks moving around all over the wood. are they springtails? probably an obvious answer to all of you but i don’t have anything bioactive and can’t really tell from what i’ve seen online, so let me know! asking mostly for curiosity’s sake, but also because i want to be sure they’re not going to hurt any of my plants if they were to find their way to one. sorry for long post, i am a chronic over-explainer.

also, if anyone thinks i should do anything differently to keep the isopods healthy and happy, let me know!! i have a corn snake who i am planning to eventually create a bioactive tank for, so maybe i’ll transfer some of these guys over there when it’s time. i love watching them live their little lives! thanks everyone!!!

Hello

So recently I just found something while poking around my terrarium for my tokay gecko. As in the picture there are two clear (color) very very tiny what seem to be worms. As they are moving around. They are not very big at all. But I’m still concerned for my tokay as I just don’t generally want him hurt/sick. I have some spring tails, dwarf white isopods and my gecko. Should I be removing him from the terrarium? And what’s my next step of action? Or are these guys fine and friendly? Any help would much much better appreciated. Thank you so much.