terrariums from demijohns

[shitsplash]

just thought I'd share my discovery, demijons make great terrariums. simply cut off the bottom half inch and stuff the top with cotton wool.

[fahtster]

nice. i take it thats plastic and not glass?
thought i'd fix it up a bit for ya.




fahtster

[SharkieJones]

Nice, is it plastic?

[shitsplash]

no its glass, I cut glass for a living, I don't think you can get plastic demijons

[golly]

So can u tell us the best method for cutting the base...i have a 5 gall jug that i've been wanting to do that to.....pretty cool lookin grow there shits...

[~Hippie3]

Originally Posted by shitsplash

no its glass, I cut glass for a living, I don't think you can get plastic demijons

a 2 [better yet = 3] liter soda bottle comes pretty close.

Materials needed:

2 liter plastic coke bottle
razor knife

This terrarium is made by cutting a section out of a 2 liter coke bottle. This serves two purposes. First, it allows you to put a fully colonized
rice cake inside the bottle. The second purpose is it allows the volume of the bottle to be reduced to the point where the moistness of the rice
cake can keep it humid.

Remove a section of the bottle using the razor knife. The cut on the lower part of the bottle is not very critical. The top cut is more difficult
to do correctly. It needs to be right at the point where the bottle is starting to decrease in diameter. This is because the top part of the bottle
is going to be inserted into the bottom part of the bottle and the two sections need to seal tightly.

The best thing to do is start lower than the diagram indicates and cut small sections off until the top piece of the bottle fits snugly and easily
into the bottom section. Once you locate the correct place to cut for the type of bottle you are using, you can simply cut at the same place and
make multiple bottles to handle as many cakes as you wish to fruit at any time.



The cap for the bottle must be screwed on tightly. A damp paper towel can be placed on the bottom of the bottle to help raise the humidity
inside the bottle. Twice a day the bottle should be opened to allow new air to be available for the rice cake to consume. It is best to fan the rice
cake to insure new air is surrounding the cake before sealing it back in the bottle. This is the major draw back to this terrarium. If you have
a dozen cakes it can become a burden to exchange the air twice a day.

btw
it's spelled demijohns in the dictionary here
means
"A large, narrow-necked bottle made of glass or earthenware"

[cap]

Originally Posted by golly

So can u tell us the best method for cutting the base...

bottle cutting

[shitsplash]

ok golly this how i do it, if your no good with a glass cutter get someone who is. if you got an old turntable or something simple thats good too. you need to draw a line with a felt tip or something so thet the end of the line meets with the beginning, this is important. if you got a turntable this is easily done on that. now carefully make a cut all around following your line slowly and carefully, the cutter will wan't to slip because of the curved surface, use 2 hands on the cutter for control and hold the demijohn on your lap taking your cutter away periodically to allow you to turn the demijohn as you go. Always start to cut in the groove you left off at and the end the cut must meet the begining with no gaps. i forgot to mention you need a flame torch like one of those torches to make baked alaska, they have a very fine flame. Place your cut jar on the turntable and spin it. If you have no turntabe you have to turn the bottle by the neck as smoothly a possible. place the tip of the sharp blue flame on the cuttline and spin the bottl/demijon slowly and be ready the catch the top as it pings off which will not be hot(at the top). You could also tie it to a bit of twisted twine to get your line and you could also use the torch to heat your cutline this way.wear safety glasses n let the glass cool down slowly. N I stand corrected its demijohns. And ventilation? the cakes stand in moist verm so there's a resonable seal when I put the jars firmly back over their saucers so I put my mouth over the top with the cotton wool and suck 1 deep breath to each jar once or twice a day Long story but there you go. By the way I lose 1or 2 demijohns out of 10, but when you can get em at car boot sales n the likes for pennies.....

[golly]

Good info cap n' shits...thanx...do u think a butane lighter would do the trick...? ..i've been staring at this bottle for 8 years -knowing its gotta be great for something...

[shitsplash]

its got to be a sharp point of a flame, n I think your thumb would burn holding a lighter see here http://www.decuisine.co.uk/cookshop/...en%20blowtorch

[SharkieJones]

A 2 liter is a good idea. I'll have to try that.

[shitsplash]

I saw a video were an indian guy had a huge 5 gallon acid carboy, he had it spinning on a rotating platform and he held an oxy-acetelene torch with a very fine flame at it at a fixed point, after a minute or so he removed the torch and held a fine wet paintbrush at the same place, and as it spun round it neatly parted with a loud ping. Maybe practice a few techniques on everyday beer bottles before you try on your treasured 5 gallon container

[shadyfigure]

how do you keep this terrarium at optimum temp?

[shitsplash]

my average temps in this house 72 in winter and 82 in summer, these are orissa's n they seem to grow pretty much the same all year round. I find that dunking in 1:200 part bleach / water in the fridge for 18 hours then putting them back at room temps works pretty well, I get average 3 flushes per cake this way. I ought to put a thermometer in one of the jars to see what the temp is inside the jar, humidity must be pretty high 98 or so. I'm a lazy person n if it works I just go with the flow

[TVCasualty]

I made some french fries, and had leftover oil that was still really hot but I had to use the pan right then. I poured the hot oil into the only container I had handy, an empty (and dry inside, so no splatters) beer bottle. It sat on the counter while I ate dinner, and finally it cooled off. I lifted it by the neck of the bottle, and it split in half right at the level of the oil, a perfect ring. Just thought I'd throw that out there.

[eternalfrost]

i blow glass. to cut the glass tubing i use, you score a line completly around, then get another glob of molten glass and place it on the score line. the thermal stress will run a crack around the line and pop off.