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Is this area suitable for outdoor terraria?

PaulG

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Hi everyone, new to the board!

I'm also on RFUK, Dendroboard, The Planted Tank either as PaulG or Morgan Freeman. So hello to anyone who knows/recognises me from other places.

Right. I've had some advice and I'm not sure if this is possible but I'd like to try and build an outdoor enclosure on my balcony. I miss keeping sals but keeping them indoors was too tricky, last summer it was hitting 30c in my room.

The balcony receives no direct sunlight and is also sheltered from the elements.

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Is it possible, will the soil freeze? I can probably manage 4ft deep and will obviously need a very well insulated hibernaculum.

I don't want to do it if the risks are too high.

Thanks!

Paul.
 

PaulG

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Ah thankyou. I did see that thread, wasn't sure if it would work for me.
 

Bellabelloo

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I was thinking as you may not be able to move it into a garage , that you could line the 'box' with polystyrene sheet. Over the colder months maybe use some sort of perspex lid on top.
 

Mark

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One thing to remember is that depth doesn’t necessarily mean protection from freezing. Frost penetrates the ground from the top down so it’s reasonable to assume that at a certain soil depth the ground is likely to remain unfrozen during an average UK winter. In a free standing container however the frost penetrates from all sides so width is just as important as depth. The materials you use will also determine how insulated the container is. Wood will offer better protection than single skin plastic.

If you plan to house terrestrial sals a large polystyrene container (the sort of thing used to pack fresh fish in ice) might work really well, especially if it has thick walls and lid you can easily customise. You might want to paint the outside to make it look more attractive!

I’ve become slightly obsessed with plastic containers recently (ask my wife) and have already bought a few to try outdoors this year. I was even contemplating these grit bins the other day: Grit Bins - Water tanks,water storage tanks,baffled water tanks,car valeting,window cleaning supplies equipment,plastic water storage ;). Any plastic used should ideally be food grade, frost resistant and UV stabilised.
 

PaulG

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Good point. I hadn't considered frost penetration from the sides.

I like the idea of lining the inside with poly sheets, that could solve the heat issue and hopefully look better than just a poly box, I'm really picky about aesthetics :blush:

Those grit bins would be fantastic! :eek: I was checking out compost bins and wondering if they would work.
 
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