Aldrovanda can be very easy to grow with a simple aquatic terrarium. It doesn't take long to get it setup and maintenance is low once you do. But if you don't want to make it yourself we offer the kits in the store complete with plants in the Terrarium Kits section. Our kits come fully assembled and they are designed to balance the water quickly. They take about 10 minutes from box to watching your plants. You provide sugar and water, we provide the rest.

Lets make the Co2 Generator, it will take the most time and effort. Get the 20 oz bottles, air hose, air stone, suction cup bracket, scissors, drill bit and needle nose pliers.

You need to cut the air hose into a short piece and a long piece, make angular cuts. The short piece needs angles on both ends, the long just on one end. I use 9" and 24" pieces of air hose. The short air hose connects the two bottles and the long air hose runs from the Co2 generator to the terrarium. If you want the bottles farther apart or farther from the terrarium you can make the hose(s) longer.

Now you need to drill the holes in the caps. The drill bit you use should fit very snug into the air hose, this is an easy way to judge the size needed. Drill one hole in the center of one cap. Drill two holes off set from the center of the second cap.

Insert the short air hose into the cap with one hole. Stick it in as far as you can and then pull it through with the needle nose pliers. This is why you need to cut the ends at an angle. Insert the other end into one of the holes in the other cap. Insert the long air hose into the remaining hole in the cap. It must be a tight fit to seal the gas. The hoses should be pulled through until 1/4" of solid material is sticking through. Trim off any excess that sticks past the inside of the cap.

Now just put the air stone on the end of the long air hose and snap the bracket on it. Fill one bottle 3/4 full with tap water. Screw it to the cap with two hoses. The other bottle holds the sugar/yeast mixture and produces the Co2. It goes on the cap with one hose. The second bottle, with two hoses, is referred to as the blowback chamber. It prevents the yeast mixture from entering the terrarium.

Add the lava rock and sand to the terrarium. In our 2.5 gallon kit I use 2 cups lava rock and 1/2 cup silica sand. You just need enough to cover the bottom with a thin layer but make it as deep as you like.

Put the terrarium and Co2 generator in the space your going to leave it. Go ahead and get the airstone in place, use the suction cup bracket to hold it in place. You can feed it in through the opening or drill a hole in the container to feed it through. Keep in mind if you drill the hole below the water line you have to make it water proof.

Now you should have something that looks like this, except one bottle should be empty. I filled these with water to hold them in place for the pic.

Now fill your terrarium with water, bottled Spring Water is best. Spring water can be found in most grocery stores, just make sure it is sodium free. You need at least one gallon in the terrarium. Use Spring Water to fill it, bottled water is too clean for our purposes.

Next get something with a lid that can hold a cup of water. I use a pint canning jar. Add a cup of the spring water or you can use RO or bottled water. You want to add a tiny amount of Miracid or Peters 20-20-20 to the cup of water. I use sea monkey feeding spoons for this, available in the store. Use the small end to add powder to water the the big one for mix to terrarium

Optionally you can use a steak knife to scoop up a small amount of fertilizer. You just want a little on the tip. This doesn't need to be exact but it does need to be minute. Add it to the cup of water.

Cap and shake well to dissolve all of the powder. Add a smidgen of this mix to the terrarium water, or 3 drops from a pippete or 1 drop from an eye dropper. Add that amount per gallon of water in your aquatic terrarium. This is mainly to help stave off Bornes deficiency in Aldrovanda but it helps in other ways too. You need to add this once a month.

Wait three days before adding the aquatic critter eggs. We need the water to age just a little before they hatch. All thats left is hooking up the Co2 but that can wait until you get the plants in it.

To make the Co2 generator produce Co2 gas make the following in a glass or something you can pour from if you don't have a funnel.

Now you should have something that looks like this. Just add your plants and put it someplace it gets plenty of light. Your plants will grow like mad!

Don't forget to add the critter eggs! They help immensely at controlling algae. It is very important to wait 36 hrs before doing so though. The water needs a little time to dirty up some. Eggs purchased with the kit do not have to wait as they have been modified. Plus the aged water the Aldrovanda come with and the rock we send in the kit ages the tank.

This is the simplest way to grow Aldrovanda on a small scale long term. Add water as needed, use spring water and let it sit in the open 48 hrs before adding. You can put in a couple mystery snails if you like, they help with algae too. But if algae isn't present you need to feed them, which will lead to algae. So weigh the decision carefully. Companion plants can also be grown with them but all plants will grow like mad in this.

If you have studied Aldrovanda your probably thinking how can it be this easy? Because we have spent a lot of time figuring out what they do and don't need. All their basic needs are taken care of with this kit. We are the only place in the world that sells an aquatic terrarium designed with Aldrovanda in mind. And we teach you how to do it too. But if you make it and sell it I'll own you, because I own this design.