Hot take: Buying a $50 moisture meter was the best thing I did for my closed terrariums

I mean, I used to just guess when to water by looking at the glass, and I lost three whole setups to mold in like six months. I finally got this little probe tool that tells you the exact wetness of the soil. It showed me my substrate was way too damp even when the top looked dry. Now I only water maybe once every two months, and everything stays healthy. Has anyone else found a simple tool that totally fixed a big problem for them?

3 comments

3 Comments

jade2712mo ago

What about a cheap laser thermometer? I was killing plants with cold drafts I couldn't even feel.

jadeg812mo ago

Honestly those laser thermometers can trick you though. They only read surface temp on one tiny spot, not the actual air moving around the plant. You might get a false sense of security and miss the real draft.

jade_grant951mo ago

Haha @jadeg81 is right about those laser thermometers, they're super misleading for drafts. Took me forever to figure out my issue was actually humidity pockets building up in weird spots, not temp swings. A cheap little USB fan that plugs into a smart outlet timer finally fixed it for me, honestly way more effective than any fancy meter. Never would have guessed air circulation was the real problem instead of moisture or temp.