/diy/ - Do It Yourself

Step 3: Take off top black glass with pliers. *WARNING* This type of glass tends to shatter and get EVARYWARE! Wear safety glasses, gloves, and do it over a trashcan or something.

Step 4: Once the top black glass is off, take your nail or short screwdriver and tap the inside layer of glass. The housing that holds the filament should break off and fall inside the bulb.

Step 4a (Optional): With a filer (I used a metal filer), file the glass around the top on the inside so you don't cut yourself and so that it's smooth.

Step 4b: Shake the filament and its housing out, you may need to reuse your pliers for this.

Step 5 [For white coated bulbs]: Put a teaspoon of salt in the bulb and fill it about half full with hot water. Shake it up while covering the top hole with your thumb. This should remove the kaolin (the white powder) and make your bulb clear as a snowglobe. If necessary, put in a paper towel and twist it around to get any kaolin the water couldn't get.
Step 6: Go outside and gather moss and dirt. Some people recommend putting activated charcoal in there too. You can get other things to decorate it also, such as small rocks or chunks of coral (I have them all over the yard, glacier/mountain soil has an abundance for some reason)

Step 7: Stick everything in there.

Step 8: Add a teaspoon or two or three of water to hydrate the soil.

Step 9 [Optional]: Cut out a piece of coffee filter the size of the hole. Glue half of it down, allowing it to flip down when you need to water the terrarium. I've never seen anyone else do this, but I would think this keeps out most bad molds and keeps spores from the moss and such inside.

Step 10: Get something to hold your lightbulb so it doesn't roll around. Glass sucks when it breaks, in case you didn't know. In the attached picture, they used some sort of hard drive part. I used homemade air-dry clay.

Step 10 [For clay base]: Get 5 tsp of flour and 2 tsp salt. Mix it together. Add 2.5 tsp of hot water. Knead it around a little bit, then make a ball and press the bulb on it. Let dry for like, 5 hours.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ta-da! You now have a cool desk ornament.

in thread instructions? awesome

awesome

maybe its the hash, but i almost never respond. cant wait to do this right fuckin now

Brilliant! Gonna try this...

Thank you OP. Will try this out. Could make for some nice xmas presents.

>>88946
For anyone interested, the hard drive part pictured is a spacer that goes on the spindle between the platters of a drive. It's basically just a ring of metal.

>>88943
Never made a terrarium. How much up-keep do they need? I'm sure I need to water it once in a while? Also yea you mention mold, I guess that could really F it all up.

Do you put the base back on like in the picture? I don't see that in the instructions.

>>89071
You don't take the threaded base on, where it screws. I think I know where you got confused, the brass contact I was talking about is the thing on TOP of the black glass. It's a small circular piece.

I'm glad you guys like this. As for how much up-keep you need, I'm not exactly sure yet. I'd guess a mist or a few drops of water every few days? I've had it about a week now.

>>88943
You need to water it to keep it alive, yes?

>>89076
Yes. I've been misting it every 2 days.

For anyone interested, I screencapped the instructions-portion of this thread.

>>89092
Thanks!

>>89100>>89092

I realized that's kind of wide, here's a taller one.

Mix dirt 60:40 compost

... I want to put a hermit crab in one or something. maybe a small lizard. but I'd use a bigger bulb obviously.

If you seal the end wouldnt...it create a hydrologic cycle and eliminate the watering factor?

humm thats cool

Look what I found on google!

>>89139
your point..?

>>89142
no point, thought op made it

>>89134

>>89143
Look at first post;
>Pic only semi-related, not mine.

>>89146
^facepalm
didn't read that

boner?

>>89134
You don't seal it, you only glue a corner (lol circles) down, so it's a flap you can flip down in order to mist or add water.

>>89168
Ok that makes more sense, i was sitting here thinking you had the whole filter with a hole cut in it glued to the bulb end. I was thinking "that would look kind of goofy" I might look into doing this if i can get a bulb and not end up breaking it all over my hands...

>>89130
You might want to look into something with a thicker glass, It might be dangerous having a crab in a lightbulb. I had 3 of them in a fish tank and they like to hit the glass and try to climb it. Little bastards

>>89184
Thanks for the tip, that would suuck

Where does one get moss if they are in a cold climate? Im in Iowa, it has already snowed. What do?

>>89195
I'm in MT here, but I live in the forest, and the area where our septic tank has moss and small ferns everywhere. It hasn't snowed yet, which is strange for the mountains, but it has frosted and the moss seems to still be alive. I would maybe check out trees bark?

Simplicity and beauty. Thanks OP, I'm trying this tonight.

you need CLEAN dirt though. bake it as hot as your oven can go first, or boil it and then dry it out thoroughly. otherwise your shit will be nothing but mold in a week.

>>88943
Fantastic instructions, but I just wanted to add something quickly. If you want a very cool terrarium, buy yourself a Tillandsia. Also known as airplants. They need very little water, and dont even need dirt, so you wont find moss growing inside it. Avoid direct sunlight and water once every week and a half or so. These plants will live decently long times, and once in their life drop seeds. Some varieties can drop between 5-20.

>>89263
but they look like Triffids or some tentacle rape plant from Japan

>>89612

Oh stop pretending. You're not fooling anybody because we all know you're a faggot and you'd love nothing more than to have a hot pulsating tentacle shoved up your ass and moved around until you come whether you want to or not.

Faggot.

bumping for other cool ideas of what to put in these.
im about to start making one right now.

also, coke caps could make a convenient stand for them.
just spray paint them, add some glue, do whatever

>>89660
You could probably put sand or that type of gel ants can dig in/eat in there, and make a short-lasting ant farm. Maybe a small fish bowl? Sea monkeys?

You could also fill it with some sort of epoxy, add a bit of food coloring, find some sort of LED, and make a cool light. Not sure, possibilities are fairly large :P

I had this large industrial lightbulb lying around awhile ago, I think I might look for it and try this out.

It's oval shaped, about 7 inches long and 4 inches at its widest point.

Thanks op!

>>89680
pretty much like this..

>>89668
actually, a tiny ant farm mite b cool.

any sort of mesh/covering to put over the hole so they would still be able to breath but not escape?

>>89092
many thanks to you good sir

>>89684
Can you read the filename of the pic you posted? Poking a hole into a high pressure mercury lamp could be dangerous. Just stick with the incandescent bulbs.

>>89737
oh most of them are all good, the large glass bulb is just for protection and diffusion, its not even under pressure or a vacuum.

Inside that is a very small pressurised bulb with very very thick glass.

Heres a clear version..

YES THANK YOU

I saw these about a year ago but I never could quite find instructions on how to do it, or figure out how to open up the bulb without shattering the fuck out of it. That being said, I am a lazy pile and never bothered to get out actual tools. THANK YOU

>>89064

I knew that the second I looked at the picture.

But thank you for confirming.

I literally took apart around 40 hard drives last week :)

thanks I've been dying to make one of these

I used a circular magnet from a speaker.

Can someone Print this?

Awesome! Lots of love for OP.
I'll hopefully try this as soon as I get home.

CLEAR BULBS WHERE ART THOU

Use a pipette to water?

>>89134
Not really. Without additional water, the plant couldn't grow. Especially moss is mostly water contained in the plant.
Think of any plant that doesn't get watered; leaves will soon go limp. Same will happen if the plant grows, but no extra water is available.

I was wondering what kind of plant can you grow in here?

>>90018
Put cactus seeds in it.
????
Profit!
All we need now is mini-sandniggers!

hey OP, I was wondering, would it be possible to use a light bulb of similar size at a different angle to grow a flower in? my main trouble with the idea is that as someone who has no planting experience, I have no idea whether or not there wouldn't be enough room for roots to spread as far as they need, or what the water would do, since the light bulb wouldn't have holes at the bottom like most pots I've seen used do.
TL;DR :: Is it possible to grow flowers out of this design by just turning it so the opening is skyward?

You can even do this with air plants!

A better tutorial than OPs: http://ruffledblog.com/diy-wall-terrarium-weddingfavors/

I love you /diy/
OP, is there any chance of you maybe adding pictures to each step, just as a bit of help? I don't really know my way around a lightbulb.

>>90045
very much agreed. Just asked around and apparently its "impossible" to open a light-bulb without shattering it. and even though its obviously possible, I'm about as experienced around light-bulbs as a nun is with flying F-16s.

>>90047
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fn4-cJKgHPg

shit just exploded when I tried to hollow it

>>90047
>>90067
The video that >>90060 posted is very good. The step where most people shatter it (I even did about 3 times trying to make my first one) is the part with cracking the inside filament housing. I made the mistake of using a long screwdriver my first time, I cracked through the housing successfully but the screw driver went all the way through to the other side and glass everywhere.

OP here, for those interested, here's my final product.

>>90093
Nice.

You call this a terrarium, but it looks more like a bunch of dirt and moss with rocks inside of a lightbulb. It's all going to be dried up and dead after a few days. If not, it's going to get moldy and die one way or the other.

I'm pretty sure terrariums are supposed to be self-sustaining and functional.

>>90093
stoked as fuck, I reckon I'm gonna make one for my dad, christmas made easy! Thanks op

Any recomendations on plants i can put on my terrarium?

>>90137
Get some saguaro cactus seeds. They'll stay small for years, need next to no water but are cool enough after about 6 months and you'll have a cool little farm thing.

Plant in sand I guess to make it look more realistic. I've never done this lightbulb stuff, looks cool though. I have some 9 month old ones that I'm just growing in a pot, could show you a pic but they're really far away.

>>90114
ter·rar·i·um
(t-râr-m)
n. pl. ter·rar·i·ums or ter·rar·i·a (--)
A small enclosure or closed container in which selected living plants and sometimes small land animals, such as turtles and lizards, are kept and observed.

Sorry bro, your wrong.

>>90141


Cactus and moss... Cool.


Any other Reccomendation?

I forgot to put dirt in it but I collected the moss on a wall. It should be fine as long as I keep it hydrated, right?

>>90155
Moss needs food too. a little sugar in the water may work.

>>90161
Good idea, I'll try that! Because the moss grew on stone I thought it wouldn't need dirt but I'll try your idea and see what happens.

mine looks kinda sloppy :?[

>>90203
Dude it are plants in a lightbulb. What else is there? It looks awesome, after some time the plants will settle and it'll be even nicer ;)

>>90141
>Biggest cactus on the world
>Stay small for years

>>90222
>largest cactus in the world
>takes 100 years to actually grow

Yes, it stays relatively small at the start.

>>90220
yeah im pretty happy with it.

next time i'd like to try and incorporate a small light and maybe have a bigger plant to grow out of it.
or, an ant farm.

so I ended up using an incandescent bulb with foggy bottom and white (metallic?) sides. despite being my first try, it went well. Currently on second try for salt-water cleaning. first try got the bottom and left the sides with little "stars" in them. advice?

I only started with 2 Clover stalks, I'm up to 8 now and the moss has covered a good bit of it now.
>pic is 3 or more weeks old

This is amazing. Thanks OP, and anyone else who contributed with information!

Is there some other container I could do this in that would be quirky? I don't really have any dead lightbulbs lying around, and I’d love to make one for my dad for Christmas.

>>90421
Anything that's clear and doesn't normally hold plants, I guess?
Those glass milk bottles/soda bottles and candy jars would be a start.
Gumball machines, too.

alright, so I've made my terrarium. what plants should I put into it?
I know it depends entirely on the size of the light bulb used (fuck off, flood lights), but what are some staples to put into these things?

>>90430
You don't want it to be a marsh, so something dry like rocks or coarse sand in the bottom would be good.
Just throw whatever you want in there, clovers or a tiny cactus like a saguaro (They stay tiny for decades).

>>90431
>mfw I look up saguaro and learn it is babby for decades

>>90440
You can get a kit that'll grow them easily.
http://www.amazon.com/Grow-your-own-Saguaro-Cactus/dp/B00061OAAO Only $6.50

>>90442
http://www.nps.gov/sagu/planyourvisit/upload/the%20saguaro%20cactus.pdf
>Saguaro cacti grows between 1 and 1.5 inches in the first eight years of its life.

This is clearly the best cactus besides living rock cacti for light bulb terrariums

>>90442
babbies... glorious babbies

>>90404

What is that stand? How did you make it?

>>90472
I'm sure you could make one out of a coat hanger easily.
Use the hook part to bind around the narrow end of the bulb, and bend the rest into a stand shape.

I wanna build one of these but i cant find any mosses. Any tips on finding moss?

>>90489

go outdoors and look on stones etc - if it's too cold where you are go to a garden center and steal some off of the dirt of of their plants, i.e. take off a half dollar sized piece and put it in a plastic bag - no one will care even if they see you

what if the moss dies? wouldn't it smell bad? what would you feel the live moss?

>>90510

water it, that's all. Maybe mix in a tiny amount of fertiliser, since if you've used both soil and a little compost there should be plenty of nutrients anyway

Hm what else can grow in these things? Moss and clovers sound neat, any small mushrooms that won't multiply and fill the whole thing? Maybe a small insect population that isn't likely to colonize my desk?

>>90573

Maybe a three-leaf clover or four-leaf clover.

Someone know if there is a very small three like pine tree to put into the bulb.


Like some sort of bonsai

Fuck yeah, I've just done it right now.
Breaking the filament holder was the hardest part (or best said, the less easy), since I was being too cautious to not have the entire bulb shattering, and the damn thing took several taps before breaking. But it did.
I put in it topsoil/leaf mould/compost (not sure of what you call it, english speakers) and tomorrow will look for something to live in there.

>>90573
When I was a kid I collected a bunch of black little bugs much like ladybugs, but all black. I kept them in a 35mm film negative canister, so it was as small or even smaller than the light bulb. They seemed to do ok at least for a while, until I lost interest in them. Many had survived to that point.
I would place little pieces of plants with aphids in their leaves as food. Sadly, I don't have a clue on the name of this species, but maybe you can look for something like that... Maybe ladybugs would work too and be prettier?
I know shit about insects anyway.
Wwe should probably ask in >>>/an/

Someone know if there is a very small three like pine tree to put into the bulb?


Like some sort of bonsai?

>>90658

holy shit tiny christmas tree in a lightbulb

I still struggle to understand the fucking concept of bonsai. I killed my grandma's when I was younger, I refused to believe that tiny ass thing was a tree

>>90658
A bonsai isn't a type of tree, it's the style of pruning it. You can make a bonsai out of any tree.

I was actually going to try growing a tree in one as well. It would have to be a very slow-growing tree, unless you're going to somehow prune it. Maybe figure out how to make a ship-in-a-bottle, then do the same techniques to shape the tree? I can't think of a way to stunt growth, though. It'd be hard as hell to twist wires all around it..

OP plays airsoft and dyes his hair.

we've all been discussing the different plants that can go in these things, but I think someone needs to come forth with nolej. specifically, nolej such as "if you live here or here, you shouldn't grow X" or nojel like "if during summer/winter the temperature/weather goes to Q"....
in other words :: someone make it very clear what people who are just doing this cause its hella cool and have no prior knowledge of plants outside "they have colors. they grow in the ground and drink my water", shouldn't grow in certain areas.

eh beat this

>>90755
>Maybe figure out how to make a ship-in-a-bottle, then do the same techniques to shape the tree?
Those ships are constructed almost entirely outside the bottle. You slide it in with the masts down and raise them after it's inside the bottle. I can even imagine a tool that would be suitable for pruning a tree inside of a lightbulb, but maybe that's only because no one's made one yet.

>>91048


Your looks really cool.

Ok, besides saguaro cactus and moss, what are some other good plants to grow in one of these? I'm totally loving this whole idea and I'd like to maybe try and buy some seeds and make several of these as DIY christmas gifts or something for some family.

>>91081
You could probably do small springtime flowers fairly easily in something like this.

Tiny ones like Johnny Jump-Up (or whatever they're actually called), and other stuff like that. It'd look pretty too.

This is great I have to throw in my $.02. First If you fill the middle with something like a large rock and fill dirt around the edges, ants, pill bugs, centipedes, and worms, in the soil will dig on the edges so you can see them like an ant farm. Moss and be ground up, with some fertilizer, and knox gelatin to make "chia goo" (used to cover walls for green tags) if one was industrious, you could fix a stick in the middle of the ground, then paint "chia goo" on the branches of the mini tree, a few days later it's covered in green. Bamboo will grow in rocks and water, and the tiniest sprig can grow. Dig in the dirt and look closely there are bunches of micro buggies, in just about any part of the world, suspend a lens in front of the bulb to highlight them. Just make sure it's not left in the sun.

>>91100
Some small twisted sticks, glue on a few extra "branches", + moss paint = Lazy mans bonsai

WIN

oh and lightbulb aquarium

Make tiny rake out of bamboo twig and wire. Fill bulb half way w/ sand, rake out swirl, drop in charm bracelet Buddha. Bam! micro zen garden

what about this

Im sorry but this is going to sound dumb but, where do you get moss?

I live in the South if thats important and the only thing I have around the yard is regular St. Augustine grass with one big tree.

I don't ever see moss around here

>>91124
moss usualy grows in the woods.

>>91121
You'll need a second path for air or else it won't circulate.

>>91152
cool
if I used the standard drinking straw, how often should I recirculate the air? maybe I could automatize it

I went to pet smart and bought some Wisteria plants. Four small plants in a tube, and they fit nicely into the lightbulb. They have other kinds as well, but Wisteria is pretty hardy!

>>89660
At Michael's I found a very tiny string of fake christmas lights in their scrapbooking section. I cut off a little bit and arranged it around the moss. Giving away the terrariums as Christmas presents!

Just hollowed out my first lightbulb. It's raining, so I can't gather materials for the terrarium just yet.

Any ideas on what else I can put in here? I was thinking of making some perfume or soap and filling it up...

Also want to add that finding non-frosted lighbulbs at Walmart was a bitch

>>91314
the white stuff rubs right off with paper towel.

>>91104
You could do that with sea monkeys. Have a nicer home than the one they come with.

>>91104
Sea monkeys would be awesome in a in a ligh tbulb, look a lot better than the plastic one

>>91390
fuck my trip

Inb4 i am a complete retard, but imagine if you could get something with bio luminescent properties in there.
Granted thats very taxing on the organisms metabolism so it might not last long, but the irony of glowing crap in a lightbulb is appealing.

can't you just pour salted water into the lightbulb and give it a few swishes to get rid of the white frost?

>>91413
Sometimes. Sometimes the frost is actually a physical part of the glass, like they took sandpaper to it almost.

>>90829
What makes you say that? Sure I played around with airsoft when I was like 12-ish, but that was a long time ago.

>>91412
there are glowing mushrooms

inb4 troll look it up

bump

sweet man

>>90421

I know it seems odd to use perfectly good lightbulbs, but most dollar stores will sell lightbulbs you can use for this!

>>91782
You can save the tungsten in the filament too for other diy projects. I know one of my friends used tungsten from about 15 lightbulbs (huge waste) to make fireworks. Not really safe, but it burns brightly and really hot ;)

>>91312
>>91312
SoCal?

So, I tried to do this earlier today because I needed to replace the lights in my rec-room. However the bulbs had a thick white layer on the inside (not like the frosted layer on regular bulbs). I saw that others suggested salt/warm water to remove the frosted layer from other bulbs, and so I figured I'd give it a shot. This is what I got (See second pic)

Any advice on how I might be able to finish this faster? I'd really like to use this bulb, since it has a pretty cool shape/will stand by itself.

>>89134
i don't think so. ecosystems require more than that to function.

>>91485
Red dot sight box beside your lightbulb. ;)

>>91047
Yeah, I searched for instruction on them after I posted that. It was pretty disappointing, as when I was a kid I remember seeing a cartoon where a guy actually assembled all the parts inside the bottle.

>>91851

Turpentine

>>90755
>A bonsai isn't a type of tree, it's the style of pruning it

Sorry bro but going to have to correct you there
1. Even thought 99.9% of the crap you read refer to the plants as bonsais the word actually refers to the pot & not the plant
2. Pruning a plant to look like a bonsai doesn't make it a bonsai

There's a lot more to it them that
Most of what you see for sale as bonsais are nothing more than a cutting or seedling in a small pot & not a true bonsai
Growing a plant/tree in a small pot will stun its growth keeping in small

A true bonsai plant has the tap root removed
Thus making the roots grow out instead of down
That's why they can be grown in shallow pots

I'll stop rambling now :-)

You can also make them hang rather than standing on their own if you want

>>91931
very nice, is it yours? and do you have better pics of it?

>>91931
okay, i am doing this now. that has convinced me nicely.

I'm thinking of planting tiny flowers instead.

>>91931
a couple of those would look nice in the summer above my terace

sadly the EU (....) forces ccfl and led up our butt over here in europe. but i have a few boxes of lightbulbs stored over here, i think i can last a few decades with this amount :)

>>92061
you can still get "regular shaped" halogen bulbs in eu, I buy these because I can't stand ccfls

http://www.gluehbirne.de/a-632/?ReferrerID=3

>>92066
you made my day sir.

i can appreciate hallogen light far more than CCFL, now my stash of normal bulbs is a bit obsolete but who cares

lightbulb stash brofist

>>92068
*brofist*

i got:
150 40 watt bulbs
100 60 watt bulbs
12 of those 100 watt gaint round bulbs
oh and a couple of those bump resistant ones for worklights

bought them before everybody started to stash them up so it didn't cost that much and i'll use them anyway. but for now they are all stored safely in the attic

anyone made some progress?

Just finnished.. I used about half an hour making this, didnt have to go too far for my dirt & moss.
Suggest you clean the bulb with water anyway, and also try to clean off the insides when you got the dirt inn..

Not that hard to do really, but I dont have a base for it though.. its just resting on a roll of tape.

>>92122
now make a nice coper wire stand or something.

i'm still thinking about how to decorate this thing, just moss is a little, you know...

Damn it all, the local gas station only has the white bulbs, no clear ones. Sat there for like two minutes while the Indian guy tried to get me to buy them These people.

>No, no. Same, there are only light bulbs, very good.
>Well sir, I need clear ones so
>Same same, you buy these ones. 75 watt. Very good light bulb.
>Later dude, I'm just going to go to home depot.
>You not support my local business?

mfw

>>92129
Look into very small flowers. There are varieties which will bloom in your terrarium. You can get seeds at any decent garden supply.

>>92131
yea pretty busy with study atm

will take a look into it after the 22nd

>>91043

The metal is the thicker GTAW rods hammered "flat" and tacked with the thinner ones.

>>91043

was thinking about something like that, but with a copper rose, i have some red glasspaint around if my brain isn't fucking with me after all this learning

conventional light bulbs are banned in the EU. what do?

>>92147
some enviroment faggots decided that normal light bulbs are bad and therefore they banned them.

due to the higher efficiency i use more gas to heat my house
i hate ccfl and led light so i bought hundreds of bulbs just before the ban
the mercury in their high efficiency lamps rapes the enviroment harder

in short they failed very hard.

but some anon pointed me to the 230v halogen bulbs which are a nice substitute, just buy one of those

>>92157
LEDs are fine, but it's no secret that flourescent bulbs have mercury...I'd like to imagine environmentalists aren't smashing them in their gardens or anything...

>>92147
use a clear christmas bauble, or buy online

>>92158
no they look cold to me

and just to fuck with the enviromentalists i do throw the few ccfl lights (toilet etc) i have in the normal garbage. (university student doing a biological related study so not just some random herp derp idiot, i do it with a reason)

I finally got it cleaned out. I'm currently looking for some moss outside. As far as I can tell. It's too cold for it, but never know till you try etc etc.

I got it held with a empty simply organic cinnamon jar that I also plan on using for one of these.

In case I honestly can't find any moss Is there something else I can use to get quick results?

I'm gonna put some groundcover shit that's in one of my plants in mine I think, it's like aloe-looking hen and chick things that are super tiny

>>92164
"just to fuck with environmentalists" isn't a real reason...
University student=kid

>>92194
they force their idea onto me, i don't like it, therefore i do something they don't like

>>92189
buy some mini cactusses in some garden store and make a desert

>>92198
You are a fucking child.
I hope you only drink out of containers made with BPA too, and that you use arsenic to treat your syphilis.

>>92198
Thanks but I just found some moss not but two feet from my porch. lol Though thats also a great idea. thanks
>>92200
whats with the hate?

>>92204
I don't know, I guess I don't REALLY hope that, but it'd make about as much sense

>>92200
well lets fight that out in another thread, this is DIY

a tiny LED or something inside the metal part would make it stand out quite nicely at night

>>92204
nice, id say add some pebbles and tiny weeds. some weeds can be quite beautiful

Could this method be used to create a tiny fishbowl, like for a single guppy?

I understand I'd need ventilation for it, I'm thinking 2 small holes in the base with the bulb upside-down. The holes could also be used to drop fish food in there

I made this. winter in Michigan, not much plant life to find outside right now.
>>92155

>>92217
I would say no to any kind of normal fish because of the waste they make from eating and pooping the small amount of water would become very toxic very quickly unless you have a way to filter it or change the water. There's just too many factors that would prevent a fish of any size from living in there, let alone, thriving.

But I've been contemplating something small and silly like sea monkeys. It would be a more interesting home than the plastic bucket they give you

>>92200
Hey man, relax. This is a thread about lightbulb terrariums.

>>92217

chrystal red shrimp and other tiny shrimp COULD thrive in this.

use a large bulb, clean very good to get any chemicals out use a few tiny shrimp

>>92230
Shrimp are hearty little buggers. They rock the casbah in the ocean, which is sort of out global toilet right now.

>>92234
yeah but i'd try some freshwater shrimp first. nanoreefing in a lightbulb: i don't see it work

>>92225
What about those algae/waste eating fish and/or snails? Seems like they wouldn't have too much trouble living in such a thing.

>>92225
ok so i had these things and I can't remember the name of them, like sea monkeys but not, more like little trilobytes or...fuck, isopod things?

they were very small.

I have a big bulb I could use, do you think they'd live? what would i need to make a tiny aquarium like that with plants in it?


fuck i wish I could remember what they were called

>>92236
Anyone remember Sea Monkeys? I loved mine and would watch them for hours.

>>92234
>>92236

So what kind of freshwater shrimp would survive in something the size of a regular lightbulb? This sounds like a great xmas present for my brother, but I don't want them to last less than a week

>>92240
Yeah, same here. They were awesome. They'd be really cool in a light bulb.

>>92239

TRIOPS!

holy fuck, that was bugging me. anyone know if they could live in a somewhat closed system like this? they're like the awesome wicked mean version of sea monkeys

>>92251
Oh yeah! Brine shrimp, man. When I do this terrarium idea I'm probably going to actually mount it hanging from a fake cord I'll salvage from a second hand shop. It'll be a neat conversation piece.

and done. I used some fresh moist soil. outside in our flowerbed and some bright white rocks.

I have a needeless(sp) syringe that was used to give our old dog it's medicine. I completely cleaned it out. It's all I got. how many times a day should I water? I figured once should be enough


sorry for the picture quality.

>>92261
Hmm did you shake it or slosh it? Looks like maybe a bit too much water. The soil should be damp to the touch but not saturated. Good job for actually doing it, work in progress.

>>92249
I'm gonna do a few triops and a moss ball or two, the mossballs are like a buck at the aquarium store place, I have triops I never grew, a packet of eggs.

and stone/gravel. the bulb I'm gonna use is about double regular bulb size, it was some kinda industial bulb. I think I will have to clean it very very well before I pack the creatures in.

>>92262
well, it's been raining like mad over here and while I was trying to put the soil in there my cat scared the crap out of me and I almost dropped it.

yeeeaaaahhh I hate cats.

I'm carefully using q-tips to clean it.

>>92278
great post some pics when you are done.

i'm still thinking about making a desert one with a tiny cactus


go to your local aquarium shop they prob have some tiny shrimp like fire shrimp or something. i'd get 4-5 or something no more. don't feed to much and don't place it in a cold room

you can make a light bulb cleared by pouring a litle salt in it and spinning it around.. thank me with titties please.

>>92315
yeah that's in the op post as you well know

reading is fun and easy

>>92315
The OP beat you to it
>>88945

>TITTIES DENIED

>>92324
>Step 1: Get a light bulb. Ones with white inside are just as good as the clear ones. Avoid 'Clouded' ones; bulbs where the inside is, I guess etched, as you can't make it clear.

>cant make it clear
>cant make

GIEF ME DEM TITTIES. -finland anon

>>92331
THAT'S NOT THE POST I DIRECTED YOU TO, YOU ICE-RIDDLED FISHSLAPPER

>Step 5 [For white coated bulbs]: Put a teaspoon of salt in the bulb and fill it about half full with hot water. Shake it up while covering the top hole with your thumb. This should remove the kaolin (the white powder) and make your bulb clear as a snowglobe. If necessary, put in a paper towel and twist it around to get any kaolin the water couldn't get.

Now then, not only do you NOT get titties, but you owe the REST OF US some titties!

.... on another board of course, this one's blue

still carefully cleaning, but hey I probably screwed up somewhat but what is a man to do. It still looks nice. live and learn.

Also I'm the same anon as>>92261


please ignore the smokes and messy desk.

>>92359
man I even fucked up the spoiler tags...today is not my day.

>>92359
Naw man that's just fine. Looks good and it will clear up.

>>92359
Yeah, looks good.

>>92359
I like it.

maybe swab some of the dirt down from the sides with a half a qtip, or somethin
looks good though nice and simple

>>92359
wad of toilet paper on a pencil, wipe

i'd use less water if i were you

Fair play to everyone who's made them, they DO look good. But don't you hate that feeling when you get all excited by the high quality OP picture and then you're left with... a lightbulb full of twigs?

Starting on my desert now :p but not sure whether to try and transplant my existing saguaros or just get more seeds...

>>92391
That's the plan. thanks for the tip. :) I love /diy/

>>92395
Honestly yeah the ones posted in this thread are all great, but I just like the idea in general. As far as mine goes, I'm proud of it and it's the first thing on /diy/ that I have actually took the time to make.

This is actually only the 2nd time I have came to this board too. I might lurk more often.

>>92408
Yeah same. Pretty cool board, gonna hang around here for a long time.

>>92408

it's the sunny side of the giant festering asshole that is 4chan

>>92408
>>92412
You both said it. This is my first day checking out /diy/ and it's already my favorite board over the others.

i only visit
/b/
/ck/
/diy

this is a bit what i was thinking about, gotta check the local stores for mini cacti though

Has anyone thought about making a sand garden in one instead? Like a mini zen garden thing?

>>92535
meh,kinda boring if you ask me. and very hard to do, disturb the bulb and your sand pattern is gone

>>92535
could be cool if you somehow had a tiny rake laying in it. like ship in a bottle, zen in a bottle

>>92554
oh wow, this has so much potential
maybe like one single footprint in the sand

>>92561
i'd use some glue to keep the sand in shape.

spray on or diluted glue or something

>>92563
maybe use diluted elmer's, pour it in over the sand with an eyedropper, then lay a little more on top of that so it's not shiny

footprint. fuck, make tha jeebus carried you thing and sell it to xians. dirt+glue+ light bulb= millionaire

well guys i'm off to bed. going to check the local stores for some cacti after the 22nd (load of exams)

>>92568
oh and thx for the inspiration

>>92507
For something like this, would it be best to go to a local place and buy the seeds? Or a cactus that's already small and somewhat grown?

>>91897
I like the part where that picture only has my lighbulb, top of my speaker tower, and my wall. Never owned a red dot sight, not that into it. Just a $30 plastic gun or two ;)

To everybody else, thank you for making this thread a hit. I've been lurking /diy/ since it opened and decided to post. This thread was my first post :D
Thank you all, and good luck.

>>92646

Oh my badness bro, thought this was yours:
>>90404

>>92646
good luck newly born mac/diy/ver

>>91931
I want one of these with a tiny dinosaur in it.

Bumping for interest and inherent awesomeness.

Would like a little more detail or a manual though. These could sell really well at a farmers market or a flea market.

This is win on so many levels.

>>92746
No hard feelings ;)

>>92769
Thank you!

>>92924
I expect a royalty check for 40% of your profits. jk, but you can probably find a more detailed guide if you search around instructables or ehow. I didn't see any threads on here for these, so I read quite a few guides while making my own and just condensed what I learned. If you have any troubles if you make the terrarium, just ask.

I just thought of another cool way to display these. I think i will try to find one so I can do it.

Hunt down an old 3 or 4 light Vanity Light Fixture that isnt being used, is being replaced, etc, one of the ones where the bulbs hang down....and just mount it on your wall as a display piece (no electricity) with the terrarium bulbs screwed in hanging...you might need to drill little air holes in.

<----I was thinking something like this, you just take the shades off and replace with your little terrariums.

It would be really cool to get some tiny LED lights shining down in the terrariums from the fixture too, if you're really handy. It would be an awesome wall display piece!

anyone made progress?

>>92978
Mine.... Cracked.

I'm definitely going to try this in the spring sometime, maybe with some moss, tiny rocks, and a single little spring flower. Would look awesome.

Also, as someone that goes to /an/ occasionally, I think I can safely say that they would flip the fuck out if they heard about people putting fish/other animals in as small a space as a lightbulb.

i'm against anything living besides maybe a few fire shrimp in a big bulb.

>>92985

Yeah /an/ flips out when people put a guppy in a 1 gallon tank.

But yeah, I would only do Sea Monkeys (brine shrimp) or Triops in a lightbulb...and I would use the larger bulbs for those. I was thinking about a spider habitat in one could be cool too.

Just a thought of mine, but something i would really like to do is grow a veins fly trap or other carnivorous plant in one. The problem would be a convenient way to feed them. Any ideas on what type would fit and look good in a bulb?

>>92992
How would you feed the spider? Putting a live cricket or something in such an enclosed area would wreck the webbing, and you wouldn't be able to see much anyway, due to said webbing.

There is a lot you can do with this concept, but I don't think that living things are the way to go.

Using white sand and putting tiny footsteps in, and a toothpick flag would be cool, kind of a tiny moonscape type of thing.

>>92993
A pitcher plant would be cool I think, if you could find one small enough.

I've had a Venus Flytrap before, and they can be difficult to care for.

The problem is getting food for the plant inside the lightbulb. Flies aren't likely to go in unless baited somehow, and even then there's no sure bet that they would figure out where the opening is.

>>92994

I was thinking one of the larger bulbs, and a flower spider, a house spider(pictured) or jumping spider, all three are rather small spiders. I would feed them ants.

>>92998
That could work I guess, or an ambush predator like a crab spider. They're pretty as fuck and don't really make webs or anything.

>>93001

Yeah Flower Spiders and Jumping Spiders are both hunting spiders. Only the American House Spider uses webs.

Also, holy crap check out this one i found. All Aquatic plants

>>93001
Dam you now i know what i must do instead of the Venus fly trap. Well i should just do both, but fill part of the bulb with sand and put in some antlions in it. i can feed them some ants every so often, and when they grow outta being larva i can just let them fly out and put some more in.

>>93003
you got source on this pic? Its quite impressive.
Thanks

>>93004
Now THAT would be cool as fuck.

>>93006

Some girl's Tumblr. Dunno if she made it herself or what...no info, just the picture.

You could grow peyote buttons in those.

>>93015
oh wow. also, not for drug talk or drug para etc. etc. etc.

Just tried it. Used the wrong kind of lightbulb but it was really all they had at the store other than those coil ones.

The glass broke a little but you can barely see it after I put the metal part on again. I used an epoxy resin to stick it back on and it looks gross right now, will have to wait for it to dry.

I used a tiny cactus and some moss we had in a flower pot outside. I think all in all it looks pretty decent, I hope it stays alive until at least Christmas so I can give it to someone. Still trying to figure out what Im going to use for it to stand.

Picture absolutely related!

>>93032
Oh shit, that looks nice.

>>93035
I had a lot of trouble keeping the rocks in place. They are some volcanic shit and weigh next to nothing so they keep rattling about and fucking up the cactus. I want to leave it on a shelf and never move it again

>>93032
wtf, a girl on the internet....

pretty nice bulb you got there

>>93040
Who said Im a girl?

>>93040
Could be a guy with painted nails

>>93040
somebody seriously needed to comment on this? do you main /b/ or is this some sort of reverse-reverse-troll attempt

>>93044
glittery nails

pfew i thought there was a girl on the internet. move along people, nothing to see here, false alarm

>>93047
Maybe I am a guy with exquisite taste in nail polish. Regardless, it is irrelevant to the thread!

How can I keep the motherfucking rocks from moving around in the lightbulb and knocking the cactus over every time I pick the thing up?

>>93048
>>93048

you could try gluing small piece of metal like a piece of a paper clip to the bottom of each rock and sticking it in the dirt

>>93048
sorry i was just joking a bit. i'd say do it like this >>93054

>>93057
It's no big deal, I didnt even realize you could tell I was a girl so I was a little confused at first and I didnt want to derail a good thread because I forgot I was wearing nail polish.

I tried to glue a paperclip to another rock and it wouldn't work. They are very porous because they are volcanic and nothing is sticking. I might just make sure I have a sufficiently sturdy base for the lightbulb and package it in a little box, well padded with a nice craft paper and write "DO NOT SHAKE" all over it so when I gift it they dont ruin it.

>>93061
try a thicker glue, or hot glue

>>93061
hot glue or epoxy

Eurofag here, all I got is these types (not blue, but the bottom).
What do I do?

>>93069
move to another european country?

i'm dutch and i haven't ever seen one of those fittings in the stores around here

>>93069
I am also European and Ive never seen a blue light bulb like that outside specialty places.

Oh noes this thread will reach it's bump limit in a few two posts.

>>93069
thats all we have here in uk

ok who makes a new thread?

btw wasnt the bump limit 300-350 posts?

>>93078
thought it was 250 we're about to find out

>>93079
well my counter tells me it's at 260 so we're already past 250.

omg who will drop the nuke on this awesome thread

>>93078
>>93079
>>93080
New hardware updates, remember? You can even load pictures from 404'd threads if you still have the thread open in your browser.

I'm guessing the post limit is determined by the total amounts of posts on the whole board. So on /b/ it's probarly less than /diy/.
Maybe this thread will never 404 :D

>>93083
oh never read the update things, i was like whatever.

>>93084
I didn't read it either, I found those things out by simply browsing way too often.

Ok, just to make it clear:

How often does this need to be watered, and can it be done without unscrewing shit? Take in mind I'll only use moss.
I'm asking because I'm planning to give this away for Christmas, and I don't want it to be too much of a hassle for the recipient.

>>93119
moss is quite hardy, i'd add a bit of water and close it. add water again when it starts to look dry. but if you are closing it off there will be hardly any evaporation. so it should last quite long

>>93124
Okay, so this means I should skip the part with a coffee filter and just add some water and screw it shut again?
I'm thinking of a combination of the wire footstand and the hanging approach, so it would be easier to unscrew for eventual watering.

>>93128
Im not sure what kind of lightbulbs you are planning on using but the ones I used have no thread so there is no screwing shit on or off. The metal part was glued onto the glass and I had to pry it off, then used epoxy to stick it back on and it will never be opened again. "Fortunately" I broke the glass just enough that there is a little hole on the bottom that can be used for watering the moss

>>93140
I reckon I have the same as you do; glued without threads. Any suggestions on how to make a convenient hole, safely without shattering the whole bulb?

>>93154
Honestly, no. I got two and pretty much ruined the first one. I used a small screwdriver for leverage getting the metal part off and if you do it all around it without pushing too hard it will come out easily enough, dont try to bend back the metal, it will give too easily and it will be all warped and ugly. My light bulb had an inner glass thing and I just broke it off carefully with the screwdriver, it didnt shatter at all, it broke in little bits at first and only broke in a big chunk when I lost my patience and tried to rush it. As long as you do it carefully you will be fine. It is a lot harder to screw it up than you might think!

>>93159
Okay, thanks!
Also, just realized; wont a hole in the glass cause evaporation to seep out pretty freely, making watering it more often necessary?

Take the ends of the light bulbs and stick them together. Now you have a DOUBLE TERRARIUM.

Or, take a helical bulb and a regular bulb and...

>>93164
>Or, take a helical bulb and a regular bulb and...

... SHOVE IT UP YOUR ASS!

>>93165
AND RETURN TO /b/

look what I found

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aag/main?ie=UTF8&sshmPath=at-a-glance&isAmazonFulfilled=&market
placeID=ATVPDKIKX0DER&isCBA=&orderID=&asin=&seller=A2WK8LZUXNHSKW&isPopup=

>>93173
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3a8LaIME66M&feature=related
Educate yourself, son.

>>93190
>

>>93069
I tried looking it up a few times but got nothing.
I just went for it in the end, would've rppied my hand apart if I didn't have towel around it.
Anybody know what the brown stuff is? Seems to a weird glue.

>>93221
awwww :(

>>93160
Anyone got insight on this?
Any alternate solutions I could try otherwise?

I don't think it's been mentioned, but an ant farm in a big bulb would be pretty neat, or some kind of bug, plus moss or something. I'mma do it soon.

i want to make one in a copper wire stand with a rose painted on it with red paint and copper wire and a small desert with mini cacti inside. sadly the one gaint light bulb in house that i would love to use is still working. and i'm not going to sacrifice it because we only have 7 of them left due to the stupid EU ban on normal bulbs

>>93221
Mine had a yellow glue that was powdery but nowhere near as much as you! Also I see its the same type of bulb that i used, with the inwards folding of the glass, sucks that it shattered!

You could also buy a fake bulb from hobby lobby. Only costed me $2 and the glass is much thicker so it won' break easy.

>>93402
Interesting! The opening seems really small though, how are you gonna get shit in there?

>>93402
sadly we don't have that store over here

glad to see this thread is still around after a week

just finished mine, took like 2 hours.
turned out nicer than i thot it would.
next one will be with beach sand and some sea shells

>>93419
That looks really nice!

>>93402
Looks horrible in comparison to a real lightbulb...
Not as smooth and the thick glass causes to much of the light to break angle.
Also not so much DIY!

>>93419
Looks awesome! I like the pebbles in the bottom.

Do you guys think that I should start another thread? Seems to be nearing it's limit.

>>93517
Yeah, go for it!
I wont be starting until late tomorrow or the day after, and I might be needing input.

Made this one about 3 weeks ago, just used grass seed and the stand is a coat hanger bent to hold it....make sure that you dont water them too much, a coke cap full of water has lasted me 2 weeks.

>>93517
>>93555

New thread: >>>93580