Disclaimer: This article was written for the German readership of the Terrarium Blog and thus, features German Amazon links. The product in question is not available to the US market. You can still read this article and gain some insights, but keep in mind that you cannot buy the product from outside of Europe without third-party services.
Building closed terrariums yourself is an exciting business. Today we take a look at the Ecoworld Jungle Biosphere, which provides you with (almost) all the materials you need for a closed terrarium. We'll take a look at whether the set is priced right, or if you might be better off finding the stuff yourself. You can read about the advantages and disadvantages of such a complete set compared to materials you can collect yourself in this article.
Affiliate note: I receive a small commission for some of the products linked in this article, if you buy them through my links. This won't cost you any more than usual! I recommend all of these products based on my honest opinion and not because of the commission I receive. As an Amazon Affiliate I earn through qualified sales. For more information, please read this affiliate note.
Ecoworld Jungle Biosphere - The properties
Available versions
The Ecoworld Jungle Biosphere is available in different jars on Amazon. Apart from the shape of the jars, however, they do not seem to differ in content. We're therefore only going to focus on one of the two versions. You can check them both out below.
The cylindrical version of this closed terrarium is also available in a slimmer version. We'll take a closer look at that one in a moment.
Basic jar with ferns
This variant is the one you could already look at above. When you buy this closed terrarium, you get the following items in the package:
- 1x recycling jar
- 1x cork lid with LED lighting
- 3x different ferns
- 8x coconut tablets to mix your substrate
- Ecoworld substrate
- Moss
- The construction manual
The dimensions of the variant are also shown on Amazon, although the representation does not seem quite to scale in terms of the height and width of the glass.
Basic jar with tropical plants
You can also buy the same set with tropical plants. You get the same jar, an illuminated cork lid with LEDs, Ecoworld substrate, again 8 coco tablets and of course moss and the instructions. Exactly which tropical plants are involved is strangely not mentioned in the product description. You can see a sample picture below.
The two XL variants
Both closed terrariums are available in even larger jars, which are then sold as XL variants. The glass is not much wider. The opening is also only minimally larger. Only in the height there is a bigger difference. Whether this will ultimately make such a big difference for the plants is questionable.
At least it does not look from the product images as if the plants would grow in height. Who finds the larger glass better, must reach about 10 € deeper into the pocket. Here you can see two pictures.
What do the buyers say?
Now you've heard a lot about the product, but the most important part is yet to come. On the pictures this complete set for an closed terrarium may look quite fancy, but does it deliver what it promises?
The average user rating on Amazon is 4.1 out of 5 stars, which is pretty high. It is made up of a total of 251 global user reviews, more than 60% of which are 5-star reviews.
Positive reviews
Several users rate the amount of plants as very good. Some users even say that the scope of delivery includes almost too many plants, which can be considered even more positive. With this, you can then pick out the nicer plants and either leave the less beautiful ones or plant them another closed terrarium.
The LED illumination is also viewed positively. This is supposed to have a good brightness and is also supplied including batteries.
I noticed another positive feature while browsing through the various reviews. Every now and then, a little something comes up in the scope of delivery. One user reported broken LEDs and another said that his plants froze on the way to him. In both cases, the manufacturer took care of a free replacement. More on the plant replacement will come in a moment, though.
Goodwill with manufacturers is something extremely positive and can add a lot of value to products that aren't perfect by themselves.
Negative reviews
The package does include Ecoworld's own substrate as well as several coco tablets for mixing, but not charcoal or other types of carbon, as some users report. As you may remember from the article on substrates, charcoal prevents mold from forming. In the end, charcoal is cheap and you probably have it at home, but a complete kit should already include something like this. Especially because it is so cheap.
Some users report that the cork is too small and not quite tight. If such a complete set for a closed terrarium cannot be closed properly, it is of course relatively useless. Without an airtight seal it is not possible to build a closed terrarium. Fortunately, such problems can be rectified. You can seal almost any container airtight with a few simple tricks.
Several users also report that the manufacturer does not replace the plants after 48 hours. For a business reason, such a time limit can be understood to a certain extent, but 48 hours seems a bit short. Sometimes packages are also longer on the way with the post.
Equally negative, in my opinion, is the price. A comparable product (but without plants) costs just under half the price. That the plants make such a huge difference in price, I personally can not imagine.
Summary
Ecoworld Jungle Biosphere is a good complete set for building a closed terrarium. It contains almost everything you need and also provides you with plants that you won't find in your own garden or forest. Most buyers are very happy about this product, however, not everyone is. The biggest drawback to this closed terrarium, according to most user reviews, were dead plants. You can't necessarily blame the manufacturer for that, since the plants are ultimately sent by mail and the manufacturer has no influence on the conditions there. In such cases, the manufacturer might replace your plants, but only if the mail was fast enough and 48 hours have not yet passed.
Here you can buy the Ecoworld Jungle Biosphere.
If you want to be on the safe side and definitely use fresh plants, you can also build your own closed terrarium much cheaper and do not have to resort to a complete set. Everything you need to know can be found in the ultimate guide.
