Advice on growing in a terrarium

[Rhonda Svoboda]

As some you know, I am trying to raise both the heat and humidity for my Phal.'s and a Phap. Space heaters are out due to cost and drying out the plants.
I can't afford most of the high end, or larger, terrariums.
I know there are a lot of very smart orchid growers on this sight that are very talented at improvising or inventing ways to grow orchids.
So I am asking for your ideas and creations, please.

[Dusty Ol' Man]

There are a lot of ideas in the terrarium forum. Read through there to see what some people have done.

[WaterWitchin]

Dusty Ol' Man is spot on. Everything on that forum from simple to very complex. Gather your ideas, choose something you can afford that's workable, and go for it!

You can pick up a used aquarium fairly inexpensively, especially if it leaks.

[Rhonda Svoboda]

I should have looked at that forum in the first place! Thanks

[Fuerte Rav]

Originally Posted by WaterWitchin

You can pick up a used aquarium fairly inexpensively, especially if it leaks.

[Iklaikk]

Just FYI if one of these will fit your budget: Petco is having a dollar a gallon sale for aquariums 10-29 gallons, and the 40 gallon "breeder" (is intended for breeding fish, but it's a little deeper front to back, so better for plants) is I think half price. Sale is through the end of January.

[Steve83]

If you want a bump in heat, or more of a thermal gradient, use a t5 bulb.

It doesn't require that much wattage to grow orchids in a smaller space.

[Orchidtinkerer]

Rhonda the easiest cheapest thing you can do is build a see through tent - I have seen some great ones made out of pvc pipes. All you would need is some pvc drain pipes from a plumbnig store, 32mm is a good size, you will need some end connector pieces to connect them together and build a square frame. Then you cover it in some clear plastic.

You only really need a frame for humidity sensitive plants - generally smaller orchids. The bigger ones can tolerate just sitting on a heat mat.

What I try and do as much as possible is minimise heat loss so always place a thick insulation board underneath the heatmat otherwise half your heat will get lost to the wrong side.

It's a bit of an experimenting game. Temp and humidity are always linked, it's hard to influence one without affecting the other but it just takes a bit of playing around.

If humidity is low around the orchids I find having a fan blowing directly onto a humidity tray disperses humidity around the area well to raise it

aquariums are great but they can have more disadvantages than people realize, first of all watering is awkward - I actually placed one aquarium on its side so I can water from the front instead of from above but you need a door on magnets and hinges for that to work.
Then space is always an issue. Once you start adding a fan and a thermostat and plants and a light it all starts to get cramped very fast.
And aquariums have no holes for fan or heater cables so that is a bit awkward too. My best grow area's are my home-made ones.