Mini phalaenopsis, not the best roots... semi-hydro?

[lilin42]

Hi everyone! I'm an avid plant lover, but brand spankin' new to orchid growing. I've wanted one for a very long time, but had moved around too much to care for one properly. I finally caved and got a mini phalaenopsis to get myself started. Most of my plant experience up to this point is with herbs, succulents, tillandsia, and various odd ducks that have wound up in my collection! I am an apartment dweller, so my plants are all indoor.

I have done a little reading and I knew enough to look at the roots and crown before buying, but all the plants that were accessible and affordable to me had less than ideal potting, so none of them had the best-looking roots.

I'll attach a picture below, but to summarize, there is clearly some algae growing in the substrate, which I am going to immediately throw in the trash.

Some of the other plants had a couple of gnats hanging out in there, and white mold -- there was little to no ventilation in the pots and the staff clearly over-watered them. I didn't see bugs or mold on this particular orchid, but that doesn't mean it's not there obviously. It just means, at best, that it's less advanced than the other plants.

Still, I see what look to me to be a couple of good air roots, and a couple good potted roots too. The leaves are stiff and green, and the crown looks good. So I'm hopeful it will be ok?

I was wondering a couple of things, if I could pick your brains a bit!

1. I was thinking perhaps I would put it in a clear container without any medium, just soaking as needed, to let it air out and discourage the mold from growing. The only orchid medium I saw had condensation inside the bag, and I just didn't feel confident about it. If I were to soak the roots as needed, then let it sit bare root in the container, would that be ok?

2. How would I fertilize in this sort of set up? I have a blood-based fertilizer I could mix into water, but is that a suitable fertilizer type for orchids? I've been trying to figure out if the nitrogen in blood fertilizer is the right type, but it's surprisingly hard to get information about that!

Apart from that, my plan is basically: get rid of that substrate, snip any bad roots, squirt the roots with hydrogen peroxide 3% (do I wash off the hydrogen peroxide?). That's what I've gathered is the way forward from what I've read and watched. But I really have no idea what I'm doing! Orchids are so different from all my other plants.

Thanks so much for any help, and sorry for the brain dump!