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Gripe with my Conditions and M. newmaniana

I have a Masdevallia newmaniana that was preping to bloom. It was most certainly going to bloom this week. The last time I saw it was Thursday afternoon, I left it in hopes that it would survive until today (Wednesday) without any help from my part. I was wrong. The plant survived well enough, but the flower bud is limp and unopened. I was sooooo looking forward to this bloom.

What happened you ask? Well normally the plant sits on the wall of an open aquarium and this space gets lots of fog and humidity created from the ultrasonic foggers in the tank. This fogging action is a double edged sword. Its wonderfull while it works, but it will soon devour all the water reserves in the tank. When I went to check the tank today, I found a dryout tank. I had left it with 6 inches of water. Not enough for 5 days.

here is a picture of a failed M. newmaniana bloom. :(( Sorry I could not do better guys.

What a terrible shame :( I am so very sorry about that. I hope it will throw up another spike soon and you get to see it flower. I have just been sent a Anoectochilus formosanus as a gift but I do not have a tank so I am unsure how I will keep humidity up I can see me having trouble. I also have some Masdies so maybe it is time to invest in a case or small tank for these little guys, I so dont want them to die or get like yours and lose their buds if they get so far as offering a bud.

Thanks for the kind words. What I am really concerned about is what loss. I am going to have to figure out a way to cover the tank with some sort of dome (since the plants grow well above the rim of the top of the tank). Especially since I am going to Africa on the 13th and not coming back until August 5th.

Oh what a shame. I hope you find a way to look after them while you are away.

Hello, that's very unfortunate that bud blasted on you.

I too am using ultrasonic foggers for humidity. My system is currently still somewhat of a prototype but I'll share what I'm doing as maybe it could be some use to you.

Pictures speak better than words so I'll include some at the bottom. Currently my system consists of a storage bin, computer fan, 2 ultrasonic foggers and a 2.5" shopvac hose.
You can see from the pictures how I put it together.
But I still have the same problem as you, it doesn't hold enough water to produce fog for more than a day or two.
To combat this I'm planning on getting a larger reservoir, installing a 1/4" bulkhead and putting a float valve in the smaller fog-making bin.
Once the water level gets low, the float valve opens and refills the water level to optimum levels.

Anyway, I'm not sure if any of this will be helpful, I take it your fog generator is actually in your tank, but perhaps you could find a way to utilize a float valve.

Alex

I would love to learn more about the float valve. If I can figure out a way to attach a resevoir that will add water when needed, then my problems are over. Alternatively, I can use a timer and a pump to have the pump add water every three days or so from the resvoir. U are a genius!! Thanks for the help!

What a pity that you lost the flower. I really hope you find a way to keep your chids while you are away.

Can you train a friend to maintain humidifier when you must be away?

I know how you feel coming back from a trip hoping for blooms and getting blasted buds... I just got back from a 16 day trip to France and left all my 'chids in the care of my parents. Out of the half-dozen buds/spikes when I left, two remained when I got back. But, it's all part of the hoby, and so we carry on!

On the issue of running out of water, here's my solution (Well, not really my solution. I read it in a book on CP's a while back.): take a big plastic juice bottle, poke a hole in the side near the bottom, put some rocks in the bottle, fill it with water, put the cap on, and put it in your tank. When the water level gets below the hole, air can get in and therefor water can get out keeping the water level with the hole. While that might not make it through the long trip, it might see you through some shorter ones (I couldn't say for sure, not having tried this myself).

I think adding a lid, even if it's just a sheet of saran wrap suspended above the plants, will help a lot. That way you'll have way less evaporation, and, as I'm guessing was your intention, the mist'll condense on the top and trickle back down to the reservoir.

On a related topic, here's how I humidify my tank. My makeshift humidifier is very simple, consisting of:
-a piece of sponge
-a ziplock container
-a muffin fan
-two bits of wire to hold up the muffin fan
-water

The fan blows down onto the sponge, kept moist all the time by the water on the bottom. It works better than you might think. It keeps my 2'x2'x4' wide enclosure at 80+ humidity all the time. And I don't even have to run it 24/7. As far as quick, cheap solutions go, I'm quite happy with this one.

Hope this helps, and good luck with whatever you end up doing!

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Joseph, your simple solution sounds workable for me. I'm going to try it. Even if it only helps a little it's worth trying. Now where do I find a computer fan or 2 or 3, already wired?

Marilyn