Nano Vivarium
 

June 13th, 2011
-------------------------------------
Sooo, I was walking around goodwill because you can find awesome stuff there (fact), and I stumbled across this 3"W x 3"D x 5"H hinged, front-opening glass display case - I thought to myself, that looks like a miniature version of my vivarium/terrarium at home... idea clicked - this is my approach to the nano, pico, micro viv. Yeah, it's that small. lol I just wanted to share and see what people think.


Here is the display case before I touched it:
http://img535.imageshack.us/img535/1489/microviv1.jpg


I then googled nano vivariums, pico vivariums, micro this, tiny that, etc. All I could find are the really cool mini "vivarium" jars and odd containers and whatnot. But I didn't want a small container of dirt and moss to sit near the window; I wanted a small vivarium with a false bottom for proper drainage, it's own dedicated light, etc... and maybe I can hunt down a nice small orchid. Actually, it's official, that's the plan: track down teeny tiny anchoring orchid species.

Anyways, I first drilled a ~1/16" hole in the bottom corner of the tank for draining and made a plug to ppplug it. Next, the false bottom was constructed using a container that carried corn huskers... I know, random, but it was a perforated sturdy plastic material that looked perfect for holding some hydroton above sea level. Drainage stuff:
http://img823.imageshack.us/img823/2307/microviv6.jpg


The following step involved making the barrier for the front, like so:
http://img585.imageshack.us/img585/7729/microviv7.jpg
I used super expensive clear flexible plastic from the wrapping of some AA batteries. Cut to fit. Silicone in place. And then silicone the crud outta the bottom cause there are tiny imperfections (holes/crevices) all over this thing. It was leaking incessantly prior to 'dipping it in a vat of silicone'.


Step 3 or 4ish, add single layer of the smallest lecca balls I could find:
http://img402.imageshack.us/img402/5597/microviv9.jpg


And now for the scape... I'm a fan of wood cause it looks naturalish, and I wasn't trying to spend $, so I went with a 20 dollar grapevine branch thing. I ended up cutting a tiny 2" x 4ish" piece of of it and positioning it into the scape like this (filling out with peat moss of course):
http://img824.imageshack.us/img824/9575/microviv11.jpg
Tight fit - somehow managed to cut it perfect the first time... phew!


Last step: plant.
hemianthus callitrichoides; found it at local fish store submerged. Emersed it:
http://img542.imageshack.us/img542/5779/microviv17.jpg
Try not to pay attention to the the excess HC around the viv... hehe - bought too much.



Final product:
http://img269.imageshack.us/img269/9818/microviv16.jpg

Container: 3" x 3" x 5" front hinge-opening, glass and brass display case with
vent slits along door (top and bottom). Drilled with removable plug; sweet!

Light: 26W CF - 1625 lumens - 6500K

Temperature: 77 - 78.5F at top, 75 - 77F at middle, 73.5 - 75 at substrate.

Humidity: 80 - 100%

Water schedule... once, maybe twice a day

----------------------------------------------

I decided that I will go with both barbosella handroi and barbosella trilobata as the miniature orchids for this miniature setup - hopefully I can pull off some nice clusters on that grapevine; I will order them online soon, but for now, the waiting game.... GrRrRooowWw!

June 16th, 2011
------------------------------------------------
My order of (2) barbosella handroi from Andy's arrived today:
http://img577.imageshack.us/img577/6573/miniviv1.jpg
Both plants arrived safe and healthy (yep, I took one off it's mount before even thinking about the camera). I'm still waiting for the barbosella trilobata from J&L.com; I was told the BTwill ship out monday.


So I sat in front of the little vivarium for and hour or so lol - and this is the outcome:
http://img840.imageshack.us/img840/3902/miniviv2.jpg


I used straight pins to 'politely' hold the runners down to the wood (and any large roots). Using tweezers, I stuffed tiny amounts of peat moss where ever I saw exposed roots; closer look:
http://img824.imageshack.us/img824/2389/miniviv3.jpg


Got the back side of the grapevine, too. Top down:
http://img823.imageshack.us/img823/3830/miniviv4.jpg


Final result for today:
http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/7918/miniviv5.jpg

I love it that orch is gonna take that bad boy over.Awesome work who said our hobby had to cost an arm and leg.

Thats sooo cool, great job!!

You did a great job. I absolutely love it. I now want to go out and fire up the glass shop and build something like it. Stained glass hobby comes in handy again. :)

Looks terrific! I'm a fan of re-purposing. Keep us posted on how the plants do - any idea if you're going to have problems regulating the temps in such a small enclosure?

-Tristan

That's awesome! I wish I found stuff like that more often at the goodwills and other second-hand stores here! What a perfect little set-up!

thanks for the comments everyone

Yes, I was at first having issues with heat, but I made sure to solve it before the orchids arrived. I started out running just the 26w cfl by itself and that pushed temps over 83... So I went and tried out a 13w 6500k led bulb... That didn't help with heat somehow (maybe by 2 degrees), so I went and bought a tiny personal fan. That setup kept temps around 78, but I wanted to do better. Simple solution: raise light (heat) away from the viv. Not trusting the led's ability to be raised off the glass without sacrificing usable light, I decided to switch back to the cfl. I raised that up 6", directed the fan between the light and top of viv - temps are now at 75 - 76 and holding.

Too cool, I want a whole series of these. The possibilities are endless.

Very cute boy wonder!

Other than the temp issue which you addressed, my only other concern would be air circulation within. I'll be interested how that works out in the long term.

Btw, personally, I think the extra moss you have sitting around the terr. really adds to the look. :goodjob