Super newbie's work in progress terrarium- suggestions please!
 

Hello! I am looking for tips/suggestions/warnings about my temporary terrarium set up. Just set it up today to accommodate my first masdevallia, purchased at an orchid show this afternoon.

I have many different types of orchids, and have had success with some that need higher humidity, like my chiloschista. So I decided to try my luck with a masdevallia. But I jumped the gun today and bought one before I had the proper set up.

It consists, at the moment, of an aquarium with a lid (with a small opening at the top), a basic humidifier, and a humidity/temperature meter. There is some distilled water at the bottom of the aquarium, and the humidifier, meter, and plant are resting on top of upside down pots. The aquarium sits partially in front of a southern window. Window is partially open at night to cool it down.

It seems ok for now, but I'm concerned about how to keep the temperature down during the day for the next few days. We are having a few more 23C days before the weather starts to get chilly. I read somewhere that icepacks can make a difference? The humidifier emits a cool mist, but I don't know if it's enough.

This might be a silly question, but is a normal humidifier safe inside of a very humid aquarium? The power cord is nowhere near touching the water, but is the humidity enough to cause a problem?

The humidifier is currently filled with normal tap water. Will this cause a problem with my masdevallia? It will only ever be watered with distilled or rain water.

I realize that I'm super new at this and it is only the most basic set up, so I would really appreciate any help I can get.

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I realize this is slightly old thread, and it's probably too late for my response to be of any use to the OP, but hopefully it will be helpful to someone.

I'm not experienced with masd's so I can't really comment there, but I am somewhat experienced with vivariums. The first thing that jumps out at me is the lack of airflow. With most of the top covered like that you can develop stagnant, rot-favoring conditions very quickly. Most plants like at least some air flow, which will also help with gas exchange. The other thing is that having both water at the bottom and the humidifier in there (especially with the top closed) is likely overkill. However if it gets too warm you can take the lid off and do some evaporative cooling by running the humidifier. The tap water in the humidifier question depends on your local water chemistry, mineral deposits may shorten its working lifespan, and you may eventually see some residue on the leaves.

Please take my notes with a grain of salt as I am unfamiliar with masdevallia culture, there are some plants out there that don't need/like much air flow, and maybe masd's like/need 100% humidity. If the temps and humidity etc are measuring within the range you're targeting, you trust the devices you're using to measure those levels, and the plant seems happy then stick with it.