Help with Terrarium set up for masdies

[Werdna]

for the set up royal suggested, of course you would have to provide a vent at the other end of the tank so that the air would have somewhere to go. Or here's a thought : In a larger terrarium you could set up a long vent that ran the whole length of the tank that was maybe .5 in. to 1 in. across, this way the air at one end of the tank would be cooler than at the other end of the tank, so you would have different growing conditions in each section. However this may be entirely impractical, or the temperature difference may not be large enough to really have an affect, just thinking out loud , or in type...

I included a diagram to illustrate how a swamp cooler works for anyone that was still confused.

-Andrew

[Ross]

Originally Posted by Werdna

for the set up royal suggested, of course you would have to provide a vent at the other end of the tank so that the air would have somewhere to go. Or here's a thought : In a larger terrarium you could set up a long vent that ran the whole length of the tank that was maybe .5 in. to 1 in. across, this way the air at one end of the tank would be cooler than at the other end of the tank, so you would have different growing conditions in each section. However this may be entirely impractical, or the temperature difference may not be large enough to really have an affect, just thinking out loud , or in type...

I included a diagram to illustrate how a swamp cooler works for anyone that was still confused.

-Andrew

Andrew, If it were me I would custom design an acrylic tank with a slot for a drip pad at one end and a vent (same square inches) at other end - no need for same shape, just same area. Then hook up a drip irrigation hose to the drip pad and run a series of fans to get the air movement you need. I think in a small tank like you envision, the temps will be same at both ends. Not enough diff to worry about. And Paul, at First Class Aquatics can build it for you. He's a wiz at stuff ike that (built mine for me.) You won't need misting, you won't need humidification, you will need good lights though. And you'll definitely need constant air movement inside tank. Just out of curiosity, why do you need a cooled tank, if you have A.C.?

	Mistking Looking for a misting system? Look no further. Automated misting systems from MistKing are used by multitude of plant enthusiasts and are perfect for Orchids. Systems feature run dry pumps, ZipDrip valve, adjustable black nozzles, per second control! Automatically mist one growing shelf or a greenhouse full of Orchids. See MistKing testimonials

[Werdna]

The daytime temps inside the house during the summer will be between 77-80 degrees, night time temps will be between 72-74. And then with some lights on top of the tank it'll probably be even warmer in there without some kind of cooling. Do you think that some masdies could sweat out the summer until autumn? In Tucson we have about 5 months of summer weather which seems like a long time to keep the masdies warm. Do you think i could grow some of the warmer varieties in a terrarium without a cooling system?

Oh, i almost forgot, How much does it cost to have an acrylic tank made? I may just try to make it on my own out of plexiglas if having one made is out of my price range.



-Andrew

[Ross]

Originally Posted by Werdna

Oh, i almost forgot, How much does it cost to have an acrylic tank made? I may just try to make it on my own out of plexiglas if having one made is out of my price range.
-Andrew

Andrew, I would not start by asking the price. That cannot be determined at this time - whether you build it or have it built. First things first. I think you need to work on a tank to cool the 'chids. Your temps are too high. If you want, I will do this on Autocad for kicks - just something to keep me busy (and I may use the design for one of my own later on.) Glass is not out of the question, just harder for you or me to work with. Plexi is way easier to do. If you think you want to take me up on this, let's go to PM to work out measurements, etc.

[Ross]

Originally Posted by RoyalOrchids

The one I envisioned in my head was just a modification to the muffin fan. Cut two little squares of hardware cloth or screen material, fill it with sphagnum moss, and wire up the sides. Fixing the little "aspen pad" or "swamp cooler" to the existing muffin fan is where it gets a little tricky. I was thinking that I'd need to enclose the whole set-up in a tube in order to force the air through the sphag instead of just against it.

Just brainstorming here - any thoughts, tips?

I like your thinking. But I wonder how much cooling would actually occur? I almost think the whole end of the tank needs to be open and the other end screened to get massive cooling.

Tindo: the amount of cooling is proportional to the amount of evaporation. In NYC in summer, that wouldn't be much since your humidity is much higher than Tucson. Theirs can be as low as 3-4% on a good day in summer. Thus massive amounts of cooling.