Help with Terrarium set up for masdies - Orchid Board

Werdna · #1 04-03-2008, 03:42 PM

everybody I'm new to the forum

I live in tucson az and I have always wanted to grow masdevallias, but considered them impossible to grow in the desert. Looking through the forums the last few days has got me thinking,

, what if I set up a small terrarium for them in my room? I have very limited space, I could probably fit a 10 or 20 gallon tank for a few of the smaller varieties. The temps inside my house are usually in the 70s with about 6 degrees of difference between night and day, however as summer progresses this difference will shrink. So I guess my biggest question is How do i keep the temps at an acceptable level for the masdies and how do I give them a big enough temp drop at night? Also how do I keep the humidity high enough while keeping adequate ventilation in such a small tank.
Thanks for any advice anyone has

-Andrew

Royal · #2 04-03-2008, 04:03 PM

A terrarium will take care of the humidity. Check the terrarium forum for pictures of set-ups and tips like fans, light, etc.

The temp problem is a little trickier. The lights might warm up the tank enough to make a wider temp swing. For example, say your house is at about 70 during the day, and 64 at night. The terrarium temp will be close to the room temp, but slap a couple of lights with ballasts on top and your day temps rise into the 80's or higher. When your lights go off, the temperature gets closer to room temp, 64. That's a 16 degree differential instead of only 6.

This may not be acceptable to some cool growers.

Werdna · #3 04-03-2008, 05:07 PM

What if I were to set it up like a mini evap cooler?

with a mini cooler pad at one end kept wet by a pump and a muffin fan at the other end to pull air through the terrarium. Would this dry it out too much in there?

Ross · #4 04-03-2008, 05:17 PM

No! And that should do the trick. I was planning to ask if you cooled with swamp cooler like most Tucson folks or A.C. Great idea. In fact some greenhouses are cooled that way on a large scale. Humidity should be way high from evaporated water in the air. I would add a small 12 volt fan running 24/7 inside just to stave off the mold beasties. Try Coralife Aqualight 3 1/8 Cooling Fan Kit

Royal · #5 04-03-2008, 05:18 PM

I've thought of that too, like a mini swamp-cooler. It may work, I just don't see going to that much trouble on my small scale set-up. With some of the great terrariums I've seen on the board, it wouldn't surprise me if someone is already doing it.

How cool do you want to get it?

Werdna · #6 04-03-2008, 06:11 PM

That is actually the way i cooled my old green house, humidity in there was usually in the 80% range, I wasn't sure if it would work on such a small scale though. My house has AC not swamp cooling so the air inside is very dry. I would like to get it cool enough at least to grow some intermediate masdies, if it works well enough maybe some cool growers. Any recommendations on some good masdevallias for beginners?

EDIT: Would it be worth it to invest in an automatic misting system or on this small scale should I just do it by hand?

PS- If anyone has a miniature masdivallia terrarium set up I would love to see some pics

for inspiration.

Thanks for all the help

-Andrew

Tindomul · #7 04-03-2008, 07:34 PM

Hi Andrew. I tried a few Masdies in my terrarium. 1 out of 4 is still with me. I have come to the conclusion that my problem was a lack of adequate air movement. That is the great danger of terrariums. And those who do get air movement often suffer from a lack of humidity. My solution, have the fan that Ross recomended mounted inside the orchidarium so it circulates the humid air in the tank rather than exchanging the air inside with the air from outside the tank.
Can someone please give me a swamp-cooler 101 mini lesson. I have no idea what these look like, how they work etc....
However it sounds to me that for such a high tech(actually not sure if it is high tech) design, you would be happier if the tank was larger and could accommodate several plants rather than just a few.
For such a small tank I would go the hand misting way unless you think you will consistently forget to do it, or you go away often enough to warrant automation.
Ok here is my measlie setup. Not a terrarium, but an open aquarium near a window with cold breeze and ac in the summer. I hand mist every day as often as I can remember on low humidity days.

Ross · #8 04-03-2008, 08:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tindomul

Can someone please give me a swamp-cooler 101 mini lesson. I have no idea what these look like, how they work etc....

Tindo, a swamp cooler is simply a fan setup blowing through a webbing material. Lots of things work besides the commercial units that look like furnace filters with water dripping at the top. Coco fiber mats will work. Fiberglass filter material will work. Stainless spun steel filters for furnaces will work. The idea is to get some water dripping across a fibrous substrate such that the air blowing through it will evaporate the water. Evaporating water yields cooler air since the process steals heat from the air. It works in a forest when trees evaporate water through the leaves and the breezes blow through the leaves. Get it?

Tindomul · #9 04-03-2008, 11:37 PM

Ok got it. Now how much will the temps fall with this?

Royal · #10 04-04-2008, 10:27 AM

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?