exoterra small orchid tank

[tmoney]

light measurement in the tank?!

that’s way above my pay grade for the terrarium. honestly after the first month i have no data on temp or humidity. and the little gauge i had never actually measured temp, as im pretty sure it wasn’t 70 f at all times. so honestly, i really have no clue what any of the levels are inside.

i do have access to a decent lux meter from the lab at work and i should sneak it out one night just to check.

pretty much straight away it was obvious i had gotten waaaaay too big a light fixture. the plants were all shrinking away. so, in cake the plates to provide some shade and after tinkering with it finally everything started getting happy again. but, soon the girl is gonna want that table ware back again, so at that point ill probly get serious about figuring out the light situation.

[SADE2020]

Originally Posted by tmoney

light measurement in the tank?!

that’s way above my pay grade for the terrarium. honestly after the first month i have no data on temp or humidity. and the little gauge i had never actually measured temp, as im pretty sure it wasn’t 70 f at all times. so honestly, i really have no clue what any of the levels are inside.

i do have access to a decent lux meter from the lab at work and i should sneak it out one night just to check.

pretty much straight away it was obvious i had gotten waaaaay too big a light fixture. the plants were all shrinking away. so, in cake the plates to provide some shade and after tinkering with it finally everything started getting happy again. but, soon the girl is gonna want that table ware back again, so at that point ill probly get serious about figuring out the light situation.

Ummm Ok then, you are the one complaining about not getting any blooms!

[tmoney]

haha, absolutely true. but, there are several reasons behind my joke above. one is that the terrarium is sorta my own special thing, and so i need to be a bit more conscious of the funds i throw at it. so ive always intended to buy a nice digital system for it, but i need to save my own funds for such things! and also, ive actually gotten more blooms from the tank than we have outta the main house orchids, per capita. so far 4 of the species in the tank have bloomed since they have established. they weren’t great in 2 of the cases, but the others were nice flowers. so, im actually sort of chuffed at the success ive had with it just by going on my own senses....now it’s sort of become a personal joke/challenge. and, because im an idiot and inexperienced, i obvs need a new light. baby steps

[SADE2020]

Originally Posted by tmoney

haha, absolutely true. but, there are several reasons behind my joke above. one is that the terrarium is sorta my own special thing, and so i need to be a bit more conscious of the funds i throw at it. so ive always intended to buy a nice digital system for it, but i need to save my own funds for such things! and also, ive actually gotten more blooms from the tank than we have outta the main house orchids, per capita. so far 4 of the species in the tank have bloomed since they have established. they weren’t great in 2 of the cases, but the others were nice flowers. so, im actually sort of chuffed at the success ive had with it just by going on my own senses....now it’s sort of become a personal joke/challenge. and, because im an idiot and inexperienced, i obvs need a new light. baby steps

ahh ok!! I thought the plants that didn't bloom for you were in there. If you have it under control you don't really need anything extra. A few of the best tanks I've seen and follow progress, are very basics with nothing sophisticated and the owners spray every day manually.

Keep it up with the saving! I should do the same....

[tmoney]

yeah, its the house orchids that im trying to dial in a bit more on. patience is my problem...and perhaps a bump in temps, or at least cutting down on the drafts. i had a lepanthes, the only one of that species that was doing great in the tank and flowered wonderfully from a couple spikes. then our vaca came and our plant sitter admittedly forgot to spray the tank for nearly the whole 2 weeks. i lost that lepanthes from that...pretty much dead when i got home, and a mini paph with purple leaves. wasnt hiss fault, but he admitted it and felt bad and offered to replace the plants, but i said nah, i only want really tough things in there anyway so its like survival of the fittest up in there. might get another lepanthes tho one day

[tmoney]

haraella retrocala first flower is finally starting to open! it’s been a tiny green ball for awhile now and i wasn’t sure if it was gonna go all the way, but hopefully this is a sign of a nice flower to come