My cheap cool cabinet setup - Orchid Board

Longroots · #1 03-18-2025, 08:17 PM

Really excited to share this cabinet I have made for a relatively cheap price:

Exoterra cabinet (H60cm x W45 X D45) £65
Automated Plug socket £40
Mister £28
Sansii double goose neck light with 2 free bulbs £28
Cork backing £25
Mini fridge £23
Acrylic plastic top £10
Humidity reader £10 (pack of 3)
Hydroponic baskets £8 (pack of 25)
Silicon £4
Black sticky back plastic £4
PC fan £4
Hooks £3
Seed tray £2

£256

I already had the bark, egg crate and suction cup things already, along with moss and perlite and leca which is in the seed tray as drainage. I placed a Restrepia Cuprea and Ludisia Discolour in there to test how they react as they're fairly hardy. Admittedly the Ludisia was in bad shape already, but has been loosing it's leaves and I think thats due to where the fan was positioned before. The Restrepia actually developed powdery mildew as well, but since the fan moved thats disappeared in 2 days. I also have a Pleurothallis Paliolata division that has been OK so far, I think the light is too strong for it so I'm trying to move it further away.

I had initially not had an air input hole, and just had the fan run inside, which didn't provide fresh air and basically didn't work. I cut a square hole in the top. The third mister in the middle I'll be removing shortly as the pressure isn't enough, and I think I can position the misters to cover everything. I may invest in a fogger, but as you can see, I'm getting high humidity and I think the direct water contact to moss is more beneficial.

The fan runs every 2 hours for 15 minutes, and the exoterra has a useful front vent which you can feel the air be pushed out of, avoiding the need for an output fan seen on most setups. The fridge I was running 24/7… well 24/2, because in 2 days it actually froze, so it comes on 2 hours every day to cool the setup down via water spraying every 8 hours for 40 second, I may reduce that to 4 hours for 20 seconds, I'm still testing. Mostly this is going to be useful for summer time. The mister, although cheap, I've had success with, with another setup.

Many setups seem really complex and I think I've created something simpler, and cheaper, albeit something that is also suitable for UK growing.

I plan on adding a Stelis Biserrula, a Pleurothalis Rescufolia, Ascianthera Violacea (this might be too big, it was cheap, I was drunk and wanted to buy orchids), to the setup. I also will be getting a Lepanthes Calodictyon, Lepanthes Pilosella and Dracula Lotax to go in here in April/May after they get their mandatory quarantine. Maybe Lepanthes Telipogonliflora.

After this, I want (need*), 2 Dracula species that are small growing similar to Lotax. I'd like a cool growing Aerangis in there too, and a few Masdevallias. In the bottom in the seed tray I'd like a Bulbophyllum and some jewel orchids. Can anyone give any other recommendations, I'd love a Schoenorchis but I'm not entirely sure if any of them are viable in a cool, wetter setup. I'd also love a Dendrophylax but that I know is even more unlikely. I'd settle for a Chilochista though, so any recommendations there I'd take!

I'll likely pop a Porroglossum in there, I like them but I'm not mad on them, one would be enough. Anything else, please recommend. I'm expecting highs of 24c and lows of 16c. I'll be compensating extra misting in summer to hit the 24c.

Any of the genus I've mentioned, like cooler Aernagis, please recommend so I can make a list, with me probably ignoring it and impulse buying another equally cool orchid!

Roberta · #2 03-18-2025, 09:11 PM

Den. cuthbertsonii, maybe? Any of the high-elevatoin PNG species that are otherwise impossible to keep alive might do very well for you.

Longroots · #3 03-18-2025, 09:24 PM

Oh a small Dend/Epidendrum would be great. What is a PNG however?

Roberta · #4 03-19-2025, 12:54 AM

Papua New Guinea. Sorry... Den. cuthberstsonii comes in a wide range of colors. It hates summer heat, loves cool and damp. Also wants pure water (RO, DI, etc.) Stays little. There are other colorful little Dendrobiums from the same habitat, that also like similar conditions.

Epidendrums are a whole different game, there are some great little ones (as well as many not-so-little ones). They tend to be much more forgiving.

For color, also consider Sophronitis (OK, they're now classified as Cattleya, I"m not changing my tags...They are "mini-Cattleyas" ) S. coccinea, S. brevipedunclulata, S. wittigiana, S. mantiqueirae, S. cernua. These also like cool and damp, want to grow mounted.

Your problem won't be finding wonderful miniature species for your terrarium, it will be finding enough room. Next "build" likely will be bigger!

Longroots · #5 03-19-2025, 04:48 AM

Sophrontis would be an amazing addition 100%, thanks.

Hazeldazel · #6 Yesterday, 04:41 PM

wow that's really cool, can you explain how the setup works?

Longroots · #7 Yesterday, 04:49 PM

Sure, so right now it gets around 80-99% humidity, 80% when the fan runs. Every 6 hours (recent update, the sprayer goes off for 20 seconds, was 40 seconds every 8 hours). The fan runs for 15 minutes every 2 hours. The mini fridge contains water, and has a hole drilled through the top that the sprayer draws water from. It turns on for a few hours every day otherwise it freezes. The light is just outside as it protects it from water/humidity and the light is still slightly too high. The light, fan and fridge are all controlled automatically by the automated Internet connected socket. The sprayer has its own timer so runs off of that.

Cork is siliconed to the back, and the screw hooks screw into the two layers of Cork, which hold the baskets/bark! Egg crate holds the tray at the bottom up.

Hazeldazel · #8 Today, 01:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Longroots

Sure, so right now it gets around 80-99% humidity, 80% when the fan runs. Every 6 hours (recent update, the sprayer goes off for 20 seconds, was 40 seconds every 8 hours). The fan runs for 15 minutes every 2 hours. The mini fridge contains water, and has a hole drilled through the top that the sprayer draws water from. It turns on for a few hours every day otherwise it freezes. The light is just outside as it protects it from water/humidity and the light is still slightly too high. The light, fan and fridge are all controlled automatically by the automated Internet connected socket. The sprayer has its own timer so runs off of that.

Cork is siliconed to the back, and the screw hooks screw into the two layers of Cork, which hold the baskets/bark! Egg crate holds the tray at the bottom up.

So if I understand this correctly, the fridge has a bunch of very very cold water in it, that gets sprayed inside the cabinet once every 8 hours and that plus the fans keep the cabinet cool? Reminds me of similar setups that people do to keep their saltwater tanks cool.

Longroots · #9 Today, 03:02 PM

Yup, pretty much! In the summer I don't think just the fan will cut it, so a cool dose of cold water should be pretty effective at bringing the temps down whilst maintain humidity. I may increased the fan to 15 minutes every hour as the hundiity is no where near an issue.

Hazeldazel · #10 Today, 03:05 PM

That's really cool (pun intended) and I'm surprised that spraying the cold water only every 8 hours is enough to keep the cabinet cold. But good that it doesn't have to be more often!