Need help to purchase an Orchidarium - Page 2 - Orchid Board

Grandma M · #11 10-20-2008, 03:51 PM

Sheridan
I googled herbmist.com and it sure didn't sell misters.
Questions again: Do you have any fear that the misters will harm the lights? Where did you find the 'seconds' timer?

Marilyn

Ross · #12 10-20-2008, 04:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grandma M

Ross, thanks for your answer. I was hoping you would respond. A custom built unit sounds a lot better, but I wouldn't know where to start with designing one. I believe it would also be more expensive.

What objections do you have with the Maui unit aside from the fact that it isn't glass? Please be honest and give me all the reasons.

Is there any other prebuilt unit? That company is the only one I can find with google.

I have lots of questions. I also wonder about the lights. I have never heard of them.

Marilyn

The Maui unit is really expensive compared to my custom built. I can help you with design if need be (for a fellow Michigander

) I used a Mist King system and parts and First Class Aquatics can set up and deliver everything if you use them. They handle Marty's stuff. Mine is acrylic, but the Maui I believe has glass doors - the part that warps the most. I have since fixed mine to minimize the warping. I also use a light bank exterior to the cabinet (closed off from the cabinet) so misting never gets to the lights. Here's a picture of how mine is setup (just to refresh your memory)

Probably not esthetic enough for your installation goals, though. Have you checked the older posts about custom orchidariums, yet? Please do, because there were a couple absolute beauties - very esthetic, with hardwoods and all.

Grandma M · #13 10-20-2008, 05:28 PM

Ross, this is the area where I want to place it. The doorway to the right leads to a bathroom.

The length of the long wall is 36.1/2 The short wall is 21" up to the door casing. I could fudge a little there. The height is open to discusion. I would guess about 4' if I can find a stand to put it on. I don't want to have to get on my knees to get to the bottom shelf. (I'm too old for that)

It has to have a see through back, the height would not matter. It would just be pretty coming up the stairs. The floor has a hard surface, no carpet there..

Do you think this is workable? I would not know the first thing about designing it. I would need your help if you are willing.
Marilyn

Ranchnanny · #14 10-20-2008, 08:05 PM

Grandma M My unit is all acryilic even the door which slides both ways. The misting system is located at Herpmist.com my mistake. The Maui has an acrylic ceiling between the interior and the lights so the lights are covered. The cover has a reflective shield to reflect the light downwards. The Maui comes with three shelves 2 half and 1 small but you can order others or make your own. I got the second timer from Mist King one of OB's sponsors.
If you have any questions just e-mail me.

Sherdian

Ranchnanny · #15 10-20-2008, 08:07 PM

Marilyn warping is not a problem with the Maui I turn the sliding door around once in a while. It even comes with acrylic cleaner and cloths for cleaning.

Sheridan

Becca · #16 10-20-2008, 11:58 PM

Marilyn, I meant to respond to this thread sooner....I purchased my first orchidarium from orchidarium.com....I have the Grand Caymen. Don't get me wrong...I love it, it looks great, but it hasn't functioned as promised and I don't think there is anything to do about it. It cost a lot of money, and I think I could have made about the same size for a lot less money (I could have gottend a cheap greenhouse!). I don't know if it would have looked as nice though. It doesn't seal completely and won't hold the humidity as it should. I ended up making another expensive purchase, but well worth it, to maintain the humidity. There is another company that makes orchiariums and they advertise in the AOS Orchid Magazine....I'll find the name of it tomorrow for you. I just really think you should look into something else other then the orchidariums on orchidarium.com....just because they seem like a complete kit doesn't mean they will work as they are supposed to. Also....it takes forever to get them. I have another friend who purchased an orchidarium from them and she had the same problem! They kept moving the ship date out...it became months before she received it, like me. Like I said I love my orchidarium...but if I had to do it again...I wouldn't! I have since put together my own orchidarium using an exo-terra. You could get a few of them or stick with one and make a display case to make it look nicer! Well I'll find the other company for you tomorrow, just think about it first before you purchase through orchidaium.com!

Becca · #17 10-21-2008, 12:09 PM

ok...this is going to be a long one so here it goes:

I hope I didn't sound to harsh towards the orchidariums from orchidariums.com. Perhaps the one that Sheridan has works better since it is smaller in size to the one I got, but I did notice she purchased a mister for hers as well. These are supposed to be complete kits...at they price they are going for, we the consumer shouldn't be having to make additional purchases for it. Mine came with an ultrasonic fogger for the humidity and some water bubblers...boy what a joke! They owner (who is very very nice) told me it would completely fog the entire orchidarium....I never had this happen...all of the water would splash out of the container the fogger sits in before it had a chance to do such a thing...and why didn't I just use a deeper container....well because then the fog wouldn't lift from the bowl and there for still wouldn't work properly. And the water bubblers (used in fish tanks) are to sit in the bottom rubber liners on the floor but the rubber liners aren't' deep enough to cover the bubbler (aeration) stones and would never work properly, only for a few minutes. My doors (2 sliding glass doors) do not close tightly and air leaks around the doors. This is fine for air circulation, but it brings me back to the same problem of not maintaining high humidity as advertised it would do.

Looking at Sheridan's orchidarium, would it be possible to build something the same size for less money? I am not sure? I have a small exo-terra 18" L x 18"W x 24"H (on sale for $75.00 but normally around $130.00). I bought a cheap thin piece of acrylic ($20.00) to close off the top, drilled four hole's in the acrylic top to mount the fan ($20.00). I then bought a 8 bulb T5 system ($279.00) and keep in mind the price of replacement bulbs! I also bought that white plastic grid stuff like what orchidarium.com uses for shelving, but it wasn't as heavy duty as I would have liked (found in the lighting department at HD) and then I bought some plumbing PVC pipe stuff to use for raising the floor/shelf. Oh...and I cant' forget the wire mesh to hang mounts on. I am able to maintain decent humidity in the exo-terra set up, but I am still looking for a way to boost it about 10% higher just haven't had the time.

Keep in mind the Maui is a larger size, 24.5 inches wide x 21 inches deep x 32.5 inches high, compared to my exo-terrarium. If you want a larger size you could get a larger exo-terra and it wouldn't raise the overall do-it-yourself price by much. But this is just a bare bones wardian case, nothing fancy or decorative. I have to keep in mind my Grand Caymen is much larger 48"W x 24"D x 42"H but the price is outrageous on it but it does look very nice. I don't know, maybe for the size and price the orchidarium.com Maui isn't such a bad deal. The humidity and price is my only major compaints, oh and I wish I had a way to drain water from the bottom of it so I could just water inside of it...lol, but that is besides the point.

The only other thing I wanted to mention is keep in mind the price for replacement bulbs. I have to replace 8 bulbs on my exo-terra set up and 6 on my Grand Caymen...lol. Also I found that the shorter lenght bulbs (2ft) are only 2000 lumens per bulb versus the 4ft bulbs being 5000 lumens per bulb. You can get different lengths with 2, 4 or 8 bulbs as well.

Hopes this helps some! Sorry it is so long!

DelawareJim · #18 10-23-2008, 02:54 PM

You might want to try Glass cages.
Glasscages.com - Home

They do a lot of custom work and also have a pretty good selection of stock sizes.

I would also try googling "vivariums" and check out some of the dendrobates sites.

Cheers.
Jim