Best way to mount orchids in a vivarium? - Orchid Board

whitetiprs13 · #1 11-03-2011, 07:12 PM

Ok I am setting up a vivarium for dart frogs and currently have all my plants in a growout tank.
The tank is lit by 2x 95 watt CF which keeps the tank around 80 during the day and in the lower 70s at night. Humidity stays around 99%, I do have 2 40mm case fans in there for air movement.

I am wondering what is the best way to mount orchids in a tank like this? These are the species that I currently have and how they are mounted at the moment. I have had them in the tank for alittle over a week now and they seem to be ok.

Bulbophyllum ovalifolium
Trichosalpinx chamaelepanthes
Lepanthopsis astrophora 'Stalky'
Cirrhopetalum auratum

Masdevallia herradurae
Pleurothallis mystax

The top four are mounted to treefern pieces and the bottom two I attached to some coco fiber mat. I put alittle sphagnum around the roots on all of them.

The Sphagnum moss is always moist and never dries out, is that bad? I am only misting once a day at the moment, but when the setup is complet I plan on adding a MISTKING misting system.

Thanks for the help,

Matt

keithrs · #2 11-04-2011, 11:34 AM

What are you using as a background?

If your going to use foam, you can foam in some small pieces of cork with plants attached with fishing line and some moss or silicone them on to a substrate and try to get some live moss growing. Another option in ecoweb.

If you can your tank needs to be bit cooler for this orchids.... 75-80 max day.... 60 or lower at night.

They need to stay moist.... don't let them dry out.

whitetiprs13 · #3 12-03-2011, 12:37 AM

I will be using a foam background and planed on attaching them with fishing line or something. but for now I am concerned that since the sphag is always wet that the roots may begin to rot, or should I not be worried about that?