My First Orchidarium

[JaneEyre]

We had an empty 10 gal fish tank in the garage so I thought I'd put it to some use. I haven't made an orchidarium/terrarium before so I looked to this forum for help. Thanks to everyone for posting your setups - they inspired me.

I started with an egg crate. I was surprised how easy it was to cut it as I anticipated it to be much harder. Once I cut the egg crate, I attached a 120mm 12V fan to it. I mistakenly ordered 120mm CPU fan vs. the smaller one, but decided to use it anyway. I soldered its lead wires to a 12V AC adapter with a variable speed controller in line.



I found PVC pipe reducers to be good stands for the egg crate. Right now they are just sitting freely inside the tank but I might epoxy them directly to the egg crate. Any recommendations what epoxy to use?



I positioned the egg crate with the fan inside the tank so that the fan blows air onto the bottom of the tank.



I had hubby cut me an acrylic top with corners cut off for wires and easy access.
Finally, I filled the tank with orchids



At this time I don't plan on adding artificial lighting. The tank is situated 2 feet away from a western window and gets some filtered light in. So far the humidity reaches mid nineties on its own, without me misting orchids. It has been cold recently, so the heat has not been an issue. Although, I do anticipate it to become a problem in the warmer days.

I welcome your suggestions or critiques. I am not certain how I will be controlling heat when it becomes an issue; how often to mist, if at all; how high should the fan be running, should I be opening the lid to let old, stagnant air escape? Most importantly, how do I keep an over 16 lb cat from sitting on top of the lid, sagging it?

Thanks everyone for looking.

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[Magnus A]

Congratulations!
Nice start.
I can not help you wiyth your cat problem but I would like to prevent a possibly disaster. IF the sun hit the enclosure (west window = sunny afternoons) the temperature will raise to unhealty values very fast. Just take a look on it now and then so you do not boil your orchids.

One way to let the het out is to put something under the lid so you get a narrow opening all th way around the top.

/M

[31drew31]

Looks great, and placing a fan inside the terrarium is a great idea, the only thing I would change is the placement of the fan. I assume with the false bottom you're watering the plants without removing them. Water will end up getting on the fan, and drastically shortening the life of the fan. It will also probably get louder and louder until it finally croaks.

I had a very similar set up as your's until it became to small. I used suction cups with hooks on the end to hold the fan about 1" off of the side of the glass for airflow.

[JaneEyre]

Originally Posted by Magnus A

Congratulations!
Nice start.
I can not help you wiyth your cat problem but I would like to prevent a possibly disaster. IF the sun hit the enclosure (west window = sunny afternoons) the temperature will raise to unhealty values very fast. Just take a look on it now and then so you do not boil your orchids.

One way to let the het out is to put something under the lid so you get a narrow opening all th way around the top.

/M

Thanks for the heads up. I thought the sun might be a problem later during summer days. Right now I have been monitoring the temps and it looks OK so far. I do have blinds on the windows, so I could shield most of the sun away, or relocate the tank to another spot. I have an east window spot available but there is no furniture yet (we moved into this house a year ago and still no dining table ). In the meantime I will keep an eye on the plants. Thanks

Originally Posted by 31drew31

Looks great, and placing a fan inside the terrarium is a great idea, the only thing I would change is the placement of the fan. I assume with the false bottom you're watering the plants without removing them. Water will end up getting on the fan, and drastically shortening the life of the fan. It will also probably get louder and louder until it finally croaks.

I had a very similar set up as your's until it became to small. I used suction cups with hooks on the end to hold the fan about 1" off of the side of the glass for airflow.

I like your suction cup hooks idea. I might try that. I have been trying to have as much space available as possible. 10 gal sounded big in the beginning, but now its getting tight in there. It is amazing how quickly this tank filled up with orchids. They just jumped in...

Because I have put the fan on the bottom, I have been taking each pot out of enclosure to water in the sink and then promptly place them back into the tank. Not very practical, I admit.

[chucknora]

I have a 10 gallon in my potting shed, and you have inspired me! I'm going to look into doing this as well. Great set up, and thanks for sharing!

[JaneEyre]

Originally Posted by chucknora

I have a 10 gallon in my potting shed, and you have inspired me! I'm going to look into doing this as well. Great set up, and thanks for sharing!

Thanks
I had fun setting it up. It took me some time to gather parts together but once everything was here, the set up went by quickly. Good luck with your orchidarium.

[31drew31]

Originally Posted by JaneEyre

I like your suction cup hooks idea. I might try that. I have been trying to have as much space available as possible. 10 gal sounded big in the beginning, but now its getting tight in there. It is amazing how quickly this tank filled up with orchids. They just jumped in...

Because I have put the fan on the bottom, I have been taking each pot out of enclosure to water in the sink and then promptly place them back into the tank. Not very practical, I admit.

Haha yes any terrarium quickly becomes too small. 3 years ago I started with a 10 gallon, then up to a 20 gallon, then i had multiple terrariums, then about 1 year ago I bought a 6x6x6' grow tent, which I am now trying to figure out ways to get more plants in it

Taking plants out to water is a pain, I did that for about 2 weeks then got sick of it haha. Wait till you have a plant in spike and you catch it on the rim of the glass and it snaps off. Then you'll be really upset you were taking them out to water (this is from prior experience )