My Orchidarium and sister tank

[Tindomul]

Hi all,

The tanks are still up and running after 6 1/2 years and the orchidarium is the one featured here The other vivarium hasn't got any orchids except a Ludisia. .

Plants lists;
One I call an orchidarium because most of the flowering plants in there are orchids.
Grow list,
2 Phalaenopsis lobbii-In spike
Phalaenopsis honghenensis - in spike
Phalaenopsis Mini Mark 'Holm'
Ludisia discolor
Bulbophyllum alagense
Bulbophyllum dearei
Bulbophyllum thaiorum
Bulbophyllum sp.
Platystele stenostachya
Masdevallia regina
Masdevallia princeps
Dendrobium "Illusion'
Dendrobium lawesii var. bicolor
Dendrobium hybrid
Rhododendron 'Alisa Nicole' - Vireya Rhodie- I've also got 2 small seedlings of this growing in the moss from seed.
Sphyrospermum buxifolium - A tropical blueberry vine
Disterigma rimbachii - A tropical blueberry bush

I've now got some Hairy-Cap moss growing next to the M. regina
and in bits and pieces all over the tank I have a liverwort called Frulania. If I try to grow it close to the moss it eventually gets covered by the moss. However it does well in the tank.

But mostly proud of the moss that has taken over the background and the floor.

The second is a regular vivarium, has all sorts of plants.
Dischidia (which has taken over the tank in a huge spray of vines), Ficus, Tillandsia ionantha, Ludisia discolor, Syngonium rayii, a few Neos at the top, Tillandsia cynea (thats the big one to the left) which bloomed last year. Lots of leaf litter from my collection of Ericads (Rhododendrons, Agapetes, Macleania, Ceratostema) which I grow on a window sill.

OK pictures;

Orchidarium 2/2013 by tindomul1of9, on Flickr


Orchidarium 2/2013 by tindomul1of9, on Flickr


Orchidarium 2/2013 by tindomul1of9, on Flickr


Orchidarium 2/2013 by tindomul1of9, on Flickr


Phalaenopsis honghenensis
Phalaenopsis honghenensis by tindomul1of9, on Flickr


Orchidarium 2/2013 by tindomul1of9, on Flickr


Vireya Rhododendron
Vireya Rhododendron by tindomul1of9, on Flickr


Masdevallia regina in tank and Sphyrospermum buxifoloium (vine to the right) by tindomul1of9, on Flickr


Ericaceae in tank - 1)Rhododendron 'Alisa Nicole' and 2)Disterigma rimbachii by tindomul1of9, on Flickr

And the vivarium

Vertical Vivarium 2/2013 by tindomul1of9, on Flickr

[Leafmite]

Incredible! I love the natural appearance! This is what I would like to do someday, I think. Very nice job!

[ronaldhanko]

That is just simply incredible, Tindo. You are making me very covetous.

[Tindomul]

Thanks all for the kind comments, and thanks Ron, thankfully we are too far apart for you to actually covet my tanks, haha.

[Paul Mc]

Beautiful set up!!! Such creative minds here!!!

[WhiteRabbit]

Wow! Those look great!

[nenella]

WOW! Absolutely beautiful !!! ...One day....Thanks for showing us photos of your set up.

[Ferns Daddy]

Thats so cool looking

[ezil]

I'm in the process of rethinking my set ups and you have just given me new inspiration. My biggest concern with such a set up would be pest control. What do you do if/when you have a mealy bug, scale or snail? Do you have to take it all apart?

[Tindomul]

Never had snail, or millipedes or mites.
Scale, I rub the plants with chemicals to kill that, if I get any. Only twice before. Solves it nicely.
Mealy bugs....ahhhh. Now that was a problem.
THE GREAT MEALY BUG WAR of 07/08!!!
I lost many of the original inhabitants of the tank due to that. Keferstenia, Tolumnia, Slc, Masdie floribunda, rolfeana, and others, other Bulbos and....
Well lets just say there were casaulties on both sides. There were many Mealies that fought bravely but I won in th end. Eventually I had to rip out anything that had the bug and clean everyone else with neem oil. Took forever to get rid of the oil. Thats why I have never had frog or salamander in this tank.
I constantly check the plants for signs of pest. Get them when they are starting out and you are more likely to come out ok.

---------- Post added at 10:52 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:38 PM ----------

Did a quick search on "great Meally Bug war" and found the thread I started during the war. Apparently I had lost my Haraella to mealy and Schoenorchis fragrans too. I didn't even remember I had ever had that species.
At the time of the post I was still fending them off with alcohol, silly me. Thats like trying to kill angry Elephant with a 2 inch string.

http://www.orchidboard.com/community...r-07-08-a.html