Building an Orchid-arium

[VMStearns]

Hi Robert,
I am NOT an expert and would bow to the wisdom of the more experienced...but I can tell you that the small sticks and slabs (and moss) in my small terrarium were not sterilized. If you think about it, in the wild the limbs and rocks that orchids host orchids are not sterile. Also, hybrids are hardier than the species that root in the wild.

Just a thought.

[Ro3bert]

Originally Posted by VMStearns

Hi Robert,
I am NOT an expert and would bow to the wisdom of the more experienced...but I can tell you that the small sticks and slabs (and moss) in my small terrarium were not sterilized. If you think about it, in the wild the limbs and rocks that orchids host orchids are not sterile. Also, hybrids are hardier than the species that root in the wild.

Just a thought.

Good thought Vicki, I guess that is one thing I won't concern myself with. Now the major thing is the designing the water and landforms.

Just for the fun of it could you (would you) regale us with a picture of your terrarium?

[Orquiadicto]

Can't wait to see the progress

[VMStearns]

Ro3bert,

You'll find the progress from plan, planting and current blooms here

[Ro3bert]

Originally Posted by VMStearns

Ro3bert,

You'll find the progress from plan, planting and current blooms here

Thanks Vicki, I went thru your thread before I saw this post, looks good. I would never have thought of using such a small container.

I think I go by the old saying: If a little bit is good, a whole lot should be better.

[VMStearns]

Small containers have their challenges. Finding micro-miniature orchids that are happy in the household temperatures of a non-air conditioned home, the virtual shade of indoor light, typical humidity and low air movement of a nearly enclosed vessel are challenging.

Beyond that, all I really need to do is monitor the water level in the reservoir and use distilled water to replenish it because I am far too obsessive/compulsive to deal with the ugly deposits of tap water.

[Ray]

Your water scheme won't work.

The siphon return will not start by itself (how will the water be drawn up over the lip of the tank?), and if you manually start it by sucking on the hose, as soon as the water level in the upper tank is below the hose, it will stop again.

You have two possible alternatives:

The first is to have a hole in the bottom of the tank with a standpipe coming up through it, determining the depth of the water. That's what I did with a 20H tank, but I believe a 55-gallon tank uses tempered glass, so it cannot be drilled.

Alternative 2 is a false bottom, with the tank itself being the reservoir with the pump in it, and the substrate, and plants above.

[Ro3bert]

Originally Posted by Ray

Your water scheme won't work.

The siphon return will not start by itself (how will the water be drawn up over the lip of the tank?), and if you manually start it by sucking on the hose, as soon as the water level in the upper tank is below the hose, it will stop again.

I agree, except, I will have to make sure there is enough water in the tank so that doesn't happen. My plan is to suck on the feed water hose until the siphon action begins, then, as water seeks it's own level, it will stop when the levels are equal. From there is is only a matter of starting the pump.

Consider this: in modern fuel injected engines more fuel is pumped than the engine needs so the excess is returned to the fuel tank thus completing a closed system.

My system will work in virtually the same way; the fact that the water will be pumped into an open tank is moot: as long as the water level in the tank does not fall below the siphon tube inlet the water will continue to circulate.

You have two possible alternatives:

The first is to have a hole in the bottom of the tank with a standpipe coming up through it, determining the depth of the water. That's what I did with a 20H tank, but I believe a 55-gallon tank uses tempered glass, so it cannot be drilled.

Unfortunately true.

Alternative 2 is a false bottom, with the tank itself being the reservoir with the pump in it, and the substrate, and plants above.

I considered this at first but didn't want more than two inches of water (the tank height is only 21 inches, the width 12 inches). The pump requires at least 3 inches and since this is my first attempt at "building" a terrarium I wanted to keep the landform and water feature to a minimum so there is plenty of room to populate the space.

A bigger problem is the pump's output volume which is slightly over 500GPH. Even at 5 foot height it is still slightly over 300GPH so I am not sure how I will handle that. At this point I haven't the foggiest what I'm getting myself into. So do I have to find a smaller pump? I guess I'll just have to wait to see.

[Ro3bert]

I finally began designing the landforms and water feature. I didn't particularly want to use Styrofoam so got some cardboard boxes from my local liquor store, figured it would allow a bit more control over the shape I want over the landforms.

Haven't gotten too far yet, and it’s difficult to see what the final form will be.

At first I thought I'd build the form up then cast it in plaster (the negative) then recast a Positive and do whatever sculpting required for the final product then do another negative plaster and finally finish with layers of grout and get rid of the plaster. ISN'T GOING TO WORK.

I'm going to have to figure another way to go.
Here are some pic’s of what I’ve gotten so far.

The first is just the shape of the land at its largest.


The first of the (many) layers of cardboard. The pencil markings in the center mark the pool at the bottom of the waterfall.


The last image shows the continuation of layers of cardboard. The pool is more apparent here. Somehow the focus isn't as good as the other images.


As I add layers I'll post more images.

[Ro3bert]

It appears that using cardboard isn't (for me) the way to go. The stack would have to be about 22" high (about 627mm). Not going to happen. I need another way.

I have lots of 2" foam insulation sheets, yellowish and pink, one of them with shiny metal on both sides. What I'm not sure if is if there is any reason not to use them. The foam, after sculpting will have to be covered with grout or some sort of waterproof material.

The question is is there any potential problems (chemically wise) with using this material? (the foam that is).


The cardboard has to be built up from the bottom and I'm having difficulty visualizing the next steps. Starting from the top down seems to be a better process for me. There was an artist, low these many years ago, long before my forefathers set foot on the New World's land, who said something to the effect that one took a block of some medium, looked at and let it tell you what to remove to release the item inherent within the material. I'm hoping that is what will happen with me.

I know what's in there but getting it out is something else.

So what do you think? I know some have used Styrofoam but I don't have any.