The Jungle - ExoTerra Large

[DTB]

Originally Posted by orchidsarefun

I think a couple of....rare species....poison dart frogs would be very happy in that paradise. Big thing in USA.

Tell me about it!
Unfortunately Australia has some of the most strict quarantine laws anywhere and there is zero chance and some very serious penalties if you try. Happy to just have it as a plant only tank for awhile, but the tanks on Dendroboard do make me rather envious

---------- Post added at 10:54 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:38 AM ----------

Originally Posted by Ray

For the winter, this is stuck in a utility room that is "First Rays' Stockroom" where I package stuff for shipment.

The lamp has a Fresnel diffuser to mix the light better from the individual chips and an internal cooling fan.

Wow! that is some light!
You are starting me thinking of mixing the Jungle Dawns with 2 or 3 Spot LEDs to get to the tank floor for the Macodes Petola and a few others that are a bit leggy. Thanks for sharing Ray!

[MermaidNat]

Gorgeous setup! I have this exact terrarium (ExoTerra 36x18x24) and am currently overhauling it from mostly broms to potted orchids. I absolutely love what you did.

[DTB]

Originally Posted by MermaidNat

Gorgeous setup! I have this exact terrarium (ExoTerra 36x18x24) and am currently overhauling it from mostly broms to potted orchids. I absolutely love what you did.

Thankyou MermaidNat, that is appreciated

Its been awhile since I posted something on the tank as things have been pretty busy. A few new orchids and Broms have gone into the tank to fill out some blank areas, the orchids are Pleurothallis Grobyi, Pleurothallis Palliolata and Restrepia Striata.
Also my mystery orchid which turned out to be Bulbophyllum Lasiochilum 'dark', decided to flower and give itself away.
There have been new fans p[laced in the top of the tank and a 'full moon' effect light for the evenings so we can watch Tv without crazy tank reflections.
Things have slowed now as we are almost into winter here but I think the tank is now set up properly for a great year once we come back around to spring.

[IMG]_H7A7338 by David Burgess, on Flickr[/IMG]

Bulbophyllum purpurascens open and damaged by a bug I never caught

[IMG]IMG_6574 by David Burgess, on Flickr[/IMG]
bulbophyllum lasiochilum 'dark' before it opened

[IMG]E4A86C5D-02DC-4190-96ED-BC12A422D460 by David Burgess, on Flickr[/IMG]
bulbophyllum lasiochilum 'dark' in all its strange glory

[IMG]1EB8FF7A-BFA4-4D70-9401-4E1C1C0FFCF5 by David Burgess, on Flickr[/IMG]
7 months growth and added plants.

[DirtyCoconuts]

just found this thread and i am bumping it because it is incredible

[WaterWitchin]

Agreed. Some of the setups folks have are just amazing. It reminds me a lot of having aquariums, then would look at folks tanks who did serious aquascaping. I wouldn’t (either one) but admiration of someone else’s skills... oh Hellsyeah!

[DTB]

Cheers all, i will try to take an updated image this weekend. Few changes, some wins some loses and a fair bit of growth

[DTB]

[IMG]58195E78-1781-4499-A441-D9BBCD05C0A0 by David Burgess, on Flickr[/IMG]


[IMG]Untitled by David Burgess, on Flickr[/IMG]


[IMG]Untitled by David Burgess, on Flickr[/IMG]

a few updated pics of the tank.
Unfortunately the Nepenthes albomarginata that was planted on the back wall didnt like the conditions so I replaced it with Nepenthes rafflesiana x ampullaria and this plant seems to be doing MUCH better.
I also added several more bromeliads to the tank and this has added some great textures and colors to the tank.
The marsh area at the front of the tank has been filled with bucephalandra, needle leaf java fern, anubius nana and barteri and also bolbitis, this all seems to be growing well and has adapted well to being emersed. There has also been a small begonia rex added to the back left cnr recently, it has shown some good growth and we will have to see how big it gets.
There is a great ground cover of live sphag, java fern, moss and golden and normal club moss which covers the bottom of the tank.
A reptifogger was added as my DIY effort was too fiddly, I also added a blue LED for night viewing and the lights swap halfway through the fog cycle which just looks really cool!
Its been about 13 months now and it seems to be settling in really well, there has been 2 different orchids flower so far and all sinningia and african violets flower constantly (all orchids were bought small and non flowering size)
Overall Im really happy with the progress and asides from the occasional trim and a fert once a week, I just let the tank do its own thing.

[WaterWitchin]

Just WOW!



Just six months, and what a difference!

[DirtyCoconuts]

Wow doesn’t begin....

Amazing

[Akhenaten]

It's amazing! Very great job. Very beautiful!