Pleurothallid focused terrarium
 

I'm not much of a forum person, but since I've used this as a resource on and off I thought this design may be of some interest to people. This is a terrarium I built the end of August 2010 and it has been growing in the past few months. The concept is simple and I wanted to grow a large amount of very small orchids. The terrarium is glass with the top half glass, half acrylic (so I could drill it), the rest of the glass is 3/8" with 1/4" doors.

The gadgetry is fairly simple, consisting of a misting system with 10 heads on it (Mistking-- the only type I use), 3 closed-circuit computer fans, and 2 x 96 watt compact fluorescents 3' fixtures. The dimensions of this is 3' long, 2' deep and 4' high, though with the stand it sits just around 6' 8" tall, which coincidentally is pretty much as tall as I am, so I can view it standing up and see it all. I can't recall the final list but there's at least 30 species of nearly all Pleurothallid alliance orchids in it, nearly all have bloomed so far.

Just this weekend I started planting a second that's a foot shorter, but it's easier to get the light and misting more even with the dimensions. That also features nearly all extremely small orchids. I've got a few branches where the idea is to have moss cover them and barely have the orchid leaves above the moss, only blooms will emerge.

The system is automated so I only have to fill the water reservoir every 10 days or so, and ever 2 weeks I have to empty the drainage buckets. I spend most of my summer out of the country, so things have to be automated as much as possible to maximize the chance of things surviving.

The fans I use are:
Amazon.com: Antec PRO 92mm Double Ball Bearing Case Fan with 3-Pin and 4-Pin Connector: Electronics

Which I power with:
Amazon.com: Sunbeam MFPP Multi-Fan Power Port - Fan power adapter - 3 pin Molex (M) - 4 pin internal power (M): Electronics
and
Amazon.com: CG 110v AC to 12v DC 4pin molex Power Adapter: Electronics

The 90 degree elbows I buy from Lowes and cut down to make them lower profile. I also add 2 fans to the sides of the lights in the summer to keep down the accumulation of heat. The fans are strong enough to make leaves move slowly at the bottom of the tank, so there's a good amount of air movement. I tried to add at least 10 other images but the forum said they failed to load, so unfortunately I couldn't add more details of the terrarium, equipment or plants. The dimensions are 36" x 24" x 48" on this tank, the stand is 30" tall and has a removable front plate (held on with magnets). Access is via the top and side doors. I would not recommend only one side door unless you're sure your arms can reach, I'm quite tall and I can barely clean the glass, which needs done on occasion. I also use RO water for misting, which is later recycled into a Rivulus aquarium, or used to water my garden.

If you can direct me to an alternative way of posting photos, I'm happy to supply you with any photos/help you need. The new one I'm currently planting is closer to your dimensions, it's 36" L x 24" W, 36" H. It features 'fake rocks' and an alternative background. The fans and parts took quite a while to search out how to do it, glad that could save you some time. As for building from scratch, I wanted to do it, but to be honest it came out much cheaper to have it built by a company that deals in bulk. I supplied them with blueprint drawings and specifics and they built it to my specs.

The placement of fans is just in the front pane of acrylic (the back hinged piece is glass) and I connect two elbows of black PVC to the fan with hot glue, then glue the unit to the acrylic with silicone. The two fan sets that run parallel to the front pane blow from center to the outside, the middle fan blows down across the front pane of glass.

Sorry for the late reply. These (I'm posting a new one I made a little while back) were both made by Glasscages.com to my specifications. They've done 4 for me in the past few years and overall they do a really nice job. The following images of the newer one has about 12 species of Lepanthes, many intermediate/cool that I'm experimenting with growing. The terrarium is directly under the airconditioner and the temperature never breaks 80 degrees during the day, night drops I get a low as I can.

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5064/...48f964315c.jpg


http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5023/...bf7d0af424.jpg


http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5143/...cb86c99028.jpg


http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5190/...5f6cf0bd66.jpg

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5146/...5a4087edc3.jpg


And the older one again:

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5027/...588c0fab94.jpg

I am in love with those terrariums. I can't wait until I get mine designed that good!

Thanks for the kind words. This new one also features fake rocks made of closed cell foam. Otherwise, its design is very similar to the first. I was hoping for mainly a lot of green with varying textures of leaves. I also wanted a ton of tiny orchids that you had to look for a bit to notice. Just like how they're seen in the field. I'm happy to answer any other questions you have too. Lately, I've been experimenting with a new misting schedule to maximize evaporative cooling to keep the day temperatures down.

A few more orchids. These have all bloomed multiple times this year, so I'm pretty sure they'll be good recommendations for a terrarium for people trying them.

Pleurothallis alata

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5143/...54bf285ac1.jpg

Platystele reflexa (I have one yellow/orange and another orange/red)

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5063/...45f648d3ac.jpg

Needs no introduction, though only bloomed when I got it in. It's put out some new leaves though

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5101/...d7d9f65a68.jpg

Pleurothallis alleni

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5187/...fd2b473fbb.jpg

WOW! Amazing flowers!

Can I ask what you are using for lighting?

-Tristan

The 4' tall terrarium has two 96 watt compact fluorescents (AH Supply), the 3' has just one 96 watt. I have a 3rd 'practice' one that was my first and that uses a double-bulb T5 HO (30" tall). I like T5 HO lights, but they're more expensive and I would have to run more bulbs to get the same amount of light, and depth of light as the compact fluorescents. I'd also recommend raising the lights off the glass, just as a precaution. Additionally, when it warms up I use the computer fans to blow across them to prevent them from heating the tanks too much. I previously posted these fans, and with the multi-power source you can just plug them in when you need them.

Looks amazing! I am still experimenting with enclosed glass containers for small Pleurothallids and hoping one day make a transition to something like yours. Thanks for sharing!

I too am still very much experimenting with things. Here's a shot of the left side of the newer terrarium with some less forgiving (of warm temperature) Lepanthes that I'm still really hoping will do alright.

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5223/...87fcbc081c.jpg

That terrarium is incredible. I have a 30 gal. cube with 15 species of plants, 6 of them orchids, and I have just begun my foray into vivariums and orchid cultivation at the same time. Your terrariums are definitely a fine example for a new addict.

Is that Java moss covering your wood?

WOW, you have truly just inspired my terrarium design! I was working with one design that just didn't feel right to me for some reason no matter how much I tinkered with the levels of eggcrate. Needless to say I have not sealed anything in yet so I am not committed. I absolutely love your design of one layer for the floor, the background and two round corks with tons of sticks.

Where did you get the sticks and how did you prepare them for going into the terrarium? Did you put them in the oven after having soaked them overnight or something?

Also, I'm assuming that's corkboard you are using in the background. Did you cut the bottom off so it would not sit below floor level? I will have water in the bottom of my tank and want a flowing water feature to help with cooling and humidity. I just don't know if I should leave the cork board submersed in the water or not. I'm assuming it's a bad idea to leave it submersed.

The hardscape is fairly simple as it gets muted out with growth anyway. The cork was originally a 4' tube I ordered from Maryland Cork, I just cut it down the middle to try to make it look like 2 trees. Then I just took a few branches and cut holes in the cork and shoved them in. Between the cork is tree fern panels (from Black Jungle). The center wood are two separate pieces, one more 'netted' and a nice root on the bottom to hold it up. I thought it was a little flat (one-dimensional) so I added some small pieces with silicone on the bottom to make it look more like buttresses, then covered it with moss.

The moss I use is an aquatic type, similar to java moss but I find it grows slightly differently. My substrate is also very simple. The tanks have a drilled hole and bulkhead with PVC tubing and a valve that leads to a 5 gallon bucket for waste water. All the timers, misting pump and RO water reservoir are also under the stands as well. The substrate is just Fluorite that I cover with a layer of shredded Magnolia leaves and then a small layer of whole leaves. The idea is to slowly build a soil as the leaves decompose. On occasion I'll add some new leaves as well. The wood I collected from the levees, so I have the Mississippi to thank for it all. I don't do any soaking or treatment other than let it sit outside until I choose what pieces I want. I wouldn't expect the cork sitting in water would cause any issues, perhaps just expanding a bit.

I should also mention that the background on the newer, 'smaller' one is a different process. For that one I glued in the faux rocks, and then placed my wood branches, and sprayed expanding foam (Great Stuff) to hold it all in place. That was then covered with a mix of coconut peat and concrete binder, but to make up for the boring texture I smashed up some more tree fern panel scraps and pushed that into the wet mix. This gave me more of the texture I was hoping for, and provides more area for plants to hang on to. I also constructed the 'tree' out of a few pieces of driftwood that I fastened together with silicone (and a few zip ties) which was all covered in plants and moss. Both terrariums took a while to soak in, so initially I had the misting programmed for short sprayings a few times daily. Now I'm just doing 2 minutes in the morning. The closed-circuit fans run all day/night, barring 2 minutes before/after the misting system runs.

I think that's all the details now.

Here's a little progression of how things grow in:

Texture of background (described above):

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5107/...f37eb2ebd1.jpg

Freshly finished background (2/12):

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5027/...caa5f57d93.jpg

First orchids planted (2/12):

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5107/...a6c344d637.jpg

A few additional clippings/plants (2/26):

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5245/...10d12c3d90.jpg

3/4/11

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5030/...d100e3a520.jpg

5/1/11

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5303/...0d328678a6.jpg


To follow one part...

Branch 2/12/11

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5184/...87ae46f25a.jpg

Branch 5/1/11

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5283/...6d3592c36c.jpg

I planted this terrarium slowly and let it mature on its own. I wasn't sure if I wanted a background dominated by moss or not for some time, so I added it slowly. Hope this is of some help, especially to people who have trouble with patience for these types of things. My first terrarium I wanted grown in fast so I could enjoy it more. This one I wanted to focus on small leaved plants and let it mature and become more complex with age. I like this one much better than the first.

Awesome pics! Thanks for the progression!

My pleasure. I'm glad it can be of some help. I would also recommend spending some time researching photos/video of true forests, particularly mid to higher elevation cloud forests. It'll help anchor your ideas to how nature looks and works. I don't think my terrariums are natural looking at all, but it's sort of my interpretation of nature. Staring at them sure beats a tv though.

LOL... Are you kidding?! I love the look of your terrariums and I think they do look very natural and amazingly serene!

Agreed, the stylized was precisely what I was trying to say. The second terrarium is inspired in part by the old 'Venom' exhibits of the National Aquarium in Baltimore from when I was growing up. I liked their rock work to create additional dimensions to the background. The rest of it came from several cloud forests of Ecuador and Peru, especially some areas near Tingo Maria in Peru. I'm strongly considering redoing the taller terrarium to more of this style as well. Especially if some new experiments some friends and I are doing can produce a more high elevation, cool terrarium. That's the pipe dream at this point.

Moss is rather easy to find and grow in terrarium, but how about lichens?

I have some from the cork that are doing well. I also have several species of bladderworts. They're slow growing, but I'd love to eventually replace big chunks of the moss with them.

As a bit of an aside, if you're interested in following some of my planted glass box projects, which in many cases include orchids, please check out:

Planted Glass Boxes

There I'll try to do fairly regular posts about my orchid terrariums, (planted) art projects and other goodies.

So, I see you use a misting system to get your plants wet. My own terrarium build I discovered might need that kind of system but it's only 12x12x18. I went to MistKing but I don't need the basic set with 4 mistheads. I think I only need 1 (maybe two to ensure I hit everything from all angles). Where would you suggest I look for a 2 head system?

I think Marty has a new smaller system that should do well for a smaller terrarium, like yours. The first terrarium I built I sold to a neighbor and she uses just 3-single heads to keep things moist. That terrarium is 30" x 13.5" x 30" and that works fine. I think one head would probably be fine. Just be sure if you used two that you really cut down the time it runs, say 20-30 seconds, 3x daily to start, then cut down to 1-2 times a day. It's hard to give advice on some things though, much better to experiment and let the plants tell you what's working.

Edit: I just checked it out, this is what we put on the small one, should work for you, it comes with just one nozzle and is very affordable:

MistKing Misting Systems by Jungle Hobbies Ltd

Dumb question what is the name of the plant that needs no introduction?

That's a Lepanthes telipogoniflora-- it's not a dumb question if you're not interested in the group. It's quite a small plant with massive, unique flowers. Definitely in my top 3 favorite orchids ever.

ya I love that flower I am a huge fan of all the pleurothallids
thanks

Very nice, very pretty Pleurothalliddies :)

Thank you very much for the feedback. I posted an update on the blog-- which I encourage anyone interested in these to check out/follow-- of the prototype to the larger terrariums I have now. It's the oldest of the terrariums I have, so it's in a more mature state.

plantedglassboxes.blogspot.com/

I'll update things as I have interesting things to report.

Do you have only 2 - 96 watt fluorescent compact light in this orchidarium?

The tallest one has 2, though some times in the summer when it gets very warm I only use 1. The shorter one I just run 1 all the time. If you see the blog post I just put up, that runs two 36 watt (if I recall correctly) T5 HO bulbs. The vast majority of the orchids I grow aren't high light, though those that are I just put closer to the lights. The bromeliads I grow color up fantastically and the pups have great shape, so the lights must be strong enough.

A few more photos I shot today.

Platystele

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3384/...86dba97fc5.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2062/...2e664cde90.jpg

Lepanthes chorista (?) bud

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3273/...b9af05fd75.jpg

Lepanthes turialvae bud

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3124/...82995fb20d.jpg

Scaphosepalum rapax

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3278/...6ecf0db7c8.jpg