Building an inexpensive and effective orchidarium.

[greenbean]

This is great! I have a tank of similar dimensions and it's nice to see not only what I could do with it, but what I could fit in there. And I had just been thinking of getting some minis to go in there!

[gufantinelli]

Amazing TMAXWELL. Tks for sharing this great idea! Congrats!!!

[AuGrower]

how have u dealt with the drainage issues such as bacteria build up?

[vmax3000]

Originally Posted by AuGrower

how have u dealt with the drainage issues such as bacteria build up?

For my little terrariums (sp?), I filled the bottom with a combination of fish tank rock and horticultural charcoal (~3 cm). Mind you, I haven't yet had them long enough to have to tear them up and clean them out, but I had tried those little sump-type pumps to keep the water in motion and provide a little more humidity, but they kept clogging. Not perfect, but so far, it's working.

[AuGrower]

Originally Posted by vmax3000

For my little terrariums (sp?), I filled the bottom with a combination of fish tank rock and horticultural charcoal (~3 cm). Mind you, I haven't yet had them long enough to have to tear them up and clean them out, but I had tried those little sump-type pumps to keep the water in motion and provide a little more humidity, but they kept clogging. Not perfect, but so far, it's working.

awsome, i could deal with that but how much water do u have running through there its hard for me to picture, like what the pumps and the setup would look like

[vmax3000]

Orchids that do well in terrariums.

I couldn't figure out how to lift my own picture from one thread and move it to another, so above is the link. It shows one of the terrariums right before I moved the plants in. I'll have to post a more recent picture. I watch the water level from the side and have these little muffin fans I scavenged from computer towers and wired to a little transformer so I could plug them into the walls. I hope this helps.
Btw, that thread is a plethora of great info on how folks started their projects, along with a lot of pictures. I think these two threads may need to be linked!

[tmaxwell]

Hi all,
OK, it's been a while!

how have u dealt with the drainage issues such as bacteria build up?

This is an easy issue, if your tank is a standard size. Just go to the petshop, and buy the appropriate undergravel filter. Mine was like, 3 bucks, and works WAY better than what I started with (the bottom full of agates, with no drain). You can (and should) drill a hole in the bottom of the tank, at the desired water level, and inset a hose for drainage. Its hard to drill ( I cracked my tank a little) but totally worth it, just use a carbide bit, and don't push. I used aquarium air hose. The plastic is black, so not much light gets thought, algae isn't a problem. The ease of use pretty much exploded when I didn't have to siphon it out every other day! Anyway, I've got a new tank, a new cooling system, and some other updates to the original tank coming, just got to finish, and get some photos (maybe I can catch the areangis' blooming in time)
here's to a full tank of beauties,
tyler

[vmax3000]

Thanks, Travis! While I was away, my spousal unit procured a glass aquarium of 30" by 12" by 12" ! I think an undergravel filter will be one of the first purchases.

[tmaxwell]

Hi all,
Just an update-of-sorts, not much really. Attached are some pictures of the tank, which will soon be relieved of some plants. You can see all the ceramic growing "pouches" I use, they've been working nicely.
good growing,
tyler

[Connie Star]

What size tank are you using?