Introductions and the tolumnia project

[Tolumnia_<3]

I have been looking up information on this forum for months. What an amazing wealth of knowledge everyone here has. I, like many other people, have killed many plants from one time to another. This forum so far has helped me keep my small collection healthy for the last few months in a front door terrarium with a nice pc fan and t5ho lighting. This forum has even helped me save a tolu. from spider mites (plant vampires) and I hope to interact with everyone and gain (as well as give) more knowledge.

So thanks in advance everyone.

Attached are pics of my small terrarium setup. The phal is a little squished in there but hasn't been doing so well outside of the enclosure so I am hoping the controlled environment will help it spring back to life. It was a home depot purchase with hardly any good roots. Any suggestions will be happily considered. and for everybody else in there, they are happy.

[WhiteRabbit]

Glad you found us!

[Tolumnia_<3]

Thank you. I do think it would be nice to get some feedback on my setup for these plants. One of my biggest questions is how to get the terrarium better heated. I would like it to be more around 80-85 than 74. Currently I have a reptile heat mat attached to the side of the tank but wonder how much it actually helps.

[RosieC]

Welcome to Orchid Board

I don't know much about terrarium growing myself but I know lots of people here grow that way so I'm sure you'll get some help. Might be good to ask on our Terrarium area. Terrarium Gardening

[Paul Mc]

Hello and welcome!

Is that a Masdevallia on the right? I guess the first thing I'd say about your set up is that if you heat it up then you should be sure all the plants in there would actually appreciate that. Also, be sure to give your plants a cooler evening than daytime temps as this is a natural rhythm of nature. Be aware that Masdevallias seldom like high temps above 70f though...

[Tolumnia_<3]

@paul- I do not have a masdevilla. I have the tolus, a phal, and a baby den. spectabile(from madagascar). With the exception of the phal all these plants enjoy temps in the 80's by day and the low 70's by night. I like using my mac weather app to look at the daily temperatures of these areas and record data to best match their native environments. To accomplish the temp drop I have a thermostat that can be programmed digitally to control the heat. I just currently have the temp hovering around 78 by day b/c of the lights. I was just hoping to get about 7 more degrees by day. If I need the tank to be colder I put a frozen block of ice tuperware container behind the fan. Temps get as low as 64-68 at times.

[Paul Mc]

Ok, just wanted to be sure. You might try one of the reptile heater lamps? I personally haven't used one but I'd think it might work.

[Tolumnia_<3]

Thanks Paul. That is a good suggestion. I have also heard about putting aquarium heaters in the shallow water inside the terrarium but I don't know how viable that is since I have not tried it yet.

[Paul Mc]

That might work, but you have to ensure you keep enough water on them or they will break.