Took the Exo-Terra plunge but need help.
 

I've taken the plunge and completed the first steps but I need help in the planting of it, I have a few questions.

1. I have some plants attatched to mounts already,
can I silicone the mount in place without harming the
plant?
2.Can I plant directly into the mix?
3. I have a couple Masdevallia's, can I plant them in the
mix, Aussie-gold,that is directly on the bottom or do they have to be potted?

Have the plants grown roots to the backside of the mount? if not, I don't see any problems with attaching the mounts. Maybe a faster drying glue would be better though. if you decide on the silicone, ventilating the tank while it dries would be in order, i'd say.

besides the Masdevallia, did you mean planting orchids or other plants?

I would like to plant orchids but don't know what other ones that can take the moist conditions.

I am so excited about your project!

I love your Exo Terra fountain. I was thinking about getting one of those. Which size did you get?

I was too chicken to plant my orchids in the mix directly. Not because it's not a great idea. I just am hesitating until I feel more confident that I know where to place each plant in the tank for it's best happiness. Cause, you know, once they're rooted to the background, they've officially called it HOME.

For sure you could start with the lovely Porroglossum rodrigoi, the Haraella odorata and the Masd. erinae. . .of course, that's only three. . .you'll need a baker's dozen. ROFLOLOL

Ross & Tindo have a bunch of mounted minis!

Ross uses a misting system. . .check out his gallery for moisture loving orchids!

I can't wait to see what you come up with!

The Exo-Terra waterfall is the medium sized one.
The followung list is of the plants that I have in my collection that I thought I could choose from.
Phal. Mini Mark (S/H)
Phal. Schilleriana (S/H)
Phal. Vioacea borneo (mount)
Phal. Stuatiana (pot)
Dend. Aberrans (mount)
Neofinetia falcata (mount)
Haraella Odoratta (mount)
Laelia reginae (pot) (quicky project)
Laelia purpurata (pot) (seedling)
Kef. Tolimensis (pot)
Aerangis luteo-alba (Rhodosticta) (pot)
Aerangis luteo-alba (Rhodosticta) (mount, project #4)
Masdevallia Noid (pot)
Mas. Celtic Frost (pot)
Mas. Infracta (pot)
Mas. Curtipes (pot)
Maxillaria Tenuifolia (pot)
Max. Uncata (mount)
The terrarium has been set up now for 24hrs, the following conditions exist, temp range 67-80f, 40-64% humid., light 2500 at top 140 at bott.
I think I need a little more light.

I've seen lots of people grow Ludisia discolor as a ground cover. the leaves are just beautiful! and it can spread into a carpet..unfortunately photos don't really do justice to it.
i wish i could come up with more suggestions, Paphs maybe?

Are all these going into tank? I think your light amount is OK right now. 140 FCs is pretty low for all except maybe Jewell Orchids. 2500 FCs will be fine for mini dendrobiums and Maxillaria. Somewhere in between will be fine for Haraella and its similars (like Phals.)

NO Ross,:roll: they are not all going in there, I don't think there is enough room:scratchhead:,but maybe!,I am just looking for suggestion's from the more knowledgable than I as to what would complement each other in this small space, terrarium is 18x18x24 tall also any clue on how to get the humidity higher, at its highest it has got to 64% so far.

While I've never owned an Exo Tera, humidity is not that hard to increase in an enclosed space. A few suggestions:

1) wet sponges. Try adding a few wet cellulose sponges near the bottom of the tank.

2) Reduce the amount of thru-wall venting (if you can). Maybe not opening doors so often, if you have thru-wall fan(s) run them less often, etc.

3) Consider adding an active misting system such as MistKing This is our board host - Marty (the king of misting systems).

Temperature looks fine (70's) but humidity looks low. Yes you can "pack 'em in" so to speak. That is actually a pretty large enclosure and should support lots of minis if they are on mounts. Just get the heights right (distance to lights.) It's all an experiment (that's what God said :))

What timing for me! I will be watching your thread for I too purchased this a few weeks ago and await my new mini's from Andy's on Friday. I grow S/H so I was going to put down the pellets with water on the bottom of the tank to raise humidity. I also chose plants with low light and can tolerate temps up to 85 degrees. I live in NJ. Between the forum and Harry at Andy's I hope I picked some keepers. Were you going to hang any of the mounts off the sides? There was a good suggestion of sunction cups, I like that one.(sorry, forgot who should get the credit for that) This way I can move the plant until it feels happy.

Linda,
My Exo-Terra has a combination of Hydroton and PrimeAgra mixed underneath the Aussie gold, I did this only because I didn't have enough of each to provide the coverage that I needed,check out my gallery to see some pictures on how I assembled this project.

Ross,
I did as you suggested and turned the fan off and the humidity jumped up to 70% but don't I need air circulation for the health of the plants. I have Hydoton and PrimeAgra under the mix to help keep up the humidity.

Did you soak the Hydroton first?

I have a fan running in mine 24/7 with humidity up to 99%.

I have a fan running 24/7 INSIDE tank. The thru wall only runs 3 hours at night to exchange air. No, you don't need through wall all the time. I would consider adding a second 12 volt fan inside tank for air movement (not air exchange).

Yes, I soaked the Hydroton before I put it in. The top of the Exo-terra is open with a screen on top, the fan I have just blows down thru the screen in one corner, should I close in the top and mount a small fan inside?

Try it and see. Don't close completely. Just keep sliding a glass top across till you see max humidity. Try to leave a couple inches open. You don't need the screen - it's for frogs, etc. Screen cuts down the light also.

An update on my terrarium.
Ross I removed the screen and the light levels went up, but I have not yet closed the top, I did turn off the fan blowing directly into it and left air circulation up to the ceiling fan. The humidity is in the 50's at night and as high as 80% during the day. Today I plan on going to the glass shop to get a piece of glass to cover the top.
I have partialy planted it, here are the current pictures.
Laelia reginae (upper left far back) (2600 foot candles)
Aerangis luteo-alba (upper left) (1982 fc)
Haraella odorata (on right in front of water fall) (211 fc)
Masdevallia noid (front left corner) (220 fc)
Neofinetia falcata (back lower left) (320 fc)
Dendrobium aberrans (back to right of Neo.) (345 fc)
Maxillaria uncata (back, left of water fall) (345 fc)
I hope I'm providing the correct light levels.

Beautiful set-up! You did a great job! :biggrin: I did want to add that the den you have would probably do better a little higher. I just bought one from Andys and they listed it's preferred light levels at 2500fc. I know Ross has one so maybe he will chime in. :lol: How did you attach your quickie project orchid to the backing? Just curious!

I think if it were mine I would rearrange a few. The D. aberrans wants really high light. Mine is approx 6-7" below 4 t5 tubes (1600 FCs) Same with Maxillaria. Neofinetia likes full sun. Mine is up in the grow window where it gets dryer air and full sun. Aerangis can be further from lights (say 500-1000 FCs) Don't know on the Masdevallia, don't have any. I am basing my observations on nearly a year of growth under 48" t5 lights which produce 20,000 lumens (approx 1600 Foot-candles). Anything higher than that goes upstairs in a south-facing bay window where they get full sun most of the day.

BTW, glad you removed screen. You'll be happier with higher light. Glass can be "single-stregnth" picture frame glass. Just keep sliding it across top till you achieve the blend of fresh air to humidity that you are happy with. You may want to set venting fan on an applience timer to come on for a few hours at night to vent the tank of old gases, etc and just contribute a bit of fresh air. Mine runs 3 hours each night. I am sure humidity goes down during that time, but not too much. I run high 90% range during day, so I feel this gives plants a rest from too much moisture and maybe dries the rotting microbes out a bit? My tank maintains about 1/2" inch excess water in bottom and that probably off-sets the added dryness of the thru-wall fan.

If you are after plants for the bottom where light is really low, consider the "Jewell Orchids" like those Little Frog Farms sells. (Robe is a forum member) I have 5 in the very bottom of my tank and I had to move one to get less light because the leaves were burning. We're talking really low light here - maybe less than 200 foot-candles!

Thank you all so much for all the help and tips that I have received.
The quicky project is not truely mounted to the back, it is wedged in the fork of the Mansanita branch so that it can easily removed to be put outside in full sun during the day.

Ross I really appreaciate the time you give to all here and the advise you give. I am taking your advise and am rearrangeing a few of my orchids to make them more happy,and look for a few more to complete the set-up.

Thanks so much to all, for your input and suggestions
Mike

Tindo, I am draining mine with a positive drain system (from Marty) http://www.orchidboard.com/community...bs/DSC2050.jpg Hope this helps. It's the same bulkhead fitting used for the reservoir of the misting system, just used in reverse.

:scratchhead: So I am not understanding...how can you install one of these into a pieces of glass? Wouldn't you have to drill a hole into the glass, and I thought that wasn't possible to do...but maybe I am wrong.

I'm not draining mine as of yet I was hoping the evaporation would raise the humidity, most of the water is circulated by the water fall.

While glass can be drilled, mine is acrylic and I had the manufacturer install it during the making process.

Ok that makes sense....so what would a person need to drill glass :evil:

Ask at a local glass shop if they can drill it. I wouldn't try it myself. It might be way cheaper to get a small water pump like used in small fountain displays like you'd put on your deck. Or some type of aquarium pump? just drop a tube down into the water reservoir and turn on the pump when you want to clear it. Pump it into a 5-gallon pail and discard the water. Leave the pump there all the time. Just a thought.

You guys have now got me scared about my set up as I never had any plans to remove the water from the bottom, but the media is not truly setting in the water as I raised the media above the standing water with the use of Hydroton and the plastic grate, then I put down weed blocking cloth, then I put down the media that I plan to plant into. I hope I have not put myself into a situation were I'm going to have to take it apart to install a drainage system. PLEASE give some ideas on how to correct this before I have problems.
Thank all of you.
Mike

Mike, if you can still get to the reservoir why not install a pump? You can turn it on any time you suspect the water is getting too deep. Just a thought.

A Couple More Questions....
 

I have also took the Exo-Terra plunge. I have just bought a 18"x18"x24". I set it up with a layer of gravel on the bottom, and have the pots my orchids are in directly on top of this... Granted it looks a bit like a Wardian Case at the moment, but my orchids look happy in the higher humity... I have a sunlight bulb set up from an old broken aqarium that I had a couple of years ago for light... Anyway, to the point:

I have been looking at your set ups (which are beautiful, by the way) and it has raised a couple questions...

1. What brands of lighting did you have to use so that it would be compatable with the Exo-Terra hood?

and 2. I thought that a lot of orchids needed to have some sort of container around them to make them feel "safe" so that they grow better...

I know these questions might sound basic, but I would really appreciate any advise.

Thanks in advance for your input :)


Laura

Hi Laura,
I have the same Exo-Terra you have. I opted not to use the Exo-Terra Hood. This is what I have done, and it is working well so far:

I purchased a piece of acrylic glass to help hold in the humidity and cut down on the heat from the lights I am using. It works well to keeping the humidity in, but my temps get up to 90 or so during the day and drop to about 70 to mid 70 during the night.

The light I am using is an eight bulb T5 fixture that is 21.3"L X 22.8" W X 3½"H. I went with this light because it was the only T5 I could find closest to the tank dimmensions with out having to purchase two light fixtures for the tank, and it turns out it overlaps perfectly since Ross said that the bulbs are not as strong at the ends. Let me say....I am sold on T5's. And like Ross also pointed out to me....the light fixture might be more expensive for the initial purchase, but the replacement bulbs are cheaper, where as the Exo-Terra hood is cheaper, and I think the replacement bulbs might be more expensive. But when you have to purchase 8 replacement bulbs, it might end up equal down the road, but T5 lights are much better. I am seeing great results with these lights! Here is the link to the light fixture I purchased:
Buy New Wave T5 Fluorescent Grow Light 2ft 4 Bulb 192W

For humidity, I have a container of water with sponges and a bubbler sitting in it, as long as the container is full of water, the humidity stays very high, like in the 90% range during the day, sometimes I open the doors to bring the humidity down at night and then close them before going to bed. I also have a fan for circulation running 24/7 as well, which is mounted to the acrylic glass, which I cut to fit where the screen used to be.

As far as orchids needing to be in containers to feel safe to grow, think of how the grow naturally....I think they would be much happier mounted, but that takes a lot of time with watering!

Well that is my two cents, hope it helps!

Becca...you missed an opportunity to use this: :twocents:


:dance13:

Dang your right Sue!

:twocents: :twocents: :lol:

How much air are you circulating and how much are you changing. What is the best mixture? Without changing high humidity no problem. But when changing high humidity is a problem. I know that in a building you ought to change the air twice an hour but in a terrarium how often, and how often according to size.

my tank is sealed quite well and i have two fans running non-stop. i usually let it air out only in the morning while watering and most nights for a short period after the lights go out. hard to say in percentages but basically the air is just circulating. in the end the ideal combination might depend on the species..

I, personally, think your setup sounds fine. That's sorta what I do. As long as there is rapid air movement around the inside of the tank while it's closed up, that's fine. These are plants, not air-breathing mammals, so lots of fresh air isn't required. Couple times a day sounds fine. Mine is for 3 hours at night and I get about 70% humidity during that period of fresh air exchange.