my terrarium setup

[jason woodrue]

Here are some pictures of my terrarium setup:

-I am using a 30" x 12" x 18" fishtank.
-oblique natural light in morning until about noon.
-I have 2 t5 HO flourescents on for about 7 hours in afternoon into evening.
-2 computer fans inside tank.
Back top of tank is open for additional air circulation.
-wire mesh rack in back of tank is removable.
I remove the "rack" and take into kitchen or bathroom for watering.

Rack contains the following species:
Epigeneium nakaharai
Den trantuanii
Den. moniliforme keikis
Laelia pumilla
Dock striolata
Dock striolata "bicheno"
Ceratochilus biglandulosus
Den. capituliforum
Den. lamyaei
Epigeneium seedlings
Diplocaulobium stelliferum

tank also contains the following:
Den. torresea
Bulbo choroliferum
Den. glomeratum
Den. moniliforme
Angraecum dideri
Neolauchia pulchella
Coelogyne fimbriata
Cadetia taylori
Den. rigida
Den. prentecei
Pleurothalid sp.
and various unidentified dendro. keikis

[jason woodrue]

More on the mechanics of my terrarium:

-I have a computer fan at the top of one end of the tank blowing on a slight angle down and diagonally across the tank.

-at the other end of the tank i have a computer fan blowing down thru a PVC pipe and across the bottom of the tank over a pool of water beneath all the orchids to kick up humidity and generate air circulation across the bottom of the tank. see image "bottomtank"

the intent of this design is to create circular air flow across the top, down the tube, across the water, then back up to the upper fan...

image "tank innards" is the structure inside the terrarium without the glass tank or the orchids present.

[boytjie]

Awesome. I'm continually amazed and impressed by the creativity and construction talents of many of the folks on this site. Me, I can't even assemble a set of shelves with the instructions.

[snow]

nice job, and creative as well.

[calvin_orchidL]

That is a slick looking tank Good job. What kind of wood are you using the your racks? And how do you keep your water so dang clean!!

Great job - I love it. Please post more pics and details!

[Ross]

Very nice setup. Here's hoping it looks this clean a year from now!

[jason woodrue]

the water is clean because i just cleaned it.
it was a bit murky 1 hour prior to photo.
I needed to clean the water and that involved taking the tank apart. this presented an excellent opportunity to take pictures of some of the components in isolation.

the rack pretty much comes out on a daily basis for either misting, individual watering, or full shower drenching.

I am using cedar wood mainly on this structure.
but right now i am working with cypress on some untested structures.
For attachment I use urethane glue and small brads as well as stainless steel and brass screws.
The fans and transformers in this assembly are available at radio shack.
It has been running now for about 8 months, so it is working fairly well. i clean monthly (approximately) but more often in warmer weather. Not having rocks makes it easier to dump and rinse.

[camille1585]

You did an amazing job with that terrarium. The pull out rack was a really good idea, I don't think that I would think of something like that!

[myrrh & frankincense]

Great job! I love the "rack" that allows you to water everything together. (Disclosure: Jason W. created the base and light enclosure to my terrarium. My plants are happy because of him.) What is the average humidity?

Is Diplocaulobium stelliferum in bloom in the photos? Cool! It looks like Epigeneium nakaharai is also in bloom?

[jason woodrue]

Yes those are the Diplocaulobium stelliferum, they are kindof crazy. the blooms last about 3 or 4 days but are only really nice for about 1 day.
lower right you can see Den. lamyaei. It looks like 2 small orange thai chili peppers. should look like a small version of your Den. unicum http://www.orchidboard.com/community...cum-unicum.jpg

Yes there is a nakaharai in bloom. it is one of those that were missing their ID at J&L. My bloom indicates nakaharai

Humidity is 65-70 but sometimes lower and sometimes higher. It is really good right now because of the muggy rainy weather
does the lightning scare your cat?
the Humidity gets lower when i take the light box off to let heat out and dry up things.