Air Movement for Tiny Case

[Blondie]

Hello! I posted in the Beginner Discussion about my new little terrarium. I bought it at a local plant shop and then went to Oak Hill Gardens for the orchids. There are pics of the orchids in the Beginner thread.

But what I really need help on is getting some air movement for these fellas. I have a ceiling fan in the room that is always on and a window air conditioner unit that pushes around the air in the room. Here are some pictures of the air holes.

I will have to open the whole thing once a day to water the ones on bark. The entire case has to come open--the whole glass part comes off, no door. Do you think it will disturb the one that is hanging too much to do this every day? And if I do this, is that enough air movement for them? I think I probably need a little mini fan that I can point at the air holes, but I look to you for advice.

[dave b]

Moving the hanging orchid daily wont hurt it. During dry spells, i routinely grab my mounted orchids and plop them in the fish tank for a good dunking. As long as they are mounted well, they'll be fine.

Opening the case daily will help to refresh the air supply, but not much else. Not sure what the best method would be for you. You may have to experiment. use a humidity gage and monitor the level in the home and in cage as you try different things.

During humid periods, you could possibly go without the tank all together. Except the ghost orchid. It would benefit the most from the tank.

[michael_exler]

you could use computer fans to circulate air inside.
Most run by 12 volt dc so you will need an adapter to wire it up.
Then I would think about the lighting.

[Blondie]

The case is right next to the window, so it will get good natural east light. This morning, I placed a 4 inch desk fan next to the case and pointed it up toward the air holes. It is VERY unattractive, so I'm going to try to find another solution. If the air movement is too tricky, I might just move some of the minis to a different location. What do you think of this set-up?

[tunachris]

As stated, as small computer fan will do the trick. I use them in a planted vivarium on a timer so they are only on in the day when my grow lights are on. They are small and can be mounted wherever provides the best air flow. I use small 9-12 volt converters to power them.

[mmd622]

Hi I got my 12v computer fan for my small orchidarium. At the moment i have it just running on a 9v battery as i cant find a large enough 12v one other than for cameras etc. What convertors can be used?

D