Tropical plants for 60L tank

[King of diamonds]

I have a 60L (13 gal) fish tank that I want to transform into a plant tank. Unfortunately my room is south facing so I get no direct sunlight at any point =( so I will need artificial lighting.

I plan to line the bottom with sanitized rocks, pebbles, moss and potting mix then filling up the remaining space as much as possible.

Unfortunetly my budget and knowledge of plants is sadly lacking. I do want orchids to feature promenently however due to cost these will be rather limited. I was thinking a few orchids scattered around with tropical bromelliads such as Neoregelia, Guzmania etc to flesh out the rest of the space.

The tank is 90cm long, 45cm wide and 30 cm high. I will need about 5 cm for the pebbles and potting mix/moss so the total height for plants is around 23cm. Humidity won't be too precise but the tank will have a lid so should be kept above 80%. I have a variety of computer fans to provide air circulation and a small heater and cooler depending on the plants chosen. The ambient temperature of the room is around 18 degrees Celsius (64F) occasionally rising to 19 or 20 but very rarely.

I will need some supplementary lighting, I have found some 21w T5 flourescent lamps in a variety of colors, will this be suitable? I am pretty much starting from scratch so sufficient lighting for cheap plants such as phals is what I am after. Ideally I only want one lamp due to cost. the 21w is the biggest I can fit in my tank though I will look for others.

If you can think of any relatively common plants that would be suitable, tropical or not, please suggest them.
Sorry I am still fairly new, I have very little knowledge of plants in general so assume no prior knowledge. I realize that this is probably not going to be recommended but I really want plants in my room


Thanks.

[WhiteRabbit]

C'mon folks - anybody???

[Franco24]

Id be glad to give you a few pointers. I'm stuck at work currently, but ill edit this post later when I'm home.

It took me a good six months of messing around with my terrarium to get to where I like it. Do your research (OB is a great place to start). Make sure the plants you put in there are are suitable and won't outgrow the terrarium. It can be a pain to take a plant out once it's established.

I'll comment on all the specs later on when I have a bit of time. My terrarium is the pride and joy of my orchid growing hobby. I have a thread in the terrarium growers forum, but I don't have any recent pictures up. I'll update that as well later.

Best of luck!

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Lepanthes gargoyla is one that comes to mind right away. These are tolerant of drier conditions than most other Lepanthes.

What Ecuagenera sells as Lepanthes melpomene is another. Same as Lths gargoyla.

Lepanthes elegantula. Same as above 2 Lths species.

If you want larger orchids...

Try Rodriguezia spp. I have a Rodriguezia in one of my snake tanks. The species name escapes me though.

Chroniochilus virescens (this one is a difficult one to cultivate unless you have consistent moisture on the plant. Same goes for Ceratocentron fesselii.

Macropodanthus alata. Any Macropodanthus spp. These do great in a terrarium.

Cousins to Macropodanthus, Grosourdya spp. will work too.

Papua New Guinea Bulbophyllums.

Mediocalcar spp.

Podochilus spp. (These may present a challenge in the long run, particularly if you have micro-snails in the tank.)

Ascochilopsis myosurus. Again, a moderately challenging species that likes moderate to high humidity.

I know a few sources. PM me if you'd like to find out sources

[WhiteRabbit]

Thanks Franco!
Thanks Philip!

[King of diamonds]

Thanks guys.

I will definitely look into those though finding them here may be a challenge until I can find some nurseries, all the ones I have seen so far are either really expensive or only sell seedlings. If someone has any contacts in New Zealand that would be amazing but I'm not getting my hopes up.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Try buying from international vendors like Ecuagenera (www.ecuagenera.com), Orquideas del Valle (Orchids from Colombia), Floralia (Floralia Orchids), or Ooi Leng Sun Orchids (www.aaorchids.com), just to name a few.

[fishmommy]

I tend to buy terrarium plants from Black Jungle Terrarium Supply

[King of diamonds]

Do orchids tend to ship well? I don't really want to spend heaps on shipping just together a sickly plant that will likely die.

Thanks for the sites, and will def check them out

[WhiteRabbit]

Originally Posted by King of diamonds

Do orchids tend to ship well? I don't really want to spend heaps on shipping just together a sickly plant that will likely die.

Thanks for the sites, and will def check them out

Most orchids ship great! Tho some sort of priority shipping (2-3 days) is definitely the way to go. Try to avoid bare root plants. I have done fine with most that I have gotten bare root, but some will fare better than others, and especially if you are new to orchids, probably better to try to avoid ones shipped bare root. Don't know what your weather may be like - try to avoid shipping during extreme heat or cold, or if they are delivered during heat or cold, to be able to keep them from sitting outside in the box long.