Creating an orchid terrarium

[Becky15349]

Hi all!

I realized this past weekend that my NYC windowsill isn't quite the best place for growing orchids. It may be sunny for a bit during the day, but in the afternoon and evening it gets quite chilly; the room is dry, and there isn't a whole lot of air movement. So, I figured, I could create an orchid terrarium!

My idea was to get a plastic aquarium w/ a light on top and a heating pad for the bottom. Do you think this would work? At least this would contain the humidity and some warmth. I'm not certain what to do about air movement; where is the best place to get small fans?

Let me know what you think!

~Rebecca

[smartie2000]

I'd say no need for the heating pad....
It will work, but make sure the light intensity is correct.

[jtlqh]

You can get a 6" clip-on fan in any hardware store in NYC. You can get a compact fluorescent light, 23w or higher for the orchids, that will add some heat to them. If the temperature is above 55F/night, 70F/day, heating pad is not needed.

[Korxi]

Any computerstore is good they're quite small. When I made mine i found a guide to doing the background think I googled "vivarium how-to" - it'll be one of the first results.

[jtlqh]

Humidity is not critical unless you are growing masds. I have phals, oncis in my office, the humidity is under 15%, and there is no way I can increase it since it is has very good ventilation. All of them are growing and blooming for me. I have the humidity sensitive orchids in a 10 gallon fish tank.

You can get a CPU cooling fan in any electronic store or on froogle, just type in 3" or 4" CPU fan in the search box and sort the result by price low to high. You can also get a multi-voltage (1.5 - 12V) AC/DC converter that would cost only $10 + shipping, and you can find the same AC/DC converter in a big home improvement store. I got my 10 gallon fish tank in a pet store near my office that cost $12, I think it works better than a plastic box.

Qing

[Brutal_Dreamer]

All this orchid terrarium talk makes me want to try this too. Be sure to post photos of your progress, Rebecca!

Cheers,
BD

[IdahoOrchid]

Try an evaporative humidifier designed for home use. It works by passing large volumes of air past a damp wick: humidity goes up and so does air movement.

You can just see the top of it in the picture in this thread:

http://www.rv-orchidworks.com/orchid...on/7160-a.html

[Piper]

Hi Becky,

I set one up last fall, and asked many of the same questions. Hope this helps:

http://www.rv-orchidworks.com/orchid...rrarium-4.html

McJulie

[terminator]

I think I need a terrarium too. Last year I got 7 plants but now I have more than 200 plantlets ready to deflask. I bought 2-foot fluorescent lights for under $10 each (include fixture with 2 tubes, incredible price) so far they work well. I will buy more. I use computer fans for air moving and like them. They are quite, enough power for air moving and comsume less energy. These fans requires 12Volts DC adapter (no mater what Ampere). You can use an adapter for mutiple fans. You can find fans and adapter in used computer stores. They are cheap less than $5. I like pictures from the above links and try to build my terrarium.