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My first Terrarium Build

Discussion in 'Growing Areas' started by Dave The Scientist, Jul 10, 2014.

  1. Dave The Scientist

    Dave The Scientist Active Member

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    Pictures of the sad Bulbophyllum. I think I'm going to lose most or all of them which makes me sad because they are so cool. Any ideas for reviving them?
     

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  2. chicago chad

    chicago chad Active Member

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    If you don't mind here is a bad pic for reference:
    [​IMG]
     
  3. chicago chad

    chicago chad Active Member

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    In my opinion, the moss is a bit dry for that one. At least after a recent remounting. Did you soak the moss down ahead of time?
     
  4. Dave The Scientist

    Dave The Scientist Active Member

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    I try to keep the moss pretty moist. I was about every or every other day. Should I slip more moss underneath it and or try to keep it more moist?
     
  5. chicago chad

    chicago chad Active Member

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    Everyone is different. I am starting to use less moss than before but still some use far less. It really depends on the watering regimen and how long they take to dry out.

    In the summer I mist 2X a day on most plants and 1X a day in the winter.

    Perhaps more frequent mistings.
     
  6. Dave The Scientist

    Dave The Scientist Active Member

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    Ok, I'll up the misting. I think I am also going to fab up something to close off the gaps between the terrarium and the light hood so it will hold humidity better.
     
  7. chicago chad

    chicago chad Active Member

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    So I went back through your pics and I think the fan is just too strong. Your tank is fairly small. I would also say that the light may be too bright at the moment. Or it is on too long. It is funny that under artificial light you can really go low or high, but I would ease them into it. With it that small the heat will also build from the hood. I would raise it a bit with a spacer.

    I have one tank that has much lower lights for this reason.

    Another suggest to avoid any gnats. I would remove the moss from laying against the floor. Even if it has clay pellets below it. If I were to do a moss bottom I would re purpose a container or tray with drainage and fill that with moss.
     
  8. Dave The Scientist

    Dave The Scientist Active Member

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    I think you are right about the fan being too strong, however I don't really know what to do to rectify that. I am experimenting with different fan positions to minimize its power and I just put it on a timer so it's only on a half hour every hour. The fan is only 5v and 0.4amps so it is pretty small, but I have found ones online that look less powerful (its 12V and 0.1amp, I am assuming that is less powerful, but I am not an expert in electronics) , I might check out like this http://www.aliexpress.com/item/4010...40mm-40x40x10mm-4010s-Cooling/1981400339.html

    As of right now I am running at 13 watt CFL grow light on a 14 hour daylength. Is that too long or too bright of a bulb?

    As for heat, I haven't had any problems with that. The tank only runs a few degrees above room temp, for example the tank is only at 83 degree F(28.3 C) in a room that is probably around 77 F (25C).

    The gnat problem I have talked about elsewhere on the forum is in some of my potted plants, not in the terrarium, but if I run it to problems with that, I'll take out the moss. The moss is currently over top of about 2 inches (5cm) of LECA with a plastic mesh separator on top, so it doesn't sit in any standing water.
     
  9. Dave The Scientist

    Dave The Scientist Active Member

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    Another thing I want to note with regards to the fan is that now with the fan running, the terrarium loses humidity pretty fast. For example, I heavily misted last night, which brought the humidity up to about 93% and when I woke up this morning it was only 59% after the fan ran all night.
     
  10. chicago chad

    chicago chad Active Member

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    I think that is acceptable in terms of humidity for the plants you have but a bit higher at night would be beneficial. I can try and wire up a fan for you with some supplies I have. If I think the speed is appropriate I will pass it on to you.

    I am not one to consult with electrical questions, but I think that the fan speed will be determined by the amps put out by the power source. You may only need to change that. Naoki is an excellent one to ask. This stuff comes easily to him and he has done a lot with experiments, data, ect.

    The 13wt light should be fine. I would cut back a half an hour at a time until you are getting better water retention on the moss. If the light is simply heating up the tank too much, check out FirstRays.com LED light. I use them now and they are a bit cooler.
     
  11. wpinnix

    wpinnix William Pinnix

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    You can get a fan speed controller, I have a small computer fan with a speed controller.
     
  12. chicago chad

    chicago chad Active Member

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    Do you have a link Bill? I am looking for an analog style controller that uses a dial to adjust the setting with as much control as possible.
     
  13. wpinnix

    wpinnix William Pinnix

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  14. Dave The Scientist

    Dave The Scientist Active Member

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    I have a the fan hooked up to a fan controller currently and I have the speed turned all the way down. As for LEDs, Ray's LED doesn't fit the hood but a 9, 11 or 13 W Jungle Dawn LED would, however the heat from the CFL helps give me a day to night temp difference of a few degrees. I turned the timer on the fan down so it runs a half hour on followed by a hour off, repeating that cycle all day. I taped up the gaps between the light hood and terrarium with duct tape as an experiment. If it holds humidity better, I'll fab something prettier up to do the same thing.
     
  15. Dave The Scientist

    Dave The Scientist Active Member

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  16. Tyson

    Tyson Ex-Situ

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    Looks great though! I'm converting a wine cooler into a nano terrarium, and I plan on trickling fresh air in with an aquarium pump connected to a gang valve for flow control, giving it a few fresh air exchanges per day. This will be going constantly, with a humidifier connected to my zoomed hygrotherm, which also controls the lights and cooler. I was considering a reptile fogger, but I've had good results with an aquarium pump with an air stone in a bottle of perlite and water, for growing mushrooms. I haven't implemented this yet, so it's just a thought.
     
  17. Tyson

    Tyson Ex-Situ

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    I'd also add that, the longer I grow orchids, the more I realize the importance if water quality! Aquarists know this is pretty complicated. Unless your tap water has the appropriate pH, KH, hardness and TDS values, you're asking for trouble down the line. Local information on these stats should be available online. I'd suggest starting out with distilled or RO water, then when things are growing well, you can introduce tap water and see what happens. Take what I say with a grain of salt, because my particular tap water is just death in a faucet. Also, distilled water in an ultrasonic fogger is a must. You'll end up with chalky residue everywhere (unless your water is perfect).
     
    Last edited: Aug 22, 2014
  18. Dave The Scientist

    Dave The Scientist Active Member

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    I currently water with rain water(usually with orchid fertilizer) for watering so I don't think water quality is a problem. I would love to see your nano terrarium when you get it set up. I am assuming you are planning on growing cool growers as you are doing it in a wine cooler.

    As for temps, I am wondering if mine is too high. Pretty much all of my plants are intermediate growers and my current temp range is about 75 F(23.8 C) at night and 82-83 in the day (28.3C). That's pretty borderline for intermediate growers. Do any of you think this is why my plants aren't thriving? Should I switch to LEDs? If so, do any of you have any experience with Jungle Dawn LEDs as that is what I was looking at buying.
     
  19. wpinnix

    wpinnix William Pinnix

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    Orchids often need an adjustment period, it could be that. 75 at night is about 20 degrees warmer at night than my greenhouse, so it might take awhile to adjust.
     
  20. Dave The Scientist

    Dave The Scientist Active Member

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    That is good to know. I think I am going to lose the Bulbo odontepetalum though. It is looking pretty sad.