Chicago Chad
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- and the most debatable: lighting. You have many options and I have tried just about all of them. I am using 3 different styles right now and they each have their pros and cons.
I have:
-2ft 2 bulb HO T5 fixture by HydroFarms. I paid $89.00 many years ago for it while growing ‘other plants’. There is now fairly competitive pricing with them. The bulbs are about $9.00 a piece and I recommend changing them every 6-9 months. I use the 5600K, or blue spectrum bulbs. The cool bulbs report putting out 88 lumens per watt. The warm bulbs 97. I do not find it necessary to use red spectrum bulbs, or 2700K, but one of each also works. This fixture has a decent reflector and a 6' power cord. I cannot daisy chain my unit to another, but the new ones will. The newer ones also have higher quality reflectors. I find these run with quite low heat output, but I cannot tell you the average increase in heat with the lights on. It does put out enough light to bloom many types of orchids. Here is an example sold by FirstRays.
https://www.firstrays.com/cgi/cart/commerce.cgi?cart_id=1374606379.247&product=Lighting&pid=704&keywords=
You could go up to a 4, 6 or 8 bulb unit, which not only gets more expensive, but also puts off more heat. When I get a new light setup, I will most likely get a 6 bulb 4' fixture for a wider and taller tank.
-a LED 9WT equivalent bulb/ I believe it is 15par, but I'm not sure. It puts out white, natural looking light, not the red and purple ‘alien looking’ spectrum's you may have seen. It is a screw in-bulb that I put in an Exo Terra hood that holds this and another 13WT CFL 5600K bulb that puts out about 1400 lumens. (the LED bulb is quite new and is also available at FirstRays for $29.00) It is a good bulb, but unfortunately I think it runs a little warmer than the T5's, contrary to what is advertised, but again this is only my speculation.
https://www.firstrays.com/cgi/cart/commerce.cgi?cart_id=1374606379.247&product=Lighting&pid=700&keywords=
(the CFL is $5.00 at Home Depot and the hood is $39.00 atPetsmart. The hood is black and fits the tank perfectly. It also looks the best aesthetically.
-I also have a 150WT CFL spiral bulb. It puts out the lowest amount of quality and total light, but it works. It is the most unsightly of the bunch and I hope to replace it soon. It gets the job done though. I made my own housing for it out of thick aluminum sheeting for furnaces. I had to cut it and drill holes to hold the dome inside for the light to fit center. It was a huge pain, but it was my first light and I learned from my inexperience.
https://www.google.com/search?q=150+CFL+sprial+bulbs&rlz=1C1CHFX_enUS534US534&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hl=en&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&ei=KNXuUcmvNuSqyAHcqIH4Aw&biw=1301&bih=402&sei=KtXuUYaVNe6uyAHvzgE#facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=saHsTwZnV7wNNM%3A%3BmQcQR7p_uaeLmM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.420magazine.com%252Fgallery%252Fdata%252F939%252FTube_CFL.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.420magazine.com%252Fforums%252Fgrow-lighting%252F111680-cfl-light-tutorial.html%3B728%3B768
(Cost estimate)
The total costs will always fluctuate based on materials, taxes and suppliers. From my items the total is roughly:
$290 (plus taxes) including the Fogger. As my tanks sit now, each is about a $1000 investment including everything mentioned above and the plants.
(The Goods)
Each tank can hold between 30 and 60 plants depending on plant size and placement. I try and keep an equal amount of orchids mounted and potted to use the space as well as I can. The humidity usually stays above 80%, regardless of the fogger. The fogger will allow you to maintain 99% humidty if that is what you are aiming for. The plants have almost all responded well. Out of over 100 plants that have been purchased from Ecuagenera alone , I have only lost 3. One Telipogon from the summer temps, one Lepanthes and one Trichosalpinx that I was encouraged not to take from Ivan because of their condition at purchase. I have also bloomed a number of paphs and had excellent seedling growth directly from flask with species considered temperamental.
(Maintanance)
I spend about 10 minutes a day misting and another 30 mins or so (per tank, per week), where I take them out, check them and flush or fertilize. I only use distilled water. I use K Lite for fertilizer and occasionally use an organic hydroponic fertilizer or amino acid supplement.
I mist most mounted plants twice a day, spring to fall. It varies depending on the plant. Some I do not mist at all (Paphs being one of those groups). I try and clean the tanks out once a month. I use bleach or Physan, then clean outside with Windex. The humidifier gets washed out and soaked in Physan as well.
To summarize my experience thus far I would be inclined to say it has been overwhelmingly positive. I have had an opportunity to bloom plants that I have seen others grow or photograph that I once thought would be impossible. I still struggle with certain plants and I believe that this is common with all growers. The difference is I have established a growing environment that is consistent and one that I can rely on. And with this, I can make the observations and subtle changes often needed to encourage a plant into bloom. I think that if you have mastered every plant that you grow, you haven’t challenged yourself enough. My terrariums have certainly done this and allowed me to delve more seriously into hobby growing.
Thank you for any interest you may have and I appreciate any feedback or questions. I hope this may encourage someone who is intimidated by tiny plants. They are some of the most rewarding ones I have. Here are some pics of the plants in the tanks.
I have:
-2ft 2 bulb HO T5 fixture by HydroFarms. I paid $89.00 many years ago for it while growing ‘other plants’. There is now fairly competitive pricing with them. The bulbs are about $9.00 a piece and I recommend changing them every 6-9 months. I use the 5600K, or blue spectrum bulbs. The cool bulbs report putting out 88 lumens per watt. The warm bulbs 97. I do not find it necessary to use red spectrum bulbs, or 2700K, but one of each also works. This fixture has a decent reflector and a 6' power cord. I cannot daisy chain my unit to another, but the new ones will. The newer ones also have higher quality reflectors. I find these run with quite low heat output, but I cannot tell you the average increase in heat with the lights on. It does put out enough light to bloom many types of orchids. Here is an example sold by FirstRays.
https://www.firstrays.com/cgi/cart/commerce.cgi?cart_id=1374606379.247&product=Lighting&pid=704&keywords=
You could go up to a 4, 6 or 8 bulb unit, which not only gets more expensive, but also puts off more heat. When I get a new light setup, I will most likely get a 6 bulb 4' fixture for a wider and taller tank.
-a LED 9WT equivalent bulb/ I believe it is 15par, but I'm not sure. It puts out white, natural looking light, not the red and purple ‘alien looking’ spectrum's you may have seen. It is a screw in-bulb that I put in an Exo Terra hood that holds this and another 13WT CFL 5600K bulb that puts out about 1400 lumens. (the LED bulb is quite new and is also available at FirstRays for $29.00) It is a good bulb, but unfortunately I think it runs a little warmer than the T5's, contrary to what is advertised, but again this is only my speculation.
https://www.firstrays.com/cgi/cart/commerce.cgi?cart_id=1374606379.247&product=Lighting&pid=700&keywords=
(the CFL is $5.00 at Home Depot and the hood is $39.00 atPetsmart. The hood is black and fits the tank perfectly. It also looks the best aesthetically.
-I also have a 150WT CFL spiral bulb. It puts out the lowest amount of quality and total light, but it works. It is the most unsightly of the bunch and I hope to replace it soon. It gets the job done though. I made my own housing for it out of thick aluminum sheeting for furnaces. I had to cut it and drill holes to hold the dome inside for the light to fit center. It was a huge pain, but it was my first light and I learned from my inexperience.
https://www.google.com/search?q=150+CFL+sprial+bulbs&rlz=1C1CHFX_enUS534US534&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hl=en&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&ei=KNXuUcmvNuSqyAHcqIH4Aw&biw=1301&bih=402&sei=KtXuUYaVNe6uyAHvzgE#facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=saHsTwZnV7wNNM%3A%3BmQcQR7p_uaeLmM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.420magazine.com%252Fgallery%252Fdata%252F939%252FTube_CFL.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.420magazine.com%252Fforums%252Fgrow-lighting%252F111680-cfl-light-tutorial.html%3B728%3B768
(Cost estimate)
The total costs will always fluctuate based on materials, taxes and suppliers. From my items the total is roughly:
$290 (plus taxes) including the Fogger. As my tanks sit now, each is about a $1000 investment including everything mentioned above and the plants.
(The Goods)
Each tank can hold between 30 and 60 plants depending on plant size and placement. I try and keep an equal amount of orchids mounted and potted to use the space as well as I can. The humidity usually stays above 80%, regardless of the fogger. The fogger will allow you to maintain 99% humidty if that is what you are aiming for. The plants have almost all responded well. Out of over 100 plants that have been purchased from Ecuagenera alone , I have only lost 3. One Telipogon from the summer temps, one Lepanthes and one Trichosalpinx that I was encouraged not to take from Ivan because of their condition at purchase. I have also bloomed a number of paphs and had excellent seedling growth directly from flask with species considered temperamental.
(Maintanance)
I spend about 10 minutes a day misting and another 30 mins or so (per tank, per week), where I take them out, check them and flush or fertilize. I only use distilled water. I use K Lite for fertilizer and occasionally use an organic hydroponic fertilizer or amino acid supplement.
I mist most mounted plants twice a day, spring to fall. It varies depending on the plant. Some I do not mist at all (Paphs being one of those groups). I try and clean the tanks out once a month. I use bleach or Physan, then clean outside with Windex. The humidifier gets washed out and soaked in Physan as well.
To summarize my experience thus far I would be inclined to say it has been overwhelmingly positive. I have had an opportunity to bloom plants that I have seen others grow or photograph that I once thought would be impossible. I still struggle with certain plants and I believe that this is common with all growers. The difference is I have established a growing environment that is consistent and one that I can rely on. And with this, I can make the observations and subtle changes often needed to encourage a plant into bloom. I think that if you have mastered every plant that you grow, you haven’t challenged yourself enough. My terrariums have certainly done this and allowed me to delve more seriously into hobby growing.
Thank you for any interest you may have and I appreciate any feedback or questions. I hope this may encourage someone who is intimidated by tiny plants. They are some of the most rewarding ones I have. Here are some pics of the plants in the tanks.
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