Orchid Terrarium

A few years separate my first attempt, rather conclusive today.

Determined to redo a paludarium dedicated to orchids, in the local language called orchidarium, I started looking for the material. You will be able to follow my steps, good plans and evolution.

1 / Container and location

The first phase is to choose the container and the future location.

The first time, I placed it away from my windows with artificial lighting. With hindsight, I realize that an important spectrum was missing, the distant red which is the trigger of the blooms. So I decided to put it behind my window, placed facing south but sufficiently below to have only part of the light and therefore to avoid the hot weather.

Regarding the container, I used a small terrarium the first time from EXO TERRA (45x45x45), I was satisfied with it.

Today I decide to see things bigger with a terrarium of the Tropical Farm (https://www.lafermetropicale.com/) in 90x45x90.

The installation will be done on a suitable piece of furniture, an Exo Terra bought second-hand, the dimensions of which are perfectly suited to the terrarium.

Here is the famous terrarium just installed with its furniture

2 / Arrangement of the decor and materials

Most terrariums come with a bottom you can use. For the one I bought, I decided to move towards cork / rubber sheets in order to avoid too much degradation and the possibility of holding large pieces on it.

The plates are cut and glued with a glue gun. Silicone is also possible.

The ground is for the moment, made up of plastic tiles in the garden / DIY department.

For lighting, being very close to a window, I just have an extra light for the morning and evening in aquarium LEDs. The far red will be given by the light of day.

A fan to circulate the air will be very important in order to avoid any mold problem. I temporarily put a 220v fan but will be replaced with small ones for terrarium in 12V. Being in a humid environment, it is preferable. This is active for 30 minutes, every 2 hours.

3 / Installation of plants and start-up

The plants will be placed in an epiphytic system and in a pot to optimize the space. Stitched in the cork with pins and glued to the windows with suction cups.

For the moment, watering is done manually with a spray bottle.

Update 08/15/21

Positive result with some changes. New root tips appear with new leaves. Soon flowering.

Watering: I had to opt for the moonson rs400 with additional nozzles because everything dried in 48 hours, especially with the onset of the hot weather. I am thinking of carrying out a monthly cleaning to avoid clogging with fertilizer and additives.

Decoration: I found aquarium roots on leboncoin at a very good price which allowed me to mount a lot of plants on them.

Ventilation: I opted for Reptifan whose voltage is lower compared to the one I had before and a better distribution of the mixing. 3 in total

Brico: the back plates received silicone because they fell under the weight. See you soon for the next update!