# Blooming Potential- My Terrarium Experience (Part 3)



## Chicago Chad (Aug 16, 2013)

*- 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.


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## SlipperFan (Aug 16, 2013)

I'd really like to combine your 3 threads into one -- it would make so much more sense.

Also, do you know that if you use the


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## lepetitmartien (Aug 17, 2013)

Slipperfan +1


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## Trithor (Aug 19, 2013)

Interesting thread with a lot of info. I have been toying with the idea of building an indoor case for select plants. The problem is that these projects seem to get out of control. 
Pictures interspersed in your thread would make it easier to read.
Thanks for all the info!


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## Chicago Chad (Aug 19, 2013)

Thanks Trithor. I agree. I would have liked it to flow in a nice spread, but my laptop is on the fritz and my time at work wouldn't allow for it. I should have had a little more patience and waited till I had it done properly.


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## Trithor (Aug 19, 2013)

Not a case of it not being proper. Lots of great info, just not so easy to peruse. I will keep on referring to it. I hope you don't mind if I ask questions over time?


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## Chicago Chad (Aug 19, 2013)

I added some photos without links. The post is too long to combine as is. If anyone has any other suggestions I would appreciate. I am trying to get a presentation together for my local society.


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## NYEric (Aug 19, 2013)

Thanks. You will need close-ups of the blooming plants.


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## SlipperFan (Aug 19, 2013)

Whatever you did to your photos looks fine, Chad! I'm enjoying looking at them.

I don't think the thread would be too long if the 3 were combined into one. It would be much easier for us to follow, I think.


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## Trithor (Aug 20, 2013)

Chad, how do you drain the water from out of the bottom? Do you have to unpack the whole lot to get at the water, or does it not accumulate too much? I must say, they look very neat and well set up.
By the way, much better with the pictures.


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## Chicago Chad (Aug 20, 2013)

Trithor- I do not water heavily in the tanks. I prefer to take all the potted plants out each each and water them through that way. I will water a few here and there if they need it and only a small amount of water builds up. Watering in the tank produces mineral build up and problems with stagnant water if it is left. I don't think I have ever had more than a centimeter of water in the bottom at a time. 

I think cleanliness is very important. As a result, I have not used pesticides one time with the tanks. Just a little soapy water every once and a while.


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## tomkalina (Aug 20, 2013)

Nice setup; the plants look happy. Are you using K-Lite as your fertilizer of choice? Also, are you planning to attend this year's Chicagoland Orchidfest in Sept?


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## Chicago Chad (Aug 20, 2013)

Thanks Tom. I have been using K lite all this year. Most have responded well to it, but I do have some yellowing of leaves on certain plants. Most of those are potted. I, by no means, would call it a 'wonder drug' at this point, but it was never advertised with that expectation either. 

I am not going to the Chicago show this year. I would love to go home, but I opted for the Orange County/ Santa Ana show the same weekend. Hopefully in Spring I will make it out there and we can meet up.


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## Ozpaph (Aug 21, 2013)

very impressive and well done.


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## naoki (Aug 25, 2013)

Thank you for the extensive info! It is very nice setup, and I can get some new ideas. Are you controlling the temp by the room AC?

It's interesting that you are getting more heat with LED than T5HO. In my grow tent, T5HO bulbs really put out lots of heat. But I guess your light is outside of the enclosure, so you don't have much problem.

Which LED bulb are you using? I thought Ray's is 17W (I do like this bulb). Or are you using the Cree Warm White (2700K, 9.5W) and/or Daylight (5000K, 9W) bulbs, which you can be find at HomeDepot? I usually prefer Red and Blue type LED, but since I saw some good results from Cree bulbs in the "other plant" forum, I just started to try it. I think the "other plant" requires light intensity similar to Cattleya, right?


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## Chicago Chad (Aug 25, 2013)

I am using Rays bulb. I bought just about all of them from Home Depot but eventually returned them all. I found that they didn't cover the 18 x 18" space. I am not sure of the wattage of Rays bulb. If I remember correctly, it is a complicated mess converting PAR to watts. I may be mistaken though. I believe the increased heat output of Rays bulb is projected into the case more than the T5s because of the ventilation available in each fixture. I can touch my T5s without any concern. The Led bulb is much hotter to the touch.


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## Kanaka John (Sep 14, 2013)

Chad, don't know if you check for messages so I put this one here too. I am new to this, who is Leo and how do I get connected to him? Thanks, the hunt continues.


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## Kanaka John (Sep 14, 2013)

And Trithor, the same for you, send me an address asap, the pod is splitting!!!


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## Trithor (Sep 17, 2013)

Kanaka John said:


> And Trithor, the same for you, send me an address asap, the pod is splitting!!!



John, did you get my PM, I did PM you my address a couple of days ago.


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## Chicago Chad (Sep 17, 2013)

kanaka John- I sent you a PM also. If you are not getting them from us, let Heather know and I think she can help. Otherwise, you can get to my email through my profile.


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## Erythrone (Sep 20, 2013)

Very interesting! And beautiful! 

I have 2 questions:

How long have you been growing plants in your terrarium?

Did you write something about cooling in your 3 threads?


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## Chicago Chad (Sep 20, 2013)

I have been growing in the terrariums for almost 3 years. I do not have a cooling system, but intend to incorporate when in a custom build.


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## The Orchid Boy (Sep 21, 2013)

Absolutely beautiful! Sorry if I forgot/missed some info but how big is the biggest and how small is the smallest?


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## Chicago Chad (Sep 22, 2013)

I have 3 tanks that are 18x18x24 tall and another 18x36x18 tall. I also have a cheap zip up shelved space big enough for a FS stonei and dozen others on one shelf.


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