# Meet my phrags



## orchideya (Oct 24, 2013)

I got my besseae. It came from member John_M today perfectly packed and in immaculate condition. Thank you John. The best thing - it has a spike:







I kept it in the same medium and just carefully moved it to a see-through pot.

The other one is Phrag. Eric Young, I got it at the show in Montreal. I am not sure if it was a good purchase because leaves have some damage, but it has a spike, all 4 mature fans have a green nub of the new growth coming and it was really cheap, so I got it:






They live in the larger orchid tank under T5 HO lights:


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## MaryPientka (Oct 24, 2013)

Beautiful!


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## 2Toned (Oct 24, 2013)

Very healthy plants in that tank - well done. Would love to see a pic when the new phrags bloom.


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## Rick (Oct 24, 2013)

Nice setup!

And you're about to get some color to add to it!


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## Secundino (Oct 25, 2013)

Great and healthy plants!


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## Hera (Oct 25, 2013)

Nice tank! Is there a picture of the whole thing somewhere?


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## NYEric (Oct 25, 2013)

Welcome to the Yay besseae club!
Is that the $700 besseae from John!?


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## orchideya (Oct 25, 2013)

Hera said:


> Nice tank! Is there a picture of the whole thing somewhere?



I will snap a picture in the evening...


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## orchideya (Oct 25, 2013)

NYEric said:


> Welcome to the Yay besseae club!


Yay besseae! + Yay besseae hybrid!



> Is that the $700 besseae from John!?


Yeah rrright! My first besseae - and get the most expensive plant to try and potentially kill.
No, it is a modest $60 plant with nice flat evenly colored bloom, clean foliage and bunch of new green roots. Hope I can keep her healthy and happy. I collect rain water now. 

Also I read that you supposed to keep them in a saucer with water. Is that true?


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## Chicago Chad (Oct 25, 2013)

I love seeing a nice, clean tank setup with healthy plants. Would you mind posting some pics of the setup with dimensions, ect. If not on this post, perhaps a different thread. I'm also a tank grower and I really enjoy making visual comparisons. 

The besseae is a 'carlisle', is it not??? If so, it is my favorite of them and in my opinion the best one around.


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## NYEric (Oct 25, 2013)

Saucer of water, that's a way.


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## Chicago Chad (Oct 25, 2013)

Sorry for the redundant post. I blame my inferior OS at work. I look forward to seeing some pics of the tank.


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## SlipperFan (Oct 25, 2013)

Nice grow space. It looks like you have room for a few more...


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## orchideya (Oct 25, 2013)

*My growing spaces*

Here are some pictures of my two tanks. I built them last winter when realized that humidity matters
Tank 1 (60 X 22 X 22 inch) is smaller, hosts mainly phals.
When I bought it:






Now:






I blogged about building it here: http://www.orchideya.ca/search/label/orchid%20tank


Tank 2 (62 X 20 X 32)
When I bought it:






Now:


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## Carkin (Oct 25, 2013)

Love it!!! Everything looks very happy and it's so neat and tidy looking!


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## NYEric (Oct 26, 2013)

Almost too neat and tidy! oke:


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## eaborne (Oct 26, 2013)

Cool setup!


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## SlipperFan (Oct 26, 2013)

Impressive.


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## orchideya (Oct 28, 2013)

Thank you guys!
Yes, all plants became happy there. Before tanks my phals hardly ever spiked and most of the time those spikes would blast the buds, especially species. Now they bloom a lot.


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## NYEric (Oct 28, 2013)

I'm trying to figure out how you keep the tank from overheating and becoming too humid. ???


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## orchideya (Oct 28, 2013)

They don't overheat. Both tanks are in the basement with ambient temp lower than the rest of the house. Temps in tanks don't go over 25C during the day when lights are on. At night it lowers to 20C in winter, 22C in summer. 
The light fixture is not right on top of tank, it is slightly raised (two two-by-fours). Here is an old picture that shows lighting fixture (notice no blooms back then):







I don't know what is too humid. Small tank is 80% which is good for phals and large one hardly gets to 65-70%. Front sliding doors have gaps that let humidity to escape I guess.
For the night I usually (when don't forget) slightly open doors and top lids to create small draft there for air exchange. I didn't have any problems with mold or smells yet.


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## NYEric (Oct 28, 2013)

Too humid is when your plants steam or roast to death.


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## orchideya (Oct 28, 2013)

NYEric said:


> Too humid is when your plants steam or roast to death.



That didn't happen yet


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## NYEric (Oct 28, 2013)

I think in an apartment the temps are higher, and when one is not there to watch/control things...


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## Linus_Cello (Oct 28, 2013)

If you're worried about overheating, maybe you can flip your day/night cycle.
That way the light/heat is on at night (when it's coolest); another advantage is that electricity rates may be lower at night than at the day. Also if you work during the day, you can be at home when the lights are on to enjoy your plants.


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## John M (Oct 29, 2013)

I just found this thread. 'Been distracted lately. I'm very happy that your besseae made it to you without blasting the bud. Your tanks are beautiful! I'm so impressed with how clean they are. Your plants look happy and well cared for too! If you can manage it, try to get the nighttime temperature down to 15*C for the Phrags and Parvi type Paphs. Phrag flower colour is best when the buds form in cool-ish temperatures. Thanks for posting the photos. It's really great to see such a nice set-up with lots of happy plants.


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## orchideya (Oct 29, 2013)

NYEric said:


> I think in an apartment the temps are higher, and when one is not there to watch/control things...



Yeah, I don't leave them unattended for long. I usually go down there twice a day: early morning before taking dog out while she eats and then late in the evening after work, cooking, cleaning etc. When everybody is fed and happy and I can spend some quiet time with my orchids.


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## orchideya (Oct 29, 2013)

Linus_Cello said:


> If you're worried about overheating, maybe you can flip your day/night cycle.
> That way the light/heat is on at night (when it's coolest); another advantage is that electricity rates may be lower at night than at the day. Also if you work during the day, you can be at home when the lights are on to enjoy your plants.



Interesting. I know that we do have lower hydro rates at night. Wouldn't work for me though because there is plenty of natural light in the room. Plants would probably get totally confused...


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## orchideya (Oct 29, 2013)

John M said:


> I just found this thread. 'Been distracted lately. I'm very happy that your besseae made it to you without blasting the bud. Your tanks are beautiful! I'm so impressed with how clean they are. Your plants look happy and well cared for too! If you can manage it, try to get the nighttime temperature down to 15*C for the Phrags and Parvi type Paphs. Phrag flower colour is best when the buds form in cool-ish temperatures. Thanks for posting the photos. It's really great to see such a nice set-up with lots of happy plants.



Thank you John. I could probably lower night temps a bit by just opening doors of the tank completely for the night, but not sure how other inhabitants would like it: vandas and phals prefer it warm I think. Maybe later when slippers take over the tank completely
I wish we had bigger house, so I could build yet one more tank. Now there is just no room to put it anywhere...


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## phraggy (Oct 29, 2013)

A lovely very clean set-up---- puts my greenhouse to shame!!!!
Well done,

Ed


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## orchideya (Oct 29, 2013)

phraggy said:


> A lovely very clean set-up---- puts my greenhouse to shame!!!!
> Well done,
> 
> Ed



Thank you!
To be completely honest - it is not as clean as it seems on the pictures. There is some dirt in tanks like dried up flowers and small bits of moss and bark that always spill from the pots. But cleaning them involves taking all the plants out, taking apart all the levels, washing everything up (half-day job) - I only did it once since creation. 
I am waiting until mess will become more noticeable


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