ChrisFL
General Disarray
This small tank was built for growing miniature high altitude orchid species from Papua New Guinea. Despite its extremely tropical location (~5 ̊S), due to lapse rate, temperatures at higher altitudes can be extremely cool. For example, in Laiagam in Enga Province, temperatures are often ~50 ̊F at night and rarely reach 70 ̊F during the day. Laiagam is approximately 2200 meters (7,217 feet) above sea level. Parts of New Guinea reach higher than 3000 m and have snow and glaciers capping the peaks. This tank is in Austin, Texas, where outdoor temperatures often exceed 107 ̊F.
For right now it's just a ten gallon. I will eventually upgrade to a larger tank.
The tank is specifically for Papua New Guinea orchids that come from 2000-3000 meters above sea level. Specifically, Dendrobium cuthbertsonii, dekockii, agathodaemonis, brevicaule, etc.
The cooling system is a Haier cube dorm fridge minus, well, the fridge. I put the evaporator coil from the fridge inside a ten gallon vert. The compressor and condenser coil are directly behind the tank.
The lighting is composed of six Cree XP-G high intensity LEDs mounted to aluminum heatsinks. They are driven by a 1000 mA Buckpuck driver and powered by a 24 Volt Potrans power supply.
Watering is accomplished by a standard MistKing system.
Air circulation is accomplished by a 60 mm ADDA waterproof DC fan.
The reservoir at the bottom of the tank (filled with distilled water) is warmed. The fan turns off, the compressor kicks on and voila, precipitation in a tank.
[youtube]gqlcttpLc_E[/youtube]
For right now it's just a ten gallon. I will eventually upgrade to a larger tank.
The tank is specifically for Papua New Guinea orchids that come from 2000-3000 meters above sea level. Specifically, Dendrobium cuthbertsonii, dekockii, agathodaemonis, brevicaule, etc.
The cooling system is a Haier cube dorm fridge minus, well, the fridge. I put the evaporator coil from the fridge inside a ten gallon vert. The compressor and condenser coil are directly behind the tank.
The lighting is composed of six Cree XP-G high intensity LEDs mounted to aluminum heatsinks. They are driven by a 1000 mA Buckpuck driver and powered by a 24 Volt Potrans power supply.
Watering is accomplished by a standard MistKing system.
Air circulation is accomplished by a 60 mm ADDA waterproof DC fan.
The reservoir at the bottom of the tank (filled with distilled water) is warmed. The fan turns off, the compressor kicks on and voila, precipitation in a tank.
[youtube]gqlcttpLc_E[/youtube]
