aquarium growing

[myorchid]

I am thinking about trying to grow some orchids in a 20 gallon aquarium. I have a high intensity light fixture and was wondering what kind of orchids could I put in there.

Any ideas or help would be appreciated.

[digitalgate]

don't... I end up growing mold than orchid. What about the great outdoor?

[made4engineering]

Realize that the excellent humidity you will be able to contain comes with a price. The aquarium air will need to be constantly replaced, or else fungus will take over and rot your orchids. Also because the lights are constantly pumping heat and light (which when absorbed turns into more heat) into the tank, the plants might fry. If you do this, I think you would need to set up a good humidifier to pump fresh cool (or just not hot) air into the tank constantly

[articuno75]

What about using a power air pump? Like one used for a 55 or 125 gallon tank?

[LouisW]

I have a little ten gallon tank terrarium. Its great I really like mine. They are great for starting smaller plants from divisions or cuttings. Mine has a little Bulb. masdivallacum which is growing with a vengeance, also there is a small vanilla orchid in there and a few young dens. I cant really help you with preventing mold though. All i really do is allow some ventilation. no fan or anything. I think I'm just getting lucky. there was once a small computer fan cycling the air but that burnt out and it seems to be thriving.

I dont have lights though. Just sunlight.

[myorchid]

thanks for all the thoughts. I haven't started anything yet. I am still thinking.

Louis, do you have any pictures of yours? What did you put on the bottom of the tank?

[tom499]

I grow small orchids and other plants in a two foot by one foot tank and have had little to no rot problems.

As with growing orchids anywhere else, as long as a few rules are obeyed the plants grow great.

I have a growlight which provides all the light the plants need, and heat to increase day temperatures. I also have a heat mat underneath which helps evaporate the water that can collect on the bottom.

A power adaptor connected to a pc fan is one of the best ways to provide good air movement. I can discuss this more if anyone wants help making one.

I grow in my tank:
Sedirea japonica.
Neofinita falcata.
Massy noid 1
Massy noid 2 (and its divisions)
Dendrobium delacourii seedlings
Encyclia tampensis seedlings
Phalaenopsis corni-cervu
Phalaenopsis Lovely Kid
Phaenopsis hieroglyphica seedling
Nepenthes fusca
Nepenthes diatas
Nepenthes sanguinea
Heliamphora hispida
Cephalotus follicularis x 2
Pinguicula hybrids

All have shown great growth and I think really respond well to the day and night temp change I can create in the tank.

As long as you don't mist too late in the day and run a decent fan system the set up is a good one.

Of course the plants you choose are important, but there are quite alot of miniature orchids out there and a tank set up can be a very nice and easy way to grow and display them

[butt0n]

I've been recently wondering if I should try this for my phals/paphs since I figure humidity is the only reason why they're not spiking...I'm just afraid of mold.

[tom499]

I would not put paphs in the tank, unless you have a large tank.
Some phals would maybe work, but any large growers would get abit cramped.

It wouldn't garantuee death as it were, but paphs and phals need lots of fresh air so you'd need plenty of fans to keep the air moving.

[LouisW]

Since there are other terrestrial plants in mine I started with the standard terrarium formula:bottom layer of gravel topped with a generous layer of charcoal. Then most of the terrarium has potting soil but I isolated on spot for the orchids and its mostly just bark. As far as pictures go, I will post some as soon as my camera is functioning.

Also there is a tree frog that i found in the greenhouse I work in. seems to have no effect on the orchids(I was mainly worried about the crickets eating the leaves of my precious little bulbo.).