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Mike's Highland Terrarium

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Nice plants! Would you mind describing your heat exchanger/water chiller setup? I'm thinking about investing in a grow tent in the next few months and am wondering how to cool things down at night.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Some random pictures from the past few days, being sick stinks but it did afford me some extra time to work with the plants.

My new truncata from EP, I believe this is from the (a) grex, which is a cross of two typical or 'lowland' type truncata. I'm going to be growing this one as a windowsill plant along with my old trusty maxima.
The Beast (N. truncata) by Mike Fallen, on Flickr

N. dubia NG SG by Mike Fallen, on Flickr

N. dubia, Malea Sumatra AW TC 6/7/17 by Mike Fallen, on Flickr

N. jamban BE TC 6/7/17 by Mike Fallen, on Flickr

N. tenuis TC AW 6/7/17 by Mike Fallen, on Flickr

I'm quite excited about this pitcher
N. edwardsiana JH SG 6/7/17 by Mike Fallen, on Flickr

N. hurrelliana SG 6/7/17 by Mike Fallen, on Flickr

N. ephippiata JH SG 6/7/17 by Mike Fallen, on Flickr

N. spathulata SBT SG 6/7/17 by Mike Fallen, on Flickr

N. spathulata SBT SG 6/7/17 by Mike Fallen, on Flickr

N. platychila JH SG 6/7/17 by Mike Fallen, on Flickr

N. aristolochiodes JH SG 6/7/17 by Mike Fallen, on Flickr

N. aristolochiodes JH SG 6/7/17 by Mike Fallen, on Flickr

N. palawanenesis NE SG 6/7/17 by Mike Fallen, on Flickr

N. hamata (Clone 1) AW TC 6/7/17 by Mike Fallen, on Flickr

N. hamata (Clone 1) AW TC 6/7/17 by Mike Fallen, on Flickr

N. deaniana JH SG 6/7/17 by Mike Fallen, on Flickr

Two close relatives
N. pulchra AW TC by Mike Fallen, on Flickr

N. petiolata BE TC 6/7/17 by Mike Fallen, on Flickr

N. leonardoi BCP TC 6/7/17 by Mike Fallen, on Flickr

Another one I'm quite excited about, even though this pitcher formed sideways.
N. veitchii, Bareo (m) EP SG 6/7/17 by Mike Fallen, on Flickr


Some new Dendrobium cuthbertsonii from Golden Gate Orchids that are in bloom, a few more should be opening shortly
D. cuthbertsonii Red 6/7/17 by Mike Fallen, on Flickr

D. cuthbertsonii R-OB ('Carousel' x 'Carnival') 6/7/17 by Mike Fallen, on Flickr
 
mediummessage said:
Nice plants! Would you mind describing your heat exchanger/water chiller setup? I'm thinking about investing in a grow tent in the next few months and am wondering how to cool things down at night.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

I'm definitely interested in this as well. I'd love to get one of these tents soon but I don't know how to cool it. Your plants and setup look great!
 
I basically followed this guide from a fellow CP grower: http://edencps.com/diy-air-conditioner/

I tried to get pics of the actual system but unfortunately it's in the darkest corner of the basement so pictures don't turn out well. I upsized several components to compensate for the size of my setup, which was definitely nessicary, I don't the the original design would have been able to cool it properly. Even so, I'm actually going to have to insulate my setup better now that summer has arrived, I've only been managing 57-58 nights since my basement is now hanging around 75-77 all day. I figure it may be better anyway, since these tents aren't really designed to retain temperature and are constructed from fairly thin material.

I'll need to get some pictures next week after I'm done up insulating the tent and reorganizing the plants.
 
Last edited:
Gotchya, thank you. I was thinking about going with an aquarium chiller vs. modifying an air conditioner. I'm not sure I want to mess with that. I'd appreciate any pics of your setup though, thanks!
 
An aquarium chiller would probably work for a smaller setup, but for a larger setup, you'd need a very large chiller as they simply don't have much cooling power as even a small AC unit. The other thing to consider is cost, the AC unit I used cost me $95 where as the smallest aquarium chillers run $200+ and larger units are often well over $1000, though you might be able to score a used chiller on Craigslist for a more reasonable price.

The rest of the system cost me around $500 excluding the AC, probably less if you follow the guide exactly and search around for good deals. Just some things to keep in mind!
 
Ah I see, I will probably have to wait a bit before expanding in that case. To be able to use something that bulky to cool, I'll probably be moving everything into the garage :X I use a portable air conditioner in the open room I'm using now, but it sucks out humidity every time it kicks on. Thanks for the link!
 
It's been quite a while! Time for an update!

Overview by Mike Fallen, on Flickr

Overview by Mike Fallen, on Flickr

Overview by Mike Fallen, on Flickr

N. robcantleyi SG BE by Mike Fallen, on Flickr

N. robcantleyi SG BE by Mike Fallen, on Flickr

N. petiolata TC BE by Mike Fallen, on Flickr

N. peltata BE TC by Mike Fallen, on Flickr

N. veitchii (Maliau Basin) SG NE by Mike Fallen, on Flickr

N. spathulata SG SBT by Mike Fallen, on Flickr

N. dubia (Malea) TC AW by Mike Fallen, on Flickr

N. pulchra TC AW by Mike Fallen, on Flickr

H. parva TC AW by Mike Fallen, on Flickr

Quite happy with the progress on these two!
N. RHH (ronchinii) SG JH by Mike Fallen, on Flickr

N. macrophylla SG JH by Mike Fallen, on Flickr

And as always, a few nice orchids in bloom!
Phrag. besseae ('Bleeding Heart' x 'Colossal') by Mike Fallen, on Flickr

D. cuthbertsonii by Mike Fallen, on Flickr

D. cuthbertsonii (Red) by Mike Fallen, on Flickr
 
The pulchra was a nice surprise. I was expecting it to look like petiolata coloration-wise, but it's obviously it's far darker. It seems to be an easy going plant for me, it really didn't even show any signs of shock after traveling all the way from Germany. It's on the slower side in terms of growth rate, but the pitchers last a very long time.
 
Update!

Did a deep cleaning of the growtent and re-organized all the plants, which gave me a great opportunity for some pics!

The finished product
The Jungle by Mike Fallen, on Flickr

Various truncatas all looking great
N. truncata (a?) EP SG by Mike Fallen, on Flickr

N. truncata (a?) EP SG by Mike Fallen, on Flickr

N. truncata (f) EP SG by Mike Fallen, on Flickr

N. truncata (e) EP SG by Mike Fallen, on Flickr

N. truncata (e) EP SG by Mike Fallen, on Flickr

N. truncata (g) EP SG by Mike Fallen, on Flickr

N. truncata (g) EP SG by Mike Fallen, on Flickr

I completely forgot to update my POTM entry for last month, but heres the final result (and people wonder why veitchii is my favorite species!)
N. veitchii (Bareo, Squat) by Mike Fallen, on Flickr

A smaller veitchii also looking fantastic
N. veitchii (Maliau Basin) NE SG by Mike Fallen, on Flickr

N. deaniana JH SG by Mike Fallen, on Flickr

N. pulchra AW TC by Mike Fallen, on Flickr

Platychila putting on size in a hurry after getting a repot
N. platychila JH SG by Mike Fallen, on Flickr

N. platychila JH SG by Mike Fallen, on Flickr

N. hamata (clone 1) AW TC by Mike Fallen, on Flickr

Another personal favorite, and one that's rarely seen
N. hamiguitanenesis AW TC by Mike Fallen, on Flickr

N. hamiguitanenesis AW TC by Mike Fallen, on Flickr

N. palawanenesis NE SG by Mike Fallen, on Flickr

N. spathulata SBT SG by Mike Fallen, on Flickr

N. vogelii BE TC by Mike Fallen, on Flickr

N. tenuis AW TC by Mike Fallen, on Flickr

N. tenuis AW TC by Mike Fallen, on Flickr

N. peltata BE TC by Mike Fallen, on Flickr

Thanks for looking!
 
Stunning stuff Mike! Especially love that N. pulchra, and I look forward to seeing the mature lowers on that N. hamiguitanensis.
 
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