My terrarium is a 80cm x 40cm x h50cm (31.5"×15.7"×19.7") glass enclosure, easy accessible on the front thanks to two sliding glass doors.
ILLUMINATION:
I opted for a fixed light setup since the orchidarium isn't that high but mainly for aesthetic reasons. I glued the strips to some aluminium bars (like this), very cheap and I think they could help dissipating some heat from the LEDs
I decided to get the 5730 Epistar version from Aliexpress: cheap as heck and, according to them, very efficient.
I bought the cool white (6500-7000K) and the warm white (3000-3500K), both in the waterproof version. Despite sometimes the 4000K light is preferred, I made this choice in order to have a higher blue peak and try to reach the far red as the chlorophyll seems to require (well, the limits of these lights are so visible now if compared to professional LEDs' spectra).
I placed 210cm of cold white strip and 140cm of warm white ( for a total of about 40W) but I am considering placing 70cm more of each.
HUMIDIFIER and VENTILATION:
A glass vase with some distilled water and a cheap, yet very effective, submersible ultrasonic humidifier.
A common aquarium vent is placed right above the vase so the mist is quickly diffused in the whole terrarium.
SENSORS:
A simple analogue thermometer and hygrometer (to be upgraded)
FUTURE PLANS:
Stay tuned!
ILLUMINATION:
I opted for a fixed light setup since the orchidarium isn't that high but mainly for aesthetic reasons. I glued the strips to some aluminium bars (like this), very cheap and I think they could help dissipating some heat from the LEDs
I decided to get the 5730 Epistar version from Aliexpress: cheap as heck and, according to them, very efficient.
I bought the cool white (6500-7000K) and the warm white (3000-3500K), both in the waterproof version. Despite sometimes the 4000K light is preferred, I made this choice in order to have a higher blue peak and try to reach the far red as the chlorophyll seems to require (well, the limits of these lights are so visible now if compared to professional LEDs' spectra).
I placed 210cm of cold white strip and 140cm of warm white ( for a total of about 40W) but I am considering placing 70cm more of each.
HUMIDIFIER and VENTILATION:
A glass vase with some distilled water and a cheap, yet very effective, submersible ultrasonic humidifier.
A common aquarium vent is placed right above the vase so the mist is quickly diffused in the whole terrarium.
SENSORS:
A simple analogue thermometer and hygrometer (to be upgraded)
FUTURE PLANS:
Stay tuned!