On Thu, 4 Aug 2005 16:21:54 -0400 in chaz wrote:

Henry,
I guess I am a complete moron, but i dont have whatever it takes to run a
fan. I do have many PC fans in my office, but what can i purcahse to run
them? How long will a battery last?

If you weren't one to play with DC motors, batteries, and DC power supplies
(the ugly little black transformers you plug into the wall (wall warts))
as a kid, kludging together a wall wart and muffin fan for ventilation
is probably a bad idea for you. You aren't a moron, you just didn't
entertain yourself making dangerous toys as a kid.

If on the other hand you're willing to try the second child hood
approach to learning about electricity and motors, start with
one of the cheap education kits from some place like radio shack.

Apply those concepts to your muffin fans and a wall wart (Much better
to have a scavenged wall wart than to buy one from some place like Walmart
or Radio Shack). You'll be whacking fingers with a fan blade in no time.

Further discussion is probably beyond the scope of this newsgroup.

--
Chris Dukes
Suspicion breeds confidence -- Brazil

"?" wrote in message
rg...
On Thu, 4 Aug 2005 16:21:54 -0400 in
chaz wrote:

Henry,
I guess I am a complete moron, but i dont have whatever it takes to run a
fan. I do have many PC fans in my office, but what can i purcahse to run
them? How long will a battery last?

If you weren't one to play with DC motors, batteries, and DC power
supplies
(the ugly little black transformers you plug into the wall (wall warts))
as a kid, kludging together a wall wart and muffin fan for ventilation
is probably a bad idea for you. You aren't a moron, you just didn't
entertain yourself making dangerous toys as a kid.

If on the other hand you're willing to try the second child hood
approach to learning about electricity and motors, start with
one of the cheap education kits from some place like radio shack.

Apply those concepts to your muffin fans and a wall wart (Much better
to have a scavenged wall wart than to buy one from some place like Walmart
or Radio Shack). You'll be whacking fingers with a fan blade in no time.

Further discussion is probably beyond the scope of this newsgroup.

--
Chris Dukes
Suspicion breeds confidence -- Brazil

Will a PC fan motor suffice?

....or go to Radio Shack and buy 120v versions that can plug right into the
wall outlet.

--

Ray Barkalow - First Rays Orchids - www.firstrays.com
Plants, Supplies, Artwork, Books and Lots of Free Info!


"chaz" wrote in message
...


For ventilation and beneficial air movement I use a small computer fan in
the top of the tank.

Henry,
Dumb question, but what do you do about power? All my computer fans have
small leads which attach to the PS of the PC.

thanks

chaz

"chaz" wrote in message
...

"Henry Bubkis" wrote in message
...

"chaz" wrote in message
...


For ventilation and beneficial air movement I use a small computer fan
in the top of the tank.

Henry,
Dumb question, but what do you do about power? All my computer fans have
small leads which attach to the PS of the PC.

I'm sure you, like everyone who has owned cell phones and electronics,
have extra useless dc power supplies lying around. All you have to do is
find one that has the correct output and match it to a fan, or like me,
visa versa. The output is usually stamped into the plastic housing of the
transformer and the power req for the fan is listed on the outside of the
fan. Just snip the plug off the ends of each and solder them together.
It's simple.

Optimally you will also add a simple reostat to vary the speed. They can
be found in electronic stores for next to nothing.

The same setup also works for providing some air movement to stimulated
seedlings if you ever start seeds indoors. A herp radiant heater or a
small dog or cat bed warmer completes the package.

Hope that helped.



thanks

chaz




Henry,
I guess I am a complete moron, but i dont have whatever it takes to run a
fan. I do have many PC fans in my office, but what can i purcahse to run
them? How long will a battery last?

I appreciate the help

I guess if you don't have any old cell phone chargers ask a friend if they
do. You could even cannibalize the old computer they might have come off of
if they have a separate transformer for the fan. Short of that try looking
on the net for a power supply that provides the right voltage. You might
even fiind one of those little solar ones if you look.

But try to go with the cell phone charger. If you have the fan already and
find one then the fan is kind of a found treasure.

"Aaron Hicks" wrote in message
...
I think that there would be a number of options one could pursue
if you wanted to grow orchids in a terrarium setting. The first would be
to create a sort of "elevated garden," with an undergravel filter set up a
good 1-2" higher than it should be, either with gravel or stand-offs to
allow for drainage. Line the back with cork, and use that for epiphytes.

Perfect! Thanks! I was wondering what to use and had considered plastic
berry baskets like you get strawberries in because they're free, but I hava
some underground filters packed away so that will work.

The small set up I have now just has pots elevated on rocks with a small
submersible filter in the drainage pond to keep everything from going sour.

So far the orchids in there are doing well. But I think more lighting in the
new tank will improve growth.



There are the usual "jewel" orchids such as Ludisia (=Haemaria)
discolor, as well as goodyeras, that would do quite well. The genus
goodyera is commonly available, but only occasionally are verifiable
propagules (versus those dug from the wild). I note that Black Jungle
sells some orchids that would do quite well. They also sell some that
won't (such as the Gongora tricolor). Search for:

terrarium orchids

Once again, thanks for the info.


on "Google." Much goodstuff out there.

Some other species will do well with high humidity, but some
changes would help them grow better. For example, there are a number of
bulbos and pleurothallids that would do quite well, immersed in a
substrate that was well-drained, as above, such as Pleuro. tribuloides
(keep on the dry side with a double-pot, the plant in a pot kept inside a
larger pot with gravel between the two), Bulbo. shepherdii and allied
species, that sort of thing. Heck, call up any good species company
(Andy's Orchids comes to mind, as does Hoosier, Oak Hill, that sort of
thing. "So, whatcha got that likes it damp and humid and stays small?"

I'm getting a 75 gallon tank to use for the setup. It's not quite as tall as
I'd like but I have plans drawn up for my smaller tanks for a plexi extender
to mount at the top of the tank that could be adapted for extra head room,
but I don't know how that would effect lighting needs. Any thought on the
mix of natural vs. tube light and what the prefered spectrum is for orchids
will be useful.



The address in the header isn't valid. Send no email there.

-AJHicks
Chandler, AZ

Hey, I'm in Phoenix.

Enjoying the monsoons this year?

"chaz" wrote in message
...

"?" wrote in message
rg...
On Thu, 4 Aug 2005 16:21:54 -0400 in
chaz wrote:

Henry,
I guess I am a complete moron, but i dont have whatever it takes to run
a
fan. I do have many PC fans in my office, but what can i purcahse to run
them? How long will a battery last?

If you weren't one to play with DC motors, batteries, and DC power
supplies
(the ugly little black transformers you plug into the wall (wall warts))
as a kid, kludging together a wall wart and muffin fan for ventilation
is probably a bad idea for you. You aren't a moron, you just didn't
entertain yourself making dangerous toys as a kid.

If on the other hand you're willing to try the second child hood
approach to learning about electricity and motors, start with
one of the cheap education kits from some place like radio shack.

Apply those concepts to your muffin fans and a wall wart (Much better
to have a scavenged wall wart than to buy one from some place like
Walmart
or Radio Shack). You'll be whacking fingers with a fan blade in no time.

Further discussion is probably beyond the scope of this newsgroup.

--
Chris Dukes
Suspicion breeds confidence -- Brazil

Will a PC fan motor suffice?

http://www.sciplus.com/category.cfm?...3&category=137

Just match the power supply to the fan. It's cheap, too.

Henry Bubkis wrote:
"chaz" wrote in message
...
Will a PC fan motor suffice?


http://www.sciplus.com/category.cfm?...3&category=137

Just match the power supply to the fan. It's cheap, too.


What a delightful site! And they have some pretty cool fans, too. Now if
I only lived in the States... :-(

--
Reka

This is LIFE! It's not a rehearsal. Don't miss it!
http://www.rolbox.it/hukari/index.html

On 4 Aug 2005 13:48:27 -0700, "jadel" wrote:


Ford Prefect wrote:
On 4 Aug 2005 07:08:25 -0700, "jadel" wrote:


glenner003 wrote:
"jadel" wrote in message
oups.com...

Henry Bubkis wrote:
Has anyone done this before?

I'm inheriting a large fishtank that I want to turn into a terrarium and
would like to combine some of my tropical pitcher plants as well as
other
tropical plants and african violets with the orchids in a natural
setting
terrarium.

Are there any problems ....

You bet. The vast majority of orchids require good ventilation and
excellent drainage.

J. Del Col


The majority of terrariums need good ventilation and drainage too. The most
of the plants and animals kept in terrariums, have the same needs than the
most orchids. Here you have some exaples of terrariums wich contain orchids:

http://www.poison-frogs.nl/e04.html
http://www.georgecramer.com/dutchvivariumsjv.html


Pay attention to the caveats about orchids in the first website.


J. Del Col

If by tropical pitcher plants you mean Nepenthes be careful which ones
you put in a viv. most grow at an amazing rate when given the optimum
conditions I've got a small one on the windowsill in the bathroom
(8-10" 'branches' produces 2.5" pitchers) that a friend took a cutting
of, he put it in his stove house and it went mad, largest picture was
around 6-8" and the plant got nearly to the size of a mixta x maxima!
Looked amazing growing next to his N.rajah (lucky s*d)


I concur. A lot of nepenthes get rampant-fast! Their pendulous growth
requires plenty of vertical space, and most do best in very warm, very
humid conditions. Finding orchids that will be compatible with that
will be a challenge.

I bought some kind of little generic nepenthes at a Florida Wal-Mart
this spring. It has become a large, heavy plant outside here in
WV--not exactly the tropics, but apparently very much to its liking.

I use to grow more nepenthes, but I got rid of them. They took up too
much room.

J. Del Col

I wish I could grow them outside a bit too cold in South UK :0(
Having said that I've just bought a cute little (at the moment!)
N.ampullaria that sits nicely in the corner of my frog viv.
Ford

"Ford Prefect" wrote in message
...
On 4 Aug 2005 13:48:27 -0700, "jadel" wrote:


Ford Prefect wrote:
On 4 Aug 2005 07:08:25 -0700, "jadel" wrote:


glenner003 wrote:
"jadel" wrote in message
oups.com...

Henry Bubkis wrote:
Has anyone done this before?

I'm inheriting a large fishtank that I want to turn into a
terrarium and
would like to combine some of my tropical pitcher plants as well
as
other
tropical plants and african violets with the orchids in a natural
setting
terrarium.

Are there any problems ....

You bet. The vast majority of orchids require good ventilation and
excellent drainage.

J. Del Col


The majority of terrariums need good ventilation and drainage too.
The most
of the plants and animals kept in terrariums, have the same needs
than the
most orchids. Here you have some exaples of terrariums wich contain
orchids:

http://www.poison-frogs.nl/e04.html
http://www.georgecramer.com/dutchvivariumsjv.html


Pay attention to the caveats about orchids in the first website.


J. Del Col

If by tropical pitcher plants you mean Nepenthes be careful which ones
you put in a viv. most grow at an amazing rate when given the optimum
conditions I've got a small one on the windowsill in the bathroom
(8-10" 'branches' produces 2.5" pitchers) that a friend took a cutting
of, he put it in his stove house and it went mad, largest picture was
around 6-8" and the plant got nearly to the size of a mixta x maxima!
Looked amazing growing next to his N.rajah (lucky s*d)


I concur. A lot of nepenthes get rampant-fast! Their pendulous growth
requires plenty of vertical space, and most do best in very warm, very
humid conditions. Finding orchids that will be compatible with that
will be a challenge.

I bought some kind of little generic nepenthes at a Florida Wal-Mart
this spring. It has become a large, heavy plant outside here in
WV--not exactly the tropics, but apparently very much to its liking.

I use to grow more nepenthes, but I got rid of them. They took up too
much room.

J. Del Col

I wish I could grow them outside a bit too cold in South UK :0(
Having said that I've just bought a cute little (at the moment!)
N.ampullaria that sits nicely in the corner of my frog viv.
Ford

Ford,
What kind of frogs? I'm considering Mantellas or Darts in the next couple of
years.
Murri

Ford,
What kind of frogs? I'm considering Mantellas or Darts in the next couple of
years.
Murri


Darts are much easier to clean up after than Mantellas. At least that is
what I read. Mantellas are cool, but you spend a lot of time cleaning
the enclosure. You would almost never need to clean a dart frog
enclosure, assuming it is planted.

--
Rob's Rules: http://littlefrogfarm.com
1) There is always room for one more orchid
2) There is always room for two more orchids
2a) See rule 1
3) When one has insufficient credit to obtain more
orchids, obtain more credit

Thanks Rob.
I was considering starting on amphibians with a cheap little pair of
Firebelly Toads, then moving up to Mantellas if I can keep that alive,
followed by darts, which I like the best. I hadn't delved far enough yet to
find reference to the cleaning problem.
Murri
"Rob" wrote in message
...


Ford,
What kind of frogs? I'm considering Mantellas or Darts in the next couple
of years.
Murri


Darts are much easier to clean up after than Mantellas. At least that is
what I read. Mantellas are cool, but you spend a lot of time cleaning the
enclosure. You would almost never need to clean a dart frog enclosure,
assuming it is planted.

--
Rob's Rules: http://littlefrogfarm.com
1) There is always room for one more orchid
2) There is always room for two more orchids
2a) See rule 1
3) When one has insufficient credit to obtain more
orchids, obtain more credit

On Wed, 10 Aug 2005 15:14:06 -0400, "Lady Blacksword"
wrote:

Thanks Rob.
I was considering starting on amphibians with a cheap little pair of
Firebelly Toads, then moving up to Mantellas if I can keep that alive,
followed by darts, which I like the best. I hadn't delved far enough yet to
find reference to the cleaning problem.
Murri
"Rob" wrote in message
...


Ford,
What kind of frogs? I'm considering Mantellas or Darts in the next couple
of years.
Murri


Darts are much easier to clean up after than Mantellas. At least that is
what I read. Mantellas are cool, but you spend a lot of time cleaning the
enclosure. You would almost never need to clean a dart frog enclosure,
assuming it is planted.

--
Rob's Rules: http://littlefrogfarm.com
1) There is always room for one more orchid
2) There is always room for two more orchids
2a) See rule 1
3) When one has insufficient credit to obtain more
orchids, obtain more credit

The're D.auratus (green and black poison frogs) cleaning them out is
not the problem feeding them that's the challenge :0) I never clean
mine, having said that I do have to syphon the waste water out from
time to time in my smaller viv. which is planted on a substrate of
peat, gravel, air conditioner filter the gravel again. My 4' viv which
I'm hoping to put either D.tinctorius or P.terriblis in has a gravel
base then a 3" upholstery foam layer then a top dressing of moss this
is much easer for any maintenance and to plant in it you just cut
round holes and drop in plant pots.

Ford.

The nice thing with dart frogs is that you never have to clean up your
vivarium if it's heavily planted. The only cleaning in my tanks that I
do is cleaning the front glass. Once in a while I will prune some
plants and remove dead leaves. Even that I do once every two months or
so. I use RO water for misting, it leaves no waterspots and dries
perfectly clean on the glass. Frogs don't really crap that much,
imagine piece of crap the size of a single mouse pellet every two days
or so... It's great fertilizer and decomposes in no time. Thumbnail
frogs tend to crap a bit more often, but their crap is way smaller too.


If you want to see few pics of my vivarium go he
http://www.orchidboard.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=37

There is a lot of froggers at OrchidBoard.com. Seems that keeping
frogs and keeping orchids goes hand in hand.

Marty
www.OrchidBoard.com




Lady Blacksword wrote:
Thanks Rob.
I was considering starting on amphibians with a cheap little pair of
Firebelly Toads, then moving up to Mantellas if I can keep that alive,
followed by darts, which I like the best. I hadn't delved far enough yet to
find reference to the cleaning problem.
Murri
"Rob" wrote in message
...


Ford,
What kind of frogs? I'm considering Mantellas or Darts in the next couple
of years.
Murri


Darts are much easier to clean up after than Mantellas. At least that is
what I read. Mantellas are cool, but you spend a lot of time cleaning the
enclosure. You would almost never need to clean a dart frog enclosure,
assuming it is planted.

--
Rob's Rules: http://littlefrogfarm.com
1) There is always room for one more orchid
2) There is always room for two more orchids
2a) See rule 1
3) When one has insufficient credit to obtain more
orchids, obtain more credit