After reading the article in my 'Orchids for Dummies' book about using 'egg-crate louvers' as bases to set the orchids on over a pan of water I decided to give it a try as the ones I originally made were just getting too nasty with algae and the pea gravel was just getting too discolored. My original intent was to use metal louvers however they were definitely cost prohibitive so searching on the Lowe's site I found some made of plastic. My only concern was would they be sturdy enough to hold the plants. Went to Lowe's today and bought three sheets of these - http://www.lowes.com/ProductDi... also went to the store and bought six new aluminum pans for $.97ea. Measured and cut the sheets of louvers, filled the water pans and so far the orchid pots are sitting nicely.

How hard was it to cut the plastic? I have those under my kitchen lights, and one is broken in half.

Very easy Carol I just used a pair of wire cutters. I guess if you wanted to you could also use a Dremel tool to make the cuts really neat.

Chris, a drop or two of pool algaecide will help to keep the pans from growing so much green gunk. You could also spray the louvers with diluted algaecide once in a while to keep them clean.

I recently bought some at Home Depot, and the smallest size is a quart. (I use it to keep the patio under my orchid growing area from growing green stuff). If you know somebody with a pool, or a pool cleaning business, you could maybe get a small amount from them to use for this.

Great idea Elaine, thanks. I'll add that to my list of things to do/get. Unfortunately I don't know anyone in the business so another trip to Lowe's is in order.