Aquarium house for my flasklings

[silence882]

Hi all,

I've been having trouble growing out flasks lately, so I decided to try making a mini-greenhouse for them. Since I'm an indoor grower, all my orchids have had to deal with very low humidity over the winter.

It's a 20-gallon aquarium with 2 18" T8 fluorescents. I wired up a computer case fan to provide some air movement. The water at the bottom of the aquarium keeps the humidity at 70-80%.

I'll have to wait and see how these flasklings do over the next 6 months. I've kept a couple compots outside the aquarium as a control group.

--Stephen

 

[Ray]

Steven, I did something similar, but on a somewhat larger scale, in my basement back in PA.

I bought a 3' x 6' hydroponics ebb & flow table from Hydrofarm, and built 4 sides and a top out of thick foam insulation board. Sliding glass doors were placed in the front, and LED lamps suspended from the top. I used a Mist-King system for automated watering, and two, 110v muffin fans for air circulation. Feeding/KelpMax/Garden Solution additions were done manually.

 

[CarlG]

I do the same thing, except that I use a 10-gallon tank, a pair of 20W spiral compact fluorescents, and have #3 sponge-roc on the bottom. I have two fans, one circulates air above the plants, one takes air from high up in the tank, and blows it down through a piece of pipe onto the sponge-roc.

The light unit sits on top of a piece of acrylic sheet.

 

[xiphius]

Good idea. Yeah, I basically have a few ghetto versions of this which consist of plastic tubs covered with cling wrap and a light mounted above. Seedlings seem to do well in it. It's really hard to keep humidity high enough for seedlings to be happy without some kind of greenhouse or enclosure. Good luck!

 

[Gilda]

Looks good ! Looking forward to seeing your results.

 

[NYEric]

Nice, what you got cookin'?

 

[gego]

For seedlings,,, high humidity is really a must in my experience.

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

 

[Ozpaph]

I did similar but added water to the bottom of the tank and an aquarium heater. I think seedlings like bottom heat and the heater increases the humidity.
You will need a way to remove and replace the water when it gets 'gungy'.

 

[silence882]

Good to hear others have had success with similar setups! I grow in the kitchen, so this is about as big as I can get for now. As it is, I "coincidentally" set this up while the wife was elsewhere.

I did similar but added water to the bottom of the tank and an aquarium heater. I think seedlings like bottom heat and the heater increases the humidity.
You will need a way to remove and replace the water when it gets 'gungy'.

I may try a terrarium heating mat if I think the lights aren't keeping it warm enough. And I've got a cheap siphon pump that should work to drain the water.

Nice, what you got cookin'?

My vanity project - Phrag. Stephen Manza (the greatest orchid hybrid ever made)

 

[Ozpaph]

cant/shouldnt put the mat in the water.
The 'warm' water under the plants seems to be better than 'dry' heat from a heat mat, IMHO.

 

[silence882]

cant/shouldnt put the mat in the water.
The 'warm' water under the plants seems to be better than 'dry' heat from a heat mat, IMHO.

I'd be putting the mat under the aquarium rather than in it. I've also got a seed starting heat mat I could try. (I would guess they're the same thing with different labeling)

 

[Ozpaph]

that's not a bad idea, but less efficient heat transfer than an aquarium heat where you can exactly adjust the temperature

 

[Ray]

FWIW, the Hydrofarm seedling mats I used were absolutely fine under water. I had two in a 55-gallon tank for years. No, they're not supposed to be, but what can I say...

However, in my "incubator", the LED drivers heated the insulated chamber very well, and the nighttime cooling was a plus.

Also, I didn't bother with a pump for getting rid of excess water - I installed a spring-loaded water cooler valve low in the sidewall, so I could periodically drain the excess into a jug for dumping.

 

[NYEric]

As it is, I "coincidentally" set this up while the wife was elsewhere.

Wise! :wink:

My vanity project - Phrag. Stephen Manza (the greatest orchid hybrid ever made)

Hmmmm, where did you get those? Or, did you make your own version of the cross?

 

[silence882]

Wise! :wink:


Hmmmm, where did you get those? Or, did you make your own version of the cross?

Made it myself so that its glory may persist in cultivation. I've got a dozen 3.5" compots started from 9 flasks. I was going to sell some of the flasks, but they got jumbled in shipping so I planted them all out.

FWIW, the Hydrofarm seedling mats I used were absolutely fine under water. I had two in a 55-gallon tank for years. No, they're not supposed to be, but what can I say...

However, in my "incubator", the LED drivers heated the insulated chamber very well, and the nighttime cooling was a plus.

Also, I didn't bother with a pump for getting rid of excess water - I installed a spring-loaded water cooler valve low in the sidewall, so I could periodically drain the excess into a jug for dumping.

I've got a hydrofarm mat as well. It just makes me a little nervous to submerge it, especially in the kitchen. I'd rather have a drain than a pump, but I don't want to risk drilling through the glass.

 

[NYEric]

Made it myself so that its glory may persist in cultivation.

All hail the glorious Phrag!