Indoor growing: humidifier vs humidity trays?

[orchidjunky]

For those who grow indoors under lights .... What works best for you to get better humidity? Humidifier or humidity trays or some other setup? I'm just asking because I'm trying to weigh out the pros and cons... Btw I'm not talking bout enclosed growing such as in aquariums or terrariums... My setup is on shelves with t5 lights..

[keithrs]

With my experience, Humidity trays don't work. I have a rack that's enclosed with T-12s and I run a cheap humidifier and have had good luck with it.

[orchidjunky]

Originally Posted by keithrs

With my experience, Humidity trays don't work. I have a rack that's enclosed with T-12s and I run a cheap humidifier and have had good luck with it.

Do you run fans as well?

[Discus]

"humidity trays" are quite good at keeping water off your carpet, but they don't do that much to humidity; an actual humidifier works better. And yes, run some fans as well

[Ray]

All else being the same, evaporation/humidification is based upon surface area.

A tray may have a few hundred square inches of surface area to evaporate from, while an atomizing humidifier can produce droplets with a combined surface area a million times that.

[Phal grower]

I grow on a rack wrapped in plastic and all I use are trays. I maintain 50% and above humidity. Without the plastic I would need a humidifier. This setup works well for me.

[orchidsarefun]

I grow on racks and I have both.
My trays are boot trays - shallow and wide that fit underneath the racks.......and I know they work because they dry out so quickly. They also catch dripping water after watering, so they are multi-purpose....
Initially I had the humidifiers near the orchids, objective was to raise humidity levels in the room. However I noticed that the roots really responded - more green - after I moved them closer. In fact I have an Odontonia that gets root misted 2x per day and loves it ! ( has lots of hanging roots )
I don't have any fans, don't need them.

[Tindomul]

Matt, I bet your humidity would stay up without the humidity trays so long as you enclose your space with plastic.

I don't use trays because they do absolutely nothing for me. I use ultrasonic fogging humidifiers where I grow some of my orchids. It really moistens up the grow room.

[keithrs]

Originally Posted by orchidjunky

Do you run fans as well?

Yes

[stefpix]

You could buy cheap aquariums or glass vases but some rocks/ gravel / leca at the bottom. water + h2o2. that would increase the humidity as the side walls would keep the humidity on the spot.