CO2 enrichment thread

[MattWoelfsen]

Thanks for the two links Nexogen. Now I understand. I'm wondering if some nurseries do something similar to speed up the growth process and get a fully matured and blooming plant ready for sale at a grocery store in less time it would take grown "naturally"?

[Paul Mc]

Good link! I understood the CO2 a bit, but that helped explain it a bit more.

[Joyorchid]

I particularly appreciated the point in the article about brewing next to your grow area to increase CO2 levels. I have five gallons fermenting next to my orchids right now!

I will use my other grow area in the back of the house as a control. Stay tuned for updates!

[Philipm]

I thought most knew about cam plants so I didn't explain.
If you do a search you can find information.

But what I did learn all ready is if you grow indoors in a cold climate you already have elevated co2 concentrations during the cold months.
Co2 levels are raising everyday. Co2now.org

I checked levels outside my home, it was 450-460ppm
Depending on the time of day. (City)
Inside my home was 900-1000ppm with 2 adults and a 7 month old. (1200sq ft home no basement)
The room my phals are in is 12'X13' room, after a 30 min fast walk on a treadmill (in their also) with the door closed the values rises to 1400-1600 ppm. And slowly dissipated. With the door open levels drop to 900-1000ppm with in 30 min.
But now the levels are controlled with very little fluctuation.
Knowing that, I set my co2 at 1500ppm night because they have already been in higher concentrations. I vent the grow tent 1 hour after lights on for 10mins. That gets the co2 down to 500-550ppm. With the weather warming the windows are open and co2 was at outdoor levels.
I'm still trying to find more info on co2 acclamation in cam plants.

[naoki]

I looked around a bit more, and there are several studies of CO2 enrichment in Phals. Enrichment seems to have some beneficial effects.

Also, it is interesting that young leaves are more facultative CAM (C3+CAM), and older leaves are more CAM: Effect of Leaf and Plant Age, and Day/Night Temperature on Net CO2 Uptake in Phalaenopsis amabilis var. formosa

As expected, this study shows that when watered once a week, the dry plants (the day before watering) are more strongly CAM. After a day of irrigation, Phals uptake CO2 in the late afternoon, too. This study used up to 2000ppm, and the CO2 uptake rate seems to be linearly correlated with the concentration. Obviously, if RH is low, the effect of enrichment is small, which emphasizes the importance of air RH:
http://repository.aichi-edu.ac.jp/ds...ihashis001.pdf

CO2 uptake rate increases up to 80% in this study (with 950ppm): Irradiance, Temperature, and Carbon Dioxide Enrichment Affect Photosynthesis in Phalaenopsis Hybrids

Philipm, how long does a bottle of CO2 last in your set-up? For aquarium, I think my 5Lb bottle lasts for a year, but I guess that it will go much quicker with a grow tent.

[Philipm]

I have a 20# bottle. My tent is only 56 cubic feet.
Regulator is set to .5cfh.
I used the co2 calculator.
CO2 Calculator - Greentrees Hydroponics
It said 350 hours At 10min
It's been running just over a month and the gauge hasn't moved. So a long time

[Philipm]

I little off topic but found this interesting.
Experiment aims to steep rainforest in carbon dioxide : Nature News & Comment

[Philipm]

Hello
I have a question for anyone that would like to answer.
What is the smallest/youngest phal species you had
that started growing a spike?
Also most leaves grown in a season?
Thanks

[naoki]

The time to flower depends on cultural environment. The temp is relatively low for me, so my phals don't grow quickly. But according to an expert of species Phal (the owner of ranwild.org), his P. parishii flowered 1 year after deflask (2 years of generation time: seed to seed).

I've never kept truck of when they make leaves. But among 30 or so species of Phals, my P. tetraspis 'C1', P. pulcherrima, P. violaceae mentawai seem to produce lots of leaves year around (maybe a new leaf every 1.5-3 months in the winter?). I get only 1-3 leaves per year for others like P. gigantea (P. cochlearis and P. javanica are also fairly slow for me).

[Philipm]

Thank you Naoki.