Who has built their own lighted shelves?

[ChasWG]

I am thinking that my plants will do better on their own humidity, light and temp controlled stand/shelf system. I know there are whole kits/systems that I can buy, but that's not for me. I like to make my own and tinker. That and I think this would be an excuse to buy more plants in the future!

Anyhow, I want to see pictures of how other people keep their orchids. Specifically shelf systems. How do you deal with water, humidity and light. I have scene a few already, but any help that anyone could provide would be nice. I don't want to build a green house, I can't, but I think I can build a small, inclosed system that replicates a green house. I have a corner in the basement of my house that has an Eastern facing window on one wall and right next to it is a Northern facing sliding glass door. The basement is heated, but it is not usually set too high. The basement isn't finished and only sometimes the kids play down there. I was thinking that this spot would be perfect. My free standing "greenhouse" would be placed there. Some natural light would help those plants that want more light and the others that don't want direct light could go lower on the shelf system below the Eastern window. I want to cover the whole shelf with either plexiglass or some sort of clear plastic to help hold in the humidity. In this corner I have access to a sump pit. That way any extra water that needs to go away has a place to go without making a mess.

So, any insights??

[RosieC]

I'm a window sill grower, but maybe the 'member displays' sub-forum is a good place to look for inspiration.

http://www.orchidboard.com/community/members-displays/

[ChasWG]

That was helpful Rosie! I guess I need to look around here a little more. I didn't see that before. Thank you!

Well the project has began... I bought a Rubber Maid plastic style shelf unit. I think this will work out well. I also bought some of that 3M window sealant plastic. You know the stuff that you place over your windows in the winter to help seal the window. Then you heat it up with a hair dryer to make it very tight and get rid of the wrinkles. That's what going to make up three sides of the shelf system to help hold in the humidity. The top and front will be made of a clear shower curtain I think. I also plan to have a warm mist humidifier on the lowest shelf. All the shelves have slots in them so water and humidity can pass through. The four corners of the system have these hollow tubes that run the full length of the shelf. I think that is how I will pass the eletricity through for the fans and lights.

I'll take pictures of the project as it progresses. Not much to see tonight.

[Undergrounder]

Hi Chas, these are my shelves:




I find when the space between the top of the plants and the shelf above is quite small, there is already enough humidity in there, they don't need to be totally enclosed.

For deflasked and touchy species, i use a glass display cabinet and a couple of fans.

Everything watered from a common tray on each shelf, each shelf wired to an autopot tube and a single reservoir up above outside the basement. Whenever the water runs out the float-valve automatically fills more water into the trays.

With this setup everything is automated, air, humidity, light, water. I just need to refill the reservoir occasionally and watch everything grow.

Also the lights heat up the shelf above them, which is great for growing warmer species.

[mojomick]

Wow, some of those setups are very impressive. I used a Costco cart and florescents and made humidity trays from seed starter trays(ones without holes). I would use T5's is doing again but sold the system to friends in orchid society and built a greenhouse. This system worked quite well. I used a four light system on each level with 2 warm white and 2 cool white bulbs. Betty

[Austinerd]

Hi there Chas,
Here is a link to a thread I started previously which shows my setup (get ready to be unimpressed):

http://www.orchidboard.com/community...tml#post189044

I think the idea you have about setting up the shelving sounds great. I want to set up something similar (eventually, as in later this year hopefully) with adjustable shelving from Lowe's. I think I want to stick with just warm mist humidifiers instead of trying to close everything in though...but that's just me. I just need to save up a little money to get some T5 fixtures...I want to do it right! Anyway let us know how it is coming along and post pics! Good luck!
Regards,
Dan in Austin