Humidity Tent?

[orion141]

Hi All,

I live up in the northeast now and as such have a difficult time keeping up with low humidity in my grow area. I have heard some positive things regarding using a humidity tent to help keep the humidity up (link below has the version I am considering).

My only concern is that I grow with T5H0 lights and am wondering if using this would cause too much heat retention (>90 degrees) in the tent? What do you all think would be a good way to mitigate this problem if (if it is indeed a concern?)?

Thanks!

Humidity Tent for Seedling Carts & Full Size Lite Carts G3 & G4 – Growers Supply Company

[Ray]

After selling my greenhouse and before moving, my remaining collection of plants was on a Home Depot Baker's rack shelving unit under that same tent. In an unheated basement, the LED lamps I used provided plenty of heat, so I'm pretty sure a T5HO fixture will cause the temperature to skyrocket.

Providing some open vents will dissipate some of it, but the humidity will go with it, unless you actively supplement it. A cool mist room humidifier blowing into it from the bottom, with vents in the top, might do the trick.

[rbarata]

Which genera are you planning to put inside?
Many orchids are adaptable.

[Subrosa]

Can you relocate the entire setup to a cooler location? The heat could then be used to your advantage by generating a large day to night temperature drop. As long as the minimum and maximum temperatures are within the plants tolerance, large daily swings like that are never a bad thing.

[rbarata]

Thinking about the root cause...when I said many orchids are adaptable I was talking about humidity, not temperature.
I grow many orchids that require 60% minimum HR and grow fine under my 30% max HR in summer (sometimes lower than 15%).

[orion141]

Hi Everyone,

Thanks for the replies.

During the winter I would be able to let the temperature in the area with the orchids drop down to 55 or so most of the time, but during the summer I would not be able to continue that.

I have an eclectic mix of orchids in the area. Phals, dendrobiums (kingianum, limpidum, torresseae), oncidiums, cattleya, laelies, a bulbo. There are probably one or two (e.g. oncidium coloratum) that dont like temps much above 80 degrees.

I wonder if adding some small ventilation holes as Ray suggested might help keep the heat from getting excessive but also keep the humidity higher than what I have been able to achieve otherwise. Part of the problem is that I am able to put a humidifier in the area and bring up the humidity in the winter to 30-40% (but only if I remember to fill the tank 2-3 times per day which isnt that doable for me these days).

Any other thoughts?

[orion141]

Originally Posted by Ray

After selling my greenhouse and before moving, my remaining collection of plants was on a Home Depot Baker's rack shelving unit under that same tent. In an unheated basement, the LED lamps I used provided plenty of heat, so I'm pretty sure a T5HO fixture will cause the temperature to skyrocket.

Providing some open vents will dissipate some of it, but the humidity will go with it, unless you actively supplement it. A cool mist room humidifier blowing into it from the bottom, with vents in the top, might do the trick.

Ray, this may be a dumb question, but are there (or if there are is it reasonable/recommended) LED bulbs that are in t5 form that can replace the t5h0 bulbs in a hydrofarm t5h0 4ft fixture. If this were the case perhaps I could swap out the bulbs and generate a lot less heat to avoid this problem??

[Ray]

Google is your friend (these were new to me):

T5 LED Tube Lights - Fluorescent Tube Replacements | 1000Bulbs.com

[rbarata]

Are you sure your plants can't handle your conditions without the tent?
Like you I have a huge diversity of genera and they all grow and bloom under low humidity. I have to take measures about it only occasionally.

[Dollythehun]

Originally Posted by Ray

Google is your friend (these were new to me):

T5 LED Tube Lights - Fluorescent Tube Replacements | 1000Bulbs.com

I replaced my T5s with a similar product which work great and have off little heat. They were pricey but, worth it imho. Check Amazon.