indoor greenhouse in my office

[christoph0315]

Originally Posted by Ray

In an enclosed space, humidity will be less of a problem than you think. Any standing water source, and even the potting media after watering, will provide plenty.

Before moving, I had all my plants on Home Depot bakers rack shelving, with the pots sitting in nursery trays and the whole thing covered with a tent. The humidity inside was fantastic, even though it was in a basement with a constantly running dehumidifier.

The exoterra, with a gap in the front and a screen top will be more of a problem, so you might consider replacing the top with a piece of glass.

Thats what I have in mind. I will use clear tape on the top and put 2 lights in from the orchidhobbiest and my Humiditray, which should fit almost flush inside the terrarium. I have a Solar USB fan and will see how far i come with the humidity inside. That hopefully covers my chapter with the Neofinetias.

The other stuff I most likely will pull the trigger on a grow tent. I need one anyway for vegetables and stuff and 100 bucks sounds like its worth a try.

[christoph0315]

Update. The terrarium is awesome. My humidity stays in the upper 70percent without doing to much at all. Absolutely awesome. Couldn't be happier. I'll update proper lighting soon and ventilation. So far the status.

[Orchidtinkerer]

did you get that terrarium already?
It's a good size for phals and smaller orchids but you might have to place the light ontop if you can, otherwise you might have some serious height problems with the pot and the orchid and a safe distance from the light.
Sounds good so far.

[theorchidapartment]

A little late to this discussion, but I have a terrarium very similar to the one you linked. I cobbled together a lid out of a scrap of plexiglass and two small lids from translucent plastic IKEA storage bins and can generally maintain between 80 and 90% with daily watering.

I have two small AC Infinity muffin fans circulating air constantly with one positioned low to the eggcrate false bottom, which sits on LECA that is partially submerged in watering runoff. The position of that fan is critical to maintaining humidity, in my experience.

I bought the 15W Jungle Dawn LED bar to put on top of the terrarium and it was complete overkill, especially for my lower-light miniatures. I've since suspended it a few inches above the top and it provides enough light for plants around the terrarium as well as inside. So yes, keep in mind that distance from the light source makes a big difference and, like Orchidtinkerer said, there isn't much height to work with if you're putting the light directly on top of the terrarium.

[christoph0315]

Hey,

Thanks for the messages.
A little update:



All I can say is, it is AWESOME!
I' maintain 70-90percent Humidity in there all the time now and my plants look great after the one week. I have an USB Fan now sitting inside powered by an Solar panel (that sits under the one of the grow lights).
Again, absolutely what I was hoping for. I may get another one down the road but for now I couldnt be happier.

I'm going to move the Cats and seedlings into the grow tent once this thing shows up here. My plan is to keep an area outside on my shelf with light for whatever is in bloom (I have many other plants outside for boarding) and this is it for now until I move somewhere else in one year.

[christoph0315]

A little update:

in the terrariums (i have two meanwhile!) things are going very well.


I followed the advise here and bought the awesome lights from orchid hobbiest and can strongly recommend him as well. Superb quality and customer service.
I maintain 70F and 90-100% HM. My question is now, is this too much? Can this create issues with mold or something? I do have mostly Japanese style mounted Neos in there and mono. Dends. They look fine but I really don't water them anymore, other than maybe twice a week. Before, I had to spray them at least once a day. I'm a bit worried this may can cause some issues. There are USB fans in and I open the cage at least once a week. However, with the humidity trays and spray every now and than humidity almost never drops below 90.

Next thing,
I bought a grow tent from amazon and put my shelf in.



same here, its basically 75F and 80%hm. I don't really have done anything for airflow yet. Its basically a closed system. Should I install vents? My plants are exploding but I'm also worried this may causes problems on the long run. I can always open up the tent during the day if i want but currently I'm super happy about the roots that are literally exploding.

My Phal. tetraspis was basically not moving at all for weeks and is now freaking out.




Thanks a lot for your help already,
Best!

[Steve83]

You need to put fans in there.

Look at various fans marketed for marijuana growing in tents. Many attach via clamp, and/or have rotating features, depending on the tent size etc.

Lights are out in the orchid tent, but this gives you an idea.

Quarantine.jpg - Google Drive

I don't have experience with those types of mounts, but tents greatly expand your pot/mount capability to that of a greenhouse.

[estación seca]

The Dens and Neos don't need such high humidity, and it greatly increases the risk of fungal diseases. Aim for 60%-70% maximum. As you've discovered Phals really like high humidity, but fungal and bacterial rots are a big risk. You need fans in your tanks. Aim for 70%-80% maximum with the Phals. They won't grow as fast as at 90%-100% but you won't walk in one day to a bacterial rot attack. If your tanks are ever cooler than you would like drop the humidity to the ambient in the room by removing the covers. This will prevent water condensing on cold plants, which can become a fungal disaster.