New Orchid enclosure...

[ChasWG]

OK, so I've added a bit more light to the enclosure. I bought a 150 watt CFL and a 24" tube grow lamp. The 6500K 100 watt bulbs are very white/blue and that's great, but I wanted more light and more red color to help with blooming.
I also added a fan for air movement. It's a simple 6" fan, but I also hooked up a light dimmer to slow down the fan a bit more. The air is now moving all around the enclosure. Seems like things are lookung better.
And (one more) I got this cool little device for telling me air temp and humidity, $22 at Home Depot. At it's highest today since adding the temp/humidity gauge I saw 82.5% and 81 degrees F. I have since lowered the amount of time the humidifier gets to be on. I added a clock timer on the humidifier as well as the lights. The humidifier is set to come on for 15 minutes and then off for 15 minutes. I'll have to see where this gets the humidity to. So far I've seen about 65 to 70%. That's where I'd like to keep it.

The lights are set to be on for 13 hours each day.

[greenbean]

Nice set-up. A work in progress, but everything is.

WOW, 14% humidity! I didn't know it could get that low!

Ok, obviously I knew it could be that low, but it's still hard to imagine. Just going to college in eastern Washington, I thought I was suffering at 20-30%! I guess I really am lucky living in western Washington where the lowest humidity (exluding the room with the wood stove) is about 50% even in winter.

[ChasWG]

Evan, 14% is the annual average. A couple of weeks ago it got down to about 7% for more that a week. My hardwood floors are just now recovering by sealing up the gaps between the boards. I have set the how house humidifier to max just to try to fight the nasty dryness. I had that humidity gauge upstairs before putting it into the enclosure and I saw a humidity reading of 36% in the main part of the house. Not bad really for Colorado.

[greenbean]

Yuck! I'd crisp up like herbs in a dehydrator, to say nothing for my chids! I think I'll stick with western Washington! Although I can think of worse places to live than Colorado.

[Pilot]

Originally Posted by greenbean

Yuck! I'd crisp up like herbs in a dehydrator, to say nothing for my chids! I think I'll stick with western Washington! Although I can think of worse places to live than Colorado.

Oh man...you have no idea. Colorado is a HORRIBLE place to live *looking around to see if anyone believes me* No?

Ok fine Colorado is freaking awesome...but we are water-challenged.

Chas I just set up a shelf for my plants (mostly amaryllis) but also for the orchids. I only have four right now and only one isn't in bloom so the phal species I have is under the new lights. How close are your lights to your plants? I'm trying to measure the light in footcandles with my camera and I think them might be getting around 1000 ft-candles.

BTW-- My trusty humidifier runs 24/7 at full speed-- I settle out around 55% humidity. Breathe deep without risking massive blood loss!

[ChasWG]

Well I have been messing around with different settings and different conditions to find the one best way to do this. So far, not much success. Last night I recorded a humidity reading of 99%! That's a bit too much. I am getting a 20 degree temp differential between day and night. Some of the controls I have are: Time, Hi or Low setting, a humidistat on the humidifier and the fan (speed and angle). So there are lots of variables. I keep trying to change things in a small increments so I can see and measure the changes. So far things are very dramatic. Huge swings in humidity readings are the biggest issue. With the cover closed up, the temp stays pretty constant.

Not sure what to do next. And I'm concerned that these fluctuations are not good for the plants.

[theredhead]

Oh man...you have no idea. Colorado is a HORRIBLE place to live

+nodsnodsnods+ It's absolutely hideous here - no air, no humidity, too much sun & snow... Boulder is the worst part of the dismal state. I should move.

-the redhead-

[ChasWG]

Originally Posted by theredhead

+nodsnodsnods+ It's absolutely hideous here - no air, no humidity, too much sun & snow... Boulder is the worst part of the dismal state. I should move.

-the redhead-

LOL LOL

My belief of what the rest of the US thinks Colorado is like comes from the Broncos playing on Monday Night Football, it always snows!

And yes, Boulder is the worst. That town should ceceed from the union. What is they call it up there...? Oh yeah, The Republic of Boulder. Ha!

Actually I love Boulder. It truely is one of the best parts of Colorado. Well that is if you like not having air to breath, no moisture in that thin and way too much snow!

[Grandma M]

Chas, I love your setup, and your humidifier looks interesting. What brand is it, and where did you get it? I'm amazed at your ability to work with all the electrical componets.

I have a similar covered set up (18" deep X 48" wide X 72" HIGH) but have a horrible time with keeping the humidity even somewhat even. It goes up after I water my plants, and then pluments way down because of the heat from the lights even tho I have 3 small 6" fans in there. It looks like your humidifier is small enough to fit inside my covered shelves. Please PM me with more info on the humidifier. I NEED HELP.

Marilyn

[theredhead]

Long live the People's Republic of Boulder!

The biking to work is really horrible too.

If you are at loose ends this Saturday morning, I'll be over at Fantasy in Louisville dealing with the 8 boxes of catts my mom just sent me. Kent is going to give me an intensive lesson in repotting, as many of the 20+ plants mom sent need it.

I'll be boarding some there in the greenhouse too. I've turned into one of 'those people'. Zero to boarding in 8 months... It's all my Mom's fault.

-the redhead-