Hi from a new member in the midwest

[John]

Ok, Ok...jungle....Tarzan Calls....I can see where this is going. Keep it up.

John

[Dorothy]

[Tindomul]

Welcome to the Orchid Board John. You must get some nice blooms with those lights from Catt types?? Can't wait to see your blooms.

[John]

Originally Posted by Tindomul1of9

You must get some nice blooms with those lights from Catt types??

Thank you for your post. I have found that my Catts will even bloom under a four tube T8 fixture running warm and cool white tubes. I plan to put together a photo gallary soon.
A note to Dorothy...I am making a list and your name is at the top!!

John

[Ross]

Hi John, I have a question on watering your massive collection. How do you do it? Are there drains in the floor? I have been thinking off-and-on about a similar setup when I expand the basement, but can't get past the watering needs. Lights and all are easy, but how do I water and where does the waste flow? Our freeze line is near 6 feet most winters so a basement drain, unless to the sewer line, won't work.

[John]

Hi Ross, I'm glad that you asked. I am realy happy to share what I am doing and I hope that you can help me improve. I started out using seed trays and cutting egg grate lighting panels to cover them but as you know the water fills the tray and then you do the turkey baster thing. My next move was to purchase 4x8 sheets of 1/4" PVC plastic and I cut them up and glued them back into trays that are 15" x 48" and 2" deep. In the end of the tray I drilled a hole and glued in a 1/2" PVC pipe nipple and 1/2" plastic ball valve. With this setup I can water until the tray fills and then drain it through the valve. Solid PVC started to get rather expensive so I switch to 1/4" expanded PVC. This works great. It is 1/2 the weight and easy to work with. On the newer trays I am using 3/4" nipples and ball valves because they drain faster and they don't clog with bark as easily. I drain the trays into a five gallon bucket that I just empty down the drain. I found out that if you pour the water into a sump pump, it is best to replace it with an ejector pump. The bark chips tend to clog a sump pump but an ejector pump will pass a 1" or 2" chunk. On top of the trays I still use the egg crate lighting panels. I do have plants that love to root down into the trays. I am not sure if I like that idea but I haven't been able to stop them. What is your opinion? On the walls of my room, I installed 8" shelves using some wire shelving we had at work. On top of the shelves is more lighting panels and underneath I made trays out of sheet metal and angled them towards a bucket.
When I started, I used a pump up sprayer with the spray head removed to water the plants. Now I use about 40 gal of RO water a week. I used to collect rain water but a couple of years ago we had drought conditions and the rain water was awful. It smelled like sewer water and was cloudy. I think this and the heat did terrible things to my plants. The RO unit fills a 55 gal plastic barrel with a float valve to control the level. From this barrel I pump the water into a 35 gal plastic trash can. This is where I mix in the fertilizer. (My son also uses the RO water for his fish tanks). In the smaller tank is a Little Giant brand submersible pump. The line from this pump goes to a wand from a pump up sprayer. I actually have two, one for spraying and the other for water flow. A quick disconnect allows me to switch between the two quickly. With this setup I can water the room in about 30 minutes. I will attach some pictures to help explain. Sorry this got so long. Let me know if you have other questions or suggestions. About once a year I do pull the trays and wash them out. Sometimes I put a little physan in them to knock down any algae growth.

John

[Dorothy]

Uh oh!
What kind of list?

[John]

Dorothy...A list of trouble makers I want to know.

[Dorothy]

[Ross]

John, your setup is a dream. What can I say? I don't think I can get away with a floor drain, but possibly a pump might work if I connect to the sewer. Not sure the city would allow that though.

I don't think it hurts for a few roots to go down into the pans - like you said, how can you stop it? I wouldn't cut them off.