Growing Under Lights & Humidity
 

Let me preface this post with the fact that I've had my lights setup for all of 12-18hrs and I've never grown anything under lights before.
They are a set of 2 x 4 bulb T5 HO fixtures daisy chained together.

What I think I've noticed is a considerable drop in humidity, even with my small, rinky-dink humidifier running constantly.
Currently I've got them strapped to a shelving unit that's 6' tall x 4' wide & 18" deep (2 shelves filled with orchids of all sizes, shapes, makes and models :p ) with differing heights for shelves depending on whether the plants on those shelves like lower or brighter light.
Now, I'm planning on wrapping said shelving unit in Reflectix, that's a reflective bubble-wrap insulation, as the setup is against my floor to ceiling patio door and the elements on the other side will turn vicious in a matter of months (think 40mph winds & temps down well below freezing, ah New England). It should also prevent my eyes from bleeding should I walk in to the room at night (man these are bright).

To my question:
I plan on outfitting the wrapped shelving with a heater vent connected to a bucket with a pond fogger in it on a timer, but how long can that wait? The place I'm ordering the ultrasonic mist heads from is out of what I wanted to order for a few weeks and obviously my little humidifier isn't keeping up. Is it a given that under lights a lack of humidity is an increased risk and prevention should be taken to avoid frying your plants or am I reading too much into the drop in RH & I can wait a few weeks to bring in the big guns?

See WIP below:

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/...2020.03.45.jpg

It looks like you are diving into the deep end of the pool :-) Congratulations, I think!

What are your current humidity levels, and what are you looking to achieve?

I have the same bulbs/fixtures/shelves. I love them. On a couple of them, I took a bulb or two out, because it was just too much light for what I'm growing.

I too have a similar setup in an unheated basement. Heat won't be a problem when the lights are on, my temps are 72-78F when the lights are on. I have a portable heater set to 50F that comes on in the dead of winter.
My RH drops when the lights are on. I have a cool mist humidifier set to run 15 min. each hour. The RH fluctuates from 50-80 during the lights on period. When the lights are off and the temps drop the RH stays pretty constant at 65-70.
Once you enclose it you'll better be able to get a handle on the RH.
I also took a bulb out of the T5HO 4 bulb. I was burning the taller paph multis.

Bill

If you're waiting on the fogger, check out the House of Hydro at * *The House of Hydro Ultrasonic Mist Maker Supply - Home

I recently bought a one disc fogger from them and it arrived in 3 days, price includes 3 replacement discs and tool. Used t to build my own humidifier and it has been working very well.

Those are neat looking, do you have it in a home or greenhouse? Do they work better than a regular humidifier?

Hey you bought the last one! lol, that's the exact model I was planning on buying, but when I was ready to get it they were out. I sent them a message & they said 2-3 wks. so I ordered the 5 disc version, haha. That should gitter done!

I wrapped the shelves this morning & put together my humidification contraption, minus the pond fogger.

Thx everyone for the tips. Here's my humidification rig that will include the fogger when it arrives.

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/09/09/veraruhu.jpg

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/09/09/papusa8e.jpg

Brn_thmbs "Hey you bought the last one! lol, that's the exact model I was planning on buying, but when I was ready to get it they were out. I sent them a message & they said 2-3 wks. so I ordered the 5 disc version, haha. That should gitter done! "

Lol, that is hilarious, so glad i ordered when I did!

The one disc unit puts out alot of fog, your 5 disc unit is going to be unbelievable, it's going to look like rocket exhaust coming out of there! ;)

I think is better if you put the fan in a separate hole if not, you have to replace the fan weekly (IMO)

What do you mean? Why would I have to replace the fan weekly?

I'm going to try & fill up my living room with fog to test it out :p