Full Hydro for Vandaceous (Ebb and Flow)

[Ocelaris]

I am trying to automate and improve my vanda watering, and wondering if anyone has considered some automated system.

Right now my Vandas are bare root, in large plastic pots, in my Wardian case, and everyday I flood and drain, (ebb and flow) basically, letting them sit submerged for about a half an hour, and then letting them dry out.

The next logical step, would be to have the ebb and flow occur on an automated basis, there are lots of ebb and flow systems out there, either running a pump to fill the container, or what I thought would be easier, a misting system.

The key would be to get the roots fully wet with a low nutrient solution, like Ray's 120ppm reccomendation of Nitrogen, twice a day maybe? And plenty of sun and air movement. I am thinking basically of physically seperating the roots from the leaves so the leaves don't get nutrient on them... and the run off water draining back into the sump.

Preliminary idea is just a long tank, 4 foot long, and ~1-2 feet wide max, and probably 5 feet tall? With the flourescent lights divided from the others, the root area would have to be seperate. Kind of like a short (depth wise) closet...

If it all worked out, I had thought of putting it on the mantle above the fire place... but with all the extra "junk" I might have to find a place with more room...

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[Ray]

Your idea is certainly workable, but keep in mind that you'll be sharing the nutrient bath among plants, and that's the best way yet for sharing plant pathogens.

[Ocelaris]

I only have like 4 vandas, and they're within like 2 foot square proximity of each other, it's a very closed environment, 2x2x4 feet square box... would it be too much to assume they're already pretty much trading germs?

What kind of transmission are we concerned about? I mean, if I lost all my orchids, I'd be out less than a hundred bucks... not that I'm looking to tempt fate, but my scale is so small, If one plant got an incureable disease, you could be pretty sure they all would... Mold and algae are already plentiful in the air, enough air flow keeps that down...

[Ross]

Is it possible to skip the case and just do standard ebb-and-flow like lettuce and stawberry growers do? Could be simpler in long run?