MistKing in a terrarium - Page 2 - Orchid Board

Jancor · #11 06-19-2015, 11:11 AM

I have about 20 plants in 24x18x24 terrarium and only 2 of them are mounted. I am afraid that a fogger will not help me... I had one, but it was removed to put some plants

Amyzes · #12 06-22-2015, 05:07 PM

I have a mist king system and love it- I highly recommend this system.

Joseia · #13 06-22-2015, 11:59 PM

How do you deal with water that gathers on the bottom of your tanks? And do you use waterproof fans for airflow?

tropterrarium · #14 06-23-2015, 12:09 AM

Depends on what you grow and terrarium set-up. If you have a drain, then you can let the misting run for a long time and soak the plants. If you don't have a drain, you run the problem of getting too much water in the bottom.
Placement of the nozzles can be adjusted in a million ways and can be adapted to the placement of the plants (or move the plants so that they get the right combo of light and water).
Also notice, some plants like to be constantly wet, others want to dry out, yet others need seasonal dry rests. One set-up does NOT work for everything.

In my terraria, mistking can keep it going for about a week, but it is a good idea to also fertilize your plants once in a while. Keeping fertilizer in the water tank is a bad idea, as it will soon show great algal growth, and it will clog your misters. I also highly recommend to adding a particulate filter between water intake and pump. The water reservoir will grow algae anyway (unless you plumb it right into a closed RO system or similar) and the nozzles WILL clog up eventually. Marty sells them, but you can get the same much cheaper at any home improvement store (e.g., Home Depot).

I also have one in the GH, but I would rather use it for under bench misting and humidity increase, if foggers are not enough. Now as it is getting hotter in Southern California, I direct the misters agains the glass, and let them go off for 15 seconds every 10 minutes if RH is below 60%. That is programmed with a herpkeeper system. I still manually water the plants, that is a bit much for the mistaking system.

MiniatureOrchids · #15 03-13-2017, 07:13 PM

Following on from this question, I'm probably going to get a Mistking system for the new orchidarium I'm planning. I'm thinking that I'll probably have the mister on a ST24 seconds timer to go a couple of times a day (we currently mist our miniatures in the morning most days).

However, misting is just part of the problem, and I'll need a humidifier/fogger to actually keep the humidity up. But I haven't really found any on the forums that seem widely used by people (whereas MistKing is mentioned everywhere on every forum). This will be to fit to an Exo Terra vivarium with a glass top, growing miniature orchids.

Does anyone have any equipment/brand recommendations for ultrasonic foggers/humidifiers?

Joseia · #16 03-14-2017, 05:05 PM

I've bought ultrasonic forgers from House of a Hydro, The House of Hydro Ultrasonic Mist Maker Supply - The House of Hydro - Ultrasonic Mist Makers for Sale

They have worked well for me and have been reliable. They also have an Amazon storefront, so can be purchased from them via Amazon.

MiniatureOrchids · #17 03-14-2017, 05:08 PM

Thanks. I think they're a US company (I'm in the UK)? Seems like there's a few foggers on Amazon, so I might just buy a box, drill it and silicon some pipe into the bottom of it, and put the fogger in there.

Another question: what do people use for reservoirs for their MistKing setups? I have some blah 5L tanks which currently have RO water in them - wondering whether the best thing is to drill a hole in the cap and just use them as-is.

Does the Mistking need RO water, or can I use rainwater? And if RO - do people run their own RO systems, or just buy the water? Seems like you can get an aquatic RO 3-stage system for about £50 which would be a ton cheaper than buying RO water in the long term...

G'day mate · #18 03-31-2017, 08:04 AM

I use a Mistking system in my orchidarium and so do others in my orchid society. I like that I can set times, length of spraying time and can still apply a bit more with pressing a button and releasing when I feel the need. As was mention before by one of the other folk here is that mist heads are the important item. I use double headed spray heads and the nozzles can readily be adjusted where needed. I have used a Mistking over the last few months and once my orchidarium is a little more established I hope to post some pics. it has cut down on my handling of the plants. It may require some patience in setting but well worth it.

estación seca · #19 03-31-2017, 02:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MiniatureOrchids

...I think they're a US company (I'm in the UK)? Seems like there's a few foggers on Amazon, so I might just buy a box, drill it and silicon some pipe into the bottom of it, and put the fogger in there.

Many people raising frogs or rain forest lizards use ultrasonic fogging systems. Go to Web sites or stores devoted to reptile and frog keeping. Several companies, including a number in the EU, sell fogger systems designed to fit perfectly into various available terraria. There are large European reptile shows at which these vendors display and sell their wares.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MiniatureOrchids

...what do people use for reservoirs for their MistKing setups? I have some blah 5L tanks which currently have RO water in them - wondering whether the best thing is to drill a hole in the cap and just use them as-is.

MistKing sells a bulkhead connector that can be fitted to any vessel you can drill. It's $1.50 or so. Many people install it at the bottom of a 5-gallon bucket. I put mine at the bottom of a 32-gallon trash barrel. This connector comes in most of the MistKing kits, I think. It came in the one I bought. This is a US distributor but I'm sure you can get it in the UK:
Misting Depot :: Fittings & Accessories :: Value 1/4 inch Bulkhead

Quote:

Originally Posted by MiniatureOrchids

Does the Mistking need RO water, or can I use rainwater? And if RO - do people run their own RO systems, or just buy the water? Seems like you can get an aquatic RO 3-stage system for about £50 which would be a ton cheaper than buying RO water in the long term...

I use rain or RO without problems. Having your own RO system is less expensive in the long run in the US. I would guess it's the same everywhere else. If you are able to collect and store sufficient rain that is perfectly adequate, does not cost anything beyond the storage container, and does not use all the tap water wasted making RO water. I switch to RO when I run out of stored rain.

Buying RO at an aquarium shop here is much less expensive than buying it at a grocery store, but it is still less expensive to have your own RO unit.

MiniatureOrchids · #20 03-31-2017, 02:38 PM

Thanks. We store rain and filter it (to get rid of snail and slug eggs) but I'd be worried about using it in our MistKing system as it might still clog it up. So I'll probably stick to RO and get a system for home.