Mist king question?

[greenpassion]

Probably a silly question, but I was doing a little reading about the Mist King system. As I've mentioned in other posts, as winter is coming on becoming more concerned with the humidity in my house. I grow mainly in a kitchen living room that are really one large room. I have a total of 37 orchids, a huge Chinese Evergreen, and a few philodendrons . I keep my house around 63-65 through the winter, and the humidity generally stays around 30 / 40 percent. Back to the Mist King question is this something I could set up in my house? I have a feeling it would be an absolute no but I just thought maybe if I had one or two nozzles then maybe it could work?

[Ray]

Mist King systems are primarily intended to be used in enclosed environments. Trying to use one to humidify your home would required many, many nozzles, be costly and probably soggy.

Consider a console-type humidifier, and keep in mind that you cannot only humidify a single room, unless it is completely cut off from all others.

Read THIS ARTICLE about evaporation and humidification, and THIS ONE about humidifying your home

[greenpassion]

Okay. I will do that Ray. And thank you for your prompt response.

[Leafmite]

I like Ray's idea about using an air stone. That seems like a really great idea that would be easy to implement.

I never had a problem with humidity when I grew my orchids in the window with all the other plants. Then I moved them on shelves, under lights, far from the other plants and, for the first time, humidity became an issue.

Here is what I am doing to help increase the humidity around my plants:

I have around forty other pots of plants that range from strawberries to passiflora vines and small trees. I have moved these to grow near the orchids.

A twenty-gallon tank, table-top greenhouses and a pair of vases for the plants that like even more humidity.

Clear plastic drop cloths to help trap humidity.

Using a medium that needs watered more often and promotes evaporation.

[greenpassion]

Those sound like really good ideas! Could you clarify what you mean by 20 gallon tank? Should I buy a 20 gallon aquarium with an AirStone?

[rbarata]

Those sound like really good ideas! Could you clarify what you mean by 20 gallon tank? Should I buy a 20 gallon aquarium with an AirStone?

The aquarium idea is the same as the one mentioned in Ray's site when he atomizes the cup of water.
In this case, you increase the area by atomizing the air increasing the contact area between air and water.

[Tetra73]

About using an aquarium? Is not practical if your orchid collection is large and with tall species. My orchids are growing in my 4ft x 2ft DIY tent with lots of artificial lighting. The Cattleya roots are growing over 1ft long (I hang my orchids). You would need some pretty big aquarium with taller dimensions to house your collections. You are looking at spending over $200 for a 50g tank. If I were you, I would look for a small green house tent or enclosure. Like these to place inside your room, somewhere.... https://www.walmart.com/c/kp/mini-greenhouse

You may want to add a fan inside to circulate the air too. You need air exchange inside for the orchid to breathe.

[greenpassion]

I think there's a misunderstanding about my setup. I have a large room that is half kitchen and the other half is my living room. It is an opened concept. Half of my collection is on an island under LED track lighting that divides this large room. When bringing up the aquarium concept, I was picturing and empty tank with water and an air stone bubbling in it. Not putting my plants in it. I will probably end up getting an ultrasonic cool mist humidifier. I can't put tents Etc in my living area. But thank you all for your replies.

[Tetra73]

Originally Posted by greenpassion

I think there's a misunderstanding about my setup. I have a large room that is half kitchen and the other half is my living room. It is an opened concept. Half of my collection is on an island under LED track lighting that divides this large room. When bringing up the aquarium concept, I was picturing and empty tank with water and an air stone bubbling in it. Not putting my plants in it. I will probably end up getting an ultrasonic cool mist humidifier. I can't put tents Etc in my living area. But thank you all for your replies.

Heheheh..oh...nah..not a good idea with using an aquarium as a humidifier. You would need a atomizer, not just an airstone connected to an air pump. These atomizer can clog. They have difference sizes and power. Two, you still need ways to circulate the moisture (is eventually fog) throughout the room. Frankly, I oppose the ideas of humidifying the entire room just for your orchids. Some species would grow better with higher humidity than 50%. At that point, it would get too uncomfortable for people. And it may be not energy efficient.

I grow my orchids inside a big tent with enough lights and air to even grow some of the high light demanding orchids like the dendrobiums and ocidiums. My humidity is always above 70% and no special gadgets needed. I can pretty much grow any orchids other than Vanda....

---------- Post added at 06:48 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:15 PM ----------

And also having a large body of standing water, in a 20g aquarium, may become a breeding ground for fungus gnats.... unless you can treat the water first. I believe the above suggestion about using a 20g aquarium is to increase the humidity of a small enclosure. It would work because water will evaporate and getting trapped inside.

[greenpassion]

Thank you Tetra. I didn't do anything at all about the humidity last winter, and the worst that happened was that I had some shriveled roots. Conversely I had more spiked and more blooming than I've ever had before...this spring was my best ever.