|
Post by lloyd on Aug 21, 2014 17:36:04 GMT -5
I love the irrigation. People are really hard-core on the OCPS!
|
|
|
Post by canuk1w1 on Aug 21, 2014 17:59:59 GMT -5
An interesting experiment would be to run the waste water through auxiliary tanks with live plants providing filtration - U. gibba per Lloyd, water hyacinth is used to filter sewage commercially. Ideally a live sphag factory!
|
|
|
Post by cory on Aug 21, 2014 18:58:21 GMT -5
It would be cool to be able to run a complete Eco system. I would probably try it if I had the room to do so I think it's very possible to do so
|
|
|
Post by vraev on Aug 21, 2014 19:38:44 GMT -5
My water is aerated it does make a huge difference in that aspect. It still gets nasty after awhile but it takes quite a long time. I usually clean my tanks once a year That is wonderful. Back when I used this system, the water became nasty in a couple of months. Throw some U. gibba in the water on the bottom and let it use up the nutrients and also send up nice yellow flowers. I would have if I had any. Once I have a more dedicated "room" / "grow area" I will definitely try that. I think a lot of the reason I can go so long is they are HL tanks and kept cool or cold all the time Do show us pics of your tank Cory. I would love to see how your tanks look. An interesting experiment would be to run the waste water through auxiliary tanks with live plants providing filtration - U. gibba per Lloyd, water hyacinth is used to filter sewage commercially. Ideally a live sphag factory! I have tried it in a way. I actually put in freshwater aquatic plants in the water. Unfortunately, the algae overtook the system and overloaded it. If I was to re-do it and had "proper space" and "planning", I would run the run-through water through a canister filter/perhaps a UV sterilizer/and then pass it through a live sphagnum layer (lit by light) and back into the tank through the pots. BTW...without proper treatment, the water is not good for sphagnum. Ideal thing would be if you can use that water in a fish tank, a biological filter can remove nitrates etc. I wonder if that water is good for CPs.
|
|
|
Post by cory on Aug 21, 2014 20:02:21 GMT -5
There's nothing special about my tanks at all it's the simplest setup possible and don't require misting humidifiers or even power for a few days if it fails as long as temps are not ridiculous White poster board around 3 sides upside down pots and light diffuser. Glass cut to fit the openings all but 1" on the back side and a little Saran Wrap right above my air stones to keep the water from splashing my pots. A temp/ RH gage and your off. However I must note this is a 55g tank and if you let the room temps rise to high during the day and don't get your temp differential with your light you will find it nearly impossible to get the tank to drop at night the water will hold your temps much higher than you want them. Attachments:
|
|
|
Post by lloyd on Aug 21, 2014 21:23:09 GMT -5
If you need some U. gibba, I have lots. It totally out-competes the algae.
|
|
|
Post by vraev on Aug 22, 2014 1:10:44 GMT -5
If you need some U. gibba, I have lots. It totally out-competes the algae. Haha! For sure. Will let you know. I have had it in the past, but it became too much of a weed. My ideal thing that I wanted to achieve was a riparium effect...a nice carpet of dwarf hair grass or HC cuba in the bottom of the tank and clean water with plants in pots on top. However, that is difficult with the tannins that are released from CP soils. The problem is keeping that water crystal clear. The other plant option for that is duckweed...notorious for use as a nutrient sink in aquariums. There's nothing special about my tanks at all it's the simplest setup possible and don't require misting humidifiers or even power for a few days if it fails as long as temps are not ridiculous White poster board around 3 sides upside down pots and light diffuser. Glass cut to fit the openings all but 1" on the back side and a little Saran Wrap right above my air stones to keep the water from splashing my pots. A temp/ RH gage and your off. However I must note this is a 55g tank and if you let the room temps rise to high during the day and don't get your temp differential with your light you will find it nearly impossible to get the tank to drop at night the water will hold your temps much higher than you want them. That looks like a great tank Cory. I love that as a dedicated Heli setup. For that temperature differential, I know..I used to have that problem with my big tanks (90gal each). To cool them, I used an air conditioner routed through a humidifier to cool the plants. It was very successful...although a pain to maintain. Every night I had to open the door to the tank, let in cool air from ac through the humidifier output.
|
|
|
Post by cory on Aug 22, 2014 5:34:35 GMT -5
I like this setup. I have had power loss a few times for several days in a row and if I had been dependent on a humidifier.... It's a trade off really. I have grown my plants this way for a very long time. I don't have mold, fungus or any issues like that. Bright light makes a world of difference and I welcome the colonies of fungus gnats my plants are hungry lol. Problem is I never have those either and end up having to feed them myself. Any setup I have ever made regardless of size or how awesome I wanted it to look I always considered power outage. Something that can go wrong always will lol
|
|
|
Post by vraev on Aug 23, 2014 1:22:03 GMT -5
I like this setup. I have had power loss a few times for several days in a row and if I had been dependent on a humidifier.... It's a trade off really. I have grown my plants this way for a very long time. I don't have mold, fungus or any issues like that. Bright light makes a world of difference and I welcome the colonies of fungus gnats my plants are hungry lol. Problem is I never have those either and end up having to feed them myself. Any setup I have ever made regardless of size or how awesome I wanted it to look I always considered power outage. Something that can go wrong always will lol That sounds great man. I notice that CPs tend to be a lot tougher than orchids on term of fungus susceptibility. I recently started getting fungus gnats, real annoying. I think fungus gnats are great if you have sundews. I have none... so it makes it hard. They proliferate like crazy. Oh yes...I certainly know about failure preparation. Things definitely go wrong if they can. But smaller tanks are hence easier to maintain than bigger ones.
|
|
|
Post by paulkoop on Aug 23, 2014 1:24:03 GMT -5
Yah used to have slot if knats in my orchid pots. No longer tho i float a large capensis around in my grow spaces every week
|
|
|
Post by vraev on Aug 23, 2014 14:45:27 GMT -5
touche good sir. Bluefin is 200$ + Kessils are 399$ ea if you get a s m o k i n deal. Nolan...i got a teaser....I got a new light for this smaller tank...the highest end/price I have spent on a single fixture. Should be in next week. A lot of cool things you can do with it. More about it later.
|
|
|
Post by ng on Aug 23, 2014 15:04:25 GMT -5
I cant wait geeeeeheeee! I highly appreciate the lighting :-D
|
|
|
Post by canuk1w1 on Aug 23, 2014 15:17:40 GMT -5
Do tell...
|
|
|
Post by vraev on Aug 23, 2014 16:28:26 GMT -5
Ho ho....this needs/demands a video... not even just pics... and you guys have to wait to see it. in the meanwhile I need to find a stand for this tank as well... not to mention a mount for the fixture. PM me if U want to know which one right now.
|
|
|
Post by vraev on Sept 19, 2014 1:40:33 GMT -5
A very exciting update for me. I hate making a mess at my parents house. So I am excited to finally clean up the second tank....which honestly I never thought I would ever get. But a gift certificate that had to be used compelled me to get one. But thats already done... here is my newest aquistion that I just got today. I was looking high and low for a good deal on this. Finally found a used one and I love it. Love the clean look There they are side by side Closeup on the tank on its new pedestal. Time to start a major job to finish the interior. I have some crazy idea which has a lot of chance for failure...but if it works, it will be the exact look I wanted to achieve for a long long while. Love the lines..hahahha And there we go, as it stands now. I major major tech update will be coming. I really can't wait to see it myself in action. cheers V
|
|