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Post by vraev on Apr 6, 2015 0:40:51 GMT -5
Looking good man. Damn! I miss my hamata, aristo and jambans. Very nice plants. Looking forward to seeing some more info on your new lighting and cooling system.
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Post by H2O on Apr 6, 2015 0:46:49 GMT -5
Looking great man! Makes me want to finish my later CP terrarium!
Love the Nepenthes aristolochioides the most.
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Post by Avery on Apr 17, 2015 23:43:32 GMT -5
Thanks to you two. Nepenthes aristolochioides is a pretty species. Here is a shot of my main terr. It shouldn't be long before these are crowding each other out. I'll have to do some pruning eventually. Don't mind the N. tenuis with spotty leaves. It's still adjusting to strong lighting. I may have been a little hasty. Nepenthes ventricosa, however, took it well. Nepenthes glabrata has been frozen in time for a long time, but the rest are adjusting/growing- Cool conditions, mist/humidity, strong air circulation (a little ventilation), mild fertilizer, and blasting lights. Ha. This is fairly new so the plants are still getting used to it, as am I. Terrariums are kind of a balancing act.  |
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Post by bradt on Apr 18, 2015 10:08:33 GMT -5
Looking great!
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Post by H2O on Apr 18, 2015 12:00:27 GMT -5
Looking great! You seem to have everything under control in this beautiful tank. You're going to need a bigger one soon  |
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Post by vraev on Apr 18, 2015 14:53:33 GMT -5
That is one spectacular tank Avery. Wow!! What is that piping at the right side background? Humidifier inlets? or piping to remove water from the bottom?
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Post by Avery on Apr 18, 2015 15:48:12 GMT -5
Thanks all! Vraev, that piping is actually a radiator that I soldered out of copper tubing. So far it's been working quite well. Next to my terrarium I have a small chest freezer with a large reservoir of coolant that I pump through the radiator with a small aquarium pump. It's controlled on a thermostat keeping the day temps no higher than 24C, and night temps around 10C- if all goes according to plan this will keep up all year long maintaining cool, stable temperatures. Behind the copper tubing is some aluminum screening that I cut and stuffed in there, figuring it would help with the dispersal of cool air- at night time the two small computer fans on the lower right hand side of the terrarium stay on, blowing air across the radiator, cooling the terrarium quite effectively. Having not much of a clue about radiators or this method of cooling, I tend to have to just "go for it" before I can get a good grasp on these types of things... Ha, for better or worse. That being said, I'm not sure what I would do different next time to make it more efficient- likely thinner tubing and more of it, keeping on with the zigzag type pattern. If anyone has any input or suggestions, I would love to hear them!! Also, there is no humidifier, just the Mistking system for a few minutes 3x a day (still finding the right amount). There is a large reservoir of water at the bottom of the tank, none of the plants or media touching it (except for a few Utricularia roots) that I just siphon out every couple of weeks. Here is the radiator after painting- it was all shiny copper prior to this:  |
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Post by vraev on Apr 18, 2015 15:54:49 GMT -5
wow. That looks so cool. I thought it was PVC. Sounds like you are getting some good results with it. Considering that summer will be coming soon, I am starting to think whether I should start making a change myself to device a cooling system myself. I know a bunch of people here have gotten and tried aquarium chillers to integrate successfully with radiators. I am thinking if that would be a more space efficient way than a chest freezer. Then I would have a CPU 3 fan radiator to blow cold air over the plants? Its still just ideas. I know this will be too big for my current tank. So I am already thinking if a tank upgrade is needed to continue my obsession.
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Post by Avery on Apr 18, 2015 16:08:14 GMT -5
I think that an aquarium chiller would be much more space efficient! I did get the freezer for $25 though, which was helpful because I blew all my money on lights... and plants, of course. Ha. And yes, the method you described above seems excellent! If I had realized that those CPU fan radiators were so readily available I might have gone that route.
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Post by vraev on Apr 18, 2015 16:53:13 GMT -5
But hey...the chest freezer is still an awesome thing. Many people incl some experts use chest freezers to grow their ultrahighland nepenthes villosa, rajah etc. That way you can focus plants that need that extra cold to keep them healthy.
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Post by lloyd on Apr 18, 2015 17:58:56 GMT -5
Amazing set-up
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Post by Maiden on Apr 18, 2015 19:59:55 GMT -5
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Post by bince on Apr 19, 2015 10:32:39 GMT -5
I just went through the whole thread and you have a great set up. I like all the updates. Thank you for sharing.
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Post by Avery on Apr 22, 2015 20:58:23 GMT -5
Thanks everyone. I've never had much growth from my Cephalotus, but here it is finally looking like it's about to take off. I've increased the lighting and lowered the temps, as well as provided more consistently damp conditions, so hopefully it'll actually do something for me. I divided it a while back and it's pushing out a few new growth points.  |
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Post by vraev on Apr 28, 2015 1:12:03 GMT -5
Looking good Avery.  |
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Mar 23, 2019 8:19:19 GMT -5
Mar 23, 2019 8:19:19 GMT -5
