FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

They sell the Repti Cooler on Amazon. You could buy and if it does not work you have 30 days to return. No need to save the box as they prefer you return without.

I like the IKEA cabinet. Might be a good cabinet for my Neps I was thinking of not growing any longer.

alecStewart1 wrote: ↑Wed Sep 20, 2023 6:30 pmHere's the IKEA cabinet I have, by the way.

The Rudsta has a cult like following in the Reddit Ikea Greenhouse group. It's a good setup.

alecStewart1 wrote: ↑Wed Sep 20, 2023 6:30 pmI also found that some people put frozen water bottles in their terrariums to drop the night time temp. Is that really all that effective?

It depends on how many water bottles you use, where you place them, and the size of the cabinet. It can work. Fans over the frozen bottles work fine. But I would suspect you need closer to gallons in size for a Rudsta, over liters. But just be prepared because you can't go on vacation, unless you find someone who wants to take over that nightly, and morningly, chore.

I've seen some people that put the plants every night into a cooler with a few water bottles. I think that works better, overall.

Keep in mind that I don't know anyone that has done this for an extended period of time. For obvious reasons.

alecStewart1 wrote: ↑Wed Sep 20, 2023 6:30 pmI also found this but who knows if that actually works as advertised.

It does, to some extent. It's an evaporative cooler. Works best in low humidity environments. It's also sometimes called a "swamp cooler." If you go to Walmart and see the cheap $15 "coolers" you can put on your desk, that's what they are. They are effective enough that industrial size ones are used in greenhouses. But they're pretty large, use a large amount of water and electricity, and work best in already dry climates.

alecStewart1 wrote: ↑Wed Sep 20, 2023 6:30 pm I'm having a hard time finding something a little more compact to cool off a cabinet.

That's because it doesn't exist.

It's the biggest hurtle to keeping ultra-highlanders for the average grower.

You've probably looked at all of the available options, but as I mentioned above, you have to look at your limitations in budget, diy ability, and space.

Of the options I've seen discussed:
1. Water bottles - cheap, but very labor intensive, useful for small spaces.
2. Swamp coolers - cheap, but not very effective. can probably drop an area a few degrees, but if you have a humidifier going not likely.
3. Peltier coolers - not too expensive, but not very effective. can probably drop an area a few degrees.
4. Small AC unit - not really cheap, but plug and play. can drop a cabinet to almost any night temp you want. but uses alot of electricity, space, and noise.
5. Water cooled radiator fan - depending on the water temp, can work fairly well to drop down to the 60's. But water isn't cheap.
6. Glycol cooled radiator fan - not cheap, but low on labor intensity, uses a good amount of space though.
7. Keep something other than an ultra-highlander.

Hope that helps.

specialkayme wrote: ↑Thu Sep 21, 2023 10:54 am 7. Keep something other than an ultra-highlander.

I think that's the solution for now, haha.

Luckily the most highlander thing I have is that N . robcantleyi x hamata. The N. ramispina seems to be more of a "just a smidge" highlander. The N. naga x mira is also one you'd think is a bit more finnicky about cooler night temps, but it seems to be fine if it's 70 or below.

So really I think I'll wait and see if I need to do anything. The N. ampullaria, Ventrata, maxima and complex lowlander hybrid could all go outside in a shady spot during the spring and summer, potentially fall, too. As long as I can use a humidity tray or some way to keep excess water near them to bump up humidity around them. It's winter that's the issue, and I'm interested in keeping some orchids so maybe I just need a Milsbo cabinet to keep some of the Nepenthes alongside the orchids.

But simply needing more space in the form of a Milsbo cabinet is a biiiiit of a ways in the future. Good bit of information gathered here, though.