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By XenOxygen
Posts:  5
Joined:  Mon Oct 05, 2020 8:59 am
#369196
Hello everyone,

I have seen that in many photos, but I am looking forward to make a highland terrarium in wine cooler. I have found one, which is working on peltier device.
Few months ago, I was working in a laboratory and they were growing highland plants in the fridges with thermostat and it was working great.

What is the safest light source I can use in the fridge. I mean, just in case there will be cooler failture, lights start to overheat a lot and start a fire.

My second question is, is it worth it to make a nepenthes terrarium in a wine cooler? Because I havent found a lot of information about it.

Thanks!
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By Apollyon
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Posts:  1663
Joined:  Tue May 05, 2020 2:49 am
#369202
I am by no means an expert on creating highland chambers. That said, I would wager you would be looking for an LED panel. You probably don't want a light fixture with a bulky ballast, it takes up unnecessary space. I wouldn't necessarily say Yescom but something along those lines might suit your cause. That light is a thin panel, perhaps a half inch thick with a heat sink along the power cable. It makes it able to stay much cooler than my Mars Hydro, which has a thick metal ballast and projects a large amount of heat downwards from the bulbs. It is great for seed/seedlings but I wouldn't put my Nepenthes under them.

I think if you have the means and it is accessible to you and you want to do it, why not. I know people use temp controlled aquariums or build acrylic structures for high humidity plants. I guess it depends on how far you want to go for them. I get away with growing intermediates and a couple highlands inside with a weak temp dropoff. They're probably not going to look nearly as amazing as a plant that has its needs list met but they do form pitchers and they're low maintenance. I've seen some cool things but nepenethes can grow to be very large plants. When I see those structures I always wonder what the end game will be. Do they consistently cut the plant down when a node activates? Idk. I'm talking about the ones who grow massive species like Rajah or Macrophylla.
By XenOxygen
Posts:  5
Joined:  Mon Oct 05, 2020 8:59 am
#369203
Thank you for reply. I am using mars hydro for over a year for my lowland terrarium and they are growing great, but I would say it is heating too much to be inside a wine cooler.

Also my highland plants are size of XS and S and I think it will take years before they overgrow it, before they do, fridge will stop working anyway :D

I was thinking about setup like img below:

I am just wondering about fire hazard. As I said, just in case something happens with the fridge, lights will be heating and heating, is there a possibility of fire, when LEDS are heating maximum of 33°C in open space?
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By Z_Y
Posts:  177
Joined:  Wed Jun 24, 2020 10:19 pm
#369446
If the driver is located on the LED panel, then there is definitely a risk of a capacitor failing if the temperatures go up to 100C. Whether the enclosed space will reach that temperature is dependent on the LED wattage and insulation.

A good driver module should have internal temperature sensors that do thermal shutdown if something gets too hot, but you never know what features a driver has without looking at the part number or schematic. I heard Mars Hydro uses Meanwell Drivers, and they have a thermal shutdown page, but you have to check if the actual model used has this feature:
https://www.meanwelldirect.co.uk/glossa ... rotection/

IMO fire or not, without cooling an enclosed space can easily reach 35-40C and cook any plants inside.

I recommend a failsafe, such as a temperature monitor that will cut the mains power if it detects an abnormal temperature. Plants can survive fine in the dark for days, giving you time to come back to fix the issue.
Apollyon wrote:Do they consistently cut the plant down when a node activates? Idk. I'm talking about the ones who grow massive species like Rajah or Macrophylla.
I think those plants grow so slow that once it gets to the point of being too big you'll have plenty of time to figure out a solution. Plus if it outgrows a large terrarium, then the plant itself is probably worth so much money that you might as well invest in another bigger terrarium just for the plant :lol:
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By Apollyon
Location: 
Posts:  1663
Joined:  Tue May 05, 2020 2:49 am
#369451
Z_Y wrote: I think those plants grow so slow that once it gets to the point of being too big you'll have plenty of time to figure out a solution. Plus if it outgrows a large terrarium, then the plant itself is probably worth so much money that you might as well invest in another bigger terrarium just for the plant :lol:
:lol: True. I doubt they're thinking of what to do when those leaves get 2 feet long. They're probably just lobbing off the stem to propagate the plant. That'd keep it smaller as well. I'd love a macrophylla if I temp controlled a walk-in cooler and wanted to wait 20 years to see it in all its glory. Real talk though, I want one of them :lol: It'd be worth moving for.
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