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Ventilation

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Ventilation

By Erik Pottas
Posts:  100
Joined:  Wed Oct 24, 2018 4:13 pm
-  Wed Nov 21, 2018 12:14 pm #325442
I have a new terrarium thats sealed and has (under the doors) tiny air holes and all my plants stand in a tray of water theres lots of humidity and they grow with three grow lights (6500k) and is doing well but should I give them ventilation? Because its about 30 degrees celcius or less in there. So do they need ventilation? Is it fine when I turn the lights of and go to sleep and then open them up again?
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The air holes
The air holes
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Re: Ventilation

By Hungry Plants
Posts:  1134
Joined:  Mon Nov 28, 2016 2:41 am
-  Wed Nov 21, 2018 1:42 pm #325448
You want air movement in there or you will get moldy. Get a 40mm PC fan. You can wire it to an AC adaptor. I hot glued a magnet to mine them put another on the outside and it holds it up well.

Re: Ventilation

By Erik Pottas
Posts:  100
Joined:  Wed Oct 24, 2018 4:13 pm
-  Wed Nov 21, 2018 1:46 pm #325449
I have a small fan like this. Will ill it work? Also where should I put it? Inside the terrarium?
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Re: Ventilation

By sbrooks
Posts:  748
Joined:  Tue May 22, 2012 3:33 pm
-  Wed Nov 21, 2018 1:55 pm #325450
As long as they have the doors open a bit during the light cycle, it they should be fine.

However, if you're in the Western Hemisphere, your CPs should be on a dormancy cycle of 10 hrs. or less of light per day, and temps below 15 C if possible. 30 C is probably not going to cut it. Unless you're skipping dormancy.


I would be a little concerned with your light sitting directly on the plastic on top. The light might overheat. I can't tell if it is supported by something other than the plastic, but if not, the heat may eventually degrade the plastic, causing the light to fall through.

A small oscillating fan outside of the box would be OK as well, just something to help prevent stagnant air and dissipate heat.

Re: Ventilation

By Erik Pottas
Posts:  100
Joined:  Wed Oct 24, 2018 4:13 pm
-  Wed Nov 21, 2018 4:31 pm #325457
Its supported by a hook

Re: Ventilation

By Erik Pottas
Posts:  100
Joined:  Wed Oct 24, 2018 4:13 pm
-  Wed Nov 21, 2018 7:34 pm #325460
Will it be better leaving it open in the night time With a fan? Because in the day when the lights are on thers more humidity.

Re: Ventilation

By Doublebass1985
Posts:  293
Joined:  Tue Aug 28, 2018 10:36 pm
-  Wed Nov 21, 2018 8:15 pm #325461
Even if it is supported by a hook I would cut holes around the lights and not have them directly on saran wrap. It looks like the weight is on the saran wrap and not the hooks even if it is held up by a hook. Just for safety and possible fire damage I would cut holes immediately around those lights bro. You don't need high humidity to grow these plants. They might grow slightly faster with higher humidity ,but it's not that noticeable and especially not worth the risk of any safety or fire hazard.

Re: Ventilation

By Doublebass1985
Posts:  293
Joined:  Tue Aug 28, 2018 10:36 pm
-  Wed Nov 21, 2018 11:01 pm #325471
Erik Pottas wrote:Will it be better leaving it open in the night time With a fan? Because in the day when the lights are on thers more humidity.

I would think at night the humidity is higher because the lights can't evaporate any moisture when they are off. I wouldn't worry about humidity that's not a major factor when growing cp's. I would try to increase light intensity so your PAR rating is significantly boosted. Are your lights CFL or LED? You might want to raise the plants up a little higher or lower the heighth of the lights whichever way is more comfortable and easier for you. Really the only 2 important factors you need is adequate lighting and clean water. After those needs are met you can worry about fixing the humidity levels plus having higher humidity is going to require some kind of air circulation so mold can't grow easily. That little handheld fan you got there is probably about the perfect amount of air movement that you need in your tank. Not too overpowerful or under ,but just about the right CFM for your setup.

Re: Ventilation

By 1cashew
Posts:  190
Joined:  Wed Jul 05, 2017 11:45 am
-  Thu Nov 22, 2018 1:13 am #325478
Doublebass
YOU ARE THE MAN!!!

Re: Ventilation

By Erik Pottas
Posts:  100
Joined:  Wed Oct 24, 2018 4:13 pm
-  Thu Nov 22, 2018 8:42 am #325499
I did put my plants higher then I installed a self watering system with thin ropes. Will it get enough water?
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Re: Ventilation

By Doublebass1985
Posts:  293
Joined:  Tue Aug 28, 2018 10:36 pm
-  Thu Nov 22, 2018 1:02 pm #325503
Erik Pottas wrote:I did put my plants higher then I installed a self watering system with thin ropes. Will it get enough water?

You mean your hoping the rope will act as a wick and supply each pot with sufficient water? That won't work sorry. Are you able to check on your plants everyday? If so just manually water them from top. Or put a piece of wood down in the bottom of your terrarium and then put the tray that the pots sit in on top of the wood.

Re: Ventilation

By Doublebass1985
Posts:  293
Joined:  Tue Aug 28, 2018 10:36 pm
-  Thu Nov 22, 2018 1:13 pm #325504
Get this dude instead of making things more complicated than they need to be. Hell you can even make them out of anything that's a few inches wider circumference than your pot. That will solve all your watering problems.
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Btw it doesn't have to be round it can be square, octagon, triangle as long as its bigger than the pot
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Re: Ventilation

By roarke
Posts:  2415
Joined:  Sun Nov 08, 2009 3:11 am
-  Fri Dec 21, 2018 9:26 pm #326939
Erik Pottas wrote:I did put my plants higher then I installed a self watering system with thin ropes. Will it get enough water?
The rope is made out of polyester or something else ? It is inserted from below in half way in the pot ?

Re: Ventilation

By bananaman
Posts:  2059
Joined:  Sat Jan 01, 2011 2:54 am
-  Sat Dec 22, 2018 4:38 pm #326980
sbrooks wrote:However, if you're in the Western Hemisphere, your CPs should be on a dormancy cycle of 10 hrs. or less of light per day, and temps below 15 C if possible. 30 C is probably not going to cut it. Unless you're skipping dormancy.
Erik is in South Africa in the southern hemisphere — now is summer and his plants should not be dormant right now.

I doubt they’ll get enough water from that rope — it looks like nylon or polyester, neither of which is particularly absorbent.

IMO, the biggest advantage of higher humidity is that you don’t need to water as frequently because evaporation is slower. But it does come with downsides, like everyone else has explained.

Erik — I wouldn’t set the light directly on that plastic wrap: it’s a fire risk and they might break through and fall onto your plants!

As long as they have some ventilation, it’s fine. You don’t necessarily need strong air movement — just enough that it doesn’t get stagnant. Even passive ventilation with a gap along the top helps a fair amount. Air warmed by the lights rises and is able to escape. It’s not perfect, but it’s better than nothing.

30°C is fine for all of those plants in the summer, but they won’t want that all year.

Re: Ventilation

By Morgan Lee
Posts:  1
Joined:  Wed Aug 11, 2021 7:36 pm
-  Thu Aug 12, 2021 5:27 am #386519
I made a watering system for my plants when I had to leave home. However, I left the ventilator on so that it constantly ventilated the room. When I came back everything was fine.
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