Date: Mon, 29 Mar 1999 07:00:49 +0000 From: Paul Temple <Paultemple@ecologycal.demon.co.uk> To: cp@opus.hpl.hp.com Message-Id: <aabcdefg993$foo@default> Subject: Re: raising humidity
Thugh ***not*** a Nepenthes grower I can suggest two ways of raising humidity that may be of interest (though I suggest
Nep growers will be more experienced on exactly what Nep growers should do).
Cheap Method: If you can arange a self refilling reservoir of water inside your tank, add an airstone connected to a
pump, as seen in any sdecent aquarium containing fish. The minute bubbles burst releasing minute amounts of water into
the air and the air inside the bubbles is also saturated. It should help.
Expensive Method: Buy a humidifier - they now come in relatively small
sizes - and use it to pump clouds of saturated air into the tank at
regular intervals. You can buy sealed humidistats to measure humidity
and switch humidifier on/off but make sure the end of the sensor is not
exposed as it will otherwise rust almost instantly. Humidistats that
are accurate to even 5% are relatively costly. Cheaper way is to attach
a burst timer. This is a timer that allows you to set an on time
duration of several seconds or even minutes and a repeat cycle that
switches it on whenever you want, e.g. once every 5 minutes, once an
hour, etc. By experimenting, you can decide how often to switch it and
for how long.
Growers of really difficult plants realise that air movement is often critical for success. I recommend the addition of
a fan. Buy this from any computer spares supplier - the fans measure about 5cm sqaure (2 square inches) and can be
screwed into place or even stuck using silicon glue (the sort they make aquariums with). You'll need a low voltage
supply to power it and a time clock to switch it on/off. Moving the air every hour or two helps. Of course, cloud
forest orchids need all this and more (extra U/V light) so if in a real fix, try finding a friend who grows cloud forest
orchids.
In case anyone wonders, the original request for help prompted this but
I guess I wrote it more for general interest, especially for those of us
who feel strangely drawn to growing epiphytic CP's - the hardest of all
to grow in my experience. (More experienced reports on the subject of
humidity in confined areas would be well received!)
Regards
Paul
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : Tue Jan 02 2001 - 17:31:56 PST