# stolen ideas :)



## krazypara3165 (24 Oct 2013)

Like Andys thread (see pinned thread) ive decided to setup an emmersed grow box.

The idea of propagating my own plants grew on me and after seeing andys thread ive decided to do it myself 

The kit is an old pc server tower originally kitted out to grow..... lets say tomatoes. Anyway ive aquired it and put it to good use. It has a 60w cfl specifically designed for growning plants. It has fans that can be turned on if needed when the temprature gets too hot.

The benifit of this setup is that I dont need to rely on the sun so hopefully should see some reasonable results.

The plants are a mixture that I picked up from my lfs and one or two that were struggling in my tank.

Ive never done an emmersed grow so this is all a learning curve for me.

Anyhoo PICS!!


The plants.


The setup


----------



## krazypara3165 (24 Oct 2013)

This idea may be over before it starts...... i had it running for an hour without the fans on and it gets dangerously hot. Turned the fans on and it appears to keep it at a stable 25 degrees. However I would imagine that will be sacrificing the humidity? The leaves are already drying off a bit. Is this acceptable if the roots are still submerged? Might have to rethink the idea. If the plants are still ok when I finish work tomorrow ill keep things as they are. If not I will replace the plants and start off with a lower wattage bulb...


----------



## Michael W (24 Oct 2013)

Do you have a cover for the front? Or did you take it off just for photos? If you don't have one then do consider putting one on to keep the humidity up. I believe the light may be over kill, i've kept P Helferi, Staurogyne Repens and Ludwiga repens emersed before until I accidentally left the cling film off  I didn't have any lights over the setup but It got sufficient light from the window. I had misted quite often at the start but then held off misting after reading a thread because its more important to keep 100% humidity.


----------



## krazypara3165 (24 Oct 2013)

Yeah the covers on now, but theres an intake fan and an exit fan on to keep the temp down so I cant imagine the humidity staying high. I may get a lower wattage bulb in tomorrow that way I can turn the fans off. I take it the plants will dry out if I keep it running?


----------



## Andy Thurston (24 Oct 2013)

I stole the idea too.
I don't think this is over yet but just needs a little tweak
Maybe if you siliconed a perspex cover just below the fans and sealed the bottom half of the tower it would keep the humidity up for the plants
Did your mate stop growing tomatoes when they got too big? Lol


----------



## krazypara3165 (25 Oct 2013)

Its been running for an hour this morning and it seems temps are stable at 22 degrees and humidity is at 85% so im going to leave it on whilst im at work. Worst comes to worst it dries them out and I have to buy a few more pots of plants and a lower wattage bulb lol.

Haha my friend has moved in with his girlfriend now he has done away with it all. He used to grow dwarf variety lol


----------



## Edvet (25 Oct 2013)

Soooo.......they call m tomatoes nowadays


----------



## Mick.Dk (25 Oct 2013)

You can grow - I'd say most of, actually - the plants at a humidity of 85%.
Yes leaves will more often than not, dry out at transition..........the trick is to get new growth, that will then be acclimatized to the surroundings. Not as easy as it sounds, but defenitely not very difficult (to most species) either.
- with stem plants fx.......go for relatively old, thick stems. Remove all leaves - and wait for sideshoots to break. Those will be acclimatized.
Good luck.......it's an endless lot of fun..........
Mick.


----------



## krazypara3165 (25 Oct 2013)

cheers. theve started drying out a fair bit but i will keep it going over the weekend and observe. temp is touching 30 as ive had to turn the fans off to keep up humidity. going to go with a plan b this weekend and get a smaller pc from my friend apparently he has a smaller one which would be better as i could put in a lower wattage bulb and place it closer to the plants and i wouldnt need to run any fans. ill have to go out and spend more money on plants tho lol. :/


----------



## GreenNeedle (25 Oct 2013)

ITs a bit overkill IMO. When I had an emersed setup it was simply an old cupboard with 6 propogators in it. A single T8 bulb above each 3 and a single cheapo air pump from Wilko wired to 6 airstones. Worked really well. No heating, no fans, just ambient with propogators with lids on and a slight gap for airflow.






And if you want you can use your garden. wooden frame in the ground, line with poly, fill with compost, soak it and build a tent out of scrap:




Then throw something on the compost? Lets say Rotala Rotundifolia .....he, he. and a month later you have a field of it (Well 2ft x 3ft of it)




There isn't a huge need for over elaborating. the ambient temps in our houses is fine through the winter and summer. cheap propogators do the job and nowadays you can use LED crudely attached to shelves to make a very low power consumption.


----------



## krazypara3165 (25 Oct 2013)

cheers. ive acquired the other pc case which is smaller and more suitable. ive just got a 1300 lumen cfl bulb and im removing the fans as we speak. ive done a pretty good job of toasting the plants however ill move them into the new setup to see if they can recover.....


----------



## Andy Thurston (25 Oct 2013)

I'm liking the mini poly tunnel in the garden that might be a summer project next year


----------



## krazypara3165 (25 Oct 2013)

big clown i was thinking the same!


----------



## krazypara3165 (25 Oct 2013)

so...... here is the new setup.

its a smaller tower so should be easier to keep the humidity up. the bulb is a far less powerful one, however the plus side to this is that i can add another bulb if needed. i have also disconnected the fans and sealed most of the gaps. humidity is currently 85% and the temp is at 25 degrees. 



unfortunatly the plants have taken a battering. i shall leave them in there for a few days to see if they start to recover. if not i will simply replace them all.


----------



## krazypara3165 (27 Oct 2013)

Whats the best way of maintaining humidity? I can only seem to manage around 80%


----------



## Andy Thurston (27 Oct 2013)

Seal the bit with the plants in


----------



## fish fodder (30 Oct 2013)

I agree with the comment about over complicating things. I just use old containers with either a see through lid or cling film over the top


----------



## GreenNeedle (30 Oct 2013)

what you should remember is that humidity is nothing to do with humidity.  My indoor setups are in an unheated and almost unlighted  cupboard averaging 22 ambient virtually all year round.  The outdoor is obviously more variable but the key is more to do with sealing (or near to) the substrate are to the air section. the condensation needs to 'return' to the substrate or things get dry.  I don't spray anything but I do let a small amount of air into the setup.

The poly tunnel cost virtually zero.  scrap poly, scrap wood.  compost cost cheapo from poundsretchers.  The indoor stuff is old flouro lighting (once I updated to LED) with cheap propogators from Poundstretcher (think they were something like 3 for £4) and then a £5 air pump from wilko to feed the air stones.

Look at the Wabi Kusa and moss threads.  See results from window propogators with nothing added.  A few shelves in a cupboard with low light above will gain you a nursery


----------



## krazypara3165 (31 Oct 2013)

Quick update, it seems that the blitz in the earlier setup done a fair whack of damage and killed a lot of the plants off. However, even though the humidity only stays at around 70% underneath the dead hairgrass lots of new shoots have appeared and it seems as if some of the other plants are making a recovery. the crypts have long gone tho!


----------



## GreenNeedle (31 Oct 2013)

Just re-read my post above and should add I meant humidity is nothing to do with temperature (within reason.)


----------



## Andy Thurston (1 Nov 2013)

The plants create the humidity, thats why they dry out so fast if its not sealed properly, they lose all their moisture through the leaves into the air


----------

