What's new
TerraForums Venus Flytrap, Nepenthes, Drosera and more talk

Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

Plant rack upgrades!

DavyJones

Is ready to take this hobby to a whole new level
Per my previous thread about upgrading my plant rack, I thought I would go over some of my changes.

Old Setup
IMG_3776.jpg


Everybody out!
IMG_3779.jpg


Even Severus wanted to help!
severus.jpg


First update was per Av8tor1/Butch's suggestion. I could not afford new reflectors for my lights, but, I could afford a roll of mylar! Optically, I noticed a huge jump in the amount of light directed at the plants.

IMG_3827-1.jpg


Upgrade

IMG_3828-1.jpg


I am also now using a combination of "Daylight" and "Plant & Aquarium" T12 bulbs from GE.

Second update was to sort my nepenthes out by growing range, which I had not done before. Now all the lowlanders aren't mixed in the with highlanders. On the lowland rack, I filled the tray with about an inch of river gravel, and keep a pool of water in it to increase the humidity. I also enclosed this level with mylar to try and raise the humidity, which has worked. Depending on the temperature, the relative humidity in that chamber has now increased to 60-80%, which is making N. northiana very happy!

IMG_3892.jpg


Here is the lowlander rack.

It will be interesting to see how the lighting improvements affect growth, but in the "high humidity" level, I have noticed a great improvement in the growth of my lowlanders!!
 
OMG SNAKE NAMED SEVERUS, I UNDERSTAND AND LOVE IT!!! YOU ARE SOOOO EXTRA COOL!!! :laaa:

Also, everything looks totally amazing and really nice!! Well done!! :-D
 
. Even severous wanted to help!
Awesome snake name!
My milk snake's name is willow:lol:
Cool lowlander and highlander setup!
What is the bag doing over the pot? Is it for seeds?
 
No, thats the Heli I just received from Butch today. I'm trying it in different spots around the room to try and find someplace that gets light but isn't too warm. The pot on the bottom shelf with the saran wrap is some nepenthes seeds though.
 
Awesomesauce! I wasn't really aware you could grow neps out in the open like that.
 
Nice setup. You'll notice improvements with the mylar. I did the same thing to my t8 fixtures and got a nice boost in colors on the plants. I was an idiot though and made the mylar long enough to touch the metal ends of the florescent tubes..yeah plugged the light in too see the difference and I didn't realize I was touching the mylar. Zap! I got a painful reminder to make sure the mylar isn't too close to the connections haha.
 
How did you attach the Mylar to the fixture?

I have some 2mil Mylar, can it touch the bulb or would it melt or something?

Thanks
 
Back
Top