....Well, after plenty of guidance from Swords regarding construction and lighting, as well as advice from Tony P., I just finished a new lowland Nepenthes grow chamber...here's a pic....
The front is a storm window (approx. 36" x 48") screwed into a frame of 2x3's and reinforced with L-brackets. The enclosure has a depth of approximately 30". The sides are composed of white waterproof wall surround, and the bottom is 3/4" plywood that has been coated three times with polyurethane and allowed to dry until no odor was present. The top is 1/4" plexiglass. Lighting is as follows: 3 Lights of America 65W compact flourescents (500W equivalent each), along with 2 normal twin tube 48" shop lights placed in the front and back (not in photo). Non-toxic waterproof caulk was used to seal up most seams.
Not counting the lighting, the total building cost was approx. $140...and $50 of that was for the plexiglass. I'll probably just use white plastic crates stacked in some sort of arrangement, along with white flourescent light diffuser to create tiered shelving. Hopefully, anyone who is contemplating a similar project can take some ideas away from this. Now comes the fun part...filling it with plants!
Tom
The front is a storm window (approx. 36" x 48") screwed into a frame of 2x3's and reinforced with L-brackets. The enclosure has a depth of approximately 30". The sides are composed of white waterproof wall surround, and the bottom is 3/4" plywood that has been coated three times with polyurethane and allowed to dry until no odor was present. The top is 1/4" plexiglass. Lighting is as follows: 3 Lights of America 65W compact flourescents (500W equivalent each), along with 2 normal twin tube 48" shop lights placed in the front and back (not in photo). Non-toxic waterproof caulk was used to seal up most seams.
Not counting the lighting, the total building cost was approx. $140...and $50 of that was for the plexiglass. I'll probably just use white plastic crates stacked in some sort of arrangement, along with white flourescent light diffuser to create tiered shelving. Hopefully, anyone who is contemplating a similar project can take some ideas away from this. Now comes the fun part...filling it with plants!
Tom