Contemplating a better setup

[jimscott]

The heated fishtank works fairly well but I don't think the humidity is high enough for some the Petiolaris Complex plants.

What I'd like to do is get a vessel that is about half the height and have my heater in a glass Prego jar, placed in the back center, with the bottom couple inches being covered with saturated LFS. Then I place the pots on / in the LFS. Does anybody do anything similar?

 

[dking]

hi jimscott
ive got my lowlanders in a 35 gal with 4 or so inches of water and 2 submersible heaters set to 85F. my temps are riding in the high 80's low 90's during the day when the lights are on and low 70's at night. im getting humidity that stays above 80% right now because my fan broke. but even with a little 2 inch fan going 5 min an hour it stayed above 70%. when i first started this tank i tried to put a heater in a jar at the center of the tank. its a lot cleaner. unfortunatly i wasnt able to get eneough heat or humidity from that setup. ive sense thought about adding an air pump with one of those bubble stones would have helped with the humidity but the saturated lfs would take care of that. i think heat would be the problem but that could probably be solved with a seed mat under the tank.
good luck with the new setup.
darren

 

[jimscott]

How open or sealed was your setup? Did you have LFS in and among your pots?

 

[Finch]

I always had my plants in a aquarium and kept it covered with glass, making the gap smaller and larger depending on how the conditions and humidity was.

But they were not Petiolaris Complex dews

I just felt like adding something because I never seem to have anything to say here anymore.

 

[jimscott]

I brought home inch thick pieces of styrofoam to emplace atop of my plastic DVD holders, in the fishtank setup. The idea in mind is to prop the plants up a little higher; provide a smooth surface for the pots; maximize the surface area for plants, and minimize evaporation.

This morning I took a chance on repotting the D. kenealleyi's. Turns out there are 3 plants in there. I'm sure I set them back a bit, but hopefully they won't totally react. I might do the same with a pot that has 4 D. ordensis seedlings. I also draped Saran Wrap over the back portion of the tank, in the hopes that will preserve some humidity, temperature, and cut down on evaporation. For the moment I am leaving front exposed.

 

[Brokken]

Jim: Do keep in mind that petiolaris may just be going dormant right now. If so, don't mess with them until they come back in spring time. My setup consists of something similar to DKING's and they were doing fine - up until recently when all the leaves have started to wilt - presumably because of the lower winter temperatures. Maybe it's just a part of its natural cycle?

 

[jimscott]

I've seen dormancy for D. paradoxa, ordensis, and lanata. None of what I have are exhibiting that. I just struggle with falconeris and kenealleyi's. I placed another piece of Saran Wrap over the light, covering the front of the tank. The one side is open, so I don't have a completely sealed environment. Now I just have to leave them alone!

 

[Brokken]

I'm just offering my own experience. I grow falconeri very succesfully in a setup practically identical to that of DKing. Of course, your milleage may vary.

 

[jimscott]

How does he grow them?

 

[Brokken]

A large terrarium in which you have a pool of water heated by a fishtank heater. Above this, you have eggcrate, and above this a layer of sphagnum. Works fantastic for me and you can see the results on my d. falconeri:

 

[Grey Moss]

Wow, thats a great falconeri. What else in in there?

 

[Brokken]

Wow, thats a great falconeri. What else in in there?

Cephalotus and a few lowland nephs such as gracilis & ampullarias.