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Waterproofing Grow Space

lizasaur

Charlatan
So, old news aside, I have my own room now.
And it has a bookshelf that's built into the wall.
And I've just DREAMED about putting a small collection of HL plants there (helis, cephs, a few HL neps and dews) for months before I moved in, cause I knew I'd be in here someday.
Anyway, I thought the entire space was laminated, but just the shelves are. The walls, afaik, are metal with a thin layer of plaster and paint over them. Not like it matters- I can't be damaging the paint job or any part of this house, ya know? Parents will K I L L me.

And because there's not a ton of space- the thinner, the better.
Could I just line the walls with a shower curtain? Would that work fine?

Thanks for the suggestions!
 
Easiest thing I can come up with is to measure the space and make or buy a fishtank that will fit (allowing at least 4" vertical height for lights) and then remove the front pane of glass on the tank and put in a pair of sliding glass doors. I can help you with the tank building or modification project as can Jimmy (Uphwiz) we've both done sliding fronts. Lowes will cut your glass for you if you tell them the size panes you need (they sell panes up to 30" x 36") so all you really need is masking tape and aquarium silicone to seal the edges and Goop glue in the sliding glass track.

The other way would be to get some marine epoxy for coating boats and paint the interior surfaces of the space with it several layers thick and let it cure (very volatile chemical stink) and affix some sort of glass front over the opening, a glass lid and some lighting. I have not done a plywood & epoxy tank before because the epoxy is so toxic I feel more comfortable working with glass and silicone.

As far as cooling it goes I use a powerful PC fan to blow cold air from the window/outside the window into ducting joined with an ultrasonic humidifier's output and then into the tanks but you live in FL so... is it possible to grow HL plants there ??? Maybe if you run the AC 24/7 and keep the tank well misted? LOL
 
I thought about the glass but that'd be a total pain in the arse.
See, the shelves are adjustable, so as plants grow, I could adjust the shelving appropriately. Glass would require that I pick a height and I'm stuck with it, and then cutting around the shelving and the dips of the support bars would be next to impossible, I think.

Strong chemical odors also wouldn't be tolerated. I'm not even allowed to bring my incense collection inside because the smell of them without being burned is overwhelming enough, apparently (which is soo not true! but sigh..parents and their good sense of smell) :(

Sealing off the front would be accomplished by plexiglass cabinet-style doors, or by affixing the zippered front of my old "portable" greenhouse over the area.
There would be computer fans. And lots of misting.

And LOL, yes :) We've got a beautiful thing called A/C, and my room remains mid 70s during the day and dips into the high 60s some nights. That's during the summer- the temp drop at night will be far greater come "it's so cold I need to wear my jeans" season ;).

I guess I could make two terrariums as you described and stack them though, as a last resort.
 
if you do as swords said and get the glass cut to size you would be more able to get the perfect fit, unless the pre made tanks out there are already a good fit.
its not all that hard, have you checked out my custom build thread, any questions , and Im sure I or swords will be able to talk you through the process.
http://www.terraforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=121931.
there are a few pics missing from the thread, but if you need to see them i can reload them, I keep moving older pics off the forum to make more space, though I do have pretty much all the space i need now LOL.
 
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