So I have a plant rack set up in my apartment. It has the standard 4' wide T5/8s, wireframe shelf, with the plants being about 4-8" away from the lights. (Smallest pots are 8" away, my neps gets closer to 2-4ish.
All sides of the rack including top and bottom are covered in tinfoil to maximize reflection, with the front having a space blanket (Mylar sheet) instead (so it's easier to lift to get into them). There are no fans, and the thermostat is steady at about 90F-95F.
Lights are on from 7 AM till 11 PM (16 hours) using a timer, but I can adjust this at will. I've been considering moving them outside for the summer, as it's nice out and I do have a small amount of space at my apartment complex.
Everything's dying. Some slower than others, but it appears that everything in the rack is undergoing a slow death, or at the very least "isn't happy"(tm).
I've checked the water, it's 75-80ppm, so in another 3 months or so I'll want to replace my filter, but that's probably not it. I haven't updated my lights in a very long while, so it might just be lights going bad after a time, but I would be surprised if it was that, too.
Symptoms:
* Neps turning yellow and brown in spots and lines, sending out deformed pitchers. They've also got the occasional "red dot" patch on some leaves, but this has stopped as of late.
* Sundews dying back, but sending up constant new growth. My D. Giant is sending out flower stalks nonstop this month, 3 or 4 at a time (I fed him last month). No dew on most, but the pygmies and filiformis are pretty happy.
* Biggest Ping. Gigantea wilting and turning yellow on the edges, but sending out new growth. Smaller pings doing fine with one exception (he dun exploded).
* Dunecraft container with LFS in it had the LFS turn yellow as well -- this was kinda the last straw.
The first sign was dieback in the big drainless rectangular pot I had, making me assume that it was mineral buildup or bad soil or something -- that container is basically what scraps I had left of soils, mixed together and then a hodgepodge of plants thrown in. But only the sundews died back (although the random pitcher plant someone gifted me locally has never done very well), and literally everything that did has sent up massive amounts of new growth and/or came back from roots. But then the problems spread to my cape sundew (mass dieback, new growth stunted and dewless), and my biggest pings.
I'm assuming it's heat given that the Pygmies are doing fine still, and they like it a bit hot. But it could be decaying soil, bad lights, bad water, or even tiny bugs -- I noticed my pygmies and pings had a small dusting a little itty bitty bugs, as well as the bottom of the rack, but that appears to have stopped.
What is an appropriate temperature to aim for? I took off the "lid" of the rack, it lets a little light out but also, in theory, heat. I could take off a side and place a fan up to get some air circulation in. I have no problems with mold although some alge continues to grow in one pot and the sundew's deep saucer.
Edit: Addendum: I just checked the temperatures, after an hour of being off with the "lid" having been removed, its down to 80 in there.
tl;dr: 90-95F for a grow rack. Too hot?
All sides of the rack including top and bottom are covered in tinfoil to maximize reflection, with the front having a space blanket (Mylar sheet) instead (so it's easier to lift to get into them). There are no fans, and the thermostat is steady at about 90F-95F.
Lights are on from 7 AM till 11 PM (16 hours) using a timer, but I can adjust this at will. I've been considering moving them outside for the summer, as it's nice out and I do have a small amount of space at my apartment complex.
Everything's dying. Some slower than others, but it appears that everything in the rack is undergoing a slow death, or at the very least "isn't happy"(tm).
I've checked the water, it's 75-80ppm, so in another 3 months or so I'll want to replace my filter, but that's probably not it. I haven't updated my lights in a very long while, so it might just be lights going bad after a time, but I would be surprised if it was that, too.
Symptoms:
* Neps turning yellow and brown in spots and lines, sending out deformed pitchers. They've also got the occasional "red dot" patch on some leaves, but this has stopped as of late.
* Sundews dying back, but sending up constant new growth. My D. Giant is sending out flower stalks nonstop this month, 3 or 4 at a time (I fed him last month). No dew on most, but the pygmies and filiformis are pretty happy.
* Biggest Ping. Gigantea wilting and turning yellow on the edges, but sending out new growth. Smaller pings doing fine with one exception (he dun exploded).
* Dunecraft container with LFS in it had the LFS turn yellow as well -- this was kinda the last straw.
The first sign was dieback in the big drainless rectangular pot I had, making me assume that it was mineral buildup or bad soil or something -- that container is basically what scraps I had left of soils, mixed together and then a hodgepodge of plants thrown in. But only the sundews died back (although the random pitcher plant someone gifted me locally has never done very well), and literally everything that did has sent up massive amounts of new growth and/or came back from roots. But then the problems spread to my cape sundew (mass dieback, new growth stunted and dewless), and my biggest pings.
I'm assuming it's heat given that the Pygmies are doing fine still, and they like it a bit hot. But it could be decaying soil, bad lights, bad water, or even tiny bugs -- I noticed my pygmies and pings had a small dusting a little itty bitty bugs, as well as the bottom of the rack, but that appears to have stopped.
What is an appropriate temperature to aim for? I took off the "lid" of the rack, it lets a little light out but also, in theory, heat. I could take off a side and place a fan up to get some air circulation in. I have no problems with mold although some alge continues to grow in one pot and the sundew's deep saucer.
Edit: Addendum: I just checked the temperatures, after an hour of being off with the "lid" having been removed, its down to 80 in there.
tl;dr: 90-95F for a grow rack. Too hot?
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