Anyone w/Inexpensive Misting System Plans?
Comments (90)
hostalavista
15 years agolcdc59
15 years agoRelated Discussions
Inexpensive indoor/outdoor system design
Comments (3)Thanks for the feedback shark, I am using the heavy duty cups because I will be using gravel in them. I will be growing pepper plants that will be pretty top heavy. The holes in the styrofoam top were cut a bit tight and the final fit was acheived by rotating the cups in the hole until they sit flush to the cover and remain tight in the hole. But, yes, the drain pipe strainers are about $3.50 each. I plan to use styrofoam cups as a liner in the strainers with the bottoms cut out and the walls of the cup perforated with 1/4" holes. I chose gravel because it drains very fast and plan to flood the unit at 2 hour intervals for 15 minnutes. My pump is a 400 GPH unit, but with a 5 foot head, it is derated to about 150 GPH. With a 20 gallon nutrient tank, the nutrients should cycle completly through the systems about 2X. I am close to getting the empty system (no plants) up and running to check out the actual operation. I found my pump at HARBOR TOOLS and the cost was about $30 dollars. (www.harborfreigt.com). My timer is an OMRON HSL-A. It has 2 independent 15 amp programable timers. I will be adding more pictures soon. chuck...See Moreoutdoor intermittent mist system - cover it or not?
Comments (1)You will want good air circulation so Plastic/plexiglass will interfere with this I would use "shade cloth" it will filter the light. permit circulation & still keep the humidity high........See MorePropagation using a mist system with poor humidity control.......
Comments (4)Summer time high heat causes plants to stress out in the GH resulting in insect invasions; one must be on constant guard. Heat and lack of air circulation is also the cause of propagation failure. Do you use at least a 50% shade cloth in the summer; have circulating fans/exhaust system? One inexpensive system I've seen for containing mist is to place clear plastic shower curtains, just as one might see in the bathroom, around the mist bench to contain moisture, yet allow some air circulation without blowing the cuttings away. Unless you have a water wall in your GH and shade cloth you may have to abandon propagation there during the brutal summer months especially if your GH has western exposure. Another system may be an inexpensive propagation set up under shade trees outside where temperatures are more moderate, just as the person above suggested. Do you keep a notebook recording details, successes and failures? Do you have a set up for min/max temperatures in your GH?...See MoreMisting System Frustrations!
Comments (33)Ok, first of all, the vivarium hardscape is awesome!! You have such a good foundation for adding epiphytes. Now, I am *assuming* that the background is made from expandable foam with coco bedding siliconed over it. In that case, you are set(if your background is different than this let me know). All you need to do is buy some stoloneforous bromeliads. Basically, they are broms that grow from sticks. The best type to use for vivs are the miniature neoregelia types. All you do...it's so easy...you just clean off the brom, stick its stolon (stick) into the expandable foam, and keep the center of the plant filled with water. Good beginner broms: neo fireball, neo superball, and any other mini neo species. Go to www.tropiflora.com, click on the "cargo report" and you're in bromeliad paradise. Bromeliads are very hardy. They can take a beating and it's hard to kill them - just water them a few times a week so that their centers stay filled with a little water. Now, for your lighting situation, why are you using actinic bulbs!? Those are for saltwater aquariums. They give off a weird looking blue light. My advice: use between 5400K and 6800K lights (basically light that mimics sunlight). As for the heat issue, just shoot for tons of ventilation inside of the light hood. Vents, fans, anything to move air through. Just be sure that you're not sucking out the nice humid air inside your vivarium. Hope this helps. Danny...See More
Jon 6a SE MA
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10 years agoBradybb WA-Zone8
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10 years agoDon't have any plans on paper, but I'm not sure if any are really needed! I built this homemade misting box years ago and have rooted thousands of plants in it.. with fantastic success. In a nutshell, it's simply a wooden frame that I covered with some scrap corrugated roofing panels. The bottom is made of hardware cloth for ventilation, and it has a front 'flap' made of plastic that flips up for access. The frame itself cost me nothing.. construction site dumpsters are a great source for wood and other materials, and the roofing material was found on the side of the road being thrown out by an owner who had just redone his patio.
The misting system itself consists of an automatic timer, 150 mesh filter, some 1/4" tubing, a few "T" connectors and 4 misting tips (foggers). The timer is an older Melnor 3060, which hooks up directly to a hose bib and has a great misting cycle (on for 2 minutes, off for 10, repeat). Uses two AA batteries so no electricity is required.. batteries will last a full season. I believe it was about $20 at the Borg when I bought it years ago. I also purchased a roll of 'mister landscaper' 1/4 tubing and a pack of assorted fittings (connectors, "T" fittings, elbows, etc..) for the plumbing portion. The filter is actually part of the fitting needed to convert from the 3/4" hose connection to a 1/4" barbed connection and it includes a removable 150 mesh screen filter. The misting tips are DIG 8810BB/8825BB foggers that run at about 0.5GPH at 35psi. You can pick up a 5-pack for about $4 at the Borg. I have one tip at each corner of the box, up at the top and facing slightly downwards and towards the middle for full coverage.
I built the box big enough to accept 3 standard flats with a little room around the edges. The system could really be made any size that you like, and the only real difference would be in the number of misting tips needed. The total cost for the system was around $40 and a little bit of construction time and sweat. My only problem so far has been that the fogger tips tend to get clogged fairly quickly.. we are on well water so I attribute this to mineral buildup at the orifice (which is quite small). They need to be replaced at least once a season, but fortunately are not that expensive.
Cheers,
Brad
Bradybb WA-Zone8
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