my new grow room!

[ncclimber]

After a short absence while moving to my new house, I finally have the internet hooked back up! Oh the joys of moving. One benefit of moving was the ability to make a room especially for my orchids!! This is a work in progress currently, but here is my first shot at a grow room.

[Jmoney]

excellent! keep at it!

[Dana]

That looks wonderfull...when can i move in with you?

[Heather]

Cool! Lucky you!

[Paphraguy]

Looks very nice! Thanks for posting!

[Forrest]

very cool. I am moving my grow area to a similar setup. How many watts are those lights? How are you keeping things cool? How far away from the lights is your furthest plant and do you know how many foot candles it is recieving? Sorry for all the ?s, I have been trying do do all the research I can before I move my plants in.

[momokev]

Wow, that's impressive!

Lisa

[OrchidTraci]

That is am awesome set up! I'm feeling a bit jealous.

[ncclimber]

very cool. I am moving my grow area to a similar setup. How many watts are those lights? How are you keeping things cool? How far away from the lights is your furthest plant and do you know how many foot candles it is recieving? Sorry for all the ?s, I have been trying do do all the research I can before I move my plants in.

Forrest, the lights that I am using are a 400 watt switchable HID light with a full spectrum metal halide bulb for the bright growing plants, and a 4' florescent fixture with a 40 watt full spectrum tube and a 40 watt warm tube for the phals and my mottled leafed paphs. As far as cooling, with the three fans and humidifier that I have running, I have litte problem with tempature, however when it is going to be hot outside, I open the air conditioning vent a little, and increase the humidifiers output. The farthest plant from the hid light is about 3 1/2' while some of the stap leafed paphs and phrags are just within 3' of the light with no visable yellowing or burning after 3 weeks. The closest plants ( Brassavola nedusa and a vanda) are reciving approx 3000 FC of light while most are recieving between 1,500 and 2,500 fc of light. However, the footcandle reading alone is not the factor that is most important for the growth and flowering. The levels of certain parts of the spectrum (reds and blues)are much more important than the specific foot candle reading. Hope this helps, let me know if you would like any other information.

[Heather]

Hey Matthew - thanks for all the info. May I ask? What type of room this is in your house you are growing in? I have a spare bedroom I am considering, but there are a few concerns with it.