Jeremiah's New Heli Grow Chamber

[Jeremiah Harris]

Hello all,

I just wanted to post a few photos of my newly setup Heliamphora grow chamber. A huge thank you goes to Butch for all the great advice to help me set this up similar to his.

Here is a great thread with advice from him.
http://www.terraforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=123304&page=2

I have been growing a lot of these plant for 5 years or more in my greenhouses but they really have never done a whole lot for me. Last winter I decided I would build a new grow chamber to really try and succeed with the genus. As we all know Butch grow the best looking Heliamphora around so I asked his advice.

My chamber is not 100% identical but I'm hoping it will do the trick.

The chamber is 2' x 4'. I'm using a 4' T5 8 bulb fixture that is on for 14 1/2 hours a day. At 6:30am my humidifier (Sunpentown SU2000) turns on at 7am one fan (120mm 800RPM S-Flex 33.5 CFM @ 8.7dBA.) turns on. The lights and the other fan come on at 7:30am everything then run all day. The temps seem to max out at 74F, at 9pm one fan and the lights shut off. The other fan then runs until 9:30 and cools the chamber to about 60F. At 10pm the humidifier then turns off but will come on for 1/2 an hour at midnight and 3am. The humidity durning the night stays at about 85% to 90%. Now that the chamber is full it stays at 75% at the far end of the chamber durning the day.

The chamber is surrounded on three sides with foam board with a reflective aluminum side facing the chamber. The viewing side is drop plastic that I will velcro to seal. There is nothing covering the top other then the lighting which covers just about everything other then a 1" gap at the opposite end then the fans. For the racks I use three Chrome Whitmor Supreme Small 3-Tier Shelves with lighting egg crate on the growing shelf.

I have only had it up and running for a few days now so I will have to add new photos as things progress.

Now for the photos...

Thanks
-Jeremiah-

 

[Nep Lover]

this looks pretty cool, i was thinking of setting something up just like this

 

[Jeremiah Harris]

I just added everything up and here was the price...

$200 Lighting Sun Blaze T5 48 - 4' -8 Lamp - Includes 6500deg K Bulbs
3 x $40 Chrome Whitmor Supreme Small 3-Tier Shelves
$10 foam backing
$6 2' tubing to go from the humidifier to the chamber
$65 Sunpentown SU-2000 Ultrasonic humidifier
2 x $15 Power Supply with 4 Pin Molex (2000mA)
2 x $10 Scythe S-FLEX 120mm Case Fan, 800RPM, Model: SFF21D DIR4669962
$5 Power strip
$5 Velcro for the plastic cover

$456 total

I already had
3 programable digital timers (about $20 each)
clear plastic to cover the front
Thermometer and humidity gauge
1 power strip

I'm still going to build a large tray for the whole chamber to sit in so it does not leak water. I am also woking on a way to hook the humidifier to a small float valve so I don't have to fill it once a day.

 

[zlookup]

looking good JH. I would be interested to know if the humidity ends up being higher on the side it comes in from and whether that ultimately makes a big difference or not. with the fans helping out, probably not a big deal.

Looking forward to the updates.

---------- Post added at 07:10 AM ---------- Previous post was at 07:00 AM ----------

just followed the link to butch's setup. looks like they do better than fine with this setup.. looks like i'll have to get something like this setup too

Don't see any mention of how you are powering those PC fans. Didn't notice a pc power supply.. what type of adapter are you using for it and where did you get it?

Good luck. Hope it works out well for you as well

 

[lizasaur]

Ohhhh, wow!!!
Fantastic job, Jeremiah!!!
Such a lovely collection- can't wait to see the progress!

*points at the tall white one* I'm also excited cause we use the same pots

 

[eou812]

Very nice! I would do it if it wasn't so much!

 

[Jeremiah Harris]

Thanks guys,

The power supply is listed 6 items from the top on my price list, it is shoved behind the chamber in the photos.

Here is who I got it from. http://www.coolerguys.com/840556029977.html

I love those tall white pots, especially when used in the greenhouse since the sun will heat up black pots so fast.

Thanks,
-Jeremiah-

 

[UnstuckinTime]

That looks so... clinical! I love it! So clean and well done. Absolutely amazing my friend. Please keep us all posted as they thrive in there!

 

[dashman]

Very cool. Looks like you already got it filled up too.

 

[eou812]

Yeah it really will heat them up really well. Usually light colored pots do the job.

KEEP US UPDATED~

 

[Av8tor1]

Very well done Jeremiah, you took my system and made it look damn good LOL

The specs sound great, you should see the results you are looking for.... one thing, I would recommend you use some car wax on your light's reflector every six months or so. I usually clean my bulbs and wax the reflector at the same time.

you may have issues with a float valve, as soon as you let any additional pressure into the tank it may overfill the base.... you may have to make yourself a home made system with a RO system float valve (or toliet valve)

The large diam/low rpm fans are nice huh.... nice gentle breeze

very well done indeed mate

 

[Jeremiah Harris]

Very cool. Looks like you already got it filled up too.

Yeah that kind of scares me lol. But I could probably fill a whole different one with Helis I still have in the greenhouse. That's the weird thing, the plants have divided over the years but they just have never put on any size.

Thanks,

 

[Av8tor1]

and be sure to feed them.... helis love to be fed ;-)

 

[eou812]

Yes they do. They also like a little water in the pitchers. But don't worry about to much because they have a over flow system.

 

[Jeremiah Harris]

Thanks again Butch,

I was going to shoot you an email I might as well just ask you here.

Do you have a link to where you buy Trichoderma atrovirde? What brand/method do you use for fertilizing your Heliamphora?

-Jeremiah-

 

[dashman]

I am sure that will change with the new and improved grow space.

My heli grow area is no where near as nice, but I noticed with a slight change in my lighting all of my heli's responded very favorably and picked up growth and color almost immediately.

 

[Av8tor1]

I use ampacbiotech.com's flowable product once a month @ 1tsp per gallon. It is applied as a drench really.... I fill up a garden sprayer and spray until it drains out the bottom
( I think Kelly@Ampac just went on Vacation, so you may not get any response to your inquiry for a week or so) But I think she will have the calls fwd to her cell.

Dont apply it the same week you root fertilize, trich has been shown to be less aggressive in a nutrient rich enviroment. I like to trich on the 1st of the month and feed on the 15th

I fert the pitchers with fish pellets, specifically Hikari brand Chichlid pellets in the green bag. I apply the root fert with a garden sprayer at 1/4 tsp per gallon (Maxsea brand)

For young, immature pitchers I mix up a slurry of flaked fish food and water and use an eye dropper held against the mouth of the pitcher. Cram it down their throat so to speak. This may eventually kill the pitcher you feed but the resultant growth is well worth it.

With the increases in light and the trich, their ability to utilize the feedings will increase proportionally

Butch

 

[Jeremiah Harris]

Great, thanks for the link! What brand of root fertilizer do you use on the 15th of each month?

Thanks,

 

[Av8tor1]

I use Maxsea 16-16-16, before getting it I used a commonly available non urea Orchid fert (Better-Gro Orchid Fert 20-14-13)

To be honest I cant tell a difference, but the Maxsea should be better

Oh and Kelly is a Cp'er and a TF member, she does special packaging sizing for us.... but you need to speak with her when you order.

 

[Jeremiah Harris]

you may have issues with a float valve, as soon as you let any additional pressure into the tank it may overfill the base.... you may have to make yourself a home made system with a RO system float valve (or toliet valve)

Yeah I still not 100% sure how I'm going to manage hooking it up. Obviously if I just drill a hole in the reservoir all the water will just leak out. I'm sure I will figure something out but I'm open to suggestions.

-Jeremiah-