Made an error. Post title should just be HL setup, not UHL.
It's been awhile since I gave an update on my growing conditions. As mentioned in this thread, I was previously using a small makeshift evaporative cooler that was honestly not getting the cooling effect I needed, along with the mold problems to boot. See shrinking growth tip on my hamata, along with damage from some long dead thrips:
After a lot of headache attempting to rig peltier units and insulate fish tanks, use evaporative cooling, and even manually moving ice into the tank each night, I thought it was time for something that would work better and also look nicer. I was able to find a reasonably priced wine cooler on sale and figured it would be worth a shot at converting it into a highland environment for my N. jamban and N. hamata. Most of the cooler setups I've seen in the past have either utilized chest freezers that cycle on during the night, or wine cooler setups that cycle based off of a day/night temperature controller. I also purchased and assembled a dimmable LED kit that uses three CREE XML-2 Warm White and three CREE XML-2 Cool White lights, as done by others, along with an aluminum heatsink. By using eggcrate, two computer fans, a baking cooling rack and some magnet strips I was able to get something that looked reasonable with the capacity to cool at night down to 39 F. Below are some photos of the setup that currently contains a bottom bin where I set the plants at night (while doing environmental testing), as well as some rehydrated sphagnum with a few small Pinguicula grown from leaf pullings.
With the nighttime cooling having been achieved by adjusting the dial on the fridge to a setting corresponding to 54 F, I still have a few issues to sort out. One concern I had at the outset of this project was that the LED lighting and the closed system would warm the tank throughout the day with accumulated heat. Currently the heatsink is located inside the fridge with the computer fan, and if possible I would prefer to not damage the top of the fridge, for fear of ruining any internal components and for the overall aesthetic appeal of the fridge. When testing, five hours of continuous light warmed the tank from 54 to 90 F. To try and fix this I have set the fridge to cycle on for one half hour during every two hour period during the day. This prevents the temperature from getting too hot (it cycles between the mid 60's and upper 70's as seen on the thermometer in each two hour period), but it tends to drop the humidity in the fridge down into the 50's. In the last picture you can see where the refrigerant is pumped through tubes on the inside back wall when the compressor cycles. This back wall tends to quickly build up frost which melts in minutes after the fridge cycles off. I have included a couple of trays to catch the melted water rather than allow it to flow into the drain located at the back of the unit (the water tray on the back of the fridge is quite small). My biggest concern at the moment is the fluctuating humidity levels in the fridge and the cycling temperatures (12 F) occurring every two hours to counteract the LED heat buildup. The only solution I can think of that doesn't involve cutting out the top of the fridge is to use large volumes of water in some sort of container inside the fridge to act as a temperature buffer. I am also thinking that with enough moss and water in each tray, I could possibly keep the local environment around my plants humid, even though the humidity in the fridge drops. I would love suggestions that any of you may have, and will keep this thread updated with the progress of the fridge as well as the plants!
It's been awhile since I gave an update on my growing conditions. As mentioned in this thread, I was previously using a small makeshift evaporative cooler that was honestly not getting the cooling effect I needed, along with the mold problems to boot. See shrinking growth tip on my hamata, along with damage from some long dead thrips:
After a lot of headache attempting to rig peltier units and insulate fish tanks, use evaporative cooling, and even manually moving ice into the tank each night, I thought it was time for something that would work better and also look nicer. I was able to find a reasonably priced wine cooler on sale and figured it would be worth a shot at converting it into a highland environment for my N. jamban and N. hamata. Most of the cooler setups I've seen in the past have either utilized chest freezers that cycle on during the night, or wine cooler setups that cycle based off of a day/night temperature controller. I also purchased and assembled a dimmable LED kit that uses three CREE XML-2 Warm White and three CREE XML-2 Cool White lights, as done by others, along with an aluminum heatsink. By using eggcrate, two computer fans, a baking cooling rack and some magnet strips I was able to get something that looked reasonable with the capacity to cool at night down to 39 F. Below are some photos of the setup that currently contains a bottom bin where I set the plants at night (while doing environmental testing), as well as some rehydrated sphagnum with a few small Pinguicula grown from leaf pullings.
With the nighttime cooling having been achieved by adjusting the dial on the fridge to a setting corresponding to 54 F, I still have a few issues to sort out. One concern I had at the outset of this project was that the LED lighting and the closed system would warm the tank throughout the day with accumulated heat. Currently the heatsink is located inside the fridge with the computer fan, and if possible I would prefer to not damage the top of the fridge, for fear of ruining any internal components and for the overall aesthetic appeal of the fridge. When testing, five hours of continuous light warmed the tank from 54 to 90 F. To try and fix this I have set the fridge to cycle on for one half hour during every two hour period during the day. This prevents the temperature from getting too hot (it cycles between the mid 60's and upper 70's as seen on the thermometer in each two hour period), but it tends to drop the humidity in the fridge down into the 50's. In the last picture you can see where the refrigerant is pumped through tubes on the inside back wall when the compressor cycles. This back wall tends to quickly build up frost which melts in minutes after the fridge cycles off. I have included a couple of trays to catch the melted water rather than allow it to flow into the drain located at the back of the unit (the water tray on the back of the fridge is quite small). My biggest concern at the moment is the fluctuating humidity levels in the fridge and the cycling temperatures (12 F) occurring every two hours to counteract the LED heat buildup. The only solution I can think of that doesn't involve cutting out the top of the fridge is to use large volumes of water in some sort of container inside the fridge to act as a temperature buffer. I am also thinking that with enough moss and water in each tray, I could possibly keep the local environment around my plants humid, even though the humidity in the fridge drops. I would love suggestions that any of you may have, and will keep this thread updated with the progress of the fridge as well as the plants!
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