First indoor setup! tips and tricks wanted!

[hinmo24t]

My fans are many and very low volt designed for use in grow tents. There is a much higher likelihood of burning down my house a hundred other ways. I use fishtanks instead of humidifiers.
Ultimately you have to do what you are comfortable with.

i thought about a solar powered indoor fan for my setup, but figured even if anything there comes apart the rubbing could cause heat over 9 hour work day...i just turn everything on around 5pm - 630am as mentioned and everything seems relatively happy so far

 

[BrianBay9]

i thought about a solar powered indoor fan for my setup, but figured even if anything there comes apart the rubbing could cause heat over 9 hour work day...i just turn everything on around 5pm - 630am as mentioned and everything seems relatively happy so far

Personally I'd rather have my house burn down while I'm at work than when I'm asleep

 

[hinmo24t]

Personally I'd rather have my house burn down while I'm at work than when I'm asleep

for sure - but id rather my dog not die

 

[LittleDingus]

I reckon any "closeness" (crowding seems at a higher level than this)

@sorce , if they were outdoors, I'd agree with you 100%. Indoors, there's not usually as much air movement and what's pictured there feels like a crowd to me.

I crowd at least that much indoors at times...but not without a fan to freshen up the surrounding air.

I will also say to be double diligent for pests! Mites and scale can tear through plants huddled that close right fast and you might not notice until it's too late! Again, a fan helps a lot...but isn't perfect.

 

[LittleDingus]

whats the deal with people leaving a fan on all day during work? i work in lifesafety fire alarm honeywell
and it kind of bugs me out burning down the house and my dog... i figure my humidifier and fan for 70% of a full day is decent, no?

What's the deal with people running dangerous equipment in their house when they're home! I'd rather my house burn down without me in it!!

In all seriousness, my fans are on a times and only run a few hours at a time. Probably < 50% of the day, honestly.

They do run at times when I'm not home. I might be placing too much trust in Underwriters Laboratories to trust not burning my house down, however

 

[hinmo24t]

What's the deal with people running dangerous equipment in their house when they're home! I'd rather my house burn down without me in it!!

In all seriousness, my fans are on a times and only run a few hours at a time. Probably < 50% of the day, honestly.

They do run at times when I'm not home. I might be placing too much trust in Underwriters Laboratories to trust not burning my house down, however

Good old UL and FM Global.

Ill leave mine on for a dogwalk or errand

 

[penumbra]

I have had one that has been running for at least 6 months.

 

[Paradox]

Yea Ive had multiple fans running in my house 24/7 during the summer becuase I dont have AC through out the whole house and my dogs like the fans.
Never had an issue. Id be more worried about the ceiling fans that dont run for 6 months during the winter, collecting dust then you try to run them in the spring/summer and forget to clean them first.


The same with baseboard heat radiators. They dont run all summer when its hot, accumulate a lot of dust and dog hair. Better clean those before fall when the heat turns back on.

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

Timer to turn lights on and off, I did not see anyone mention this. I recommend an 18 hour day and a 6 hour night. You can to some extent make up for lower light intensity by using a longer day length. Most tropicals and sub-tropicals are not sensitive to day length. This means they don't use the day length to determine whether it is growing season or not. So using long day length will not "harm" your trees in terms of bloom times. There are exception, but really, relatively few.

 

[tainoson]

Timer to turn lights on and off, I did not see anyone mention this. I recommend an 18 hour day and a 6 hour night. You can to some extent make up for lower light intensity by using a longer day length. Most tropicals and sub-tropicals are not sensitive to day length. This means they don't use the day length to determine whether it is growing season or not. So using long day length will not "harm" your trees in terms of bloom times. There are exception, but really, relatively few.

good to know! thank you- i've been doing the timing manually (14 hours on), a timer is on the short list of things to get! i'm taking all the feedback, brainstorming, and applying it as soon as i can. i've got some mini fans set up, i'll be increasing the spacing of the trees and bringing the lights a little closer, starting to look into liquid fert instead of the organics, and i'm thinking of figuring out a reflector setup to be more effective at illuminating the interiors and lower branches.

so far the ficus and pafra haven't seemed to notice the move indoors and all my cuttings seem happy. i've only seen minimal leaf drop from the serissas (my yard has seen a substantial lowering of direct light time and temps were down to the 50's regularly at night), but they didn't skip a beat with growth and budding. i even spent several hours de-budding my eldest serissa after a repot on the 10th in preparation for coming in this week. she didn't seem to care, pushing out growth and blooms already. i'm just praying that i don't see a crash in the next few weeks.

 

[leatherback]

Looks like you have 2 LED panels, now installed directly against eachother. I would spread them out more to you get more evenly distribution of light intensity.

 

[Cadillactaste]

Second the timer and 18 hours on.

After having my propane tank freezing from an arctic spell one winter. Snuggling into the comforter forgetting I had tropical. I lost tropical that winter. So I have a sensor to alert me if it hits 65F. I don't allow them cooler than that. My alarm goes off if the secondary heater needs turned up. My secondary heater is a brand we use in our lake well houses. We have used them for years. I feel confident using one as a secondary heater for that reason.

I also use 2"deep boot trays...to catch runoff and use as huge humidity trays. I raise the pots up so they don't sit in the water. But it allows me to water my trees well when indoors. Having that deep tray.

 

[leatherback]

also use 2"deep boot trays...to catch runoff and use as huge humidity trays. I raise the pots up so they don't sit in the water. But it allows me to water my trees well when indoors. Having that deep tray

cool idea!

 

[cmeg1]

yeah, they're height adjustable for that very reason. the instructional booklet recommends 12-18" stand off from the canopy, which is where its set for my taller tree up top. down below, i do need to lower it a foot or so, but i just snapped a quick photo to share. i had just moved everything inside and was exhausted from a long day haha.

but i do plan to experiment with the distance between the lights and the plants! thank you!

View attachment 329600

the 18” range looks good.Veg growth is 400-600par.any closer than 900 par and the plants become carb limited and will not grow healthy.
Get a couple t5’s for under growth/canopy light and raise the led to about 20-22”. I have found for deciduous/leafy trees anything over 650par is a bit much....do fine between 400-600. With 18hrs on cycle.
Keep humidity between 40-60% and some lite air circulation and you are rockin’

 

[tainoson]

lots of updates coming this week! thank you all!

 

[InstilledChaos]

What are you using for trays and where did you get them? They are the perfect size.

 

[RJG2]

the 18” range looks good.Veg growth is 400-600par.any closer than 900 par and the plants become carb limited and will not grow healthy.
Get a couple t5’s for under growth/canopy light and raise the led to about 20-22”. I have found for deciduous/leafy trees anything over 650par is a bit much....do fine between 400-600. With 18hrs on cycle.
Keep humidity between 40-60% and some lite air circulation and you are rockin’

I'm confused here. Isn't PAR the wavelength(s) of the light? What does distance have to do with it (considering the wavelengths are in nanometers, not inches)?

For example, this would be a "PAR" chart of the lights I have:

 

[penumbra]

What are you using for trays and where did you get them? They are the perfect size.

What are you using for trays and where did you get them? They are the perfect size.

I use boot trays. They come in many sizes to customize your growing area. They are very tough and will last decades, but not cheap. I believe I got mine at Greenhouse Megastore. I also use some heavy duty restaurant bus trays I found at flea market. If you ever need very heavy standard trays or flats as they are called in the industry, the ones from Bootstrap Farmer are the best you can get.

 

[RJG2]

I use boot trays. They come in many sizes to customize your growing area. They are very tough and will last decades, but not cheap. I believe I got mine at Greenhouse Megastore. I also use some heavy duty restaurant bus trays I found at flea market. If you ever need very heavy standard trays or flats as they are called in the industry, the ones from Bootstrap Farmer are the best you can get.

Greenhouse megastore is where I got some trays for my 48x18" shelves. I think they were only about $12 each.

 

[penumbra]

Greenhouse megastore is where I got some trays for my 48x18" shelves. I think they were only about $12 each.

They have a plethora of choices in size and depth. It looks like its has changed a bit since I got mine 2 years ago. Mine are 46-1/2 x 16-1/2 and 2 inches deep. I think they were closer to $20, maybe a bit more. I also have some that are 22 x 16 and some that are 30 x 16.