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Post by Wayne Jenski on Oct 23, 2009 1:15:29 GMT
I always enjoy reading about how other people grow cephalotus; it seems there are as many ways as there are growers. The methods used often vary greatly merely due to changes in ambient conditions and one’s attempts to alter them to more closely match the plant’s native Australian habitat. I’ve raised these plants for years, but struggled tremendously when I lived in Arizona in an apartment without air conditioning; the plants inevitably succumbed to heat. A recent move took me to the cooler Cambridge, Massachusetts; here I have (so far) had great luck with these wonderful plants. I thought I would share one of my tank set-ups to provoke discussion . . . and because I never have a chance to show it to anyone. The below image depicts the details of my 55 gallon tank set up which is the focus of my living room (no TV required now). Details not included are that I use a trichoderma rinse (beneficial fungus) every few months on half of my plants. So far, I am not sure if is helping but I am sure it is not hurting. I’ve tried many feeding methods from ¼ strength urea free fertilizer in the pitchers to Cichlid Staple pellets. I prefer to just feed them a few ants when I can dig them up from my garden. Regardless of method, I only feed once every 4 to 6 weeks.  |
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Post by GregNY on Oct 23, 2009 2:23:30 GMT
nice job on the illustration technique. I have not yet become capable of providing necessary cooling for ceph and heli's so I dont have much to ask other than how your tank is cooled, but just wanted to compliment you on the setup and documentation.
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Post by PingKing on Oct 23, 2009 12:47:16 GMT
amazing set up
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Post by ieatflys on Oct 23, 2009 22:59:15 GMT
cool setup. but how did you controll where the humidity was at like if it gets to high??
thanks ieatflys
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Post by Wayne Jenski on Oct 24, 2009 13:54:53 GMT
Hi everyone,
Thanks for the positive comments.
Regarding the question about cooling:
I struggled with cooling for a while and had some pretty crazy ideas including installing an Ice Probe under the water line. Most growers in New England that I know of grow in their basement; I am an apartment dweller, so that was not possible for me. In the end I just decided to move the ceph tank to a room with A/C during the summer. Durring the fall and winter I move it up against a drafty window and temps are already down into the low 60’s at night (as of October). To drop temps further during the winter, I have played with running a small duct from the cool outside air to the tank; the air circulation fan can be used to draw air in. Of course this kills your RH so putting a fogger in-line with the duct is a possible solution. Honestly, this is something I am still struggling with. I can get night time temps into the low 50'sF, but the system requires a lot of monitoring.
Regarding the Heliamphora in the back left corner:
It is a more “heat” tolerant H. heterodoxa x minor. It is a new addition to the tank as of the last few months, but seems to be quite happy in the conditions described as it has new growth.
Regarding the question about humidity:
I’ve never had a problem with too much humidity; though it does naturally rise during cool night temps, it never gets above 85% RH. The vent and air circulation fan (at right in the image) has an adjustable air intake. If humidity were theoretically too high, I could merely open it slightly.
-Hamata
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Post by SundeWCitY on Nov 15, 2009 6:48:28 GMT
absolutly beautiful! very nice, honestly looks like a museum piece, screw the tv! make another tank hahahah! very well done! , I lived in holland a few years ago and a friend of mine had a simmilar set up. amazing! I have had one small ceph from tc and it looks like it is perishing slowly... i really hope it makes it. I have 400W mh lighting, high humidity and cool temps at night and in summer it gets airconditioning. My helis and N. hamatas, N. aristolochioides are doing amazing but the ceph seems to be browning... any pointers? it is in a tall orchid pot topped w spaghnum. and in peat / perlite with rocks at the bottom for drainage... whats going wrng? thanks for the help! and very well done on the tank, striking little plants you got there. i assume you have made them via TC>   sweet! |
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sundewman
Full Member
Happy Growing!
Posts: 235
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Post by sundewman on Nov 27, 2009 0:11:33 GMT
Wow! Your illustration is just as amazing as the setup. I think that the illustration would even look nice as a museum piece  Just out of curiosity, how do warmer temps effect the Cephalotus? The only reason I ask is that I used to grow mine in a really hot place, and I didn't think anything of it. |
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Post by Wayne Jenski on Nov 30, 2009 20:10:50 GMT
Thanks for the nice comments, Viktorianeps. Regarding your small ceph . . . they can be fickle little buggers. As frustrating as it may sound, it seems like you are providing good conditions. I keep my smallest TC cephs in very high humidity. They are grown in very tall pots and I leave about 1.5” of space between the rim and the top of the compost. I then just put a sheet of cellophane over it and hold in place with a rubber band (you can see them at the far right in the image). This seems to work fairly well for maintaining very humid/ stable conditions. When one starts to inexplicably die back, I let the media dry out a little and move it into higher light (or just closer to the fixture). Those that I leave in these conditions normally recover, so I assume it is a function of slight over watering (and thus fungal infection). Sometimes I spray with Tebuconazole as a precaution. All I can say to you is: Good Luck and experiment with the conditions.
Thanks to you as well, Sundewman. I mention in my intro above that I tried raising cephs in Arizona and that they all eventually succumbed to heat (or so I’ve always thought). My cephs- and cephs in general I assume- do better with cooler temps, but I’ve heard of others having luck in hot places. If you managed to keep them alive without AC in a hot climate: congrats! You’re a better man than I!
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Devon
Full Member
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Post by Devon on Dec 12, 2009 23:30:36 GMT
Impressive set up. Very, very nice.
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Post by SundeWCitY on Dec 17, 2009 7:03:23 GMT
do you tc your own cephs? from seed or leaves? thanks!
i still cant get over your set up, next pay day i may try rig something up simmilar. is the fan in the back just on the glass or is there a hole in the glass?
and what do yo use to lower and highten the water level? i like the idea of a flood technique i just need to fig a way to rise and lower my tanks water and were set!
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Post by Wayne Jenski on Dec 21, 2009 14:51:28 GMT
I have had real mixed results with TC . . . I am still quite new to it all. My reference to TC'ed plants are those that I have purchased quite fresh out of the flask. The bulk of my cephs are not pictured . . . they are mere seedlings and leaf pullings- not as exciting to display in the middle of your living room. I will post my propagation set up sometime soon.
Regarding the fan: There is not a hole at the side of the tank. All outside air is drawn in from a gap in the lid of the tank. The fan has a set speed, but you can effectively adjust the air flow within the tank by positioning it nearer or farther from the glass. So those two adjustments (position from side and opening in lid) require some tinkering to get right, but allow a lot of flexibility.
Regarding changing the water level: I am afraid none of this is rather elegant, but it works. I dump water in to raise . . . . and siphon water out to lower. It takes seconds and is so easy, I have not bothered to change it. Originally I wanted the bottom grill that the plants sit on to raise and lower, but that proved more complicated than it was worth.
As a side note, I have opted to leave the water level below the grill all winter. I water from the top and let everything dry out a lot. The water levels will raise again come spring. Photoperiod is around 11 hours right now and growth is noticeably slower . . . which is good.
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Post by SundeWCitY on Dec 28, 2009 2:30:50 GMT
Ah man i am still so envious of those cephs! i have to say they are the most awesome cp i think lol.. hah , i finally got a new camera so i will share a pic of mine, however it is no competition to yours! ;D appologies for the large pic im still getting this software down packed ..  |
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Post by Wayne Jenski on Mar 1, 2010 15:19:14 GMT
Wow! Thanks for sharing. She's a beaut!
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sweet! 
