miniature orchids on vacation? (misting systems)

How many days are you going away for?

For my growing condition(cooler temperature and good rh and perhaps a lot more open than most indoor setups), I don't need any help if I'm only out of town for four or five days. I water the plants well on the day I leave, then lower the fan speed(or place the fan far away than usual). You can shorten the light hours also during those days. Just remember, the plants in the mail takes three or four days sometimes.

PS, misting is not the same as watering. When I water my plants, I "hose" them down.

 

That is what you have to do for a mixed collection.
Another thing I will do is that I put some of my tiny, unestablished, sensitive ones in a more enclosed area(For example, inside a bucket) if I am out of town for few days.
As long as you have good "constant" humidity, I don't think you need to worry about your Lepanthes, and your Oxy Dens should weather better than Lepanths in general. Keep up the rh, and with the help of your fogger, your mounted plants should be fine for 4-5 days without watering.

 

I just recently set up a Mist King in a terrarium-like environment - my seedling nursery, which is a 6' x 4' x 3'T box assembled from a hydroponics flood tray and styrofoam sheathing. It is lighted with LEDs, has air circulation fans, and as of about a week ago, the Mist King.

I am very pleased with the "Ultimate Value" system, and am quite certain it would handle all five enclosures from a single pump & RO reservoir. I would speculate that a double nozzle each would be sufficient. I am using 3 of them for the 48" x 72" enclosure.

The digital timer Marty provides is great! I have mine set to run for one minute just as the lights come on in the morning, and for a couple of 5-second spritzes late morning and again in mid-afternoon, just to boost the humidity a bit.

I agree with Tom that such a system might not be absolutely necessary, but once you get it operating, you're going to wish you've had it all along.

 

Chad, I have successfully kept my tanks on "auto-pilot" for upwards of two weeks using a Mistking system. I also use those systems for my frogs, so I think I can answer your questions. I grow my orchids in a 36x18x18 Exo. In that, I use four nozzles, but it probably should be 5 to get the best coverage. I run the misters 3x a day: 30 sec at noon, 1 minute at 3, and 30 seconds at 6. My tanks are only about half covered with glass/plexi, so there is a lot of outside air allowed to enter. A fan runs 24/7, and I do not use a fogger.

The starter pump can run up to 10 nozzles, and the premium (or whatever it's called) can run 20. You can hook multiple pumps to the same water reservoir without a problem...it will just use the water in the reservoir more quickly. I don't know the exact amount that is put out per day, but I do know that with my misting regime, I can go 2+ weeks with only a 5 gallon bucket full of water.

I think this answers most of your questions. Feel free to ask others that I missed or that you come across with research.

P.S. I haven't forgotten about you. Work just has me out of town all week, and I haven't been able to catch up with my weekends.

 

Do you still have the screen tops on the Exos? The tubing runs across the top of the tanks, the nozzle input is outside of the tank, and the actual mister part is inside. I simply take pliers, make a few cuts and then spread the screen away. This leaves a hole large enough to mount the nozzles. If your tops are all glass/plexi, then you will need to drill the holes. I can take some photos of the misters on my tanks this weekend for you.

 

Chad - I don't know the actual volume, as my reserve tank is refilled from an RO system, and the tank is equipped with a float valve, but I'd guess that the flow is far below a couple of liters per hour.

 

Hey Chad, to prevent fracture: tape plexiglass on both sides, start with a small drill bit and work your way up to final size in 3-4 steps. Put plexiglass on hard surface so it won't bow. Apply light pressure, not a lot. Spray drill bit with water while drilling to keep the plexiglass cool. When you get to the larger drill bits be careful as they want to grab the edges of the hole....try reversing the direction of spin, it will take longer and heat up more (remember to spray), but won't grab. There are some good tutorials online. Also, try not to drill too near the edge of the sheet.