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Umami
Stranger
Registered: 02/26/11
Posts: 2
Last seen: 13 years, 5 days
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FC design (to keep out bugs)
#14031366 - 02/26/11 04:53 PM (13 years, 7 days ago) |
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I've used a shotgun terrarium, which worked great until fungus gnats took over and I ended up having to throw out worm infested substrate. Also fanning all the time was a pain.
I tried a monotub, this worked OK, mushies didn't seem to like it as much as the shotgun (too much humidity, not enough FAE?). And in the last grow once again there was a bug infection- this time lots of tiny mites that got in through the polyfill.
So I'm looking to try some other FC design that will hopefully prevent bugs getting in. One idea I'm considering is a sealed tub with damp perlite at the bottom, an aquarium pump bubbling air through a jar of water at one bottom corner, and then at an opposite top corner a hole filled with a bung and airlock (one of those used in homebrewing) to allow air to get out but not allow anything to get in. I don't know if this would be enough air circulation. Thoughts?
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Forager
Mycophile

Registered: 02/15/11
Posts: 440
Last seen: 3 years, 1 month
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Re: FC design (to keep out bugs) [Re: Umami]
#14031451 - 02/26/11 05:12 PM (13 years, 7 days ago) |
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You would probably have a difficult time providing enough FAE to your grow with this setup (if i understand the setup that it). You would need to have several points where air is being introduced and removed, so perhaps multiple systems you were describing would work? Some labs use sticky mats around pitri dishes to keep you bugs, this might be a good option for you with the polyfill.
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Always looking for interesting active prints (especially Gymnopilus spp. and sclerotia producers) and cacti and poppy seeds.
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curiousgeorge91
Distrusted Cultivator



Registered: 02/10/11
Posts: 208
Loc: Pa, USA
Last seen: 7 years, 10 months
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Re: FC design (to keep out bugs) [Re: Forager]
#14031676 - 02/26/11 05:51 PM (13 years, 7 days ago) |
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you could check out my thread about the terrarium i was going setup, it got a lot of ridicule, but it seems some aspects of it might help you out... I just ended up choosing a simple SG for simplicity. PM if ur interested. If not it wont hurt my feelings lol ...just a suggestion. Good luck
-------------------- The shoe that fits one person pinches another; there is no recipe for living that suits all cases. - Carl Jung
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RogerRabbit
Bans for Pleasure



Registered: 03/26/03
Posts: 42,214
Loc: Seattle
Last seen: 1 year, 12 days
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If you're having trouble with fungus gnats, it sounds like your substrate was too wet. They will rarely do more than catch a quick snack and leave, if your moisture level is right. They generally breed and reproduce in your houseplants, so go find which one they're all coming from and proceed from there.
You might try leaving a nearly empty glass of red wine near the fruiting chamber. They'll go for it instead.
You don't 'have to fan' a shotgun terrarium. I've left them alone from start to finish. However, performance will be at peak if you mist daily, so if you're doing that anyway, why not just wave the lid over the terrarium a few times while you're there? RR
-------------------- Download Let's Grow Mushrooms semper in excretia sumus solim profundum variat "I've never had a failed experiment. I've only discovered 10,000 methods which do not work." Thomas Edison
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Umami
Stranger
Registered: 02/26/11
Posts: 2
Last seen: 13 years, 5 days
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Re: FC design (to keep out bugs) [Re: RogerRabbit]
#14034302 - 02/27/11 03:05 AM (13 years, 7 days ago) |
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curiousgeorge I sent you a PM.
I remember trying the wine thing to trap the gnats, but by then they had already laid their eggs in the cakes. IIRC the substrate was pretty dry but we do have a few houseplants, but they have to stay unfortunately.
Another idea: a Shotgun FC, but instead of lots of small holes, have fewer bigger holes, and cover these over with material instead of polyfill. I'm thinking if cutting up one of those hepa-flow vacuum cleaner bags, to get bigger pieces than micropore tape. So hopefully the little mites that got in through the polyfill in my last grow won't be able to get in through the hepa-flow material, and with lots of big holes there will be good FAE. Forget about the pump, fan occasionally and hope that nothing gets in while I'm fanning?
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Larrythescaryrex
teardrop on the fire



Registered: 07/19/00
Posts: 11,004
Loc: further down the spiral
Last seen: 1 year, 2 months
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Re: FC design (to keep out bugs) [Re: Umami]
#14034305 - 02/27/11 03:07 AM (13 years, 7 days ago) |
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get a citronella plant.
-------------------- RIP Acidic_Sloth Sunset_Mission said: "larry the scary rex verily scary when thoroughly vexed invoke the shadows and dust, cast a hex mercifully massacring memories masterfully relocate from Ur to 8th density and become a cosmic bully mulder and scully couldn't decipher his glyphs invoke the shadows and dust, smoke infernal spliffs" April 24th 2011
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