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Violet



Registered: 12/06/11
Posts: 4,205
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My super-simple, inexpensive, Full-Auto Greenhouse! + fruiting chamber comparison 3
#16481462 - 07/04/12 05:00 PM (12 years, 6 months ago) |
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Hello! If you're in the skimming mood, read the white texts first!
 I've seen many discussions on here lately about comparing different fruiting chambers. In the second post here I add my thoughts on each common fruiting chamber method relative to each other.
Many were asking about greenhouses and I saw few good answers except not to start with one. Although I agree it would not serve most peeps well to start out with this as they need to get a feel for the organism's needs, their difficulty is a bit over-stated. The teks I found on here when I was looking into building mine were too complex and I felt they were superfluously expensive and difficult to conceptualize and construct. So this is my response!
Inquiries have been about the expense and ease of building one as well as having it operate properly for our purposes. It's very inexpensive with this method - $50 or less - and with some attentiveness it's easy as pie to fine-tune!
I use this greenhouse for Shiitake, Oyster, King Oyster, Cubensis, and Galindoi. Will soon be trying also Mexicana "Chicon Nindo", Panaeolus, Gymnopilus, and more.
CONCEPT A good fruiting chamber needs 2 things: Enough air exchange and high humidity, in that order of importance. (Light should be obvious and is not a part of the actual FC itself) Humidity is the one people seem to think of first but air exchange is most important by far, like you don't worry nearly as much about dry skin as suffocating. Humidity is simple, proper automated FAE less so. The approach here is to totally clear & replace the air in the FC from time to time and humidify the air immediately after. It's super simple with this approach! The fans will blow out the air in less than a minute and the ultrasonic takes hardly more than a minute or two getting the humidity at near-saturation. The chamber will retain that humidity on its own for almost or over an hour... although I have air exchanges more often.
MATERIALS ANY mini-greenhouse with clear cover. I found for $30. Cover must be clear, you don't want lights on the inside for 3 reasons: longevity, temperature, humidity. PC fan(s) [1 or 2] and power supplies to suit. Assorted power supplies at Goodwill, 59c. Ultrasonic humidifier, I find them at Goodwill all the time always $5 or less. Analog hygrometer is simply a must. You can get away without one when using a SGFC or mono-tub, but not here. Fortunately they are very inexpensive online such as Amazon or eBay! Repeat-cycle timers [2] with short intervals. May have to modify regular timers to get short intervals, fortunately it's easy! Commonly at Goodwill 59c-99c
AND NOW, FOR THE INCOMPREHENSIBLY COMPLEX INSTRUCTIONS!/sarcasm
1. Set the ultrasonic humidifier on the bottom shelf assuming it pipes the mist upwards. Yeah it really is that simple.
2. Anywhere on the top of the GH, trace&cut a hole the shape of the Fan [not it's chassis] and tape the fan well to the Outside, blowing OUT. My approach for the air inlet is a second fan somewhere around the bottom blowing IN so that the other fan doesn't create pressure that will suck your GH cover inwards like a lung. You could simply cut vertical slits around the bottom instead - They probably won't let the humidity out until the fan is blowing and they give way due to the air flow.
3. Put the fan and ultrasonic on different but synchronized timers. If your timers are the common ones and modded like mine, set the fan to just 1 minute of blowing every 40-minute cycle. Then set the humidifer to start kicking right when the fans turn off and continue piping mist for a couple minutes afterwards. By watching the hygrometer over the course of several cycles it will be simple to determine how many minutes of blaring the ultrasonic are necessary to reach 97%+ RH after each exchange. When mine is full of fruiting subs, my ultrasonic only runs 1 minute after each air exchange.
The beauty of this setup, besides the simplicity, is the regular & complete resetting of the environmental condition. Every time the fan and mist cycle completes it's sure to fully clear the air and reset the humidity near-saturation.
Hope you enjoyed, have a great day! -Violet
Edited by Violet (09/19/12 08:41 AM)
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Violet



Registered: 12/06/11
Posts: 4,205
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Re: My super-simple, inexpensive, Full-Auto Greenhouse! [Re: Violet]
#16481471 - 07/04/12 05:00 PM (12 years, 6 months ago) |
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FRUITING CHAMBER COMPARISON as I see it.
The Shotgun Fruiting Chamber This is genius. Takes a while to drill all those holes nicely, and perlite can get messy, but this fruiting chamber is second to only the monotub in inexpense and is almost fully automated in construction. It does require daily misting at minimum to help keep the perlite hydrated and almost everything you could put in it benefits from daily fanning in addition to its natural airflow.
The drawbacks of potentially-messy perlite and just barely incomplete full-auto are hardly drawbacks at all. You can put cakes, trays, or blocks in this chamber.
The Monotub Just as genius. For the home cultivator of Psilocybes, it doesn't get better. When properly tuned-in with the right amount of poly-fil, it's a neglect box if there ever was one and the mushies love it just the same. The fact that it has NO ENERGY COST [not counting lighting] is stellar! And let's not forget the bulk output that's possible.
The drawbacks are that it is practically useless for edibles, and takes just as much space in colonization as fruiting because the colonization tray and fruiting chamber are the same thing. But this is also an advantage of sorts as it has just one home from spawn to harvest.
The Poor Man's Pod It may be a bit inappropriately named. I spent more money on this fruiting chamber than any of the others, between all the devices involved... Air pump, bubble stones, perlite, aquarium heater [it was cold!] and the tote. I also experienced the least amount of success with it, but perhaps I could have built it a bit better.
The advantage is it's fully-automatic [if done well] and like the greenhouse would only require misting as the substrates themselves require. You can fruit anything in it (as long as you have enough FAE) like the SGFC, and it's as neglectable as the Mono [again, if done well] but not energy-free like the Mono of course, which is the cost of being able to fruit whatever you'd like within it.
I do not like the standing water very much although it never blatantly appeared to cause me problems. After all, the perlite must come well above the waterline. The aquarium air pump alone did not provide enough air even for Cubensis to thrive without some seriously fuzzy stems although they did grow healthily otherwise.
The Auto-Greenhouse They come in many sizes and builds. Some use cool-mist humidifiers for air exchange and humidity buffer, and an ultrasonic to keep the humidity bumped up to optimal. Some work with passive air exchange by cutting slits all in the sides. Mine uses fans to exchange the air through. The major advantage(and main reason for using) is having both lots of fruiting space and a fully-auto environ you can walk away from for days. Mine can hold 8 full-sized "turkey" oven trays. Unlike the Mono, you can have many trays/blocks colonizing outside the chamber and exchange whatever trays are spent/contaminated for new ones ready to go! One can also use it to fruit almost any species... at the same time! I usually have Shiitake and Cubensis in the same GH, even Galindoi sometimes also.
The disadvantages are slim. With an approach like mine, which doesn't use a second device cool-mist humidifier for FAE, it's pretty low energy as the automation runs only a few minutes max per hour. Of course they're not small nor discrete as the point of using them is for lots of fruiting space so this is only a disadvantage if for your grows you require discretion within your own home, in which case, rethink growing...
-------------------- Intentionally or not, here in mushcult we are purveyors of love culture and enlightenment movement. Let's try to act like it!
PODS TEK - Growing Invitro with BRF/verm or Grass Seed containers
The simplest, quickest, safest tek! For beginners, culturers, lazy people, stealth lovers, contam haters, and alternative seekers!
• Violet's Teks and Posts •
Edited by Violet (07/06/12 12:40 PM)
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TheDeathryder
Reaper



Registered: 04/26/12
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Re: My super-simple, inexpensive, Full-Auto Greenhouse! [Re: Violet]
#16481525 - 07/04/12 05:13 PM (12 years, 6 months ago) |
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Awesome post! I'll definitely be referencing this in the future
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Toofpaste


Registered: 09/22/10
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Re: My super-simple, inexpensive, Full-Auto Greenhouse! [Re: TheDeathryder]
#16481597 - 07/04/12 05:28 PM (12 years, 6 months ago) |
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Great post! Let's get some more step by step pics and it'll be perfect!
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Violet



Registered: 12/06/11
Posts: 4,205
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Re: My super-simple, inexpensive, Full-Auto Greenhouse! [Re: Toofpaste] 1
#16481634 - 07/04/12 05:37 PM (12 years, 6 months ago) |
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I didn't figure that setting a humidifier on a shelf, cutting a hole and taping a fan over it, or plugging things into timers would need photographic description... There were no step-by-step pictures necessary since the only construction step is cutting a hole and taping a fan to it . That is, other than the timer modification if necessary, for which I linked a video.
I did intend to post this with a couple more photos but I'm in a different city than the GH right now. I will definitely be taking photos of the fans and timer settings though. In any case I built this GH months ago so I couldn't post photos from its construction
-------------------- Intentionally or not, here in mushcult we are purveyors of love culture and enlightenment movement. Let's try to act like it!
PODS TEK - Growing Invitro with BRF/verm or Grass Seed containers
The simplest, quickest, safest tek! For beginners, culturers, lazy people, stealth lovers, contam haters, and alternative seekers!
• Violet's Teks and Posts •
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TheDeathryder
Reaper



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Re: My super-simple, inexpensive, Full-Auto Greenhouse! [Re: Violet]
#16483485 - 07/05/12 01:33 AM (12 years, 6 months ago) |
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I was thinking about this post earlier, and I was wondering if you could explain how to pick a suitable pc fan and power supply? I haven't worked with pc fans in a non computer aspect, so this leaves me with a bit of a blank. Do you use a computer power supply for them, or do you splice the wires for some other form of power supply?
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Violet



Registered: 12/06/11
Posts: 4,205
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Re: My super-simple, inexpensive, Full-Auto Greenhouse! [Re: TheDeathryder]
#16483499 - 07/05/12 01:40 AM (12 years, 6 months ago) |
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You can use any PC fans, found in a box in the garage or bought from a store. A computer power supply won't do of course, you should find a similar power supply for it. 59c at Goodwill. I have used power supplies with voltage both higher and lower than the fan's specs and it simply ran faster or slower, but not being an electrician I'm sure there are other factors related to the device's longevity. I bet a strong fan with a matched power supply is best if you can do it but I've gotten away without before. You do indeed cut the cords and tie the wires together. It's easy as speaker wire.
Weaker fans may take longer to clear the air. I test that by running the ultrasonic until the air is super misty, and keep it running while I turn on the fan(s). With my powerful 12V, it appears to clear the air in less than ten seconds. So I know my 50-second interval is more than enough.
-------------------- Intentionally or not, here in mushcult we are purveyors of love culture and enlightenment movement. Let's try to act like it!
PODS TEK - Growing Invitro with BRF/verm or Grass Seed containers
The simplest, quickest, safest tek! For beginners, culturers, lazy people, stealth lovers, contam haters, and alternative seekers!
• Violet's Teks and Posts •
Edited by Violet (07/05/12 02:08 AM)
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TheDeathryder
Reaper



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Re: My super-simple, inexpensive, Full-Auto Greenhouse! [Re: Violet]
#16483516 - 07/05/12 01:50 AM (12 years, 6 months ago) |
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Thank you so much for the informative response! 
Could you post a picture of a suitable power supply to give me a better idea of what to look for, as well as how it was wired in? I'm very paranoid about burning down my trailer and having the fire marshal find my op, so when it comes to things regarding electricity, I try to copy what already works when I can since my understanding of electronic hardware is very basic.
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PussyFart
Retired Cultivation Extrodinaire



Registered: 04/08/12
Posts: 22,502
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Re: My super-simple, inexpensive, Full-Auto Greenhouse! [Re: TheDeathryder]
#16483524 - 07/05/12 01:54 AM (12 years, 6 months ago) |
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just us a 12dc wall adapter(WALL WARTS))...the amps dont matter...just as long as the output is 12v DC...
EDIT: If its spinning backwards u have neg and pos crossed
--------------------
THIS HOBBY IS NOT FOR THE IMPATIENT! PLEASE BE PATIENT, DON'T BE A PATIENT!
A Tale of 10 Isolates, GT Cluster Clone Monotubs, RR's Let's Grow Mushrooms DVD,
SGFC(Shotgun Fruiting Chamber), Monotub Tek, Damion5050's Coir Tek, TL's Tek List, Frank's Tek List,
EvilMushroom666's Pasteurization Tek, How It Should & Shouldn't Look - NEW CULTIVATORS GUIDE
*** *** AFGHAN KUSH GROW LOG *** ***
Edited by PussyFart (07/05/12 01:56 AM)
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Violet



Registered: 12/06/11
Posts: 4,205
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Re: My super-simple, inexpensive, Full-Auto Greenhouse! [Re: TheDeathryder]
#16483528 - 07/05/12 01:56 AM (12 years, 6 months ago) |
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Power supplies are made in all different manners of shapes and sizes so a picture won't help. You just want a wall wart of proper voltage. On power supplies are listed their electrical requirements, such as their voltage input and output. As long as it's a U.S. supply you can use it. The output voltage should be matched or close to your fan's voltage rating. It can vary, as the fan's speed will vary with it. There's also amperes but I am not knowledgeable about it. I do know that I've not payed attention to that at all with the 3 PC fans I've used for FCs and nothing has gone wrong.
After you splice the cords, connect and attach the correct wires together [the incorrect match won't make the fan spin] and cover the wires well with electrical tape. Then you're good to go. When you plug the supply in, the fan will blow! It truly is simple, there's no need to be intimidated :]
-------------------- Intentionally or not, here in mushcult we are purveyors of love culture and enlightenment movement. Let's try to act like it!
PODS TEK - Growing Invitro with BRF/verm or Grass Seed containers
The simplest, quickest, safest tek! For beginners, culturers, lazy people, stealth lovers, contam haters, and alternative seekers!
• Violet's Teks and Posts •
Edited by Violet (07/05/12 02:05 AM)
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PussyFart
Retired Cultivation Extrodinaire



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Re: My super-simple, inexpensive, Full-Auto Greenhouse! [Re: Violet]
#16483538 - 07/05/12 02:00 AM (12 years, 6 months ago) |
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Quote:
Violet said: Power supplies are made in all different manners of shapes and sizes so a picture won't help. You just want a wall wart of proper wattage. On power supplies are listed their electrical requirements, such as their voltage input and output. As long as it's a U.S. supply you can use it. The output voltage should be matched or close to your fan's voltage rating. There's also amperes but I am not knowledgeable about it. I do know that I've not payed attention to that at all with the 3 PC fans I've used for FCs and nothing has gone wrong.
After you splice the cords, connect and attach the correct wires together [the incorrect match won't make the fan spin] and cover the wires well with electrical tape. Then you're good to go. When you plug the supply in, the fan will blow! It truly is simple, there's no need to be intimidated :]
WATTS DO NOT MATTER FOR THIS
PC fans are usually all 12v dc...and even if its a 5 v fan...i havent seen one blow from putting 7v more into it...i do it ALL THE TIME. i have been repairing and building computers for 12 years, take my word for it...just get a 12v or a 9v DC wall wart...the higher the voltage the faster it will spin....with a good fan u can go 5-10 volts over no problem, or at least i can.
EDIT : U can even use a 9v battery...but its senseless to change batteries when the wall outlet is right there
--------------------
THIS HOBBY IS NOT FOR THE IMPATIENT! PLEASE BE PATIENT, DON'T BE A PATIENT!
A Tale of 10 Isolates, GT Cluster Clone Monotubs, RR's Let's Grow Mushrooms DVD,
SGFC(Shotgun Fruiting Chamber), Monotub Tek, Damion5050's Coir Tek, TL's Tek List, Frank's Tek List,
EvilMushroom666's Pasteurization Tek, How It Should & Shouldn't Look - NEW CULTIVATORS GUIDE
*** *** AFGHAN KUSH GROW LOG *** ***
Edited by PussyFart (07/05/12 02:02 AM)
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Violet



Registered: 12/06/11
Posts: 4,205
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Re: My super-simple, inexpensive, Full-Auto Greenhouse! [Re: PussyFart]
#16483544 - 07/05/12 02:04 AM (12 years, 6 months ago) |
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I meant volts of course. Dunno why I typed watts.
-------------------- Intentionally or not, here in mushcult we are purveyors of love culture and enlightenment movement. Let's try to act like it!
PODS TEK - Growing Invitro with BRF/verm or Grass Seed containers
The simplest, quickest, safest tek! For beginners, culturers, lazy people, stealth lovers, contam haters, and alternative seekers!
• Violet's Teks and Posts •
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TheDeathryder
Reaper



Registered: 04/26/12
Posts: 2,636
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Re: My super-simple, inexpensive, Full-Auto Greenhouse! [Re: PussyFart]
#16483550 - 07/05/12 02:06 AM (12 years, 6 months ago) |
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Thank you for the responses yall! I'm going to have to keep my eyes peeled now, pretty sure I still have an old pc around with a few spare fans
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PussyFart
Retired Cultivation Extrodinaire



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Re: My super-simple, inexpensive, Full-Auto Greenhouse! [Re: TheDeathryder] 1
#16483559 - 07/05/12 02:09 AM (12 years, 6 months ago) |
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thats the best and cheapest way to get fans IMO...just make sure to clean the dust off the blades if its an old fan...i do this with ISO and a q-tip
--------------------
THIS HOBBY IS NOT FOR THE IMPATIENT! PLEASE BE PATIENT, DON'T BE A PATIENT!
A Tale of 10 Isolates, GT Cluster Clone Monotubs, RR's Let's Grow Mushrooms DVD,
SGFC(Shotgun Fruiting Chamber), Monotub Tek, Damion5050's Coir Tek, TL's Tek List, Frank's Tek List,
EvilMushroom666's Pasteurization Tek, How It Should & Shouldn't Look - NEW CULTIVATORS GUIDE
*** *** AFGHAN KUSH GROW LOG *** ***
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Galorian
GoForIt

Registered: 03/07/12
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Re: My super-simple, inexpensive, Full-Auto Greenhouse! + fruiting chamber comparison [Re: Violet]
#16797497 - 09/06/12 09:02 AM (12 years, 4 months ago) |
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I have this exact same greenhouse. Would you recommend the standard 80mm fans or possibly the 120mm fans? Also, would the led light fans benefit at all? They don't put out much light.
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Violet



Registered: 12/06/11
Posts: 4,205
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Re: My super-simple, inexpensive, Full-Auto Greenhouse! + fruiting chamber comparison [Re: Galorian]
#16822264 - 09/10/12 10:05 AM (12 years, 4 months ago) |
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The two fans I have on mine are 12v 120mm fans. They blow new air through the entire thing in just under the 50-second interval the timer uses.
I've currently got lots going in this! Blue Oyster, King Oyster, Shiitake, Cubensis, soon also Galindoi and Mexicana-CN.
This greenhouse was set-up so specifically to ensure two things.
1) That the most air-needy mushrooms could flourish. That's Blue Oyster, and right now, huge clusters of gorgeous and healthy BO mushrooms are growing all over a few blocks in there.
2) Near-saturation humidity. After every fresh-air cycle, the humidifier busts in immediately to bump the air right back to 100%, and it just barely falls from that over the next 15mins until another air exchange. Therefore the perfect conditions are being constantly re-set.
I leave this location for around a week at a time every week - I'm not there misting. I've learned that misting is pretty unnecessary unless your subs lose moisture to the air at too good a pace. My monos don't have to be misted for this reason, so the greenhouse doesn't have to be either!
-------------------- Intentionally or not, here in mushcult we are purveyors of love culture and enlightenment movement. Let's try to act like it!
PODS TEK - Growing Invitro with BRF/verm or Grass Seed containers
The simplest, quickest, safest tek! For beginners, culturers, lazy people, stealth lovers, contam haters, and alternative seekers!
• Violet's Teks and Posts •
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mandrax360
Woodchipper Deluxe


Registered: 09/20/11
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Loc: Nelson Mandela House, Peckham
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Re: My super-simple, inexpensive, Full-Auto Greenhouse! + fruiting chamber comparison [Re: Violet]
#16866902 - 09/18/12 04:06 AM (12 years, 3 months ago) |
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Nice set up and write up .
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Nature Boy
Stranger than most



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Re: My super-simple, inexpensive, Full-Auto Greenhouse! + fruiting chamber comparison [Re: Violet]
#16866987 - 09/18/12 04:50 AM (12 years, 3 months ago) |
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Sweet. Nice contribution! 5 shrooms for you, sir!!!
N.B.
-------------------- All submitted posts under this user name are works of pure fiction or outright lies. Any information, statement, or assertion contained therein should be considered pure unadulterated bullshit. Note well: Sorry, but I do not answer PM's unless you are a long-time trusted friend. If you have a question, ask it in the appropriate thread.
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agedcowpie
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Re: My super-simple, inexpensive, Full-Auto Greenhouse! + fruiting chamber comparison [Re: Nature Boy]
#16867147 - 09/18/12 06:32 AM (12 years, 3 months ago) |
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This is pretty much how my fruiting chamber is set up. Except my ultrasonic is on the outside connected with pvc and distributed evenly on each shelf.
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Violet



Registered: 12/06/11
Posts: 4,205
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Re: My super-simple, inexpensive, Full-Auto Greenhouse! + fruiting chamber comparison [Re: agedcowpie]
#16867805 - 09/18/12 09:52 AM (12 years, 3 months ago) |
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I originally had the humidifier piping in. The pipe always got gnasty black growth in it, I didn't like that, nor did I like cleaning it so regularly, as it was difficult to get it cleaned all-thru.
I'm extremely happy with how I have it set-up now. Only thing is I sacrifice some bottom-shelf space, which I don't mind. It's my least fave one to put blocks/trays on anyway and I don't need the space for one more tray THAT badly.
-------------------- Intentionally or not, here in mushcult we are purveyors of love culture and enlightenment movement. Let's try to act like it!
PODS TEK - Growing Invitro with BRF/verm or Grass Seed containers
The simplest, quickest, safest tek! For beginners, culturers, lazy people, stealth lovers, contam haters, and alternative seekers!
• Violet's Teks and Posts •
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