Devices for automation for terrariums/cabinets - Orchid Board

alecStewart1 · #1 11-29-2023, 04:49 PM

Hello friends!

So I'm going to be gone 9 days around Christmas and I have a converted Rudsta IKEA cabinet full of plants and while 99% are not orchids, I'm wanting to figure out ways to automate certain aspects in order to minimize the need for someone to come over when traveling.

The two things I think I need to do are:

Change the humidifier:

The one I have is a $40 I got from CVS. It does it's job, but the capacity is a little low and I end up refilling it too much. I also can't control with one with the Inkbird IHC-2000 Wifi I got.

Automate the control of fans:

The fans I have are some ARCTIC P12 Slim CPU fans that are controlled via a DC-to-AC power supply that I can control manually. For some of the Nepenthes I have, they like the humidity to be at 90% or above at night so I simply turn down the fans at night to help up the humidity.

I obviously can't do this when I'm home, so I'd like to find a way to control this remotely and possibly schedule the fan speed based on the time of day.

I know some of you might have green houses or more advanced terrariums, so I'd be curious if you have any suggestions.

Thanks!

kcpi3141 · #2 12-04-2023, 10:37 PM

May I ask how you are growing your plants? For example, I grow my orchids in their medium in a tray of water as a reservoir which I refill once a week. If you're only going for 9 days, then adding just an extra bit more of water should be just fine. If they aren't orchids, they will most likely be plants that can tolerate a lot more standing moisture.

For humidity, as long as the cabinet is sufficiently sealed, having just a couple trays or cups of water in it will increase the humidity. The lights that go on during the day should heat up the air inside a little which will decrease the humidity, and when it cools down at night the humidity will correspondingly increase as well.

sunfire · #3 12-05-2023, 04:51 PM

Hi! I automate my exhaust fan in my grow tent using SwitchBot controllers. It's worked very well but there are a few glitches. The last time I went away I also added a misting system to add to the humidity of (a different) tent.

This is the SwitchBot system I purchased. They also have indoor monitors with displays but I did not think they would last long in my very humid grow tent. The hub connects to the Internet and allows you to see and adjust from anywhere. I combined these with a SwitchBot Plug which is how I turn my exhaust fan on and off. They also have Apple HomeKit versions.

In my situation I have chosen to keep the humidity between 65–75 during the day and 80–90 at night using an exhaust fan. I have smaller USB fans in the tent that ensure constant circulation otherwise. You can set up conditions however you want in the app (i.e. between 8 AM – 8 PM fan turns on when humidity reaches 75 and off when humidity reaches 65). The glitch is that the automation triggers when the setpoint is crossed but will not trigger if already at or beyond the threshold. I have been able to get around this by adding additional conditions at the start of each time point- ie: fan on at 8 AM and off at 8 PM.

I generally water or mist my plants every day so the humidity in my grow tent always wants to be 100%. In other set ups if I wanted to add additional humidity I essentially set up humidity trays in the enclosure which helps because the fans are always on and drying everything.

In a different tent with constant fans (but not automated) I used this reptile mister. It's not a fog but more of a fine spray. It did its job while I was away for a week and a half so I kept it going until I broke that tent down. I might set this up again in the future for my mounted orchids or maybe set it up as part of a drip system.

I'll say the availability of all the data is a bit addicting. It also will calculate VPD, absolute humidity and dew points.

The SwitchBot system has plus/minus reviews. I've only been using it since the end of August but so far so good. I communicated with support through the app and they did get back to me but their answer did not work for me.

I use a heater in the grow tent too but I use a different controller for that.

---------- Post added at 04:51 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:43 PM ----------

Just to add for the humidifier issue. I tried using a mini evaporative cooler as a humidifier once. (NOTE- I do not recommend this thing, it rusted and died so I took out the computer fan and chucked the rest). But while it was working I set up a siphon reservoir to keep it filled with water as long as possible while I was away. That might be an option for your humidifier. All you need is a container for water and some airline tubing.

Spiffy · #4 12-08-2023, 03:59 AM

I have an ikea rudsta wide that I've converted into an indoor greenhouse. It uses a raspberry pi and energenie pi-mote to control power.
This blog is very useful and I used this to do 90% of the automation: Build a Raspberry Pi Terrarium Controller for temperature & humidity

That said, the blog is a bit old now and the sensor it uses has been superceded. (Mine actually broke after 8 months, I suspect due to high humidity.) Instead I used this: SHT31 Weather-proof Temperature & Humidity Sensor | The Pi Hut

The upside with this approach is that you can customise your code to run however you want, and connect whatever heat/humidifier/fans/light sources to the energenie power strip. Using realVNC you can remote from a laptop or your phone to update the code and change target conditions remotely. And the pi can publish to thingspeak so you have a track record of conditions. Compared to an off the shelf, prebuilt kit, you can put it all together pretty cheaply.

Downsides are that it's rather hands-on, you need to solder, and if things wrong it's on you to fix!

I'm relatively new to pi's and I suspect there are cheaper or more reliable ways to do things now. Prices for pi's appear to have increased dramatically since covid! Arduino's appear to do a similar job, and it's probably possible to build your own relay as opposed to using the energenie.

alecStewart1 · #5 04-18-2024, 12:07 PM

Bumping this because I thin the humidifier I have is going kaput for my Rudsta cabinet.

This is the one I have:

Amazon.com

And I've bought one like 3 times. Once I broke it by dropping it, which is (kind of) fine since it was my fault for being clumsy. However, the 2nd one just flat out didn't work when I set it up, and the 3rd is the one I'm on now and I think something went wrong because it doesn't spew out the "fog"/"mist"/whatever you like to call it as high as it did original. That sounds dumb, I know, but the thing is that the sensor is up higher to make sure the plants on the top shelves are getting enough humidity. So since it isn't getting "fog"/"mist"/whatever close to the high of the cabinet, it has to use more water because the humidity where the sensor is won't stay at 60-70% for very long if at all.

Anyone have recommendations? I don't feel like making a humidifier myself at the moment; it'd just be another task to take on when I was a wedding coming up in a few months.

estación seca · #6 04-18-2024, 03:09 PM

Consider a reptile fogger. It's an ultrasonic disc that sits in a dish of water. You can connect it to a timer.

alecStewart1 · #7 04-18-2024, 05:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by estación seca

Consider a reptile fogger. It's an ultrasonic disc that sits in a dish of water. You can connect it to a timer.

So when you say "reptile fogger" do you mean devices like this?

Sorry! Something went wrong!

I mainly ask because I've had such a mixed experienced with Amazon purchases humidifiers and foggers so far.

estación seca · #8 04-18-2024, 05:34 PM

No, this, plus you rig your own refill system.

Amazon: Disc fogger

Also, the Mist King system sold by the owner of Orchid Board is superlative. Two emitters would be adequate for most terraria.