@cyberlocc to hopefully steer this thread back to the humidity question, I'm curious what your personal misting/watering technique and schedule is? Are you located somewhere with with fairly easy going seasons, or are your winters pretty harsh on that humidity like mine are?
Apologies if you answered this somewhere earlier, there's so much back and forth going on my head's starting to spin
Ya my winter is pretty harsh.
We dont use Central Air, so that helps and hinders, depending on season. We use Forced Air Propane heating in the winter, and a Evaporation Cooler (swamp cooler) in the Summer.
I also dont use Screen cages. So that helps me with the Humidity aspect, especially as everything is Bioactive and planted, even my Insects enclosures.
My current misting schedule, is an idea I got from
@jamest0o0,
I mist for 2 mins in the morning, 10 minutes before lights on. (6:50AM)
I then Mist again, at 1:30 PM, for 5 minutes.
30 mins before this mist, my lights go off, right now in analog fashion (Just off) soon to be dim off. Everything but the UVB/Flo lights (all my cages, even the bugs ones have a Flo, and LEDs) so the LEDs and Basking (for cages that have it) go off (or Dim, non basking cages dim). at 1pm.
At 2pm (25 mins after the mist) the lights return (except the dimming ones, which start to Ramp back on, 5 mins after the mist)
I then mist a 3rd time, 10 minutes after lights out For 1 minute. This helps to raise the humidity for the nighttime, it spikes a bit, and stays high over night.
I have a couple plants I am working with, trying to replace the idea of the fogger. An Arcea Palm, being the most important one. This Malagasy Native palm, is a strange one. Its one of few plants that Transpire water 24 hours a day. It transpires ALOT of water, 24 hours a day, NASAs clean air study found it transpires 1 liter per day, for a 6 foot tall plant.
Sadly in my state, shipping Arcea Palms here is illegal apparently, somehow they are sold locally, but you cannot import them into the state. Lowes always has them for me, but only 12 inchs tall, so I am waiting for my plant to get bigger, to give me the biggest effect and see the test results. My plant is currently about 24 inches tall, so its getting there.
At its current size, it does work, kind of. As I have lots of ground plants, and 8 inches deep soil, I cant say its only the plant at that height, but at the top of the plant and lower, at night I sit at about 80-90% humidity.
The top of the cage, humidity sits around 70% at night. The house outside the cage is about 20%. So thats something I have been waiting for the plant to grow and get more detailed results to share.
I dont use a fogger, I dont like the idea of using a fogger. I have a fogger, cost me quite a bit of money, I was one of the first I believe on the forum, to actually purchase a fogger and try it out, right after Petr announced the Humidity at night thing. I dont use it.
Heres why I dont use it. This is solely a personal opinion, and my reasons for disliking a fogger. Not knocking anyone for using a fogger AT ALL, this is simply why I dont like them.
1. Its not Natural. The fog that "Foggers" or "Cool Mist Humidifiers" provide, is not fog. Its not humidity, its mist. Its a fine mist, its a finer mist than our misters, but its still a mist. Blast that "fogger" line and watch how fast the surface you blast is sopping wet. It is water, not fog. It looks like a very thick (which is unnatural) Fog, but its simply a very fine mist.
Plants do not want to be wet at night. Watering plants like that at night, can cause Rot, Fungus, Bacteria build up, Clogging of Stomata, and many other issues. YEs it rains at night in the wild. However it still dries very very fast, as there is lots of air movement. Thats not the case in my Vivarium. People do fog, and seemingly has no issue on the plants. However most folks are using common hardy, garden center plants. I have plants in my vivs, that cost $100+ for a seedling. So its not a risk I like to take. I even dislike the lights out misting, however its less water than would be fogging all night long, and I agree with the idea of having higher nighttime humidity.
Alot of those plants I mentioned, in my Large Panther viv, all those plants are endemic to Madagascar, they require the same 100% humidity rise.
2. Cool Mist Humidifiers, are Dangerous. They are even recommended against for human use. Heres why, and an article on it.
"People should be especially cautious with ultrasonic or "cool mist" humidifiers. On the market since the late 1980s, these types are popular because they're cheap, quiet and energy efficient. They work by basically pulverizing water into a fine mist with high-frequency vibration. The problem, says Dr. Deterding, is that they turn everything that's in the water into mist, too.
"Bacteria, chemicals, minerals, mold — they aerosolize all that stuff to the right particulate size that you breathe it right into your lungs, and it can be toxic," says Dr. Deterding. "One of our patients developed chronic lung disease symptoms. We eventually figured out it was the humidifier." "
https://www.childrenscolorado.org/c...ing/parenting-articles/danger-of-humidifiers/
We are right back to, they are NOT raising humidity, they are NOT putting out Fog, they are a mister, with a finer particle size, thats it. Maybe I am a little over zealous with concern, I must be people mist fine. People seemingly have no issues using PVC cages either, despite that is poison and is constantly out gassing toxic chemicals into the air, especially when heated. I feel people treat stuff like that, "Its okay, its been a week, my Reptile isnt dead" however that does NOT mean there is not long term health issues being caused by breathing in terrible stuff. However, again I could just be a nut job
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