Davvekavve Posted March 2, 2016 Report Share Posted March 2, 2016 Hello guys! I have some pinguicula plants and some nepenthes in a little mini greenhouse under some lights, and today I saw some mold on the peat. So I want to put a small CPU fan inside the greenhouse, but im afraid the humidity will drop. So if I just make the fan so it circulates the air that is inside the greenhouse and don't blow out the old, just circulate the air, would it help? Ofcourse I let some air get in thru a ventilation hole. What do you think? Or should I put it on the ventilation hole so it sucks out all old air? And use the tray metod to get the humidity high? Skickat från min iPhone med Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S Krelbourn Posted March 3, 2016 Report Share Posted March 3, 2016 Hi Davvekavve I used to grow orchids in a heated greenhouse and it is standard practice to run fans 24 /7 to help with mold prevention. Fans won't cure mold or categorically stop it but it helps eliminate the stagnant, still air that allows it to thrive. Ventilation of course is important but I would have thought keeping humidity high in a small wardian case type environment would be do able with gravel trays etc. Regards Phil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davvekavve Posted March 3, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 3, 2016 Thank you S Krelbourn! Is the CPU fans okay to run in high humidity? Or do I have to think about something special? Like electronic safety? Skickat från min iPhone med Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adelae Posted March 4, 2016 Report Share Posted March 4, 2016 Hi Dave, I had a small polyhouse (1M/1M/2M) and ran two CPU fans in this and never had any issues, I used it for about a year. I think that most CPU fans (12cm) are suitable for an area of about 1 square meter, but once you reach this dimension or larger then you will most likely need more fans. When I had my uni polyhouse (3/3/2.8M) I had to run 5 fans and even then I didn't feel that did enough so I bastardised a portable 30cm fan and ran it off a car battery/solar panels. So you will have to take into acc the size of the setup and work out the best placement, for a small setup this is typically from a top corner facing diagonally to the opposing corner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davvekavve Posted March 4, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 4, 2016 Thank you Adelae! Skickat från min iPhone med Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
naoki Posted March 4, 2016 Report Share Posted March 4, 2016 I'm not sure about the safety side of those DC fan in the high humidity, but some of them seem to die in 1-2 years. But this is probably from splashing a bit of water than from humidity. But I've been using water proof CPU fans now. They are more expensive, but I don't have to keep replacing them. I like this one from Noctua: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KFCRF1A?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_search_detailpage If you look at Noctua page, they have models with higher water proof rating (IP67); NF-A14 industrialPPC-2000 IP67 PWM. They are quiet, generate enough wind, energy efficient, so I'm pretty impressed by them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davvekavve Posted March 6, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 6, 2016 But all waterproof fans i can find is 120mm * 120mm, and right now I have a very small greenhouse that needs a fan, and a 120mm fan is to powerfull, I think it will dry out the dew on my pinguiculas. So I need a 50mm * 50mm or 60mm * 60mm fan. And I can't find a so little fan that's waterproof. Any tips? Skickat från min iPhone med Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YaronR Posted March 6, 2016 Report Share Posted March 6, 2016 I have two simple 1$ 80mm computer fans running in my terrarium for three years. They are both 12V fans. For the price, I wouldn't even hesitate. You can always buy some connectors, so if the fan goes, you simply connect a new one. Sent from my phone, so sorry for mistakes. My growlist can be found at: http://ysraz.com/general/myself/yarons-grow-list/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davvekavve Posted March 7, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 7, 2016 Hello! If I buy a fan, I can control the airflow if I lower the voltage, right? And do you guys think the fan will dry out the dew? Skickat från min iPhone med Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adelae Posted March 7, 2016 Report Share Posted March 7, 2016 This all depends on the size of the greenhouse, but unless the fan is pointed directly at the pings they shouldn't dry out. I also don't think humidity is all that important, I have had a couple on a window seal in Townsville (dry climate) for few years now, and the humidity is normally about 40-50% there, in saying this in my greenhouse and at my parents north of here with much higher humidity they do grow a lot better. However I have tropical pings, so I couldn't say for anything alpine pings. I have however had issues with certain drosera drying out, but only the rainforest group, however I have never had an issue with mould or algae on drosera or pings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
naoki Posted March 7, 2016 Report Share Posted March 7, 2016 Hello! If I buy a fan, I can control the airflow if I lower the voltage, right? And do you guys think the fan will dry out the dew? Skickat från min iPhone med Tapatalk Yes. It is better to have a bigger fan with lower rpm since the smaller fans are pretty noisy. But some DC fans have a minimum voltage requirement (if it is too low, the fan doesn't start up). I think I can run Noctua around 5V. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davvekavve Posted March 8, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 8, 2016 Thanks for the help everyone! Skickat från min iPhone med Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pmatil Posted March 11, 2016 Report Share Posted March 11, 2016 I have a cheap 120 mm fan running 24/7 at 12 volts in my lowland terrarium so very high humidity and it has lasted now 5+ years. The only thing I've done is clean the blades once in awhile. I opened it once to check and there was no rust at all or any sign of corrosion. I may be lucky or then it warms up enough to keep condensation off. So those fancy waterproof fans may not be necessary depending on your usage and conditions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Numbersix Posted March 12, 2016 Report Share Posted March 12, 2016 Has any one tried using one of the Habistat mini fans designed for reptile enclosures etc? They run on their own transformer or can be linked to the lighting the company makes. I have been using cpu fans to create airflow in my terrarium but I am convinced the flow is too high and the Drosera and pings are suffering as a result. I wondered if a habistat fan would have a more suitable flow rate? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manders Posted March 13, 2016 Report Share Posted March 13, 2016 (edited) A bit of mold on the peat is probably unavoidable if its fresh peat (as are fungus gnats) and should soon be replaced by green moss of one sort or another. Edited March 13, 2016 by manders Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johanovich Posted March 21, 2016 Report Share Posted March 21, 2016 Something that also helps against fungus in general is to place a tube containing some thymol crystals in there. When thymol is placed in a saturated environment it kills airborne spores of fungi and slows the growth of fungi by altering the hyphal walls. It also gives a pleasant herbal scent to the environment ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LAdrain Posted August 12, 2016 Report Share Posted August 12, 2016 I use a small USB fan from a local store called Home Barghains. I think it was £2.99 or something around that price. I have a 12v battery and a solar panel with a usb car connector. Also run a watering system and lighting from the battery with timers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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