Critique my Fruiting Chamber idea

[Sebby76]

Hi all,

I'm building a fruiting chamber and wanted to get some opinions/advice on whether anyone see's any glaring issues.

This FC will be stored in a fairly cold garage ( overnight temps ~12 Celsius ). So I've devised a method using 2 tubs, with the bottom larger tub having an aquarium heater which will kick in when water temp drops below a certain level. This will help to warm the upper tub ( the Fruiting Chamber ).

I'm also wanting to have Fresh Air Exchange & Humidity going into the FC, so here is where i could use some advice. i.e. will the proposed Humidifier work? It's a separate chamber ( 4Litre juice bottle or similar size ) which will use an air pump, airstone or similar to bring in fresh air and air pressure and then an ultrasonic fogger/mister to create the mist. The idea is that the air pressure from the airstone/pump will push that into the chamber. I'll then have a hole ( or holes ) elsewhere for air to escape, positive air pressure at all times from the pump should ensure air only goes out, not in.

Other ideas are to have controllers/timers to kick the humidifier on/off as required, or simply have it mist a few times a day on a timer.

I'm not overly keen on the Shotgun chamber due to not always being around to mist/fan & the cool temps that might be experienced in the garage ( and I love tinkering and making stuff! ).

Anyway, see pic!

[Sallubrious]

I think that may create an environment that is too wet for optimum fruiting. The idea is to give them air exchange to actually reduce the humidity slightly when you induce fruiting. That setup will be running at close to 100% humidity all the time (unless you have the fogger on a timer as you said).

I don't think the fogger will work if it's that deep either, normally they need a float ring to keep them suspended at the correct depth.

Shotgun chambers or monotubs don't really need to be misted that often if they are construced properly, some wet/damp perlite inside the chamber and small fan running in the room should give plenty of FAE.

The tub in tub heater might be OK in a very cold environment but I'd keep the temp a bit lower than that - 20 deg C max. The mycelium is thermogenic ie it generates its own heat so if you add to much heat you will run into problems with contamination. Winter was always my preferred growing season.

The fogger would be better deployed outside the chamber in the flow of a small fan, if it's on a timer that should provide all the humidity & FAE you need. That way you could simplify your design and have a very low maintenance system.

Edited April 16, 2014 by Sally

[myco]

just plain overkill

shotgun terrarium all the way

step 1.) buy large tub

step 2.) drill a shitload of holes in the tub on all sides including lid and bottom

step 3.) fill with a few inches of perlite

presto fruiting chamber

[Sebby76]

myco. You are probably right. I should just focus on the endgame, and not worry about the FC hehe

[myco]

haha dont worry i tested out foggers bubbler stones and all sorts of shit

none of it makes a noticable difference in my opinion it just makes more work for you and makes things more difficult

sometimes the simplest ways are the best just my 2 cents anyway

feel free to experiment with different ideas though

i always like to it keeps things interesting and i've had success with experiments i never thought would work but i tried it and hey it was a good idea after all

you never know you might figure out a way to make a great fruiting chamber that works well for you and doesn't require you to do any work at all

generally though its gonna cost ya more money for a fairly similar result but hey if ya got some money to play with why not try different ideas

experimentation is always a good thing