I'm just testing out my box to see how many holes I may need, but my hydrometer is reading 100% yet there isn't any precipitation on the sides of the box. I just got some ripped up cardboard in there soaked in a little over 1L of water. Should I be concerned or what?
Condensation on the inside walls of your FC is not really an indicator of RH. It is the moisture content of the air that matters and is not necessarily something you can see.
Well this is why I prefer to ask =P I read some where when you can SEE the walls sweating that your humidity is around 90-100. RIght now is is below 90%. Should this go up when I use perlite instead of a few pieces of cardboard?(picture coming up)(http://img710.imageshack.us/img710/3584/getattachmentaspxfiled0.th.jpg) (http://img710.imageshack.us/i/getattachmentaspxfiled0.jpg/)
Wet cardboard is just an invitation for mold...
Dub is right. Cardboard is used as a substrate for a variety of species of cubes. Get it out of your fruiting chamber, wipe it down with lysol, rinse and repeat. Buy some perlite or even better some hydroton pellets. You don't need to steepen the learning curve any more than it is naturally. Good luck.
Wet cardboard just doesn't sound right .. I'm with Dub...
As I originally said TESTING I got two bags of perlite that're going to be used once I birth my cakes. But I don't like cleaning up moldy anything so when I get home I will dispose of it. I think my humidity is around 80-90 would this rise if I had an inch of perlite at the bottom that is wet?
Do you really think your going to reinvent the wheel here? The only way to know your humidity is with a quality hydrometer. Fluker's makes a great digital one for terrariums.
I've got a hydrometer already. I checked at a hardware store and they didn't have any products by flukers. My hydrometer is reading 78.
You can test your equipment with some moist salt in a plastic Ziploc bag to see if it is accurate. Try using the search function to find out how. Good luck with your search.
Use 3 or more inches of perlite!
heh I think this hydrometer very well might be a piece of shit, its saying my RH % of my house is now negative hehe guess I will be buying a new one when I can
Knowing is half the battle.
Check your local pet store for a hydrometer/humometer(sp). Digital.
Hopefully they don't ring up that much I need a new network cable for my computer.. Any prices I should expect tomorrow?
edit;
http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2753956 Is this the flukers digital meter you were refering to dub?
I use the digital, although I'm sure there's some good ole' analog ones out there too. Yeah, the hardware store ones suck. I had one that fried itself from the high humidity.
lun0s, the Flukers meter that you show in your link is the same model that I use. I have had it about a year now without any problems. Works great.
Yeah I had the flukers too but they kept crapping out on me. WWW.EKO-TERRA.COM.>Got this one (called a hygrometer) and it works very well.
Well probably after xmas I will be able to buy the hygrometer now, if by chance my cake is fully colonized and I try to put it into a terrarium that isn't 90% humidy what might happen?
Dry out, small mushrooms.
Eek I don't want that, I read that I could put my colonized jars in the fridge until they are ready for birthing, is this indeed true?
Lun0s,
You can indeed slow, or retard the colonized jars in your fridge safely for up to a few weeks.
But, remember the fridge is a breeding ground of contamination's,..... molds, fungus and nasty bacteria.
I would wrap them with a paper towel, place them in a storage baggie, and repeat the process, ( double baggie ) for each jar.
Better safe than sorry,....
~Malabar :mellow:
heh thanks for the suggestion. I just hope what I'm paranoid about on my one cake isn't a contaminate. If it is would it be full blown able to see by full colonization? Or could mycellium actually take over that spot and cover it?
Lun0s,
Contaminates are much like an infection. Given a weakened state or the opportunity, ( the environment you make available to them ) allows their dominant nature to overrun the mycelium within controlled environments.
In indoor grows, it's Very rare to have mycelium survive a hostile invasion of contamination.
Most times you will have indicators long before you see contams, ( smell is a biggie ).
~Malabar :mellow:
Thats the thing guys, when I disposed of my contaminated cakes they ALL smelled like mushrooms(they all had green mold spots). But least its nice to know that if a jar is colonized the mycellium won't cover up the contaminated area.