Got my chamber in today and I got it together! Just have to silicone the seams, hang the lights, and put the doors on and it’ll be ready to go. I love it!!!???
The chamber is here!
- Thread starter timus
- Start date
Nice.... remind us again, what kind of torts going in there?
There will be 4 hatchling western hermanns going in it later this summer.
ISU
Well-Known Member
Looks really good
I am excited to get the last couple things done in it. I think it will give them a nice environment while they are still really young.
TheTattooedTortoise
Active Member
Looks sweet, nice one! Can't wait to see it set up ??
Update. Sealed the seams and got the door tracks on. Hung the lights and gave them a run. I do not have the substrate in yet so it was a dry run and I’m unsure how the moist substrate will affect the temps, but as is it gets to warm. 104 on the hot end and 86 on the cool end. I’m using a 45 flood as the basking bulb, the 3 foot Arcadia uvb and 2 Arcadia 3 foot leds. It’s super easy to find where all the heat is coming from. Those Arcadia leds run HOT! When I got them and plugged them in I knew then there was likely to be an issue as they are really nice bright leds and will grow plants super well, but they are running in 120-125 degree range. I don’t think they will be suitable for a closed chamber. Led are known for producing low heat but when you get into the fixtures with large amounts of leds on the board they tend to get hot. In my grow tent I have a quantum board led fixture and if I didn’t have a fan blowing directly on it it would quickly hop up to the temps of the Arcadia. With the fan on it it never goes past 90. Keeping the fixture cool is paramount in keeping it running for many years. Fixtures running at high temps over 120 will not last near as long as a cooled unit. So at this point I don’t think I’ll run either of the Arcadia’s in the chamber. I thought about taking the one out of the hot side and leaving the one on the cool side but leaving either in there will likely cause the fixture to fail well before it should. This is why I’m so glad I’m getting ready way ahead of time. I guess at this point I’ll look to get some ceramic screw in fixtures and put leds in them. Something higher on the Kelvin scale but not so high on heat produced. I would like for plants to still grow well in there as well as providing lots of light. I’m not complaining at all about the Arcadia leds. They are super nice lights and will work very well as stand alone grow lights in an open environment and with a pc fan blowing the hot air off constantly. I just don’t think they are suited for my chamber. A taller chamber would also help but running over 120 would no be conducive to the unit lasting long either way. Sooooo small snag but again this is why you get your stuff dialed in before there’s to be babies going in?
TheTattooedTortoise
Active Member
Is slight extraction a possibility?
I gave that some thought but with 2 3 foot fixtures running at 120+ I felt there would have had to been a lot lot of extraction to get that amount of heat out constantly. It would also then murder my humidity I suspect. Quick trip to Lowe’s and I bought two sockets and some 13 watt 5000k leds and got them in the top. Where I took the Arcadia out of the other end I put a 3 foot t5 fixture. I’ve got it up and running now and I suspect it’s going to be right where I want it. I may even have to put the 65 watt flood back in, in place of the 45 for the basking spot. So I think I’ll fixed that issued with relative ease lol. And it’s still fairly well lit in the whole enclosure! I’ll end up using those Arcadia’s to grow some plants under at some point and I bet they’ll grow plants super well.
I told my wife I’m an electrician now too???
TheTattooedTortoise
Active Member
Nice one, sounds like you've got it sussed!! ??
You've got the 3' UVB so what do you even need the extra 2 LEDs for anyway? That temps way too high and in my opinion they need to go. As long as you have a ceramic heat emitter and thermostat to keep temp from getting too low you don't need them. I was also led to believe LEDs run even cooler than flourecents and that's how they save energy.
Up above I spoke on how I remedied it. The two Arcadia led bars were taken out. I replaced them with a 3 foot 6500k t5 on the one end and the other was replaced with 2 5000k 13 watt bulbs. The temps are right we’re they should be now. This is an 8 foot enclosure so my original thinking was the Arcadia leds providing great lighting that would also keep the plants growing well. I really wanted the enclosure to be very well lit and then have lots of nice shaded areas under plants that they could use. As it sits now I’m happy with how lit the enclosure is and where the temps are at. I don’t have a Che in the enclosure as there will be hermanns going in and my house stays right at 70 most of year. In the winter it may go down to 67 but that should be warm enough at night where I wouldn’t need a che still.
Mostly good to hear that. Not sure about Hermans temp needs but do wonder if they'll need to spend too much time warming up to digest well or want to eat? Not making light the CHE can keep things warm all day long. One thing to always beware of is cool/cold temps and dampness/high humidity are a recipe for respiratory infections. It looks to be a good place to live when all dialed in.
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