Buckaroo Tub terrarium - fully automated

[BuckarooBanzai]

This is a totally automated tub (no need to fan), designed to fruit a couple of smallish bulk cases or cased cakes. Once set up and running, it will go totally hands off for weeks at a time.

The environment it is intended to be run in is %40-%60 RH and 60F-70F (this may be cooler/drier than you are, but things can be adjusted pretty easily). If your environment is much warmer or more humid, using an aquarium heater may not be required to boost humidity. If your environment is much cooler, just use a higher wattage aquarium heater.

This design is proven in battle, not just conceptual...

You need to acquire:
1. Perlite (at least a gallon and a half, you will need a 3 inch layer on the bottom of the tub)
2. Plastic tub with lid, 20-30 gallon size
3. Some kind of rack that fits the bottom of the tub (upside down dish drying racks work great, you will need to hold your cakes about 5-6 inches off bottom of the tub, just make sure it fits the tub comfortably)
4. Plastic cutting board that fits on the rack, inside the tub and leaves at least 1 inch clearance around the edges.
5. Glass cutting board that will fit in the lid of the tub
6. Tube of silicone caulk & caulking gun
7. Florescent strip light about the same width as the cutting board
8. Light timer that you can set for 24 on / 24 off
9. Power strip and extension cord, if needed to get some A/C to the grow area
10. Aquarium pump
11. 4-6 feet aquarium tubing
12. An aquarium air stone
13. Aquarium heater, 250-350 watt (if the grow room will not keep the tub between 74F-80F).
14. Smallish thermometer to hang on the inside of the tub (needs to show from 65F-85F).
15. 5 gallon jug of bleach.
16. Cheap 12v computer fan (180mm or smaller)
17. Cheap 12v DC power supply.
18. Goop silicone adhesive (or water resistant epoxy) to hold the fan in place.

Here is a big pile of stuff from the local Mart that is about to become a happy little production tub:

IMG_0003.JPG

The first point of order is a decision about the tub. If you want to be a little more discrete, get an opaque tub. If you want to watch them grow and buy less stuff, get a transparent tub. If you go transparent, you don't need the caulk/glass board. It is really only so discrete with a florescent light sitting on top of it anyway, so you *might* want to locate it in say...a closet?

Lay the tub's lid down on the floor, put the cutting board in the center of it and mark around it with a sharpie. With a sharp razor knife (or sawing carefully with a serrated steak knife) cut a square out of the lid smaller than the cutting board. You will need about a 1 inch lip around the edge to sit the board on. If you cut thick plastic with a buzz on, you might want to have some band aids and disinfectant near by.

lid_cutout.jpg

Put the lid on top of the tub, open up the caulk and put a THICK double bead around the edges of the hole. Carefully sit the cutting board down in the caulk and wiggle/squish it just a little to spread the caulk out. Let this dry for at least 48 hours (72 is better, if you use the whole tube of caulk, like me). Once it dries, the caulk will not stick well to the tub, but will stick great to the cutting board. Do not be surprised when it sort of pops off a few weeks later. The caulk layer sitting on the glass will still make a nice seal.

window_in_caulk.jpg

Do not caulk seal the whole tub lid. You want some air to escape around the edges.

Drill a hole for the aquarium tubing up near the top of the tub. If you lay the tub lid on the hose to get it in, you will pinch the hose. If you sit the dish rack on top of the hose, you will pinch the hose. Do not pinch the hose or you will not get any fresh air.

hose_position.jpg

Mount the thermometer on an inside wall of the tub so youwill be able to see it easily. Goop adhesive works well for this unless you get a thermometer with Velcro or double sided tape.

Open up the bag of Perlite kind of carefully. When shaken, it produces a fine white dust that is not good for your lungs (it is basically powdered glass). Using a hose or shower head, spray a bunch of water (1/2 gallon or so) into the bag. Now you can pour the Perlite into the tub without producing a big cloud of glass dust!

Perlite floats, and what you want to do is add enough water/Perlite until you have about 2-3 inches of Perl floating on 3-4 inches of water. Do not put in so much that it is over the top of the dish drying rack. The Perl should be well below the level of the cakes. Now add four cups of bleach and stir everything up with a big spoon.

You will religiously add 1/2 cup of bleach to this tub every week from now on. If you do not do this, all that standing water will invite contaminants very quickly and it will stink to high heaven. Plenty of bleach and plenty of aeration with the stones/pump will keep your water as clean as any outdoor pool.

Once a month, top the tub up with fresh water. Do not forget. If the water runs low, your heater will burn out. Add water more often if needed.

Do not forget the tub will get heavy once is full of water and Perl. You might want to fill it where it is going to sit or at least not down stairs from where it is going to sit.

Put the rack in the bottom of the tub. Put the aquarium stone on the end of a nice long section of hosing and feed the hose through the rack (not under the rack). Submerge the stone and push it down under the Perl over towards the center of the tub. Leave a little slack on the hose so the stones do not get pulled up above water level accidentally (imagine the perl in the pic below).

hose_position.jpg

Check the stone every time you top up the water to make sure it is still bubbling nicely. Air stones will dissolve/clog pretty quickly in all that bleach. Stones are CHEAP. Replace them often.

Put the aquarium heater on the bottom of the tub, under the water but NOT under the edge of the rack, just like the air tubing. You want easy access to the heater's little knob thermostat and any weight on it will ruin it. If it runs dry for more than 30 seconds or so, it will also ruin it. It must stay submerged while plugged in. Run the cord out the top of the tub and over to the power strip. The tub lid will sit on top of the cord.

Set the light timer for 12 on / 12 off. Plug up the florescent light into the timer and the timer into the power strip. Put the light on top of the lid. Do not forget to use the other cutting board as a shelf across the bottom of the dish rack.

inside_board.jpg

Glue the fan up in a corner of the tub so it points at the top of the tub. DO NOT aim the fan so it points anywhere near the casing surfaces. It will dry them out badly. Also, do not buy an expensive fan as it will rust out in the humid environment of the tub after 4-6 months. The buildup on this fan is spores, not rust. I told you this tub had seen combat...

corner_fan_spores.jpg

This is the finished product:

finished.jpg

Plug everything up (pump, heater, timer/light) and let it run for 24 hours. Learn to enjoy the mild smell of chlorine if this is in your bedroom. Chlorine smell = much less likelihood of contaminants.

After 24 hours, check in on the new tub. You want to adjust the aquarium heater a little bit every 6 hours or so until it stays in the 72F-79F range. A little less will not kill you, a little higher will favor contaminants. Do not adjust the heater more often than every 6 hours. It takes that little glass bullet a long time to change the temperature in that big old tub.

In the suggested environmental range, with the pump running 24/7, your tub should stay in the %85-%95 RH range. Good humidity is a light mist and *some* condensation on the walls and inside lid of the tub. Tons of dripping/running water is too much and will lead to problems. Cakes will want a higher RH than cases. That is one of the reasons I prefer cases.

You can adjust the humidity level by raising the air stone above water level (take the stones off for better air flow, if you do) and turning the temperature down. Cooler air will hold less moisture.

Once you are sure how the tub is going to perform, let it run a few more days before you introduce your cases. If something is going to break or perform oddly, it is far less nerve racking to go for parts and/or make changes before your babies are depending on you.

Optional accessories:

Better aquarium heater: Won Brothers Pro-Heat II titanium

Higher quality aquarium pump: Won Brothers Dolphin series (runs quieter)

Hygrometer (if it costs less than $20, it?s probably not worth the investment)

The Won Brothers heater is a good investment, because it will last longer and it's plastic components are designed to be submerged in salt water. The cheap 'mart brand heater's plastic parts will start to stiffen and eventually crack in the bleach water. The Won Brothers units have precisely labeled adjustment knobs and the higher end models have remote temperature probes and digital thermostats. No guessing temps with these. If you get the remote probe model, do not put it under the water. Mount it on the wall of the tub, half way up and no where near the fan.

You probably should not mount the hygrometer inside the tub as cheaper ones tend to fail with long term exposure to high humidity environments. Put it in the tub for two hours and then remove it as you check it.

[synth]

Very nice, man. Very nice. Thank you for sharing.
I might make something like this one day.

[Stenciler]

Buck I swear this kind of stuff helps us newbs out far more than any contest could. Very nice, perfect write up.

[BuckarooBanzai]

I hope it helps. 'preach the kind words, too. Writing this up was inspired by an ongoing conversation I've been having with trippy_77414, I should have dedicated it to her.

It's all in the archives, but sometimes popping up "freshies" helps. The only thing that was remotely innovative was the computer fan. I discoverd (while preparing that write up, actually) that other folks are well aware of that idea already! LMAO!

"If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of GIANTS."
-Albert Einstein

It's all about the learning and the tweaking and the sharing...information changes the mind that contains and conveys it. It changes the world in which it is exercised.

Also, somebody might have a question or critique that makes my environment work an order of magnitude more effectively! Sharing need not be entirely selfless, don'cha know...

Just remember to freshen your bleach every week. Standing water invites contams.

[Hippie3]

nicely written
archive material

[mullugh]

If one desires a more simple version then simply create two holes in a plastic grow box (I did this by melting with lighter...
...then feed your air stone [from pump] into the grow area and into a jar of water....
...then fill the two holes in the box with polyfill...
...bingo

the water evaporates slowly so therefore creates a humid atmosphere.

not trying to out-do or anything. I have never needed to fan or anything + I now use expanded clay balls so I dont have horrible perlite all over the place...bonus

[Hippie3]

simply enclose perlite in a mesh bag
no more mess