Looking to start seeds; need help deciding setup.

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nes
Posts: 145
Joined: Wed Apr 14, 2021 5:46 pm
Location: Zone 10b

Looking to start seeds; need help deciding setup.

Post by nes »

I would like to start seeds but purchasing a light and using up electricity has kept me away.
I have a 20 gallon long fish tank that I would like to use as a "humidity dome"

I am not sure if I can grow outdoors, all I have is a balcony that gets 6-7 hours of direct morning sun.

Is it possible to grow outdoors with not much direct sun, or do I need to get a grow light and grow indoors?

Also, would it be wise to use the fish tank or not? it has been sterilized and it has a tight fitting lid.

I plan on trying to grow mammillarias, gymnocalyciums, eriosyce and turbinicarpus.
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gemhunter178
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Joined: Mon Oct 31, 2011 6:10 pm
Location: Massachusetts,USA. Zone 6A

Re: Looking to start seeds; need help deciding setup.

Post by gemhunter178 »

6-7 hours of direct morning sun, especially in your area, should be more than enough for seedlings and even adults for those plants you mentioned (I've found some Gymnos actually like a little shade)

I wouldn't quite advise a fish tank - but not because it wont work: it'd be a hassle to reach in and take out pots when you need to. In addition, if you're not using pots and directly adding soil and growing seeds from that, drainage may become an issue as a fish tank is kinda built to keep water in. Also, I doubt a typical fish tank can maintain a relatively sterile environment.

Have you considered the baggy method?:
https://www.cactuspro.com/articles/le_s ... sh_version (or similar)

It would allow you to isolate each species in case of accidental contamination and be an easy way to move around pots (for organization, you can even put these pots in the fish tank)
A cactus and succulent collector who especially likes Ariocarpus. …Though I have a bit of everything! Want some pictures? See my flickr! I also do art and such.
Jangaudi
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Location: Gent, Belgium

Re: Looking to start seeds; need help deciding setup.

Post by Jangaudi »

I would agree that a fishtank cannot be kept sterile, and without ventilation it's bound to produce mold. I do use enclosures myself, but they are open like 50% on the top, so they get fresh air, but humidity does hang around a lot more than if you'd grow in open air, so this works for me.
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greenknight
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Location: SW Washington State zone 8b

Re: Looking to start seeds; need help deciding setup.

Post by greenknight »

The direct sun would be too strong for seedling cacti, shading would be needed. I can see some use for the fish tank with the baggie method, it would protect them from the wind and you could attach shading to it.
Spence :mrgreen:
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Aiko
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Location: the Netherlands

Re: Looking to start seeds; need help deciding setup.

Post by Aiko »

nes wrote: Mon Jul 05, 2021 1:14 am I have a 20 gallon long fish tank that I would like to use as a "humidity dome"
That sounds big. I use liters. A gallon is about 4 liters, right? That is a lot of space for the moist air. I would keep things a bit more compact. I use one of the plastic containers, like this one from Ikea: https://www.ikea.com/nl/nl/p/samla-bak- ... -40102978/, with a lit and some of those lid holding thingies you snap on to keep the lid secure.

Works like a charm. I keep the pots locked in for a few weeks. For signs of mold, I just take the particular pot out or try to scoop out the mold first. Once I am happy with the germination rate or when I don't expect anything to germinate again, I take them out. In the mean time the box stays locked. Any pots that don't germinate, I just allow to dry out and stay dry for a few weeks, then I try to restart them again later in spring when it is warmer. Works well too for some of these.

I do however cook my soil very thoroughly first, before I use it to sow. I would not lock any sown seeds up for a long time without cooking the soil first. I use 50% rough sand and 50% loam for almost all my sown (I sowed about 200 pots in 6 of these Ikea boxes this year alone with quite excellent germination rates).
nes
Posts: 145
Joined: Wed Apr 14, 2021 5:46 pm
Location: Zone 10b

Re: Looking to start seeds; need help deciding setup.

Post by nes »

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. What percent shade cloth would be best for my zone, given that my plants get direct sun up until about 1 pm.
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