Hand misting questions

[Iheartdarts]

Hi all,

So If I'm going to be hand misting my tank (36 gallon) I was wondering about how long I should mist it for each day.

Also....most of my plants are going to be epiphytes save for a peperomia and some ferns and vining plants and moss. If my humidity is high in the tank do you think I'll even need to spray my tillandsias directly or just let the viv humidity keep them watered?

Where do you focus your spraying or do you just spray all over?

Thanks

-DT

[back2eight]

Well, I am new to this, too, and I rarely mist my tank. I have an enclosed lid so the humidity stays pretty high. I might mist every 2-3 days. People do it different ways. Some mist several times in one day. Use a hygrometer to know where your humidity is.

[Frogtofall]

I just spray all over with the mister on the most "fine" setting. If you're going to have epiphytes in the Tillandsia genus, you're going to need to make sure that they get adequate ventilation between mistings or they'll rot really fast. Same with most epiphytically grown broms and tills.

I mist my tanks twice a day but thats me. Some mist more, some mist much muc hless. Do what works for you to keep the humidity where you want it.

[nburns]

Think of the misting as rain fall. Misting will help "change" the water in the broms and will also help wash off leaves and break down frog waste. I'd spray everything down a little. You'll get different opinions as to how long but I'd just give everything a good blast.

[Dunner97074]

DT,
Misting the rest of the tank to keep the humidity up should be all you need for the Tilli's. Too mush moisture will cause them to rot especially if you don't have ventilation for the tank. It's a catch 22 you want ventilation but want high humidity inside your tank. I opt for the later and my ventilation is when I open up the tank to feed and mist. Good Luck.
Mike

[defaced]

When I hand mist I go to adaquately soak the ground and the plants that need it, flush the brom axils and generally get everything at least a little bit wet. For my 75 it usually took around 5-7 minutes.

[lacerta]

For Tillandsia I have had better luck placing them up high on the back wall or the upper reaches of wood structures. High and dry seems to suit them best. They do get an occassional soaking with the mister but ventilation allows them to dry completely between exposure to water.
Frequency of misting is best gauged by the rate of evaporation taking place in your viv. This depends largely on the amount of ventilation you are providing. I used to mist about 3 times per week but found that the substrate was becoming too dry so now mist heavily almost every day. Having a circulating water feature in the viv also allows me to monitor the rate of evaporation. When I start hearing some intermittent cavitation in the submersible pump I know that I am overdue and need to add more water. Water added directly to the pool, along with heavy misting of substrate and plants. Every viv is different. Too much ventilation and it becomes hard to maintain humidity. Too little ventilation and you've got fogging problems and many plants don't do as well. Each viv requires some tweaking to get a good balance of humidity and ventilation.
George