Greenhouse questions.

[Pikarya]

So back in November we picked up a $250.00+ dollar green house for $65.00 at Lowes.

Its a 10x8 with two zipper doors, zipper windows, and has a triangular roof design.

Inside I keep our small koi/goldfish pond, along with all of our plants we normally keep outside in the Spring/Summer (Mandevillas, etc.)

Anyways I've installed two hanging plants lights which are elevated in the ceiling. I figured that would keep the greenhouse warm in general but its still too cold for what it should be.

I'm looking for tips on how to make it warmer with minimal maintenance. Some people I've talked to have mentioned space heaters (Out of the question, too dangerous). Also some people have suggested filling up 20 or so two-liter bottles and spray painting them black. Leave them out in the sun and then bring them inside the greenhouse before night. I don't think that would put out enough heat though considerably to make any effect (I might be wrong.)

Any ideas?

[greenhills]

heated rocks (probably about the same as the heated water bottles)? is the pond heated at all? can the zippers be insulated if they are letting too much heat escape? a small greenhouse heater? higher wattage lights?
about all i can think of off the top of my head.

[Pikarya]

The pond is heated with a 150w aquarium heater, and on the water floating is a de-icer (Just adds ambient temperature at the top of the water where its coldest to prevent icing)

Also I was tempted to install infra-red "Heat lamps" but I don't know if that's safe to use in the greenhouse. I'm trying to prevent fire hazards as much as possible.

[BaneTheBrawler]

Space heaters are fine if you're not an idiot. We've had one set up in our own greenhouse for the last 10 years and never had a problem. Keep the area around it free of debris (Should be at least 6-8 inches away from anything else, especially flammable or meltable stuff), put it somewhere where it's not going to get knocked over, don't leave it on if you don't need it on. Most of them have built in thermostats these days, so you can set it to the bare-minimum temperature and it will only come on if the greenhouse is too cold.

Aside from high wattage light bulbs or other types of heaters (all of which pose the same risks), you're not going to find anything else that will do the job but not defeat the purpose of a greenhouse, unless you like doing a fuckton of work every day with marginal results.

[greenhills]

how much humidity do you have to deal with? i've seen those used for smaller reptiles, but now that i think about it i'm not sure they had it in the humidified area, and just above. i'm willing to bet there is something that is suitable for any kind of area. if is normalish (<70%) humidity i would think as long as the fixture or w/e you put it in is relatively safe, you would be fine with it. but it might not be enough for the space.
what kind of lighting do you have now? maybe upgrade it to like a 400w/600w hid if only using like a florescent?

[Pikarya]

We have 0 humidity currently (I like in KY, its currently Winter here).

The current lighting is 2x 65w Plant-light bulbs with aluminum reflectors to spread the light. I'm tempted to add a 250w infra-red heat lamp to see the results.

[Salodin]

I don't know much about green houses, but I know as a reptile keeper there is a heater called Flexwatt that people use to heat up large areas of space. It's just a thin plastic sheet that you hook up and plug in, which generates heat, not too different an idea as the heater you have in the middle of your windshield on a car for when it ices or frosts over.

They're incredibly cheap, and not too difficult to setup. I don't see why you couldn't just set up a few feet of the stuff, turn it on, and let it heat up the room completly. Not only cheap (comparitively) to set up, but maintaining it is only cents a day. Normally people use rheostats or thermostats to regulate the temperatures, since it can get hotter then what's suitable for a reptile, but in the winter, inside a green house, I don't see why you couldn't just let it run full blast (not that a thermometer isn't a bad choice when using any heating applicances however). Look into it, quite interested if it would work for you.

[Pikarya]

Someone mentioned this.

http://i39.tinypic.com/2wqxs83.jpg

They say they are extremely low-electric use and output a ton of heat. Also they have an extremely low chance to cause fires.

Sound plausable?

[Salodin]

I'm sure it'd heat things up fine, I personally just have a phobia of central/space heaters being left unattended.

[Pikarya]

I do too, buts its oil. Since it relies off of passive heat instead of direct. It seems like it would be a good candidate. I'd definitely have to turn that bitch off during a rainy day though.

[Jaybar]

Stone or rock with high thermal mass could do well. They usually radiate heat later in the day when the sun goes down which could help to maintain a decent temperature in the greenhouse. It'd be better if the greenhouse was sitting on a concrete mass. However, water exposed to direct sunlight works the best. I don't think it needs to be in a black container though.

Is the greenhouse getting direct sunlight at all? That would alleviate many problems with heating water.

[Pikarya]

Stone or rock with high thermal mass could do well. They usually radiate heat later in the day when the sun goes down which could help to maintain a decent temperature in the greenhouse. It'd be better if the greenhouse was sitting on a concrete mass. However, water exposed to direct sunlight works the best. I don't think it needs to be in a black container though.

Is the greenhouse getting direct sunlight at all? That would alleviate many problems with heating water.

The green house is atop cement, as for all day sunlight. It only receives light from 6AM to 3PM before the sun moves around the building (The plant lights inside cover the rest of daylight till sundown). Since we live in a town house we're short on locations to put it.

[Ghost_Wheel22]

You could try compost/mature heating. Either a barrel or a bin with something like horse or chicken shit mixed with plant filler stuff can heat up a small space quite effectively.

[Pikarya]

You could try compost/mature heating. Either a barrel or a bin with something like horse or chicken shit mixed with plant filler stuff can heat up a small space quite effectively.

My neighbors would kill me.

[Siniroth]

I actually have one of those in my computer area because of how cold it can get (basement), and it definitely does very well for space heating, but doesn't feel exceptionally hot except right next to it (literally sub-inch distances). Takes time to heat up though, not sure on power consumption.

[Pikarya]

Just a follow up, I went today to Lowes and got another aluminum reflector, and a 250w red infrared bulb (the guy said red bulbs are better vs. clear for plants).

And oh my god. The second I turned this thing on I could feel heat down to my legs. This is insanely cool. Never knew infrared light put out so much power.

From what I researched its completely safe for animals, aquatic fish, plants, and even food & medical. Anyone else to back that up? (I only found a handful of google results on the lamps themselves). I know its radiation which causes the heat. I'm just not too big into radiology or anything like that and kind of clueless in that department.

[Salodin]

are these the same as ceramic bulbs?

[Pikarya]

http://www.lhasaoms.com/2005/sqerl/inv/irbulblg.jpg
http://www.lhasaoms.com/IR_Heat_Lamp...1273-page.html

Thats the bulb.

[Salodin]

Looks similar to the one I used to use for my snake. Things are awesome, but can get damn hot if left unchecked. A "small" 75watt one I had once got a spot in my snakes cage to 120 degrees when I took my eye off it for a few min while adjusting it. Just a word of warning~

[Kerberoz]

Full-spectrum bulbs if you're trying to grow anything, ceramic bulbs otherwise. There's really no need to worry about efficiency in heating devices. Think about it for a second.