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[rakeandbake]

I was looking for a good way to propagate cuttings. So I used a method that I was fond of in the past. I took a 75 gallon aquarium I already had and then made two tight fitting plexiglass lids. The lids provide a means to keep moisture inside for my cuttings.  I also considered using this tank for fresh grafts instead of a humidity dome over each individual plant. Any reasons why it would t work for such a task (I am definitely no expert with grafting). My next task will be to add some adjustable ventilation in the lids. I havent chose an exact design yet. I was communicating with sunshine about this. He sent me a link to some that open and close with a twist. I will likely go that route. I'm going to top it off with some t5ho fluorescent lights I had setting around. This little project got me wondering what my fellow STS members do for a propagation chamber or how do they keep fresh grafts from drying out? If you no longer do these things, how did you do it previously? There is so much knowledge in our community! I look forward to hearing what methods others use.

[Shamichael]

I have used a 1020 tray with inserts and a humidity dome with pretty decent results. I simple cheap led in the winter or in the summer I just put it in indirect sun.

Some things root easy, others are more finicky, take longer and are more prone to rot. One of the issues I have dealt with inside is fungus gnats that eat any emerging roots.

Lately I have been thinking about using a 1% bleach solution to soak cutting in before sticking them and trying a different type of rooting product called EZ-root for difficult to root plants and see what kind of success I have.
The one thing about the aquarium I would say is to not have it wet at all, high humidity but not wet is the key, like the drier the substrate while still having near 100% humidity is ideal imo. And don't put the cutting all the way to the bottom.
Cheers

[Sunshine]

A lot of my collection is currently tropical non-ethnogens, so some of this information may not be quite fully applicable for your purposes.

With any propagation chamber the main issue is going to be height. Seed starter 10x20s commonly come with short-style humidity domes around 4" tall. It's difficult to use this for anything other than seedlings or small vining-type plants. They're cheaply made and unless you take good care of them, won't last more than a season or two. This style is very common, and you can find these at any Walmart, Amazon, etc. They cost around 5$

The next step up, and a bit tougher to find, is tall domes for 10x20s. They're about twice the height of the short cheapo ones and cost around 8$ for the dome only. They are slightly oversized but will fit any 10x20 out there. The build quality is a step up from the cheap ones, and they come with built in vents at both ends, and one at the top. They're nice enough to be worth using as a starting point over the short-domed ones, even though a tray/dome setup will run about double what the shorties go for. They seem a little more durable, and if not abused I could totally see them lasting 3+ seasons. I can't say for sure though, as this is my first season using them.

The next step up from the 8" domes is a stackable domed propagator made by 'earlygrow'. They're quite a bit more expensive than the previous two, but the build quality reflects the difference in price. They run around 60-80$ on amazon, and I haven't found them for sale anywhere else. They are much more of a permanent installation and could easily last 10-15+ years if taken care of. The tray is much thicker heavy duty, it's expandable, and the sections have 'heavy duty' vents on both ends, and 2 on the top cap. It has clips which hold all the seconds together, and plastic bolts which hold the sectional sides/ends. Each section is around 5-6 inches tall, and the 3-section version extends to around 18" above the top of the tray. One could comfortably fit 30+ propagations in it. I just received my first one this past week as you know, and I am absolutely in love with it. If you have the extra coin, then they are absolutely worth getting over the cheapo ones. I'll be switching my entire collection over to them eventually.

Now on to the big chambers. This is where things get expensive. You could go DIY as you already are, and that's probably the cheapest option. A 55-gallon tank runs 55$ during Petco's dollar per gallon sale, and last time I checked plexiglass can be a little pricey but isn't horrible. Correct me if I'm wrong, but maybe 20-30$ ish to retrofit a piece the approx. dimensions of a 55g lid. The great thing about a 55g is that you can put it upright on it's end to use as a makeshift greenhouse more so than a prop box.

Ikea makes some absolutely gorgeous greenhouse cabinets, but they're pricey as hell so I'm hesitant to buy one. They're basically a coated wire rack with a plexi outer shell. Looks pretty, but for 200$ they can keep it. lol One could pretty easily build one. I can't speak towards durability or their build quality, but I've seen them in person and they're suuuuper cute. haha

An MJ grow tent is another option. They're much more industrial vs. aesthetically pleasing imho as they don't show case the plants. For the price they will give you the most grow space per buck - other than DIY of course. They're geared for production, not for showcasing pretty plants.

If I were doing what you're doing - propagating 1 specific plant en masse, I'd consider buying a stainless steel wire rack and wrapping it in some type of greenhouse plastic. The one I have will fit 3 10x20s per shelf, with some slight overlap both in the front and back. Some of the larger models might actually fit 4 per shelf with no overlap, allowing you to use plexiglass to make a permanent shell.

Dedicating an entire room to propogation is another option. A humidifier can easily keep a room at 70% - adequate for most plants.

Edit- A clear plastic tote flipped upside down would be a decent option as well for small scale propping.

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[rakeandbake]

To retrofit the dual lid of the 75gal aquarium it cost me around $40. When I used aquariums previously I also elevated the plants off the bottom as shamichael mentioned. The one thing I had before was lots of free time. So I could manually mist the plants and/or walls of the aquarium and open the lid often for air exchange. Now I am not home for a ten hour window each day. In the past for when I wasn't home I had a vent on one side and a fogger on the other. It was set up on a timer which would handle air exchange as well as humidity. Maybe with my current schedule I should do something along those lines again. Hopefully next year at this time, if I meet all of my growing goals, I'll have a reason to put up my greenhouse. Thanks for the input so far guys! Hoping to hear what other people do too.