to chill or not to chill? that is the question.

[HUGE]

i hae a sealed room steady at 1500ppm and 88f. the only factor that is a little off is my res temps which are 75-80. i am running e&f all hydroton and i havent had any root issues in the several grows ive had. i guess my question is are there any benifits to a chiller other than more dissolved oxygen?

 

[joeking]

From what I have read, plants absorb nutrients best when the water is upper 60's, lower 70's, but said that lower to mid 70's is what you want to shoot for. If my res was topping out at 80, I think that i would invest in a chiller. Cheers

 

[foaf]

I dont think its as important in ebb and flow as it is in dwc. With E&F the roots get oxygen both from that dissolved in the water and when the water drains, from what room air is drawn into the media as the water drains out. With ebb/flow the nutrient temperature will end up heading towards room temperature regardless what temp it starts at, until the next flood cycle. If you have had good grows and no root issues, I don't see why you would bother.

 

[smoke headies]

Water temperatures are extremely important. You want to keep your rez temp between 64 - 72 degrees for optimal results, or you could end up with Pythium (root rot) or many other things.

Dissolved Oxygen is also extremely important because beneficial bacterias grow in high levels of DO, and low rex temps. Bad bacteria and pathogens grow over 75 degrees water temp, and low DO levels.

I would recommend buying 3 liter Soda bottles, filling them with water, freezing them, and adding them to your rez at least once per day if you're not going to be using a chiller. I'd recommend a chiller, unless noise is a concern.

 

[Lazyman]

If you don't get a chiller, I strongly recmmend having a bottl eof Physan20 around in case any root issues do arise. for $20 its better to have it and not need it than vice versa.

 

[FreezerBoy]

Sub 70ºF will always be better than 80ºF+.

That said, I think it depends on what you put in the res. I've run DWC well into the 80s and into the 90s with no trouble but, I restrict my res to tap water, GH FloraMicro, FloraBloom and pH Down.

 

[HUGE]

I've been doing the ice bottle thing on my cloner. And sometimes in the res. I was also thinking there would be plenty of air to the roots. It's more a space and heat issue rather than a noise issue. I just don't know if it would be worth all the trouble since it seems my roots are ok. Could someone point me at a small chiller it's a 55 gal res but there is usually only 35-45 gal in it at a time. Also if I could I woul like to be able to chill 3 rez's.

 

[FreezerBoy]

Google reef chiller reviews. Aquarists have been using them for years.

 

[smoke headies]

If you don't get a chiller, I strongly recmmend having a bottl eof Physan20 around in case any root issues do arise. for $20 its better to have it and not need it than vice versa.

Mind explaing exactly what Physan 20 will help people with? I'm currently having root issues that I want cleared up.

 

[stoney917]

im glad i didnt start my own thread havin same issues heard great and horrible things about the physan20 can be deadly im taking the advice of lazyman and picking one up for 20 when i use it idk im starting to win my war on my root rot but its far from over
ne info on physan 20 would be very appreciated more specifix/details the better
peace stone
rip mr herer u r missed

 

[Andyo]

DO figures

DO figures

I looked into DO % in different temps 20c-25c maximum =only 10% less at 25 c,
If your tap water has chlorine from source i geuss you will get away with it.I actualy put chlorine in my stored water a week before tank changes the chlorine is all gone before i use the water
I do flood/drain in hydroton and my rez is around 21c its in the room under the flood trays i have insulated the rez 1' foam ,but i stick 3 x 2ltr frozen soda bottles in daily i actually bought a freezer for this.Its sitting right outside my grow room.A

 

[Andyo]

also i noticed

also i noticed

I must add before i started putting ice bottles in the rez it was about 25 c i didnt get root probs
BUT i noticed the plants where lighter in colour and i didnt get nutrient biuld up in the pot ,the weed was not as potent strength wise i know this was because the cf in the pot was about 1.6 with a tank cf of 2.0
When the nutes are 21 c i get more potent weed and salt biuld up in the pots ,but i dont ever do more than 3 floods a day.
Also the ph didnt rise so much when using c02.A