Insulating DWC buckets

[bagada]

so how important is it to insulate buckets and what material is best to use. ive searched but cant find anything.

 

[gregor_mendel]

Typical is foil/bubble/foil insulation.

Some brand names are Reflectix and TekFoil.
Sometimes available at local hardware stores and Lowes/Home Depot.
Much cheaper online if you need a lot.

 

[socialist]

Why do you want to insulate? Are your res temps to high?

 

[Billy Liar]

Why do you want to insulate? Are your res temps to high?

insulating them helps keep them from absorbing heat from the room.
The bubble foil is good stuff for the job.
Peace
BL

 

[bagada]

i have a hot room(86 F) and im looking in to getting an AC but i see a lot of people insulating buckets so i was curious as to if it was necessary for a fairly hot room. I have root rot and im pretty sure its from the high temps

 

[gmanwho]

the foil bubble wrap from lowes or depot, in the insulation aisle. it insulates an keeps light out!!! easy to work with, just cut to size an duct tape. Some roles are like 2ft tall, which is almost perfect for 5 gals.

b-safe..

 

[greenwithenvy]

You really need a chiller to keep temps at the perfect temp of 68.

 

[bagada]

thanks g man....and yes i do need a chiller but right now im running a 2 bucket bio system so i wont buy one since im gonna use frozen bottles instead. My system is very small for a chiller. so my plan is to make an EWC tea and bring my rez temps down. then im gonna take my plants and steralize them with h2o2. put them back in the rez with some EWC tea and let the microbes do the rest.

 

[socialist]

I have to use frozen bottles in my aero cloner in the summer time. Cheaper than a chiller!! I grow in my basement so the concrete floor always keeps my res temps down.

 

[eurasian_farmer]

Foil facing out or in?

my buckets are all foil facing out, but my brain keeps telling me the foil should be holding the cool in by being up against the wall of the tank/bucket...

Foil backed 5mm foam, not just foil....

 

[SKUNK420]

keep air pump output temps in check

keep air pump output temps in check

Air pumps get hot, which means very warm to hot air is being pumped into your water. Eventually pumping hot air 24/7, the water will get to the same temp.
When I used to do DWC even with A/C keeping air temps in check my Alita AL-60 would still heat up my 27 ga. Tuff Box tubs (non-insulated) each holding 15 to 17 ga. to the mid to high 70's. A computer fan blowing cold air from A/C via 4 " ducting on front of A/C to the bottom of air pump helped a little bit. Temps would never drop below low 70's.
I stayed away from all organics and transplanted from veg tub to bloom tubs before roots got tangled together. My theory was breaking roots apart during transplant was the cause of my root rot because of dead root matter left behind during bloom. It worked for me.

 

[Hydro-Soil]

Foil facing out or in?

my buckets are all foil facing out, but my brain keeps telling me the foil should be holding the cool in by being up against the wall of the tank/bucket...

Foil backed 5mm foam, not just foil....

Foil in or out is fine... the only time you must have the foil on the outside would be if you have a light shining on the side of the bucket. Infra-red from HPS lamps can heat things up pretty fast.

Putting your air-pumps where they can draw cold air will help significantly to keep water temps down.

A small computer fan blowing on the surface of your dwc will also keep things 'cooler'. It will also increase the evaporation rate of the water in it.

Stay Safe!

 

[KryptKeepa]

I use Reflectix, I got it from home depot insulated my entire grow for say 80$.

it went from keeping my temps 65-75 with a chiller to
65-67 (Note theres a 2 degree swing until my chiller comes back on)

Stuff works GREAT!

 

[farmari]

I've had DWC water temps below 70F in rooms that were +80F thanks to Reflectix/pipe insulation, a 4" duct fan blowing on the reservoir, (blowing air through a hole in the reservoir lid, with many small holes on the side walls for the air to exhaust out of the reservoir) and using waterfalls rather than airstones to generate dissolved oxygen.

 

[Hydro-Soil]

I've had DWC water temps below 70F in rooms that were +80F thanks to Reflectix/pipe insulation, a 4" duct fan blowing on the reservoir, (blowing air through a hole in the reservoir lid, with many small holes on the side walls for the air to exhaust out of the reservoir) and using waterfalls rather than airstones to generate dissolved oxygen.

All excellent suggestions that work better than you might think.

Stay Safe!

 

[overbudjet]

I use reflectix on my bucket 3Deg down i also use a water fall(3 foot droop at 1000 G/H) to dissolve Oxygen +100 watts air pump .

 

[eurasian_farmer]

pic looks nice! u might want to consider wrapping some around your pipes too, every little helps.