Nutes temperature in DWC too high...

keylime · Oct 15, 2007

I have a DWC system consisting of 9 five gal buckets. Climate around here is temperate, have no a/c. Temps in room during the summer have gotten as high as 86F with all fans intake/exhaust running. The control bucket is outside the room to try and keep the temps down as much as possible.

Does anyone have any experience in getting the water temp down to the recommended 70F? 9 buckest plus the control bucket = 10 buckets or approx 40 gal of nutes in the system. How much protection would I have with Hydroguard?

What would I need if I was to put up a second or third system?

Any help would be appreciated.

keylime

foaf · Oct 15, 2007

you can try all sort of fans blowing on your res, and ice and home made chillers. but if you plan on making a hobby of this, and are growing 9 buckets at a time, maybe more, you simply need to buy a chiller. nothing else will work, except of course cooling the whole room down with an AC. chillers are cheaper than ever, for 40 gallons of nutrient, you will need a moderate sized one, like 1/4 or 1/2 hp.

you can grow with out, but you will grow better and avoid all kinds of contamination problems and unhealthy root problems if you run chilled nutes.

this one is a steal, 5 amps, I didnt see the hp, but I think that that is like 1/3 hp. they do quote btu ect. http://cgi.ebay.com/Labratory-Grade...ryZ26261QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Haps · Oct 16, 2007

No chiller needed. Insulation will do the trick in many rooms. I have done this in dwc and now in ebb n flow buckets, works like a charm, cool running.
H

lighterfuel · Oct 16, 2007

Get a Chiller

ItsGrowTime · Oct 16, 2007

A chiller is the long term solution but in the short term just swap out a bunch of frozen 2liter bottles. Having nute solution temps get high temporarily is ok *if* you promptly bring them back down. Freeze several bottles and dump them in your controller a couple times a day. Hydroguard WILL help. I use Hydroguard and Hygrozyme together in somewhat high temps (as high as 75*) and get no root rot issues as long as I bring them back down under 70 in a reasonable amount of time.

Blunt_69 · Oct 16, 2007

Haps is right. The better insulated/reflected light, your buckets, the cooler it will stay. That stuff for hot water tanks works perfect.. plus refracts the light. A chiller works, but you may get away with doing just this.

vigilo · Oct 16, 2007

icee ice baby

MoleMcHenry · Oct 16, 2007

I've heard hydroguard helps manage high temps.

scegy · Oct 16, 2007

i totally agree with haps, had the same problems, went the same way to solve them, pm me if you want to read more, else good luck on ur chiller!

btw, hydroguard is too expencive to use it as a temp. buffer, it doesn't work that well it just helps a little in the meaning of temperature plant resistancy

AnotherName · Oct 16, 2007

One thing about the chiller..... they die at the worst time. :bashhead:

Sometime depending on how bad you need it it can be catastrophic.

keylime · Oct 16, 2007

...and here I thought I was the only one that had these problems!
Thanks so much for all the responses.

Seeing that winter is coming on right now, there is no need to make a rush decision. I think I might just take my nine buckets and insulate them along with the lines and see how much that helps... anyone got any numbers?

I think however, that ice is a very very temporary solution because on a hot day there is no way my fridge or freezer could keep up with the demand.

The aquarium cooler seems to be the permanent solution, however if I decide to put up another 'set' of 9 buckets I think I would have to buy a second cooler as I want to keep the systems seperate. That way as I could start the second system while the 1st is half way thru flowering so I have two harvests every 8 or 9 weeks instead of one. Can anyone think of a way to run ONE large cooler and supply TWO seperate systems?

keylime

Haps · Oct 16, 2007

With a chiller, there is initial cost, and ongoing cost to run it, and it corrects the environment so it will work. Ice bottles do work, in the res, or packed around it to cool from outside, but it is an additional work cycle every day.

Insulation is a one time cost in materials and labor, and it works in many rooms and situations. My logic says insulate everything, including my half inch tubing, and then and only then, if there is still a problem, would I use a chiller.
H

keylime · Oct 16, 2007

Haps what do you use for the tops? It would seem that's one of the most important areas because of the light hitting it, maybe the foil coated 1/2" styrofoam?

keylime

Haps · Oct 16, 2007

Any styrofoam will do, just cut it to shape with a steak knife, and use a pan scrubber to sand down and shape as needed. Or just use the reflectix.
H

keylime · Oct 17, 2007

Thanks Haps, I think in ANY case I'm gonna try that first...
So, I see you have 15 buckets showing there, is that under one light or two? What strains are you growing and what kind of yield are you getting?

I'm growing Top44 and Merlin's Dream

keylime

Haps · Oct 17, 2007

Still in the first run in that rig, but it is looking good, hehe. Running blue nepalese, HP#3, SD, and a widow/st#3 cross, all sativa's except the sd. Have fun, the bungee cords on mine are for putting stakes in, the reflectix is duct taped on.
H

Thai Flowers · Oct 19, 2007

Hi, i run DWC and I use A/C to cool the room down to 22c and i use home made chillers outta polystyrene/styrofoam "picnic boxes" [the ones you use to keep your beer cold, etc] also. I have my air pump sitting on top of the "picnic box", the air lines run thro iced water, then to insulated 20 litre containers.

I find this way is ok but......you need to constantly change the ice [twice a day], and the temps will drift. I never let mine [temps] over 23 and i have had no prob's.

The day time temps where i am are 30-35c and night 25-28c and humdity of 70-90% as its rainy season [monsoon] so high temps arn't the only reason i use A/C as i need to lower the humdity and i find it stays at 50% when i have it set @ 22c. Important as one doesn't want bud rot after all the work,...

njayjay · Jul 16, 2009

scegy said:
i totally agree with haps, had the same problems, went the same way to solve them, pm me if you want to read more, else good luck on ur chiller!

btw, hydroguard is too expencive to use it as a temp. buffer, it doesn't work that well it just helps a little in the meaning of temperature plant resistancy

whats the insulating material called? I might go this route myself

lysol · Jul 16, 2009

Mylar on the bucket lids will reflect 90% of the heat that is coming thru the top, wont do a thing for ambient temps tho. As a side bonus you have a little more light under the canopy.

Kindman69 · Jul 16, 2009

You will need a chiller, if not and your temps are above 73 degrees you can run h2o2 at 1.7 ml per litter (35%) every 2-3 days. It will control bacteria and other funky growth.
You most likely have pumps in the res as well, they generate heat!!! Insulation will not get the res under 73 degrees if you live in a hot climate. I turn my chiller off in the winter, but it's a must in the summer

Nutes temperature in DWC too high...

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