DWC Indoor in Tropical Environment

[White.Black]

Hello.

I'm growing for the first time.
I followed a "Top-Fed DWC Cannabis Setup Guide – Bubbleponics" guide. It will be in the spare bedroom in the house that's facing west (so getting afternoon sun).

I'm in the tropical country, and it's hot season now... which means indoor temperature at day time in the room is above 31c (88f), water temperature just slightly under 31c.

I looked into water temperature for DWC, people say it should be around 22c. I'm using hydroguard, so higher temperature is not that big of a deal except... it's not a little higher, it's 10c higher, and I'm not sure how that would affect the plant.

I don't want to mess up my first grow, hence this post.

Is 31c too high?
Is 25c OK?

What's the ideal temperature (with hydroguard)?

Also, the air temperature of 31c... is that ok for the plant, or should i really bring it down to 25c with aircon?

Thanks.

 

[Horselover fat]

Warm water isn't bad for the plant per se, but it's harder to have enough oxygen in warm water and bad things grow faster in warm water too.

 

[amneziaHaze]

i managed to grow stuff in 30C the air pump gives her o2 soo only thing thats really a problem is the bacteria, if you have that under control it should be good.i feed my nutes with lots of trichoderma it eats other bacteria and doesn't harm the plant.

 

[White.Black]

Thanks.

Well, people on internet mentioned two issues... one is oxygen and other bacteria. Hydroguard should eliminate bacteria problem, so that leaves temperature. I'm guessing that hydroguard works at any temperature.

It's good to know that the temperature requirement is not that strict, and that it can grow in 30c degree water, but I would like to keep that down a bit so thinking of investing in water chiller, or using ice water bottles keep it cool. Invested already quite a bit in the equipment, so water chiller may have to wait until next month or so.

The chances are the temperature is going to go up to 35c (95f) in the upcoming weeks/months, so definitely think I will need some kind of cooling system.

 

[sativuuh]

If your indoor temps are going to hit there you are going to need to think about cooling. Hydroguard certainly helps, some Z7 is good too. 30c water is asking for trouble imho though. If you attempt it, do full water swaps regularly and often and keep good eyes on your res. If you can avoid any nute lines that stain roots that will be helpful too so you can immediately see any root issues. Chiller is the smart bet if you want it to survive the grow with those temps.

 

[Psylo]

You will have to take some measures to protect against root rot with those temps, I don’t think oxygen levels you need to worry about - DO is 9.1 mg/L at 20C and 7.6 mg/L at 30C. Keep in mind also whatever is used by the plant should be immediately replaced by good bubbles.

Sterile approach has worked for me, H202 or bleach/pool chlorine are common methods, I am going ok with bleach. Combine with a chiller will give you a good defence. 25C should be no issue, bit higher may be ok but wouldn’t want to try my luck at 30C.

I went with the DIY chiller here and it’s worked great - https://www.rollitup.org/t/best-water-temps-do-it-yourself-water-chiller-details.1047967/

Also insulate your reservoir, either actually use a cooler for it or wrap bubble wrap + foil insulation around yourself.

 

[White.Black]

Hi. After measuring temperature in the air and in the water for few days, I decided to go with chiller.
Found a 30l aquarium chiller for about 80 bucks, so will just look into getting that. I imagine it's capable of lowering the water temperature from 30c to 24c, even though my hydro box contains about 38-40 liters of water.

 

[a31]

Thanks.

Well, people on internet mentioned two issues... one is oxygen and other bacteria. Hydroguard should eliminate bacteria problem, so that leaves temperature. I'm guessing that hydroguard works at any temperature.

It's good to know that the temperature requirement is not that strict, and that it can grow in 30c degree water, but I would like to keep that down a bit so thinking of investing in water chiller, or using ice water bottles keep it cool. Invested already quite a bit in the equipment, so water chiller may have to wait until next month or so.

The chances are the temperature is going to go up to 35c (95f) in the upcoming weeks/months, so definitely think I will need some kind of cooling system.

Just my 2 cents, I'm in a tropical region too, except 38 C in the summer.
Oxygen and bacteria are actually one thing, which is oxygen.

With beneficial bacterial/fungis and enough oxygen, you should not have root rots. So 31C is fine as long as you have enough oxygen (airstones might be enough but better go rdwc/waterfall or both.
Your problem would be flowering, because at 31C your buds will be bad for your flowers.
Get an AC and you also solve the issue with the water temp.

 

[White.Black]

I would imagine that flowering phase... 31 is ok, maybe lower it to 28c with aircon, which is not a big deal, but no need to bring it down to 24-25c.

Depends on the species probably...