How do I keep my res temp down?

[greenlyfe]

I have read post and tried a couple of things, but what is the best way to keep my res temp down? I don't want to shock the roots with an ice bottle and I tried cooling the air to the pump. I'm out of ideas and tired of searching for something that make sense. I have the Stealth Hydro 8 gal res and im cycling the feeder pump with a timer now to help. The room temp stays between 75-80F, 47-52% humidity. The res temp rides with ambient even though I have covered the res in mylar...I need help

Thanks in advance

 

[Slab]

do you have room in your budget for a chiller? a swamp cooler set up and ice bottles will help. no worry of shocking roots with the bottles. a bigger res would be a good idea.

 

[BendBrewer]

I use frozen gallon jugs and don't notice it shocking anything. About 30 gallons of solution and I change it out twice a day.

 

[greenlyfe]

do you have room in your budget for a chiller? a swamp cooler set up and ice bottles will help. no worry of shocking roots with the bottles. a bigger res would be a good idea.

Whats up Slab, no room for a chiller although I have checked them out. Swamp cooler with bottles worry me because 1) leaving the lid open will let light in causing algae 2) when I did the ice bottle it just floated in my roots, wouldn't ice touching roots kill them?

 

[m420p]

I saw this thread where a guy had a recirculating DWC and had one of these coolers:

Then took his hose from his res. going into the buckets and spiraled it down the inside sides of the cooler and back up out the cooler and into the bucket. He then filled it with water and added frozen bottles daily. I was trying to find the Thread but can't. It was a good idea.

 

[BeaverHuntr]

I use igloo 5 gallon coolers for DWC. You either have to use some sort of cooler to keep water temps low , spend 300-400 on a 1/4 hp chiller, or always using frozen water bottles to cool the water.

 

[greenlyfe]

I saw this thread where a guy had a recirculating DWC and had one of these coolers:
View attachment 1732462
Then took his hose from his res. going into the buckets and spiraled it down the inside sides of the cooler and back up out the cooler and into the bucket. He then filled it with water and added frozen bottles daily. I was trying to find the Thread but can't. It was a good idea.

I'm trying that right now...and it didnt work. But that seemed like such a good idea. thanks m420

 

[greenlyfe]

I use igloo 5 gallon coolers for DWC. You either have to use some sort of cooler to keep water temps low , spend 300-400 on a 1/4 hp chiller, or always using frozen water bottles to cool the water.

Way ahead of you, my next grow will be 5 gal igloo's. But i figured this was a nice neat system to sort of "pop my cherry". Is ther a way to keep the bottles from floating in my type of set up? any ideas?

 

[m420p]

I'm trying that right now...and it didnt work. But that seemed like such a good idea. thanks m420

No prob., I'm sure a bigger cooler would work better, then add frozen gallon jugs. You got to use alot of hose in the cooler, the longer the solution is flowing through the cooled cooler the better. As for weighing them down... you really shouldn't have to worry about it as long as most the ice in the jug is under water. Cooler water sinks compared to warmer water because it is denser.

 

[panhead]

You want steady rez temps without wasting electric use that could be running more lights but is being wasted on chillers ? Put some thought into it & go geothermal,there are several methods,my rez's are all 55 gal plastic barrels that are burried under the floor with a few inches sticking up above grade,my temps are perfect year round & no chillers needed.

My rez temp durring the heat wave all last month stayed around 68 degrees,there is quite a bit of hard work involved but if your in it for the long haul its best to set up the system to run as cheap as possible with as little equipment possible.

Oh & mylar is not what you want to cover a rez with ,mylar reflects light but gathers & collects heat,white poly plastic will work better.

 

[Slab]

Whats up Slab, no room for a chiller although I have checked them out. Swamp cooler with bottles worry me because 1) leaving the lid open will let light in causing algae 2) when I did the ice bottle it just floated in my roots, wouldn't ice touching roots kill them?

I ran 110 gal res and used a net bag (old onion bag) to hold several small bottles, not for fear of root damage, they would block the pump. maybe you can do the same. how often do you change out the water?

 

[wiimb]

i never once adjusted my water temperature and my plants are fine and lovig life and lovely white roots, when i got my new ppm meter i started taking reading and they weren't higher than 27-Oc.

 

[wiseguy316]

I put my res in a larger cooler that had some water in the bottom . I would freeze 2 liter bottles and drop them in there to cool the water down. I had the same thoughts of shocking the roots, I have done it both ways. I also didn't want anything funky getting into the res that might be on the bottles. I have since bought a chiller. Either way works fine.

The problem I had with dropping the ice bottles in the res was, the res would sweat and it warped the bottom board in my cabinet. That is also why I went with the cooler.

 

[greenlyfe]

I ran 110 gal res and used a net bag (old onion bag) to hold several small bottles, not for fear of root damage, they would block the pump. maybe you can do the same. how often do you change out the water?

Im newbie newb Slab, I'll be changing my water out for the first time in a couple days. my main concern with ice was the root damage. But if you guys are doin it then I guess thats my option, its simple and thats what I like. The chillers seem like they would cause the room temp to rise and I dont want to make that an issue trying to fix another. I like the onion bag idea but besides keeping them together I want them on the bottom of the res. I was thinkin about a single fishing weight per bottle. Maybe 2 to 3 bottles every 12 hrs.

 

[wiseguy316]

i never once adjusted my water temperature and my plants are fine and lovig life and lovely white roots, when i got my new ppm meter i started taking reading and they weren't higher than 27-Oc.

the 1st time you get brown algae you will think twice about keeping res temp in order. Also lower water temps hold more DO than higher temp. Doesn't matter how big your air pump is the water can only hols so much at a given temp.

 

[greenlyfe]

the 1st time you get brown algae you will think twice about keeping res temp in order. Also lower water temps hold more DO than higher temp. Doesn't matter how big your air pump is the water can only hols so much at a given temp.

Thats what I'm talkin about, Bacteria and Algae. I can imagine how nasty that shit is to clean and I want to avoid it not dare it.

 

[wiseguy316]

Thats what I'm talkin about, Bacteria and Algae. I can imagine how nasty that shit is to clean and I want to avoid it not dare it.

Cleaning it is the easy part. The toll it takes on the plant, getting rid of it, and the recovery time is a serious pain in the ass.

 

[Slab]

Wiseguy, great thinking.

any kind of corrosive metal in your res would be a bad idea what kind of light are you using?

Getting your room temp down to 72 will help everything.

the great thing about Hydro is there is so many things that go wrong, you become an expert lol.

 

[greenlyfe]

Im doing CFLs so heat is not a huge concern. Like i said my temp is 74-81, and thats the coolest I can get it in there without the house freezing, at least until the season change. Im definitely gonna be an expert, I just broke a CFL trying to adjust my lights back. Back to the grow shop tomorrow to learn more about bulbs.

Im gonna use 2 of the pint water bottles every 12 to start, then adjust from there...I just have to figure out how to keep the bottles on the bottom away from my girls roots.

 

[Slab]

HA, dropped a few bulbs in my time, man do they travel so slow just before they hit the ground. gardening whilst lifted is a bad idea. cool if you just want to go in the room and sweet talk them

putting that 8 gallon into another tub say a 35 gal rubbermaid like wise guy suggested and then you can surround the tub with frozen two liter bottles. also nice side benefit is if you spring a leak its contained.

the bottles are a band aid for what could be a life threatening situation. you will be lucky to get a one or two degree shift with them.



p.s. asking the grow shop for advice is like asking a thief where you should hide your valuables.