How to cool my Bubbleponics res? AND- Where to get BIG CFL's!?

What's up my friends? Wondering if anyone could educate me as to the best ways to cool my reservoir without shocking the roots? Assuming all other grow variables are in acceptable ranges... Anyone have any advice for me? Single Bubbleponics system with around 300 watts CFL. I'm assuming, of course, that if cold water can shock the roots, any type of ice in the res would be catastrophic. How about ice inside of a couple tiny tupperware containers? Not sure if that would work, but would at least keep the ice from coming in direct contact with the roots... I've already put the grow tub inside a second somewhat larger tub, with a couple inches of space on each side to hold some "freeze pack" things. For anyone with the same problem, this actually helps a bit, and is easy to set up. However, it's certainly not very efficient; takes an absurd amount of ice or ice-substitute; and although the side effect of cooling the grow space is pretty cool, that's not the point. Any and all ideas are welcome.
By the way, thanks to Roseman and Potroast for all the help with my last post. ALSO: Any CFL growers out there having a hard time locating High Powered CFL's at reasonable prices??!! I'm talking 200/250 watt bulbs... I got a nice batwing reflector and a sick 250w 65k bulb for a sweet price, but got stiffed by the SAME ebay store when the 250w 27k arrived CRACKED! SOMEONE START A THREAD! POWER IN NUMBERS! Feel free to contact me, or post. PLEASE! -Guitar Player, Looking for LOVE and some beautiful TREES....

man why is your res so hot? it seems to me if your res is hot then your grow room is too hot, if your grow room is too hot you need to just get a intake and exhaust fan. viola, problem solved

i will sell you a 150 watt compact flourescent light with the ballast and all.
just hang it up, plug it in, wala.

What up Panda - Thanks for replying bro. Good freaking Q man. I don't know why my res won't stay cooler; it's not that bad, just not in the optimum range. My 6 indica's are recovering suprisingly well (thought my newjack ass killed them) from some serious nute burn, and I just want to make sure they keep growing, ya know? My ventilation isn't perfect, but keeps temps on avg. just over 80 these days, and my house is HOT. So, thanks man. Any thoughts on how to cool a res w/out shocking the roots? Peace.

Hey jazzman
I may have the same problem soon.I just build a grow cab and I'am in the testing stage.So far the tank temps are 78 & 80.I plan to put a two liter soda bottle that been froze for a long time in the tank to cool it down.How many gals is your res.?I have a 15 gal res, so I think that should cool it down too a good temp range.I dont think you want the res any colder than 68 degrees and not hoter than 78 degrees.Two bottles a day,one in the morning and one in the evening.If you can get a water cooler the kind that you load the 5 gal jug upside down on top of it.You can take it apart and put the cooling coils in the res.There's a thread posted on how too do this some wheres in the fags section.thats about all I can thinl to do.Peace

you can buy the 42wat cfl's at walmart no ballast needed just plug and play into reg light socket.. 42watt cfl = 150 watt incandecent $8.84 each at walmart

firstimegrwr said:

you can buy the 42wat cfl's at walmart no ballast needed just plug and play into reg light socket.. 42watt cfl = 150 watt incandecent $8.84 each at walmart

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Thanks bro - appreciate the post, but I'm talking about REAL wattage, not equivalent. Walmart rocks for sure; using those for side lighting. Actually, the 42watters are flowering bulbs, at least at my walmart. The 26w daylight 65k's they sell are for vegging. Using those for side lighting also. My real bulbs are the HUGE CFL's with real world wattages of 250. If your wallet and your grow space aren't quite ready for HID, these cfl's, placed horizontally in a nice reflector, are incredible. My space is tight, so on the top I'm using 2 big ones in batwing reflectors, and the tiny walmart ones for side lights. Anyone else out there have a good supplier for High Powered CFL's? Best I've seen is around $80 w/shipping for a 200 watt bulb, which is high, but maybe worth it if you can't do HID, and have limited space above your grow. Thanks, though, firsttime.... Peace.

Tokecrazy said:

Hey jazzman
I may have the same problem soon.I just build a grow cab and I'am in the testing stage.So far the tank temps are 78 & 80.I plan to put a two liter soda bottle that been froze for a long time in the tank to cool it down.How many gals is your res.?I have a 15 gal res, so I think that should cool it down too a good temp range.I dont think you want the res any colder than 68 degrees and not hoter than 78 degrees.Two bottles a day,one in the morning and one in the evening.If you can get a water cooler the kind that you load the 5 gal jug upside down on top of it.You can take it apart and put the cooling coils in the res.There's a thread posted on how too do this some wheres in the fags section.thats about all I can thinl to do.Peace

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What's happenin TOKE - thanks for the advice bro. Cooling coils, huh? That's insane! Great idea man, I'm gonna check it out. As far as the frozen 2liter... is your res seperate from your grow tub, or one in the same??? Would the roots be damaged by direct contact with even a smaller frozen bottle? I'm hoping someone can tell me for sure. My res is tiny; it's the bubbleponics system. So, umm... about 8 gal, but usually only filled to the 6gal line to keep a nice layer of air at the top, as directions indicate. 6 indicas about a month old and recovering from my stupidity. Scared to put anything in there as the roots are taking over nicely, and new growth is sweet. Even with a high power air pump and 2 large airstones, the thing won't stay in the perfect range on the hot days. Anyway, thanks bro! Let me know how your grow comes together. If you get desperate, and you're a mechanical dumb ass like ME, you can always get a slightly larger tub to go around your res, and keep some ice packs in the empty space between the walls of the 2 tubs. Works, but certainly a PAIN. Peace man!

Jazzman I found this in the grow facts/ Hydronoincs/aeroponics how to keep my res cool.The best temps are 64degree to 68degrees.There a site link to a res cooler.coolworksinc.com they have a res cooler called the ice probe.
If I can't get my temps down in my res Iwill get one for my res.Go to the marijiuana pixs secton here under grow room setups and you will find my cab I just finish two days ago.I"ll be starting it up this week and doing a journal.Peace

Ebay has both 125 and 250 with reflectors for around $90 buck to $160 new.Your res water should be around 65 degrees you can toss a few cooler blocks in there or a frozen 1 liyter bottle of water in the res at hot times and add a new one as need I assume you have a floating thermometer in the res already to monitor the temps.

I have a 150 watt cfl and reflector and all for sale.
for a reasonable price too.
remember that

You could also buy or make a chiller which will cool the water via a series of copper loops in copper tubing but they get complicated and exspensive.I just use the froze bottle or blocks as it keeps my res around 60-65 which then goes through the pump and hose and sprayers hitting root zone right at 70 degrees which is perfewct for growth.

I didn't read all the replies entirely so somebody might have already said this ... but the easiest way is to use a chiller like you use for Marine tropical Fish (like great barrier reef type fish) ... you just hook it up to your resevoir and type in the temp you want ... have to use a submersible pump to push the water through it cuz it doesn't do it itself and it will freeze cuz it is basically an airconditioning unit ... or man do what they do for keg partys ... just get a little esky ( do use call them esky's ?) umm you know to keep your food n drinks cold at the park or sumfin .... anyway fill it up with dry ice cuz it last for ages (normal ice is crap) and basically you just run a seperate pump and line which goes through the ice filled esky but have the feed line in a coil inside the esky for maximum surface area and then straight back into your resevoir ... works same as chiller ... you just have to adjust the flow rate to get your temps right for your individual enviroment ... slower flow rate will be cooler, faster warmer etc .... also man just check and make sure if you have an air pump & stone ... that the air pump is not sucking in hot air and pumping it straight into your resevoir cuz that can get it pretty warm pretty quick ...

you can also get chillers that heat and cool to keep it perfect all year round

Hey -What's happenin - Thanks for the help guys, and all the info. The chiller is out of my reach ($) right now, but it's good to know. I picked up a couple extra airstones, some more airhose and some T's; seems to be helping quite a bit. That's a great point about the placement of the airpump, and making sure it has easy access to fresh cool air. Any ideas for me as to how I might feed it cold air using some ice packs? I've got fresh air from the intake blowing towards the air pump, but I'd love to hear any ideas that could get me through this first grow - or until I can afford a small chiller, or an external res. Any danger in getting moisture in the air intake of the pump, if I were to set up a temporary half-assed fix, like a small container of some sort with some freeze packs in it, with a fan blowing through it towards the air pump? Temps in my room are fine, as is the humidity, if a little on the low side. Ventilations pretty good also. Using a bubbleponics system, which is a tiny res about 6gal, and despite everything else being in good range, I just can't seem to keep the res temp in the best range. Plus, my plants are recovering from my dumb ass inexperience, and some burns from misting w/lights too close. I'm never spraying again. AT least until I have a CLUE. DEFINITELY CAN't use the frozen bottle in the res trick, as it would shock the hell out of my roots, right? Anway, thanks to all you guys for taking the time to help. EVERY little suggestion helps....... SO< In the end, once I can afford to do a real fix, what would be the best option, assuming I can only afford one? An external res, which could be cooled easily without worrying about rootzone, or just stay with what I've got, and get the chiller to maintain the little 6gal grow tub? Thanks again, good growin to all, Peace.

Hey jazzman I just had a brain fart, what if you rap the air line coiled around a ice pack like a cooling coil and out to the airstone. I wonder if this would work? Peace

Boy I must have gas,What if you get a old thermos bottle and take a round dowel and rap the air line around it to make a coil ,glue it,wire it,tie it something,put it down in the bottle drill two holes in the stopper run the air lines through it and put some ice in the bottle and close it.The ice would last longer. Just a brain fart. PEACE