Thats the thing, the fridge was outside the grow room with the grow room being exhausted and the lights were air cooled. I really only needed the chiller during July and August when my temps would hit mid 80's. My water temps would hit high 70's with 75 being the danger zone when I would get the clear snot like pythium on my roots. Bottom line the mini fridge wouldnt cut it...
Okay man I’ve read through that whole forum post, I feel like I had a pretty good grip on things but it always seems like once I have one thing answered I have two more questions.
I would start by adding reflective insulation on everything that isn't supposed to get heated up by the lights....
Well it looks like your house didn't catch fire in those 2 months, sweet! I've though about using a water cooler chiller and chilling the water in a certain segment of the pipeline effectively shaving a few degrees here and there... Also controlling the compressor with a timer to avoid too much heat coming from it.
For the most part, yes. However, if you are trying to increase your water content (something that really helps stabilize a RDWC), and you had a taller container than the grow containers, you could elevate the grow containers the make the tops of all of them the same. The reservoir would act like a deep well.
By "epicenter", I assume you're referring to the "controller", or "reservoir". You should use that terminology instead.
It'll take far too long to explain why, but use 2" pvc from HD, and order your bulkheads from Amazon. Uniseals are tricky, so keep it simple with bulkheads.
I have a 6" fan for my hood, which draws the cool air from under the house (ducting on left side of tent), and exhausts into the attic (right side of tent).
You'll have to do some research and decide for yourself. There are a few major types of lights (T5 florescent, HPS, DE, and LED), and each will determine how you will need to set up your air circulation.
For the time being, the cheapo ones will work just fine. Just be sure to calibrate your pH meter every week or two. I keep the heads of my meters soaking in a glass of pure water or calibration solution, to keep them clean when not being used.
When it comes down to it, no matter what you try to rig up, a chiller is the right tool for the job. But there is a way cheaper solution, which is to just grow in soil/coco coir, during the warm months.
. I also used a coopernickle exchanger this time so that should negate any leaching. You could try the fridge thing if it’s a throw away as you have nothing to lose except time but I would keep my eye open for a used salt water aquarium chiller. I built mine but it’s not really a DIY thing 
I’m going to try it at least. My grow is going to be super micro. After remeasuring my room I figured out I’m either going to have everything inside a 4x4 tent or I downsize to a 4x3 and use that just for growing.I haven’t had issues with using copper tubing in my chiller circuits but I haven’t check copper levels either, I need to do that
Mesmerizing
Excess pump capacity just heats things up and fucks with water balance.
Plenty of people keep fish and fertilized plants under very bright lights......
But I thought you chilled your water when running RDWC? Didn’t you have a system setup to chill and heat?
