myke
Well-Known Member
Keeps it cooler ,ph more stable
RDWC (waterfall) inline pump size and DO questions
- Thread starter ddeck96
- Start date
ddeck96
Well-Known Member
ah okay, i will most likely be buying a chiller depending on what the initial temps are (gets fuckin hot as hell where I live, so might need a chiller for summer months anyways). Also, I was thinking about maybe using an igloo cooler for a res to help keep temps down, and hopefully the chiller won’t have to work so hard. Good idea or nah?
oh and I’ll be using hydroguard as well, since I’ve heard it helps your roots tolerate higher temps (Incase I opt out on the chiller)
Renfro
Well-Known Member
A good deal of the heat in the reservoir comes from the pump and air stones (if present). The cooler will help with ambient air temperature heating the reservoir but it's not a 100% solution.
Check out Southern Agriculture Garden Friendly Fungicide (SAG GFF) it's the same stuff as hydroguard but way more concentrated and cheaper.
ddeck96
Well-Known Member
aight, well hopefully all of the little things to keep temps down add up a bit lol (no air stones, inline pump instead of submersible)
And damn, already ordered the hydro guard lol. Will try that stuff when I run out for sure!
ddeck96
Well-Known Member
also imma cut of the ac/heat to the grow room all winter, so ambient temps should be like 60-65 in the room. Not a permanent solution I know lol but it should get me through winter at least!!
J232
Well-Known Member
Yes, it introduces more DO then air pumps, the variable dc pumps are adjustable gph and efficient, less heat. I use a 1800gph mag drive but will be going variable when it kicks it, if it ever does.
Renfro
Well-Known Member
If your inline pump is outside the reservoir that helps with heat a little too.
ddeck96
Well-Known Member
If I was to get a vdc pump, how many GPH would you go with? (4 site/5gallon buckets, and maybe like a 10 gal res) and if I went with mag drive inline, what GPH would you do? I’ve heard 350 but reviews got me worried that the pressure from the 350 might not be enough for the waterfall.
ddeck96
Well-Known Member
That is a great fuckin idea lol
J232
Well-Known Member
I tried ice bottles, they went under my waterfalls and started to flood my room. I saw a 750gph dc pump for like 80 bucks, would have to look around. Need something decent and if your like me, more then I need. The pressure will be factored by the manifold a lot. You just need to break surface tension, like push bubbles 2-3” into the water. I haven’t played enough with anything but my system. Typically ideal from what I see is running a 1” feed and a 3/4” manifold then reduce to 1/2” for the nozzle to the buckets. Or just run 1/2” the whole way. I guess design depends if you do pvc or barb hose too. Both work the same.
rkymtnman
Well-Known Member
i had my chiller on a closed loop. google a stainless steel wort chiller. put that in your control bucket. and just a really small submersible pump and a small res for it. that way you don't have nutes going thru the chiller coils and it will last longer and have less buildup.
ddeck96
Well-Known Member
good idea. Thanks!!!
crankdoctor
Active Member
Trade winds chillers makes a super heavy duty closed loop chiller. There in Cali.
ddeck96
Well-Known Member
bought an active aqua 1/10HP. Kept water at 65-68 the whole grow. Got 402g dry from a 420watt led. Not my best. Will try again.
crankdoctor
Active Member
That’s pretty good. So the 1/10 did fine for 25 gallons. I was going to tell you that I run waterfall about same size as yours but added a Venturi to the waterfall. Have to run a bigger pump but throws a lot of air. Still use air pump but probably not needed. Got the 1/2 inch ones on Amazon for about 5 each. Something you can try next time, I’ll look for a vid of it running or make one.
ddeck96
Well-Known Member
thanks man. Good to know I didn’t do too bad. That winter storm straight up KILLED ME - power out for 5 days. Cut the temp down to 45 degrees in my house. Easily cut my yield in half. Honestly I’m not sure if I’ll do hydro again. It wasn’t hard, and the growth was explosive. But, when it comes to factors you just can’t control, hydro is extremely unforgiving. I think I’ll just switch back to coco. Yields are still great and there’s more room for error, you know?
ddeck96
Well-Known Member
oh and I also ran an air pump. 4 outlet active aqua I think. Nothing big, but it definitely helped throwing it in the res once the Roots started to fill out the bucket. Also ran a 800 gph active aqua pump for the waterfall. And I used the chiller to create somewhat of a waterfall effect in the 27gal res.