Hi there! I’m going to grab @HappyHydroGrower @Jarlax @Syndrix @Chrisr36 - there’s some others but we’re your resident hydro growers.
I’m gonna start by browsing through your post and making some comments. I don’t mean to come off rude but it’ll be how I prompt myself to go into more detail afterward, so please bear with me.
Don’t.
Absolutely. HLG (Horticulture lighting group) is king. If that’s too spendy, have a gander over at Green-Beams[dot]com.
RDWC is going to be pricey insofar as the water chiller. Don’t RDWC without a chiller, it’ll be a huge pain without it - ask me how I know (I tried it).
Red diodes won’t negatively impact veg.
Okay so now into the meat and potatoes of my general guidance-
Hydroponics relies on oxygen being supplied to the root system. Water carries more oxygen more easily at lower temperatures. The sweet spot between lots of oxygen, and too cold of water, is right around 66-68°F. A water chiller is going to be critical to achieve this.
Keeping your hydroponic reservoir clean and free of root rot (RIP little seedlings) is going to be contingent on you making a choice;
A - Sterile reservoir - this requires FloraKleen, ClearRez, lots of hydrogen peroxide, etc. and regular water changes.
B - microbe reservoir - this requires diligence. Hydroguard, Dr. Tim’s, Tribus, Southern AG’s Garden Friendly Fungicide, or any number of other microbe products (and any combination of those listed). Happy microbes = happy roots. Water changes are less critical - I think Happy is on a few months sans-res change (?)
I prefer microbe res myself, because I’m lazy.
Next thing is the comment I made above about nutrients. I cannot recommend Jack’s nutrients highly enough for hydroponics. Like you, I started with fox farms. I will never use it again, it’s too salty. Jacks is cheap, easy, and lasts forever - you will thank yourself when it’s time to buy another round and it’s only $120 for a year or two’s worth of nutes. Moreover, I’ve seen not much success with the Bergman nutes. I’m unclear on why, other than the NPK just seems wrong to me.
Finally, look into using duct tape around the top two rows of your net pots instead of tinfoil. I had light leaks even with the foil solution - not sure how, but taping off those uppermost rows of holes solved my issue. Roots will never be up that high anyway.
last thing is that I’m going to suggest you fill out a Support Ticket. It will show us what you have and what you may need help with.
Here’s that ticket, and welcome to the forum.