I’m getting ready to start a DWC grow using hydroponics. Currently working with 5 gal buckets and am just trying to gauge anyone who knows of a simple tactic for keeping the res buckets around 65-70°F to avoid root rot
I’m juggling with the following ideas:
Using one or two 1L bottles of frozen water and placed directly inside res bucket(s)
Buying bigger totes to enclose each of the res buckets in, and add 2 gal containers filled with frozen water and adding them to the tote
Preferably don’t want to spend $150 per chiller if possible. What options are other growers using?
A chiller is going to be optimal. Will pay for itself. I froze out the lungroom and used 1 but did not care for rdwc. Went back to organic soil. The whole setup sits in storage…sigh.
Any not-too-expensive ones you can recommend? I have two buckets that I’m using and from what I’ve seen… you would prob need a chiller per bucket. That is of course if I decided to use a bigger res and have water flush into the smaller buckets where the plants are growing
Grin. Sorta that way. Was a terrible hydro grower. Good gear. No thumb for it. I just bought a decent chiller. About 400 bux. Had a res. All in line for water return/feed
I can totally understand that. I WAS that way but found biting the bullet and getting the correct setup and gear first is better in the long run. Just me. I have actually SAVED a lot of money being correct on my purchases. I tend to look for 4 to 5 year sustainability on gear.
hi @MP_Grow I don’t use a external chiller… I grow in a bedroom and place fans blowing on the totes the cold air the exchange fan is sucking in…in the cold months
the natural cold air on the floor keeps it at 69F and in the hotter months I use a window AC set at 68F and close off the room to keep it colder than the rest of the house…this works for me in my 4x4 tent with 2 each 12 gallon totes instead of buckets
I also have 1 supplementing central. I freeze out the room and all heat issues went bye bye. Went 12k btu window unit. Split. Window drops between compressor and fan unit. SUPER QUIET! Even here this week at 100 plus its iced out. Not a damn thing growing though. Just harvested all tents. Clone sogs for a while now again.
I setup a couple "coolers" to stick the res buckets in. Everything is wrapped in mylar insulation wrap, and inside the coolers I've placed a few frozen 1.5L water bottles or ice packs to help regulate the air temperature around the res. Hopefully not only will it reduce the temps, but also hopefully not need me to swap them as often
Gonna check back in a day to see where temps are at
Those were chores from a previous grow. Whole different animal I’m working with here now
Did a quick check. My tent temps are up around 80-81°F and the res water reflected that before installing these. It’s been about 3 hours now, and the res water temps are down between 71-72°F
Will keep tabs on this through the day. But so far it seems to be helping!
Thanks Growmie! We will see how they hold up once I start putting the seeds in. Very happy the water temps held up for a couple days. Def puts my mind at ease
When I was in college I worked at a lake resort in north Idaho named hills resort on Priest lake. Drove a boat to work every morning dock to dock. I was young, single, and had the time of my life working bar there. You could serve in Idaho as an 18 year old, but not drink (wink wink).
Anyway, they have/had a live oyster bar for fresh shucked sliders. It stayed 40 degrees f. They chilled it by running a couple hundred of feet of vinyl hose thru the keg cooler and then back to tank. Slow flow to pick up the chill. I have made a few of those since for small reef aquariums out of mini/dorm fridges. Just drill thru the door for holes to run the hoses. Then run as much of a hose coiled up in there that fits in the fridge comfortably. Quite a few feet but I don’t remember how many. Put a separate very small pump so the water passes slowly thru the coil. I would not use a metal heat exchanger inside unless I had an old one laying around from brewing. Also, already having an old beer fridge around makes this affordable, or a cheap one used online. New and you may as well save for a real chiller.
Reviews I read on similar style fridge chillers online for aquariums were dismal. But I know they work. The trick is slow flow.
