RDWC - 27c - 80f - Nute water and using foil

vyserage

Well-Known Member
This is my 3rd grow, 1st time in hydro ever. So i cant get my temps down low and i dont want to be bothered with adding frozen bottles to the buckets, so heres what i did. Just foiled up the lids and the middle as u can see, i am hoping this will lower the temps a little by stopping the black buckets from absorbing light/heat.

The nute water is always as warm as the temp in the grow tent inside my room. Its usually at 84f, and the nute water is the same. My room temp is at 77f (outside tent) What i did to help lower it was upgrade my air stones from the small cylinder ones to the 4 inch oval/circle ones and that got the temps to drop 3-4 degrees (as of current measure, tent was 84f, water was 27c (80f). Am hoping to see a drop in temperature when i measure it again same time tomorrow in same conditions (AC is on but my room is hottest due to the tent/led light (mars 2 1600) and since its cooler in rest of house vs my room, that's not helpful aside from temps not raising past 84f). I also keep my humidity in the 65 range with fan blowing and it helps temps stay down and not get past 84f, without humidity/fan flowing the humidity around, it can climb to 88f.

What do u guys think? I know thats WAY high for root zone but there isnt much helping it unless i buy a chiller or a window AC, i could spend 150 bucks for a 5000 BTU window ac unit or i can spend $280 for the 1/10th hp chiller i saw on amazon. suggestions between those 2 options? Suggestions how to further lower temps without the chiller or window ac? I should also mention i use hydro-guard so im hoping that holds off root rot and so far it is, although when i took a look at my biggest plants roots, i saw spots of stains here and there (either root rot or nute stain, i feel its likely nute stain)

I should also mention that the clear airline hose inside each bucket feel's really slippery, almost slimy when i run my fingers down the line (while in the water) but don't see or notice anything building up as of yet.

I do know i can also try the pc fan trick. Get a pvc 4' pipe, cute a hole in the top of my resivoir lid and attach pvc into the hole and a small pc fan to the pipe to blow air into the reservoir. I may end up trying this if all else fails, i noticed when i open my reservoir lid its got some heat to it that comes out upon opening.

I have a new air pump 1030 gph (55 liters per minute) coming in tomorrow or next day and ill be switching to that pump to have even better airflow which also may further lower temps im hoping. If all else fails, ill even try adding my small cylinder airstones back into bucket for even more bubbles, especially at these temps im at, it would probly help since high temps is already depriving oxygen


 
interested. am going to be dealing with similar issues. have not got a chiller option presently, and am comtemplating the frozen bottle route. also my system was built to 20yr old specs, can already see the need for upgraded air delivery that you are working with. good job.
 
Thanks, i've learned quite a lot these last 2 grows, its crazy how so many factors to fine tune each area (water, air, nutes, air/water ratio, ect.) but am enjoying learning about each one and applying it to this grow.

I have now hooked up the new 1030 gallon air pump and cant say i really notice too much of a difference over the smaller 570gph. who knows, either way i wanted a backup airpump to avoid root drown upon pump failure. Am thinking of adding in the extra airstones and turn on original pump but first im going to wait and watch temps as this new pump hasnt been on long enough to show i believe. Current water temps are still at 27c(80f), 28c(82f) if i stir it a bit. Room temps are at 77f while inside the tent is at 84f. I'm almost wondering if my reader is faulty (tds reader), i've got 2 new ones (the kind that sit in the reservoir) coming in tomorrow luckily so i'll know for sure.

Things still to try tomorrow:
* Re-read water-temp after 24hr since new pump added to see if any temp drops
* Add in the new temp sensors x2 and re-read temps (and compare to first reading for accuracy check)
* Add a clip fan to blow directly at top of reservoir water (along with foil taped over it to block light but enough space to give fan breathing room)

Other possible heat sinks:
*Replace water pump with one that is an outside reservoir water pump.

things to mention: the clip fan i use to bring fresh air into the tent duct on bottom of tent is where i placed the air pump to help keep it cooler. Its always been set there from the get go.
 
I should also mention that at this time there is no sign of root rot of any sorts, only light spots of nute stain here and there. Majority of all showing roots look pearly white and beautiful :3 I also added another 2 Tbs and 1 tsp of hydroguard into the reservoir (Half as much as added since day 1 and this was done yesterday, on day 4)

I checked just earlier after switching to the new air pump (and fine tuning the nozzels to block slight amounts of air from each one of the 6 since bucket 5 and 6 were noticbly lower amounts of air being recieved in comparison to 1-4, now its fair across them all). Gotta say i was a little dissapointed, i was expecting this new pump to really throw some pressure through those lines and have even more bubbles as well as every one of the 6 buckets recieving nice amounts while with fully open nozzels.
 
check out this build for air from DragunPadawan

would work killer with your pump.
 
i would love to have those, i wanted those spider something ones i've seen countless times but they were super expensive. That DIY version looks great but i feel like i would need to upgrade to an even better pump because if the 1030 gallon version of what that guy had in the video (same brand as mine) cant even blow great with 6 nozzels fully open, not sure the 8 one will do either but i wouldn't know until i try it. For this first grow ill stick with what i have now which will definitely get the job done. i'm definitely bookmarking that link tho, im gonna want those for an upgrade in the future. Thanks :D
 
If your flow rate is high enough you dont need to run int through all the tops of the buckets, just at the two end ones and create 2 channels that meet back up before going to the reservoir. , trying to fit that many in a small tent isnt a good idea anyways, I'm cramming 4 in half of my 9x6x8 room and they are going to overtake the whole thing.
 
Okay so its now Day 8.
I added another 6 inch fan into the bottom vent to make a positive pressure inside tent, which dropped the inside tent temps down another 2 degrees (not sure if i mentioned this one prior and dont wanna go back and read lol).

Today i removed 1 gallon of water so now the bucket is down to 9 3/4 inches full of water (was at 10 3/4 back on day 4). Going by those amounts, a total of 1 inch was dropped in all 7 buckets, so 7 inches down. That would mean my plants have drank a bit over a gallon of water in the last 4 days. My water level is now just slightly above (because of popping bubbles) the basket level in the buckets. I've been keeping an eye on the shortest roots of all the plants so i can lower the water based on the smallest plant that still needs a higher water level. I think at this point, all roots have finally come out of the basket and ill be confirming this tomorrow by checking all buckets roots and if safe, ill take out another gallon or 2 of water so its an inch or 2 below the bottom of basket. I think ill shoot for 2 inches.

My nute value im having trouble with. If i place my meter in the bucket, it starts at 400's and takes a while to drop down to very low 300's, then if i swish it around its instantly back up to 512. Because of this im unsure if somethings up and i cant get a good solid read on my ppm.

PH=5.62
PPM= 320's - 512 (unsure, think i need a new meter, preferrably one that sits in the water at all times. Any suggestions?)
Room Humidity (tent) = 57% (flucuates alot since it runs out within 24 hrs and i dont always fill it, so this ranges from 27% to 60%)
Nute Temp= 79.7f
Tent Temp = 81f
Room Temp = 75f

I ordered a new 6' inline fan to put into bottom of tent to really bring in some of the cooler air from my room, into the tent. I imagine this will definitely help, especially since my room temps are usualy in the 75-77f

EDIT: Here are some pics. What do u guys think about the slight leaf taco'ing upwards, i know thats signs of heat but even only at 85f ? Perhaps its due to my light being at 24' and i should take it to like 26' ? And 2nd'ly doesnt it look like plant 6 is a little droopy? If this is the case, overwatering / not enough oxygen bubbles? Or it could be because of the 80f water.








 
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