Water Temps

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October420

the King of October
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I'm thinking about moving into active hydroponics. Quick rundown on my grow space, I have a 32" x 32" x 84" tall tent, the tent is in an office closet. Summer time temps in the grow tent run an average of about 76 degrees F, sometimes peaking out at 83 and lows in the lower 70's. Fine for soil grows but Id be concerned about water temps in the reservoir in the summer months.

I'm considering either an areoponic system or a drip system. The reservoir would be around 7-10 gallons. I know there are aqua chillers from 1/4 hp on up, the 1/4 hp units look like their going for around $350. Seems like overkill to me, but that's why I'm here. Any suggestions? Also is water temp in an areoponic system as critical as a DWC or drip system, thanks for any help.

Peace,

The King of October
 
Okay then, with all the self proclaimed grow guru's here I figured I'd have have at least one answer by now.
 
I don't know of a cheaper chiller. I personally switched to ebb and flow systems for their ability to tolerate higher than optimal temps
 
Sorry, things get slow around here sometimes when growers get busy. I wouldn't do a hydro grow in that small of a space, for the reason of controlling the heat. It is super easy to get root rot in hydro if your water temps stay above 71f for too long. I tried it using frozen 2ltr bottles of water. I changed them out 2x a day and still couldn't keep the temps low enough to avoid the root rot (Pythium fungus).
I grow 3 plants in a roughly 14sqft space and I have to use a water chiller to keep the 35gal system below 70f. There are some special chillers for aquariums that work and are about half the price but not sure how many gal they cool.
 
So I want to thank y'all for chiming in on water temps. I agree with y'all on probably to small of a space and location to control water temps. One day I might stumble on a used 1/4 hp water chiller for cheap and try a recirculating hydroponics system.

So in order to scratch my hydroponic itch, I think I'll try growing in a 70%-30% coco/perlite media in hempy buckets and just hand water in a kind of low-tech drain to waste set-up.

I have five Belladonna seedlings in soil in 2 gallon grow bags, plan on doing a SoG grow. In the past I've always just grown one or two plants in my space, I'd veg for 4 weeks then flower. Always had good results but I'm looking to maximize my yields and reduce the time to harvest. So when my plants mature enough to flower I'll take some cuttings. I've never tried to clone before so I'm looking forward to giving it a go. Once the clones have rooted I'll transplant them into the hempy buckets and move them into my grow tent. So that's the plan.

Ok thanks again for the responses.

Peace
 
Cheap cooler. Old freezer, place radiators inside, run water lines. Could even put a radiator in a tub of water. Creativity is the key.
 
Good call Duck. You can get used chest freezers or smaller refrigerators pretty cheap and then do what I did with my chiller setup. All you need is a 8-10ft roll of half inch copper tubing, Half inch hose (length depends on how far away you keep the chiller from the hydro-system). A good submersible pump with at least 6ft lift capacity(also in half inch for the tubing). and a metal container to set in the fridge filled with distilled water. You let the fridge chill the water then pump it to the rez where it goes through the copper tube that you have formed into a "spring-looking" coil. This coil sets in the solution in the rez. Badda-boom, badda-bing :)
 

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