Deep Water Culture Grow Journal, 1st Timer, No Experience

[miller162]

Re: Deep Water Culture Grow Journal, 1st timer, No exp..

Sounds good brother.

Aluminum foil! Right on man. Like I said earlier, I use it to cover up those pots. Works great, cheap and easy!

Air bars, air stones, all the same idea. Just need something that will put out tiny bubbles! Sounds like they should work.

Knowing water temps is a plus!

Do you have a PH meter? or how do you know your PH?

Next to RH you put ? That is why I provided a link with the thermometer/hydrometer. Didn't mean to assume you didn't have one. The fans sound good! I'll see if I can get some pics of how close I keep my lights. Dang near touching, but to each there own. 3" would work just fine!

Didn't notice you had a fallen soldier. Has that plant fallen over?

You could use something like a toilet paper roll... stand it up as a support around the little plant. Keep the lights as close as possible. The stem should heal itself.

i use these disposable PH strips that came with my kit, 80 of them, used about 60 already lol. yeah the PH is fine its around 5.75.

and yes you gave me the idea to get a submergable therometer. i picked one up for a couple bucks. right now it is at perfect res temp. but god knows it will go up...and i do not have a remedy for the high res temp...no clue how to lower it esspecially when i have two lights 3" above the res lol.

and about the limp plant...she already popped back up and kickin good so there ya go man.

thanks for your time!!!

 

[miller162]

Re: Deep Water Culture Grow Journal, 1st timer, No exp..

Cover up those net pots like FPF said! I use tin foil. Easy. Cover the hydroton clay rocks so no light leaks through, and you are golden.

Light getting into the reservoir will get you algae. Once you get algae, its a pain in the butt to get rid of. It can kill plants, or at best, hurt your total yield.

Does light travel through the blue plastic?
I have heard duct tape has been used to fully block out light all around the Res, but id imagine res temp would rise if it was so insolated?

Just a thought, and will the alumi foil make hot spots for the little delicate gals?

 

[MostlyCrazy]

Re: Deep Water Culture Grow Journal, 1st timer, No exp..

Nope the blue plastic is light tight.

On of the advantages of cfl's is that they do not produce a light intense enough to develop hot spots. If you were using MH or HPS bulbs then yes, alum. foil can develop hot spots but using them as net pot and maintenance port cover shouldn't be an issue. By the time the light is close enough, the plants are big enough to cover the cover.


As far as lowering the res temp, Make sure your res is not sitting directly on a carpeted floor. I like to prop my off the floor with a couple of 4x4" scraps I had lying around but anything stable like a thick book would also work. The purpose is to be able to get some air under the res in addition to around it. Speaking of which, the easiet way to cool a res is a small dedicated fan blowing right on it all the time. In addition to that you can take a couple of bags of frozen vegetables and set them around the outside of the res. It's kind of a pain to keep switching them out everyday but you gotta do watcha gotta do. $10 fan and about $5 worth of frozen vegetables and your set to respond in case the res temp gets about about 72-73 for an extended period of time.

 

[miller162]

Re: Deep Water Culture Grow Journal, 1st timer, No exp..

Nope the blue plastic is light tight.

On of the advantages of cfl's is that they do not produce a light intense enough to develop hot spots. If you were using MH or HPS bulbs then yes, alum. foil can develop hot spots but using them as net pot and maintenance port cover shouldn't be an issue. By the time the light is close enough, the plants are big enough to cover the cover.


As far as lowering the res temp, Make sure your res is not sitting directly on a carpeted floor. I like to prop my off the floor with a couple of 4x4" scraps I had lying around but anything stable like a thick book would also work. The purpose is to be able to get some air under the res in addition to around it. Speaking of which, the easiet way to cool a res is a small dedicated fan blowing right on it all the time. In addition to that you can take a couple of bags of frozen vegetables and set them around the outside of the res. It's kind of a pain to keep switching them out everyday but you gotta do watcha gotta do. $10 fan and about $5 worth of frozen vegetables and your set to respond in case the res temp gets about about 72-73 for an extended period of time.

thanks crazy. Yeah if you notice in my pictures i have a little black fan blowing up on the resivor and the little girls. and thansk for the advice with frozen goods. should help, thanks

 

[RPsmoke]

Re: Deep Water Culture Grow Journal, 1st timer, No exp..

Does light travel through the blue plastic?
I have heard duct tape has been used to fully block out light all around the Res, but id imagine res temp would rise if it was so insolated?

Just a thought, and will the alumi foil make hot spots for the little delicate gals?

Mine was not light tight. I used plastic garbage bags taped along the side. And then used beach towels hung over the side. 100% light free!

The foil is fine with CFL's! You are just using it to block the light. It surprisingly is not really reflective. Only like 55% or something.

I have new totes for the next grow. They will be painted a heavy coat of black to block the light out. I battled algae once, and wont do it again. Brown slime algae is a tough SOB. One that does not require much, if any light once its started. It's more closely related to a bacteria or fungus. It's no fun. Preventing it is easy! You'll be fine. This is more a worst case. But it's easy to drape some towels over the side. Plus you can keep the towels wet to help up the humidity.

 

[miller162]

Re: Deep Water Culture Grow Journal, 1st timer, No exp..

Mine was not light tight. I used plastic garbage bags taped along the side. And then used beach towels hung over the side. 100% light free!

The foil is fine with CFL's! You are just using it to block the light. It surprisingly is not really reflective. Only like 55% or something.

I have new totes for the next grow. They will be painted a heavy coat of black to block the light out. I battled algae once, and wont do it again. Brown slime algae is a tough SOB. One that does not require much, if any light once its started. It's more closely related to a bacteria or fungus. It's no fun. Preventing it is easy! You'll be fine. This is more a worst case. But it's easy to drape some towels over the side. Plus you can keep the towels wet to help up the humidity.

i let my res dry out yesterday when i went to walmart for 2 new air stones and a new air pump, when i came back the "slime" that use to be in my res and on my tubes and etc, was like flaking off....i wiped it down as best i could. it kind of made me nervous cuz i do not need algae when my roots aer just now breaking the netpots after 8 daysss....

plus i now have been putting a bowl full of ice right on my res that i change whenever they melt, cuz its now at a steady 82.8* F right on the top of my res. So tell me if that is gonna be a prob, and i got a submergable therometer that reads around 75...

 

[miller162]

Re: Deep Water Culture Grow Journal, 1st timer, No exp..

Nope the blue plastic is light tight.

On of the advantages of cfl's is that they do not produce a light intense enough to develop hot spots. If you were using MH or HPS bulbs then yes, alum. foil can develop hot spots but using them as net pot and maintenance port cover shouldn't be an issue. By the time the light is close enough, the plants are big enough to cover the cover.


As far as lowering the res temp, Make sure your res is not sitting directly on a carpeted floor. I like to prop my off the floor with a couple of 4x4" scraps I had lying around but anything stable like a thick book would also work. The purpose is to be able to get some air under the res in addition to around it. Speaking of which, the easiet way to cool a res is a small dedicated fan blowing right on it all the time. In addition to that you can take a couple of bags of frozen vegetables and set them around the outside of the res. It's kind of a pain to keep switching them out everyday but you gotta do watcha gotta do. $10 fan and about $5 worth of frozen vegetables and your set to respond in case the res temp gets about about 72-73 for an extended period of time.

Ok my Res is sitting on my laundry basket turned upside down, good height i think for using the pro drainage addition. i do have a fan decicated to the res blowing on it and up too..now my digi therometer is reading 88! idk its just hot in my house anyway and idk what else i can do, i have been leaving ice in a bowl on top of my res to try to aid humidity and cool it down, i just checked my Res temp and its around 80 or a little less. idk how i can control it! is it time to flip on the A/C?

 

[MostlyCrazy]

Re: Deep Water Culture Grow Journal, 1st timer, No exp..

What temp air do you have coming into the grow area. Maybe a bowel of frozen vegetable with a fan blowing on it. Do you have any exhaust out of the room? If not you'll need to crack the door open a little, install a fan up high blowing out of the room and one down low blowing fresh air into the room. I did it that way when I was using cfl's only and it worked just fine.

 

[miller162]

Re: Deep Water Culture Grow Journal, 1st timer, No exp..

What temp air do you have coming into the grow area. Maybe a bowel of frozen vegetable with a fan blowing on it. Do you have any exhaust out of the room? If not you'll need to crack the door open a little, install a fan up high blowing out of the room and one down low blowing fresh air into the room. I did it that way when I was using cfl's only and it worked just fine.

well to be frank i have an osilating fan for exhaust (door is always half way open) and a little fan blowing Up at the Res and the Gals, and like i said it is just HOT in my house! it reads 82 room temp in the whole house then if i keep the therometer under the lights right where my Gals are it is around 92!!! but with an ice bowl its around 85... it sucks.....but yeah i have been using bowls of frozen water alternating when it melts, and also for Res temp i froze a bottle of water and cut a hole in the cap and put tubing (i cut from my air pump) into the frozen water, i plan on having that melt slowly dripping cool water into my Res ( and plus i need to put more water in cuz the Gals have been drinkin the water, so i figure that s a win win.

 

[MostlyCrazy]

Re: Deep Water Culture Grow Journal, 1st timer, No exp..

Tough to do when the house is 82. Make sure that exhaust is mounted above the lights pointing out the door. Hot air rises. Sit the fan outside the door and blow it over some frozen water.

 

[StinkFinger]

Re: Deep Water Culture Grow Journal, 1st timer, No exp..

Hey Miller.

Been watching from a distance. If the res temp constantly becomes a battle for you, I think you may have to go the chiller route, unfortunately. I can PM you the location with the best price if you want to research this alternative.

Although, from the sound of it, you don't' seem to mind changing out ice bottles, etc. So I guess you would just have to weigh the costs/benefits...etc

I think with summer approaching, you're going to be facing an up-hill battle here. I could be wrong. These are the guys that would know.

As always.
SF

 

[miller162]

Re: Deep Water Culture Grow Journal, 1st timer, No exp..

Hey Miller.

Been watching from a distance. If the res temp constantly becomes a battle for you, I think you may have to go the chiller route, unfortunately. I can PM you the location with the best price if you want to research this alternative.

Although, from the sound of it, you don't' seem to mind changing out ice bottles, etc. So I guess you would just have to weigh the costs/benefits...etc

I think with summer approaching, you're going to be facing an up-hill battle here. I could be wrong. These are the guys that would know.

As always.
SF

Thanks stink you are really proving to be, what one might call a "guardian angel" lol ok back to topic

yes i agree about the summer climate!! i cannot imagine any other alternative other than...flippin the a/c on! lol in the mean time yes i can deal with changing the ice constantly

thanks again man!

 

[RPsmoke]

Re: Deep Water Culture Grow Journal, 1st timer, No exp..

Milk jugs. Those 2 gallon ones... clean them out after you drank the milk. Fill with water. The freeze. Freeze over night, takes awhile to become fully solid. Once it is frozen all the way through, you can cut the plastic off and you have a big ole ice block. Put a fan behind it, blowing air over it, and you got redneck a/c! Will help bring temps down.

Dry ice is another option. It's super cold. Best thing, when it melts, no mess! It melts from a solid to a gas. With the ice block you need a big bowl to catch the melt water. With dry ice, I got to a local welding store, stock a cooler full and bring it into the grow room. Setup a small fan to blow into the cooler, so the cold air is blown out.

 

[FryingPanFlyer]

Re: Deep Water Culture Grow Journal, 1st timer, No exp..

Milk jugs. Those 2 gallon ones... clean them out after you drank the milk. Fill with water. The freeze. Freeze over night, takes awhile to become fully solid. Once it is frozen all the way through, you can cut the plastic off and you have a big ole ice block. Put a fan behind it, blowing air over it, and you got redneck a/c! Will help bring temps down.

Dry ice is another option. It's super cold. Best thing, when it melts, no mess! It melts from a solid to a gas. With the ice block you need a big bowl to catch the melt water. With dry ice, I got to a local welding store, stock a cooler full and bring it into the grow room. Setup a small fan to blow into the cooler, so the cold air is blown out.

And to top it off as the dry ice evaporates the gas it releases is co2 giving you a boost there too!

 

[miller162]

Re: Deep Water Culture Grow Journal, 1st timer, No exp..

And to top it off as the dry ice evaporates the gas it releases is co2 giving you a boost there too!

how much is a decent amount of dry ice? like a price to use ratio would be nice if anyone has a clue..
Like say i buy a chunk for 30 bucks...how long would that last?

 

[RPsmoke]

Re: Deep Water Culture Grow Journal, 1st timer, No exp..

how much is a decent amount of dry ice? like a price to use ratio would be nice if anyone has a clue..
Like say i buy a chunk for 30 bucks...how long would that last?

All depends

Dry ice is not a cheap method of cooling a room! It can get pricey

I pay around $60 for a fairly big cooler almost full.

It lasts a week or more, depending on room temp and if I add water to the cooler to get it to melt faster, release more.

It's not effecient at releasing c02, but like FPF said, its an added boost!

 

[StinkFinger]

Re: Deep Water Culture Grow Journal, 1st timer, No exp..

Guys.

I was looking for some supplies, and came across this product.

Check this out. Not "terrible" priced at $125.00

IceProbe Thermoelectric Aquarium Chiller (Coolworks)
This is the ideal cooling solution for small aquariums--55 gallons or less. It is a quiet, reliable & efficient chiller uses advanced thermoelectric technology to directly convert electricity into cooling power

IceProbe Thermoelectric Aquarium Chiller (Coolworks)

Anyone have any experience with this product?

SF

PS. Have a great holiday weekend!

 

[RPsmoke]

Re: Deep Water Culture Grow Journal, 1st timer, No exp..

nice find, thanks for sharing stink!

 

[StinkFinger]

Re: Deep Water Culture Grow Journal, 1st timer, No exp..

nice find, thanks for sharing stink!

Absolutely. The more I read about the "smaller" reservoir tanks, the temp issue seems to be a recurring "theme".

I think this market NEEDS an effective product at a decent price-point. Hopefully, this may be the unit. Most growers don't want to shell out $300+ for a large chiller.

If I had temp problems myself, I'd take one for the team to try it out. I just love electronic gadgets!

Have a great one man!
SF

 

[miller162]

Re: Deep Water Culture Grow Journal, 1st timer, No exp..

Absolutely. The more I read about the "smaller" reservoir tanks, the temp issue seems to be a recurring "theme".

I think this market NEEDS an effective product at a decent price-point. Hopefully, this may be the unit. Most growers don't want to shell out $300+ for a large chiller.

If I had temp problems myself, I'd take one for the team to try it out. I just love electronic gadgets!

Have a great one man!
SF

hey stink, i SH IT you not i found that exact product from coolworks products.
I orginally thought the temp "controller" had an iceprobe but i guess you have to use the controller with the iceprobe to maintain a certain temp, NOT sure though thanks.