- Thread starter
- #961
Good so far having my coffee getting caught up here. Going to the grow store later going to do a res change today.
Oldsmokey Goes Hydro
- Thread starter oldsmokey
- Start date
Stltoed
Well-Known Member
Hey Smokey. Hope all is well.
- Thread starter
- #963
Good morning 
no complaints yet. How is your day going?
no complaints yet. How is your day going?
Stltoed
Well-Known Member
Pretty slow. Its bad when you wake up and need a nap.Good morning
Hey, I was thinking of showing the loyal members of your thread how I cool my nutrient water. I dont know how many are growing in hydro, but maybe someone could use it... what do you think?
- Thread starter
- #965
I am using a water chiller but would like to see your technique go for it.
Stltoed
Well-Known Member
Ok. After the nap haha
Stltoed
Well-Known Member
YAWN!
Ok, I wanted to address a major part of hydro, and that is keeping the water temp under control. I grow in a shed in Southern California, so keeping water between 63 and 70 is an issue without help. I bought a chiller but it showed up with major issues and didn't work. I had seedlings ready to plant, and needed them planted. The weather was hot and my water temp was completely out of control. In desperation I cut 2 holes in my res lid, 1 for a 6 inch fan, the other for exhaust. The video will better explain the situation.
Questions are encouraged.
Ok, I wanted to address a major part of hydro, and that is keeping the water temp under control. I grow in a shed in Southern California, so keeping water between 63 and 70 is an issue without help. I bought a chiller but it showed up with major issues and didn't work. I had seedlings ready to plant, and needed them planted. The weather was hot and my water temp was completely out of control. In desperation I cut 2 holes in my res lid, 1 for a 6 inch fan, the other for exhaust. The video will better explain the situation.
Questions are encouraged.
Swamp cooler...great idea!
I have a question: If the cooler will lower the water temps around 10º most of the time, when the shed was 102º, the water only got down to 92º? I've never run hydro but that seems warm to me.
And doesn't that system raise the RH in the room?
I have a non-chiller question as well: What are your thoughts on this silica product, which they claim "is the most bioavailable form of silicon"?
I have a question: If the cooler will lower the water temps around 10º most of the time, when the shed was 102º, the water only got down to 92º? I've never run hydro but that seems warm to me.
And doesn't that system raise the RH in the room?
I have a non-chiller question as well: What are your thoughts on this silica product, which they claim "is the most bioavailable form of silicon"?
Alchemist® Stout™ MSA | Hawthorne Gardening Company
Monosilicic acid (H4SiO4 aka ortho-silicic acid), the form found in Stout™ MSA, is the most bioavailable form of silicon. Stout™ MSA is immediately available to your plants and is stable over a larger pH range when compared to other silicon sources like potassium or sodium silicates (ex: will...
www.hawthornegc.com
yogi gardener
Well-Known Member
what's the rate of evaporation at deg/humidity? respect the MacGyver maneuver... * edit : will learn emote
Stltoed
Well-Known Member
The water was cooler than that. It was very dry that day. It was closer to 20 degrees cooler... still WAY too warm for hydro. I dont like the water over 72. 102 in my room is an anomaly thankfully.
The pretty white lines that ring my tubs started with the use of Z7, a enzyme used to keep roots from rotting off hydro plants. I tried it and it foamed up forming concretions once it dried. Now its a wonderful base for dried salts.
Ive bought alcohol and peroxide from Alchemist in the past both worked well. Their claim at being the most bioavailable is kinda bold. If they were the only mono-silicic out there they may be correct, but the dosage for Power Si is 10 times less. They didn't really go into any detail on stabilizers or anything like that... I'd try it, the price isn't too bad.
I will say that it will kick the shit out of any Potassium based product which is what the vast majority of Silica users are feeding their plants. Once more companies start making Silica like this, and the prices come down (Ive seen products that cost almost a dollar an ml). It will get popular and people will understand what Silica can do. The cost is what's keeping people in the dark. Sounds corny, but there WILL be a Silica renaissance, and it will leave people wondering what the hell they were using.
Power Si is nearly $170/qt and this stuff is $22/qt. Power Si is dosed at 1ml/gallon and this stuff is at 5ml/gallon. Still, it works out much cheaper per gallon.
Stltoed
Well-Known Member
What a great question...what's the rate of evaporation at deg/humidity? respect the MacGyver maneuver... * edit : will learn emote
Stltoed
Well-Known Member
Pricing will come down. This is the cheapest I've seen
yogi gardener
Well-Known Member
The Phantom
Member
If I was in my office today I would pull out my hydrology textbook from college and find the equation for it.
Stltoed
Well-Known Member
Would you? Haha
The Phantom
Member
Yeah when I go in tomorrow I'll pull it up. I use it to calculate water loss in reservoirs.
Stltoed
Well-Known Member
Do you use Silica?
Not since I switched to MC really. I have Armor Si on hand but between the added K and you telling me it's worthless, I haven't used it except for very specific blends.
Stltoed
Well-Known Member
Maybe Alchemist's product would be a worthwhile experiment for you. You've seen Silica from Potassium, give it a try.
I used Botanicare's Silica Blast for over a year, and it DID do something... I dont know if mono-silicic acid was a silent partner in the mix, or what, but I call it Silica lite. It didnt have the power of Fasilitor which I had used once, but couldn't see paying for again.
Things are changing, I believe once the word is out on the mono-silicic its gonna be a different world. There isn't another single element (barring the big 3) that helps plants in so many ways. Not even PGRs Ok im putting my soapbox away...