Temps

[nbfool68]

I live in the deep south and temps during the summer can get well over the century mark. I am setting up my grow room in a prefab building that is adjacent to my home because I have no other option. I would like to grow without the need for AC and have plans to provide plenty of fresh air circulation. How hot is TOO hot for my plants to grow and thrive successfully? Would i be ok if I can keep the temps below the low to mid 90's provided the water temp is cool? I'll have fresh air intake at the floor and exhaust at the ceiling level.

 

[BWC BayArea]

Honestly bro, I was taught 85F was the general threshold for indoors. now some strains can stand warmer temps I believe and others may be sensitive to 85F. I wouldnt recommend begining a summer grow indoors esp in the south. If thats what u want to do, all I know to suggest it find a heat tolerant strain, buy a free standing A/c unit or window unit from a hardware store, pray, and be prepared to water them like crazy. If u can, find an outdoor grow space and go for it. When temps get into the mid 90s to the low 100s I honestly dontknow what could be done. U'll definitely need ventilation, but if the air is hot that won't do much for temps.

 

[nbfool68]

Thanks BWC! Forgot to mention, this is a hydro ------------ system with fluorescents but I can see your point. I may just try insulating my grow room and getting a cheap AC unit to keep the temp below 85F.

 

[BWC BayArea]

With that said, u may also want to invest in a chiller for ur reservoir. I dunno how much they cost or much about them other than what I read in a couple journals a couple years ago. Also keep in mind that if ur A/c unit isn't large enough for ur space u may still have temp issues. i had a good sized A/c and Cali summer heat had me in the 90s w/the A/c running some days. I was using a 400W & 600W HPS simultaneously when this occurred. I've read its very important to maintain a specific temp range for ur res. I recently read 70F is ideal. All i know about hydro is what I read. Ima a dirt farmer myself. Search the completed journals section using keyword "chiller" and see what pops up.

 

[BWC BayArea]

Didn't mean to double post. Hate when that happens.

 

[nbfool68]

My grow is small and the space is about 4 by 3 by 8 so not much to cool. I think I should be ok with the water temps if I keep the room chilly.

 

[fish cake]

wow man good luck but maybe this will help keep things cool. freeze some 2 liter bottles of water and add to your water. I have done this with my salt water fish tank when things have got warm. but like BWC I grow in dirt. just a suggestion

 

[PrairiePoet]

My grow is small and the space is about 4 by 3 by 8 so not much to cool. I think I should be ok with the water temps if I keep the room chilly.

Most likely it won't be. You will need to keep the reservoir below 70F. If you don't you will have pH problems and root rot. If you can't do that, I would suggest you go with soil or a soilless grow.

 

[nbfool68]

wow man good luck but maybe this will help keep things cool. freeze some 2 liter bottles of water and add to your water. I have done this with my salt water fish tank when things have got warm. but like BWC I grow in dirt. just a suggestion

Sounds like a good idea! I have decided to get a small AC to cool my room after I insulate. I'll do some more research on keeping water temps down. Also think I'll monitor my room for a week or with with everything going to get some working temps before I start my grow. Thanks!

 

[nbfool68]

Most likely it won't be. You will need to keep the reservoir below 70F. If you don't you will have pH problems and root rot. If you can't do that, I would suggest you go with soil or a soilless grow.

Thanks for the tips. Going to give it a shot but I plan on setting everything up and getting some data on temps, etc before I start my grow. Peace!!

 

[PrairiePoet]

Thanks for the tips. Going to give it a shot but I plan on setting everything up and getting some data on temps, etc before I start my grow. Peace!!

Setting up and running for a week before actually growing is a good thing to do.

Just remember you want air temps to be around high 70's and reservoir temps below 70. Not being able to keep the reservoir temps lower than the air is always the hardest thing to do. Insulate the reservoir as best you can (top, sides and maybe the bottom). You can find tons of postings on 420 about folks that didn't keep it down and had problems.

My first grow was started in late fall, and I grow in a basement. It went better than I would of thought. Then the next two grows I fought high temps in the reservoir as the weather heated up. After trying everything i could I ended up putting in a DIY chiller. Since then the temps never strayed far from 68F and no more root rot of pH problems.

I've been experimenting with 2 Liter hempy's after seeing some very good success here on the forum with it. I haven't needed to worry about reservoir temps for those plants.

 

[nbfool68]

Setting up and running for a week before actually growing is a good thing to do.

Just remember you want air temps to be around high 70's and reservoir temps below 70. Not being able to keep the reservoir temps lower than the air is always the hardest thing to do. Insulate the reservoir as best you can (top, sides and maybe the bottom). You can find tons of postings on 420 about folks that didn't keep it down and had problems.

My first grow was started in late fall, and I grow in a basement. It went better than I would of thought. Then the next two grows I fought high temps in the reservoir as the weather heated up. After trying everything i could I ended up putting in a DIY chiller. Since then the temps never strayed far from 68F and no more root rot of pH problems.

I've been experimenting with 2 Liter hempy's after seeing some very good success here on the forum with it. I haven't needed to worry about reservoir temps for those plants.

Thanks bro! This is my first grow and I really don't want to F it up! I'm trying to cover everything and this forum is going to be a real life saver, I can tell already! Take care my friend! I'm sure I'll have more questions to come and I'll try to post some pics later.

 

[lildj90]

hey man just read your posts and the responses. Don't add freezing water to your roots like someone suggested. They really don't like that.

 

[nbfool68]

hey man just read your posts and the responses. Don't add freezing water to your roots like someone suggested. They really don't like that.

Thanks man but I think I've got it figured out. I'll find out soon. I'm going to insulate my reservoir and dump conditioned air onto my air pump that is feeding a couple of air stones in the bottom. Should find out in a week of all goes well!

 

[fish cake]

hey bro was not trying to kill your grow but I did save my saltwater tank from certian death by putting a frozen 2 liter bottle in the resivour before things went bad just a little back up to keep in mindand if prarie poet says then its pretty close to gosple

 

[nbfool68]

hey bro was not trying to kill your grow but I did save my saltwater tank from certian death by putting a frozen 2 liter bottle in the resivour before things went bad just a little back up to keep in mindand if prarie poet says then its pretty close to gosple

No problem fish cake! ANY input is good input! You either learn what's right or what's wrong.

 

[Cloudblood]

The only real way to try to make that grow room work without an AC would be CO2. When CO2 is in the grow environment temps can go as high as mid-90's without issues. It will cost less then running an AC constantly but it is still going to have a price.

Sidenote- Try to grow strains used to hard conditions. The south grows plenty at those temps.

 

[nbfool68]

The only real way to try to make that grow room work without an AC would be CO2. When CO2 is in the grow environment temps can go as high as mid-90's without issues. It will cost less then running an AC constantly but it is still going to have a price.

Sidenote- Try to grow strains used to hard conditions. The south grows plenty at those temps.

Thanks CloudBlood!! I HAVE been reading up on some DIY CO2 methods that I was going to try. I didn't really think about it helping with the temps but that makes sense. I've got the room insulated with some good R19 that I had stored in my attic from back when I worked for the Pink Panther many years ago. I've got a small AC unit that shouldn't have to work very had to keep the room in the upper 70's. I'm going to make some custom ductwork for the front of the AC so that I can 1) control the flow of air better and direct it exactly where I need it and 2) to eliminate any light that may migrate through the unit itself. I'm going to try to get it mounted tomorrow then finish making it air tight. I'm hoping I can get finished up this weekend so I can get some temp readings before I start. I guess this isn't the ideal time for me to start an indoor grow in my location but if I can pull it off, the rest of the year should be a piece of cake! I've got an assortment of different feminized seeds that I got from Nirvana so I'll see what does best and go in that direction. Problem is, the seeds aren't labelled with the strain so it's going to be a guessing game!! I'll post pics and maybe get some help! Peace bro!