DWC Reservoir Cooling Tips and Ticks

[CCNUGZ]

Hi All

Any DWC growers here that have any tips or tricks to help keep my solution between 18-20c?

My tent environment is approx 28c and over a day or two it increases the DWC temperature to 23-25c, which is likely to cause me issues like root rot and lack of nutrients uptake.

I have attempted to bodge a few ideas i had like adding frozen bottles of water into the solution. But this technique is not great and it will also not be possible once my root system is fully developed. It will eventually end up freezing the root mass.

So my next idea has been a thermal jacket, I also have added frozen bottles inside the jacket. In the hope that it will act like a fridge, and also help to reflect the light away from the pots.

Pic attached.

Has anyone else has similar issue. Or have any idea on how to remedy this issue.

Thanks all

 

[CannabisMingus]

I grow DWC but don't chill the reservoir. My res temps run in the lower to mid 70's. I run Hydroguard and don't have significant root issues. I believe the additional O2 saturation to be gained from chilling is an incremental benefit at best and can be replicated (to a point) with additional air flow. IMHO, YMMV, etc.

 

[CCNUGZ]

I grow DWC but don't chill the reservoir. My res temps run in the lower to mid 70's. I run Hydroguard and don't have significant root issues. I believe the additional O2 saturation to be gained from chilling is an incremental benefit at best and can be replicated (to a point) with additional air flow. IMHO, YMMV, etc.

This is great news to me aswell.
For this grow I upgraded my air pump, its now twice as powerful as my previous one. I think I remeber it stating 30l per min air flow now.
Hopefully if I can tackle the issue with both air flow and a slight dip in temp. Ill be on to a winner.

I have a similar thing to hydro guard, I think. Its sver bullet which is hydrogen peroxide. However I dont want to use that whilst using some of the live nutrients I have. Advanced nutrients voodoo juice and piranha. Once my feeding schedule doesn't need those two added, I intend to add a bit of silver bullet.

I had another idea to create a form of cool box and out my air pump in there. So the air being pumped in is cold. Not sure if that would actually do much though.

All fun and part of the learning journey.

 

[CannabisMingus]

Its sver bullet which is hydrogen peroxide.

Nope. Not the same thing at all. Completely different methodology. I'm not saying a sterile res will not work, it's just a different direction I don't have experience with.

wever I dont want to use that whilst using some of the live nutrients I have.

Pick one or the other (sterile res vs. inoculants). If you decide the latter, I have used multi-strain inoculants (GW, Recharge) in a DWC system and did not have as good of a results as when inoculating with a single strain (Hydroguard/Southern Ag) as I believe a monoculture outcompetes Pythium and related pathogens more effectively (in DWC only). Again, IMHO, YMMV, etc.

 

[CCNUGZ]

Nope. Not the same thing at all. Completely different methodology. I'm not saying a sterile res will not work, it's just a different direction I don't have experience with.

Pick one or the other (sterile res vs. inoculants). If you decide the latter, I have used multi-strain inoculants (GW, Recharge) in a DWC system and did not have as good of a results as when inoculating with a single strain (Hydroguard/Southern Ag) as I believe a monoculture outcompetes Pythium and related pathogens more effectively (in DWC only). Again, IMHO, YMMV, etc.

Thank you so much for this mate. I had no idea what Hydroguard is. I will be spending sometime researching into it.

 

[CCNUGZ]

Quick question in regards to Hydroguard.

At what stage of the feed should I add it. Should it be first or after the base nutrients?

On their site they say to put it in prior to any ph products. Which to me suggests maybe putting it in last?

 

[CannabisMingus]

I wait and dose 24 hours after a res change. It allows pH and EC to stabilize before inoculation. Start at week one.

 

[CCNUGZ]

I wait and dose 24 hours after a res change. It allows pH and EC to stabilize before inoculation. Start at week one.

Nice one mate. I'm Definitely going to try this method out for my next grow.
As I have already bought all the crap for thermal jackets and so far it seems to be working, I'm not going to over complicate or over spend any more Hahaha.

FYI anyone who is interested in the results of the thermal jackets I made. The reservoir temp is now at 20.8c or 69F. So it seems to be working like a charm

 

[CCNUGZ]

Couldn't be happier with this bodge job. I've made to drop the temperature and maintain it at 18.7c.

The air temp is a bit low but thats only because I had the tent open while doing my maintenance.

 

[Imagine]

I used hydroguard in dwc and my temps hoverd around 75-80 and had no root issues whatsoever.