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Driver attempts rdwc

Yes it is ok just not ideal. Makes maint easier outside and potentially helps keep temps down.

If you can keep res temps at 72 that is the sweet spot. 80 is too high. In between can get dicey depending on several factors.

Are you doing sterile or live res? Got pics of the setup? We can help you thru it.
 
moe.red said:
Yes it is ok just not ideal. Makes maint easier outside and potentially helps keep temps down.

If you can keep res temps at 72 that is the sweet spot. 80 is too high. In between can get dicey depending on several factors.

Are you doing sterile or live res? Got pics of the setup? We can help you thru it.
Click to expand...
Looks like I better get another chiller on the way.
Running live...hydroguard20250321_074235.jpg20250321_074227.jpg
 
moe.red said:
That’s not a lot of water. What are your temps running now with lights on?
Click to expand...
In the tent is 78f to 82f.....
I can get a 1/4hp chiller for right at $100 or a 1/10hp for $150. I have the 1/10 one now on my 25gal res and it works great. I don't think I'll need all that for this though...
 
R those 5 gal buckets? Like moe said, I'd try to get the res on the outside if you can. Went through my first grow, w many snags, would've been harder though if my res was inside. Just my $.02 which is actually worth 1/100 of said value :) Best to you and your grow, I'll most definitely be following your progress!
 
Skinnypuppy80 said:
R those 5 gal buckets? Like moe said, I'd try to get the res on the outside if you can. Went through my first grow, w many snags, would've been harder though if my res was inside. Just my $.02 which is actually worth 1/100 of said value :) Best to you and your grow, I'll most definitely be following your progress!
Click to expand...
Yeah after laying it all out it's going to be best outside the tent. Got a portable ac that's got to go....
Yes 5gal
 
Would it be ok for the hose from the res to have a hump in it as it enters the tent?
The water should all come to the same level....right?
 
Driver77 said:
Would it be ok for the hose from the res to have a hump in it as it enters the tent?
The water should all come to the same level....right?
Click to expand...
It will work but it may be a point of reduced flow. Bubbles will collect in the high spot and reduce the effective size of the pipe. If you can incorporate a small bleeder with a tee and 1/4” line going up to above the buckets it will prevent that and allow bubbles to escape.
 
If you see anything wrong feel free to help a brother out!
First victims are in...the transplant wasn't pretty. I wanted to start in rockwool but couldn't find my cubes ;smoke ended up in coco and found my rockwool the next day. Probably would have been better to wait another week...oh well they're alive....for now.
No leaks!!
20250327_100559.jpg
 
Driver77 said:
Got this....it says for 60l...I paid $114 all in
Click to expand...
Could one of these be used as a chiller for coils in a drying box?. The price is right, Its the poorest part of my growing, I dry at the mercy of the temperature in my basement. I can get the RH close to 60% but temp is 68f+ I was looking at wine coolers but they don't quite cut it and Cannatrols are out of my price range. Cold water filled coils with a fan over them??? unit outside coils in??? hmm would that work? or is this another brain fart???
 
Pipecarver said:
Could one of these be used as a chiller for coils in a drying box?. The price is right, Its the poorest part of my growing, I dry at the mercy of the temperature in my basement. I can get the RH close to 60% but temp is 68f+ I was looking at wine coolers but they don't quite cut it and Cannatrols are out of my price range. Cold water filled coils with a fan over them??? unit outside coils in??? hmm would that work? or is this another brain fart???
Click to expand...
Not sure if this one is your answer...I'm not impressed with it. It's barley keeping up already. I'm returning this one and getting another like the one I have for my other tent.
 
MiGrampa said:
I found it. Including the drip rings. I ordered 2 sets. We're going to try them out with greenhouse bell peppers.

Edit: Let me know how those thermo-electric chillers work for you. I'm going to need something like that.
Click to expand...
The thermoelectric chiller is underwhelming...I ordered one with a compressor for $150
 
I've seen a copper coil in a dwc setup before using it to cool the water, I think. Id have to find it for more info sorry, maybe someone here has the other part of that knowledge to know what I'm referring to.

I've been looking into peltier cooling, one guy got it to -90c/ thought, if one could connect that to help cool a dry box at a fraction of that efficiency?

Budget growing gets complicated to do it "right" lol.

There's no way I can dry anything right now where I'm at with any type of proper env
 
Observer said:
I've seen a copper coil in a dwc setup before using it to cool the water, I think. Id have to find it for more info sorry, maybe someone here has the other part of that knowledge to know what I'm referring to.

I've been looking into peltier cooling, one guy got it to -90c/ thought, if one could connect that to help cool a dry box at a fraction of that efficiency?

Budget growing gets complicated to do it "right" lol.

There's no way I can dry anything right now where I'm at with any type of proper env
Click to expand...
It definitely cools...just the capacity is low. It draws 185w and as inefficient as they are probably only 100w of cooling. Right now it runs constantly with lights on and is holding at 73f.
I played with something similar back in the day to overclock a cpu. As long as the load isn't too high it works great.
 
 
Driver77 said:
How long should the top drip run?
What's the best temp for res....72f?
I run 5.8 to 6.2 in flood and drain.....same here?
Click to expand...
Couple of things

1743163122176.png

I believe that is your air pump? If so it needs to be higher than the level of the water to prevent syphoning and a flood.

Top drip is not overly critical. Once the roots hit the water you can turn it off altogether. If you over water - it will not hurt the plants because the hydroton is so porous there is no O2 concern. The problem may be an algae buildup. Until you get a canopy that hydroton in full sun and constantly wet will grow stuff you probably do not want. For that reason I would limit to max of 10 minutes per hour. 5 minutes every other hour is still fine.

Res temp of 72 if using beneficial bacteria. If you are sterile 68-70 is the better range for the added dissolved O2.

PH target is 5.8 in hydro. Generally a slight upward trend is a good sign things are going well in the root zone. If you have a dive down to 5 or something like that, it is an indicator you have root rot or similar, so watch the trends closely and post up if you see something that does not make sense.
 
moe.red said:
Couple of things

View attachment 95153

I believe that is your air pump? If so it needs to be higher than the level of the water to prevent syphoning and a flood.

Top drip is not overly critical. Once the roots hit the water you can turn it off altogether. If you over water - it will not hurt the plants because the hydroton is so porous there is no O2 concern. The problem may be an algae buildup. Until you get a canopy that hydroton in full sun and constantly wet will grow stuff you probably do not want. For that reason I would limit to max of 10 minutes per hour. 5 minutes every other hour is still fine.

Res temp of 72 if using beneficial bacteria. If you are sterile 68-70 is the better range for the added dissolved O2.

PH target is 5.8 in hydro. Generally a slight upward trend is a good sign things are going well in the root zone. If you have a dive down to 5 or something like that, it is an indicator you have root rot or similar, so watch the trends closely and post up if you see something that does not make sense.
Click to expand...
I have those siphon stopper things on it but moved it up anyhow....Thanks for the input!
 
moe.red said:
Couple of things

View attachment 95153

I believe that is your air pump? If so it needs to be higher than the level of the water to prevent syphoning and a flood.

Top drip is not overly critical. Once the roots hit the water you can turn it off altogether. If you over water - it will not hurt the plants because the hydroton is so porous there is no O2 concern. The problem may be an algae buildup. Until you get a canopy that hydroton in full sun and constantly wet will grow stuff you probably do not want. For that reason I would limit to max of 10 minutes per hour. 5 minutes every other hour is still fine.

Res temp of 72 if using beneficial bacteria. If you are sterile 68-70 is the better range for the added dissolved O2.

PH target is 5.8 in hydro. Generally a slight upward trend is a good sign things are going well in the root zone. If you have a dive down to 5 or something like that, it is an indicator you have root rot or similar, so watch the trends closely and post up if you see something that does not make sense.
Click to expand...
A few more things I can't figure out.....Once the top drip is turned off how does it recirculate? or does it?

I run 5.8 to 6.2 in the Aircube (only because that's what it said in the instructions that came with it)...should I drop to 5.6 to 6.0 to be in a better zone??
 
Driver77 said:
A few more things I can't figure out.....Once the top drip is turned off how does it recirculate? or does it?

I run 5.8 to 6.2 in the Aircube (only because that's what it said in the instructions that came with it)...should I drop to 5.6 to 6.0 to be in a better zone??
Click to expand...
Before I answer, I better figure out the plumbing.

1743168569137.png

My assumption is the red arrow is the return?
Pink arrow is supply and connected to a pump in the res?
One purple is connected to the drip ring, and one is air?
Which means blue is return to res as well?

Do I have that right?
 
Driver77 said:
Is this to avoid a pump in the res?
Click to expand...
In this case it is to cool the 5 gallons of water in the fog cloner. If I was to turn the entire res over I would need to more than double the amount of nute water just to fill the chiller and lines.

On my RDWC I just turn over nute water directly from the res thru the chiller. But that is over 80 gallons total, so the amount in the chiller is irrelevant.
 
Driver77 said:
Not sure if this one is your answer...I'm not impressed with it. It's barley keeping up already. I'm returning this one and getting another like the one I have for my other tent.
Click to expand...
I have one of these I use in the summer but another cheaper one to use part time in a drying box is my thought now. I'm not sure how it would work. Can you get the water below 60F with the chillers you have?1743169227121.png
 
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