Is 64 degree rez temp to cold?

[ru knuts]

I posted this in Hydroponic and got no replies sorry for the double post.

Is 64 degrees to cold for my rez temp? My DIY chiller is working better than I expected. The root zone is 68 degrees during flood. 5 gallon buckets with hydroton

 

[916Fisherman]

Can you hook up a temp controller to the DIY chiller? Maybe to the pump at least?

 

[ru knuts]

Can you hook up a temp controller to the DIY chiller? Maybe to the pump at least?

I run it off a timer right now. It's kind of a funky set up. I built my grow room around my well pump house it's 12 X 8, an out building detached from my house. I have 32' of 1/2 hose buried in the well pit and covered with 4-6" pea gravel, the pit is normally 49-51 degrees. I run a 12 volt RV water pump that sucks from the bottom of my rez thru the buried hose and returns it to the top of the rez. It runs on a timer between floods. I went from 77-78 rez temp to as low as 62 now. I'm thinking all I have to do is shorten the time a few minutes every cycle until I get the desired temp, I just didn't know the desired temp, lol. Thanks

 

[916Fisherman]

Shorten the time or hook it up to a controller so it shuts off at a certain temp.

 

[916Fisherman]

I believe desired temp is 70 f but I’m a soil grower but have tons of chiller experience in the Aquarium hobby lol

 

[JadedMarxist]

Try to keep dwc around 65f to prevent the nasty slime and root rot my res is consistently at 62-65f. It does semm to slow the growth a bit but not as much as root rot or brown alge.

 

[ru knuts]

I believe desired temp is 70 f but I’m a soil grower but have tons of chiller experience in the Aquarium hobby lol

I adjusted the pump speed this morning and I'm up to 68, 8 hours ago. I forget to mention it's on a PWM and a timer. I'll check it again in the morning and try to get it in the sweet spot (70 +/- 1).

 

[ru knuts]

Try to keep dwc around 65f to prevent the nasty slime and root rot my res is consistently at 62-65f. It does semm to slow the growth a bit but not as much as root rot or brown alge.

I'm also using Southern AG, a cheaper alternative to Hydroguard, and change the rez every 7 days. Amazingly the rez looks pretty good when I change it out.
BTW, I'm doing flood and drain. After a flood the root zone temp is 70.
I'd hate to even think of root rot.
Thanks.

 

[JadedMarxist]

I was using enzyme komplete because I luckily got brown alge not root rot. But at the start my rez temps were in the mid 80s and I had nothing but problems. My bad I thought you were running rdwc.

Since I got my temps steady at 65 I haven't had to use the enzymes at all and the roots are nice and white with no slime and my rez water is clear.
Good idea to change the rez every week as I do that also because I can't stand the smell of it lol.

It's weird I can smell it everywhere in my house it seems but no one else can smell it even standing next to an open bucket.

 

[ru knuts]

I was using enzyme komplete because I luckily got brown alge not root rot. But at the start my rez temps were in the mid 80s and I had nothing but problems. My bad I thought you were running rdwc.

Since I got my temps steady at 65 I haven't had to use the enzymes at all and the roots are nice and white with no slime and my rez water is clear.
Good idea to change the rez every week as I do that also because I can't stand the smell of it lol.

It's weird I can smell it everywhere in my house it seems but no one else can smell it even standing next to an open bucket.

I don't have the best of sniffers, but I don't smell anything as far as my rez smelling, my wife on the other hand has a nose like a bloodhound. My problem is my pH and ppm's start to get out of wack. I have to add water between changes also. It's easier for me to just change the rez and not deal with chasing the ppm and ph.