Planning Phase Questions

[Mr.Spark]

I am in the stages of planning what will be a first attempt at hydro, this thread will be for me to ask questions along the way.

For my first attempt I am going to start (2) 27 gallon buckets with a 155 gallon res (just because) under (4) 1000w HPS in an under current system.

However this is a bit down the road. Currently I am planning the build around this system and I have my first question for y'all. What are the factors that contribute to the water temperature rising to create the need for a chiller? Obviously the light is one contributor but do the airstones and water pumps emit heat? The reason for my question is that if I were to just lower a section of my subfloor for my buckets in order for them to be covered back up and be shielded from light competely but also would create a "safety net" in case of leaks or floods.

Cheers,
Spark

 

[Think2toke]

That size bucket is insane huge.... but just being in your room will heat up the water via light heat dehu your water pumps being the biggest pain they heat up a lot and whatever else. I would recommend a chiller because a system like that will be susceptible to root rot exe.

If you can leave the REZ outside the grow room in a cooler place. That much water is going to require a bigger chiller. Cutting down the amount of water will help a lot.

 

[JohnnyRey]

Number 1 problem to mess with a crop in RDWC is root rot or any type of rooting problems since it's all in the water ALL the time. Granted everyone wants to save money but to save even more money investing in a water chiller will definitely keep you happy. Your room temperature always has to be from 74-80 or higher if you're running CO2 but just your room temperature will contribute in the rise of your water temperature. Including your lights, your airstones pumping. I'd say a water chiller is needed for ANY RDWC system just for precautions because keeping your temps 65-68 will always be good for your roots and with a water chiller(being you buy the right one for your system) will make sure you never have to worry about your water being to cold or too hot and that'll make sure you are at optimal conditions for your roots to receive O2.

 

[Mr.Spark]

Thank you for the feed back guys.

I know 27 gal is huge but I've seen a few guys running them for trees in RDWC.

Let me re word this.. My basement sub floor has about 3.5ft between it and the dirt foundation floor, it is about 10-15degrees cooler underneath the subfloor at any given time. I want to frame out a box under my sub floor for all of my buckets then cover them back up to protect I will be running a mini split and will not be going bare bulb on this one either.

The more I talk about it the more this seems like I'm trying to jerry-rig it together, but thats what electricians do best.. I will try to keep you posted since this seems like it could be a shit show.