Put DWC buckets directly on garage floor, or not?

[Mr.]

Have any of you that have grown DWC in san diego found that you have to us a water warmer to keep the night time water temps from getting to low? This is in a well insulated garage. I will be using an Under Current system.
Also any opinions on whether or not I should have the unit sitting on the concrete or sitting on something else? I figure that the cool floor would help the water chiller do its job, but not sure if the floor would make the water too cold at night time.

 

[Papa]

it won't make it "too cold at night time" in San Diego.








Papa

 

[motta-tokka]

Your lights will do a good job of keeping it at a decent temp when they are on and when they are off it should not get too cold for them to not like it. My chiller has not had to run at all the last few days from what I have seen. Its basically telling me it is on the heater stage which I have no heater connected so it does nothing. Lowest I seen was 62 or something. Plants are thriving and I can already see the roots going nuts. Throw a ebay temp monitor in there for a few bucks to check. It should also offset your lights nicely since you have nothing but cold ambient temps to bring your buckets down to a good temp so allow it to happen and use it to your advantage in my opinion. Happy growing.

 

[opt1c]

always plan your rooms around the hottest temps they will see.... if you plan to be growing in the same spot come summer put them bitches on da floor... and fwiw it never gets hot in sd; and it never gets cold in sd; that's why sd is sd ;)

 

[Mr.]

Alright, floor it is. thanks

 

[LBH]

Your lights will do a good job of keeping it at a decent temp when they are on and when they are off it should not get too cold for them to not like it. My chiller has not had to run at all the last few days from what I have seen. Its basically telling me it is on the heater stage which I have no heater connected so it does nothing. Lowest I seen was 62 or something. Plants are thriving and I can already see the roots going nuts. Throw a ebay temp monitor in there for a few bucks to check. It should also offset your lights nicely since you have nothing but cold ambient temps to bring your buckets down to a good temp so allow it to happen and use it to your advantage in my opinion. Happy growing.

I'm with him. ^^

I'm in New England and I use a heater in my closet because it faces an outside wall. I won't let it get below 60 and have only had to use the heater a handful of times. (lights and house heat cover it most times)

I've used it for maybe 3 weeks total in 3 winters. It's only necessary for nights where it gets below 5-10 degrees.

Shouldn't be an issue in SD :)

 

[JAHGYDI]

to us sd natives it gets hot and cold in Diego. i was cold last night.

 

[Jalisco Kid]

Hell I was cold most of the summer here.Froze my ass off last night. I bury my rez in the ground for the temps and to make it nice and quite. easy drain does not hurt either. As long as you live no further then 30 miles inland you will not have the chance for the temps to cool your water. It has been 13%rh here the last week, i would worry more about evaporation getting out of control. JK

 

[420king-MASSES]

I'm with him. ^^

I'm in New England and I use a heater in my closet because it faces an outside wall. I won't let it get below 60 and have only had to use the heater a handful of times. (lights and house heat cover it most times)

I've used it for maybe 3 weeks total in 3 winters. It's only necessary for nights where it gets below 5-10 degrees.

Shouldn't be an issue in SD :)

i live in new england and never used a heater in the winter just gotta plan your opp around the seasons its simple for example i run my lights at night [when using areo i was in a uninsulated shed pulled massisve harvests] the sun warms the building up in day [no temp worries] so run your lights at night[keeps plants warm at coldest parts of 24hr period] and dont worry about the cold temps it even works good in summer lights on in the coolest part of the day and the plants sleep during the hot sunlight in a cooler room because no light is getting in just warmth from the sun rays on building:passingjoint::passingjoint:

 

[Seamaiden]

How many New Englanders are working directly on a concrete slab, though? That can get very cold, IME. I disagree, I'd lay some foam at least under there.

When I lived in SD and worked in Miramar (across from the Naval station) it used to get well below 40F and that was cold enough to kill fish and lizards. Not as cold as the Sierra, but still, cold enough for them to need extra heat, and Mary likes it better that way, too (generally).

What's a sheet or two of rigid styrofoam insulation worth, really? Better to lay it down before you get them going than to realize that it's too cold and you need to get them off the floor ASAP. 40F is too cold, and it gets that cold in SD easily.

 

[Papa]

40F is too cold, and it gets that cold in SD easily.

but slow down SM, that's the air temp, outside.

a concrete slab in an insulated garage is an entirely different story.







Papa

 

[420king-MASSES]

i used to workoff a raised wooden fllor in an unheated shed//im also in a cellar that drops to 40-45 degrees at night except for my grow room// during the day when lights out and suns blazin it gets around 55 degrees im so new england our football teams the new england patriots [same state]

 

[Seamaiden]

but slow down SM, that's the air temp, outside.

a concrete slab in an insulated garage is an entirely different story.







Papa

Insulated warehouse versus garage, is there really a huge difference? Used to freeze my butt off down there, and I still say better safe than sorry. Few sheets of foam are *so* cheap and easy to lay down, not to mention reflective and mold-resistant.

Just my opinion based on some experience with water down there.