Really struggling to keep my DWC temps down due to the recent heatwave where I am. Temps are always a couple degrees higher in my tent than in my house so I converted my DWC buckets into a recirculating system buy hooking them together with pipes and a pump so I can have an external reservoir. I like to dump ice bottles into the external reservoir to bring the temperature of the system down. But its really hard to keep it cool as its using ice bottles faster than I can freeze them. I wen't out for a few hours today and when I came home my water temp was 31 Celsius! For the past few days there has been some nasty looking crap on my roots. And after getting to 31c there is bubbles floating on the top of the water which to me is an indication of serious issue. I've been treating my system with Pythoff which I believe is a Chlorine based sterilizing agent. It kills all common pathogens and pests and fungi etc. I've been squirting 1-2ml per day into it as whats recommended for a healthy system but it doesn't seem to be killing whatever is in the water. So I shocked it with 8ml earlier and i'll see what happens. As soon as I saw the high temp I threw all the ice bottles I have into the water which has brought it down to 23c. My plants remain healthy despite whats going on with the roots. Can someone give me an opinion on if I have a problem or not? I've never done DWC before so I don't know what certain issues look like. Thanks You can see the fuzzy crap on the ends of the roots (note the roots would be totally submerged normally). Here you can see the bubbles floating on the top of the water, that has never happened before. Here you can see the perfectly healthy plant!
Guess i'm panicing over nothing haha, i'll back off on the pythoff then. Just a bit worried since this is my first DWC grow and i'm scared of screwing it up haha. Thanks a load!
So great white puts good bacteria into the water so the bad stuff can't live? I like the sound of that. Then I can stop using Pythoff which makes my nutrient smell like a swimming pool!
I have DWC buckets outside in direct sun and 90 degree temps. I’m growing tomato and cucumber in them. They are drinking 2 gallons a day and the roots fill the bucket. It’s my first time running DWC, so it was an experiment. There is some funk on the roots, but they’re producing and growing so fast
Maybe i'm fussing too much, I'm just scared of root rot. I guess I can worry less about cooling the water now. Thanks.
Yeah I’m no DWC pro, as this is my first attempt. I’ve heard the same horror stories as you about the root rot. I’m pumping a lot of air, I think that’s the key, since most bad bacteria are anaerobic. 2 lines and a 9” diffuser ring per bucket.
I got 1 line per bucket with 1.5 inch air stones. I might add more air stones. I built a venturi into my pump system by sticking 3 needles into the pipe facing away from the flow which is sucking in air for some extra aeration.
Get more air in there friend that will help..I also have trouble in dwc keeping them cold..but I use frozen bottles a few times a day and have a bigger air pump with 2 lines going into the bucket, 2 air stones..more air more better
The more ambient temperature air you pump into the soup, the harder it is to cool down. You can only pump in so much at a given temperature before the soup is saturated. MJ is not a balloon. I suggest you read this about root rot: Simply Hydroponics - Nutrient Temp
My res temps have been running 90f (32c) for the last 3 weeks. Hydroguard has been keeping it healthy.
I just realized that the Canna Rhizotonic i'm using has bacteria in it and i've just been straight killing it with pythoff lol. The bacteria is just like that in Great White and Hydroguard. Although I don't think anything is better than Great White, i've been looking into it. There is my problem.