Hello i recently started a dwc bucket about a week and a half ago. on the roots im seeing some slime of some sort. I started out using fox farm nutes but switched to floranova grow about 2 days ago and have never noticed it before. I always keep everything clean and im not using full nutes or anything. the ph has been staying around 6 and im using RO water. What could it be?
Get yourself a pool thermometer and see what temp the soup is. Generally, over 70 deg is an invitation to problems
light only gets in when im checking it its black with a black lid. if the temp is the problem how do i lower it? the warmest the air gets under the light is 85 its usually around 75
Hey! I resemble that remark I get high res temps but haven't grown anything I didn't want to, so far. I hear hydrozyme is good stuff. Tried the frozen water bottles, they don't stand up to the heat. Now I try to just get my dark time temps down to the low 70's. Cooler is undeniably better imho. When I first load the buckets for a new grow, I add 2ml/gal of H202. Then at each res change, I add half that amount again. Helps make up for the warmer water is what I'm thinking by killing the bad stuff and adding oxygen for the roots. Drain it, clean it as best you can, reload and add hydrozyme and or h202 is my best advice.
Splicing a chiller into a recirculating system is easy. Coughing up the money is another (to some). I use a 1/15 hp as I am running less then 30 gallons. Salt Water Aquarium Water Chillers & Fish Tank Chillers | Marine Depot
I'm keeping all my buckets seperate now while I learn. I'm using 3.5G instead of 5 until they get bigger. any small chillers that I could use individually? Thanks for the help
If you are just starting out, I would not recommend you spring for a chiller until you get the rest of your act together. Once you get it together, you will plumb all the buckets together or get tanks (I did). Believe it or not, the biggest improvement to my grow was when I added the chiller. The potency went up. Here is a link to my rig: http://forum.grasscity.com/do-yourself/733863-dwc-foggers-updated-rig.html
Black absorbs heat, get some reflective tape and tape up your res. I have mine taped up and have a fan blowing on it. Temp at plant height is 73-78 and res stays 68-71.
that aluminum tape will help lower the water temp?i originally planned on taping the whole bucket but i found black buckets so i didn't see the need. That makes sense though and i don't really know any other options the majority or mine is dirt and havent really had a problem with heat until I tried the bucket
You can use some reflective duct insulation to wrap the bucket. HVAC Duct Insulation : Radiant Barrier, Reflective Foil Insulation, Bubble Insulation: EcoFoil