I was hoping to get some input on how people keep their reservoir temperatures at acceptable levels. I read a great post from a blade here that used the freezer mechanism from a minifridge to cool his water. That inspired me to take apart a water cooler in the garage--the type you see in offices with 5 gallon jugs on top--. So, I broke it down to the basic parts; radiator, compressor, copper tubing. I could easily modify the system to work in my grow room by leaving everything intact and bending the copper tube over and into the res. tank. I'm not sure how exposed copper would react with a nutrient solution, if at all. Any ideas on this? Anyone willing to post their res. temperatures and the variance? What I'm really curious about is what is the maximum/minimum water temps common among the hydro growers here. Anyone using Probe Chillers? How does it perform? Any comments appreciated.
I don't know how copper reacts on nute solutions, but I wouldn't want to test it out on a Cannabis plant. There are water heaters in Aquarium store to keep water at Temps such as 75 or 80 or whatever.
No, I don't need a heater, that would be an easy fix. I need something to hold temps down to 66-70. I soil grow now and the water I store stays at room temp. (78) which is too high for hydro, or so I have read. I'll have to agree copper will oxidize in water. Now, is that detrimental to plants and will it effect water flushed every 10 days or so...? Probably, but this is just a complete guess I was thinking I could get some of that 'paint on' rubber and coat the tubing--which would cut down its' ability to cool--and keep the copper from oxidizing.
stainless or plastic only, cu is toxic ck local salvage yards, one in NoCal (Santa Rosa) has laser chillers at $50 ea. - use with a stainless heat exchanger from eBay
When I was doing DWC, I used the Probe Water Chiller. And it worked GREAT! It was very simple to install and operate. It does put off heat, so depending on the size of your room this could be a good way to go. One thing I did find, that if you go over about 60-70gallons, it will not cool it to your liking. All in all, I found that if you move sufficiant air, your ambiant temp of the water should be OK.