New grow hydroponic options for hot climate...

[Justin Freidman]

Hey Guys,

We're about to build a new grow room and looking for options. The only downside is we're growing in a tropical country where outside temps average 97F all year round...

Our new grow room will feature multiple aircons where we can maintain any temperature between 70F and 86F. The only issue is the colder it is, the more electric we use... We also need to keep the room completely sealed so in the past have used C02 to use higher room temps (saving electric) in veg stage and cooler during flower (also running a dehumidifier - which can be costly)

I was thinking that a DWC or re-circulating system is a bit much to manage in the warm grow room as we'd need to use water chillers to keep a nice cold nutrient temp of maximum 68F. We've used these in the past and they're costly and we've also had issues with condensation on the buckets/pipes, etc

I was thinking of going with a simple drain to waste rockwool setup. I could then leave the reservoir in the actual grow room and wouldn't need to bother with a water chiller and worry about root rot.

Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you. J.

 

[Airwalker16]

Hey Guys,

We're about to build a new grow room and looking for options. The only downside is we're growing in a tropical country where outside temps average 97F all year round...

Our new grow room will feature multiple aircons where we can maintain any temperature between 70F and 86F. The only issue is the colder it is, the more electric we use... We also need to keep the room completely sealed so in the past have used C02 to use higher room temps (saving electric) in veg stage and cooler during flower (also running a dehumidifier - which can be costly)

I was thinking that a DWC or re-circulating system is a bit much to manage in the warm grow room as we'd need to use water chillers to keep a nice cold nutrient temp of maximum 68F. We've used these in the past and they're costly and we've also had issues with condensation on the buckets/pipes, etc

I was thinking of going with a simple drain to waste rockwool setup. I could then leave the reservoir in the actual grow room and wouldn't need to bother with a water chiller and worry about root rot.

1. Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you. J.

Ebb and flow is a great way to deal with higher temperatures. The roots are submerged and once its drained, the evaporation keeps things nice and cool.

 

[Justin Freidman]

Ebb and flow is a great way to deal with higher temperatures. The roots are submerged and once its drained, the evaporation keeps things nice and cool.

Thanks man. Would I not need to keep the nutrient temp low in the reservoir to avoid root rot?

 

[Renfro]

Flood and Drain / Ebb and Flow as @Airwalker16 mentioned.

You get fresh air to the roots between each flood so nute temps arent a big issue.

 

[Justin Freidman]

Flood and Drain / Ebb and Flow as @Airwalker16 mentioned.

You get fresh air to the roots between each flood so nute temps arent a big issue.

Perfect. I had really good results with flood and drain before - I used buckets with hydroton. The only issue I can't get hold of hydroton here any more, are there any alternatives I could use? I'm sure I read somewhere that somebody did it with marbles?

 

[Jypsy Dog]

Perfect. I had really good results with flood and drain before - I used buckets with hydroton. The only issue I can't get hold of hydroton here any more, are there any alternatives I could use? I'm sure I read somewhere that somebody did it with marbles?

Pea Gravel

 

[Airwalker16]

Perfect. I had really good results with flood and drain before - I used buckets with hydroton. The only issue I can't get hold of hydroton here any more, are there any alternatives I could use? I'm sure I read somewhere that somebody did it with marbles?

There's a different brand called Plant It that makes a decent clay pebble.

 

[Airwalker16]

Absolutely don't use marbles.

 

[JohnDee]

Absolutely don't use marbles.

They wouldn't hold much moisture.

Hi Justin,
I use growstones which are made from recycled glass. They also leach a bit of silica too. But may also be hard to obtain.

I read a category division for hydro that looks at roots. A "roots in" system keeps roots underwater like DWC. A "roots out" system periodically floods or sprays roots but then leaves then out of solution for a period. You probably will want a roots out system.

I use little standalone hydro unit called Waterfarm. It's a two bucket system using an air pump to deliver nutes to a top bucket filled with pebbles or growstones. Top drip and very well oxygenated. Many people mod them making them DWC but I prefer to keep mine stock.
Hope this helps...
JD

 

[Justin Freidman]

Hey Guys, thanks for the feedback. The issue is where I live hydroponic supplies are extremely hard to get or to order from abroad.

I can get rockwool here no problem and can probably order pea gravel from a local hardware store.

Could I make a decent ebb and flow system using rockwool cubes? Would this work OK in a high temp setup?

 

[JohnDee]

Could I make a decent ebb and flow system using rockwool cubes? Would this work OK in a high temp setup?

If memory serves me...an old RUI member Al B. Fuct did rockwool ebb abd flow. It's usually used as a top drip medium but you work with what you can get.

Pea gravel would work fine but it's heavy so harder to work with and the table would have to be super strong to support it.
Cheers,
JD

 

[Justin Freidman]

I actually have a smartbee rockwool probe I bought last year. I bought some raspberry pi's and moisture probes and was going to build an automated system using the smartbee probe as a reference for it.

I'm just wondering what would be better in a hot environment... a rockwool top drip system or pea gravel in buckets with a flood and drain system. I'm guessing the pea gravel system would be more of a roots-out system than the rockwool as the rockwool will retain much more moisture and might take a while to get dialed in...

 

[JohnDee]

I'm guessing the pea gravel system would be more of a roots-out system than the rockwool as the rockwool will retain much more moisture and might take a while to get dialed in...

I think you're correct Justin. Before making a decision...go to whoever might have pea gravel and see what else they have. Maybe something a bit larger. Volcanic rock is actually more porous and lighter...would hold more moisture. Maybe you can find that.
JD

 

[yummy fur]

Hey Guys,

We're about to build a new grow room and looking for options. The only downside is we're growing in a tropical country where outside temps average 97F all year round...

Our new grow room will feature multiple aircons where we can maintain any temperature between 70F and 86F. The only issue is the colder it is, the more electric we use... We also need to keep the room completely sealed so in the past have used C02 to use higher room temps (saving electric) in veg stage and cooler during flower (also running a dehumidifier - which can be costly)

I was thinking that a DWC or re-circulating system is a bit much to manage in the warm grow room as we'd need to use water chillers to keep a nice cold nutrient temp of maximum 68F. We've used these in the past and they're costly and we've also had issues with condensation on the buckets/pipes, etc

I was thinking of going with a simple drain to waste rockwool setup. I could then leave the reservoir in the actual grow room and wouldn't need to bother with a water chiller and worry about root rot.

Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you. J.

My experience is that hot temperatures are a little overblown, I'm using a shallow water culture with a largish reservoir. It's been about 32C All Summer if not more, it has cooled off to about 25C now but the small dehumidifier which I need to get the RH down from 80 to 60 brings the temp back up to around 30C and that's the current situation, just about to chop. The reservoir has been at ambient temp the whole grow. I had to cut down 820 wet grams of the largest colas (5 zip) 4 weeks early due to bud rot beginning but that was due to the RH of 80 which is when I brought in the dehumidifier. I was very concerned at the temperature at first. This is what's left now, so what I'm saying is that my experience is that perhaps you need not worry about the heat as long as you can keep the ambient temp down at 85F and the humidity below 55 in flower which sounds like it's not problem.

If you were already thinking water culture, I'd encourage that because it eliminates a whole mess of issues, however if you go to shallow instead of DWC then you eliminate even more potential issues. $0.02

 

[Airwalker16]

My experience is that hot temperatures are a little overblown, I'm using a shallow water culture with a largish reservoir. It's been about 32C All Summer if not more, it has cooled off to about 25C now but the small dehumidifier which I need to get the RH down from 80 to 60 brings the temp back up to around 30C and that's the current situation, just about to chop. The reservoir has been at ambient temp the whole grow. I had to cut down 820 wet grams of the largest colas (5 zip) 4 weeks early due to bud rot beginning but that was due to the RH of 80 which is when I brought in the dehumidifier. I was very concerned at the temperature at first. This is what's left now, View attachment 4319950so what I'm saying is that my experience is that perhaps you need not worry about the heat as long as you can keep the ambient temp down at 85F and the humidity below 55 in flower which sounds like it's not problem.

If you were already thinking water culture, I'd encourage that because it eliminates a whole mess of issues, however if you go to shallow instead of DWC then you eliminate even more potential issues. $0.02

Water needs to be cooled ESPECIALLY in SWC. I'm actually changing to flood and drain, inside a closed tote with netpot in the lid or possibly an aeroponic type system with a spray manifold.
This is because after a while, the roots get stringy, small and brittle like they're basically dead. Iys really weird because the plants above are HUGE and healthy as can be, but the roots are ATROCIOUS.

 

[yummy fur]

Water needs to be cooled ESPECIALLY in SWC. I'm actually changing to flood and drain, inside a closed tote with netpot in the lid or possibly an aeroponic type system with a spray manifold.
This is because after a while, the roots get stringy, small and brittle like they're basically dead. Iys really weird because the plants above are HUGE and healthy as can be, but the roots are ATROCIOUS.

Well you are correct to point the finger at the roots, I did what you say with the net pot in my previous grow . I'd be prepared to bet that half the supposed nutrient deficiencies are in fact root problems. I concentrate on getting a big bouncy springy airy ball, not submerged in water, but as you say, sprayed upon. Or atm I'm using a large pot filled with clay, but then the roots come out the bottom into another pot where there have space and about 2 inches of nutrient. I find that either method, just produces the perfect roots, then with that base you're good to go with just about anything. With a powerful healthy root system you know you can defoliate the fuck out of them. Also there's nothing like being able to keep an eye on the roots. I'll find beautiful white furry roots growing in the drain hose.

As for water 'needing' to be cooled. I can say it doesn't 'need' to be, from experience. However that is not to say the plant would not be happier with the reservoir cooled and the temperature cooled, I'm just saying that it's not deadly situation that we may think it is. With the bud sizes these days I guess humidity is the major issue.

 

[JohnDee]

Good morning Justin,
I hope you don't mind but I'd like to ask you a non-growing question. RUI is an international community and I see guys comment that where they live...grow stuff is hard to obtain.

Why is that so? Shipping companies deliver manufactured goods all over the planet every day. Is it cost because of customs and shipping...government intervention or what?

I'm not prying into your personal information...just a general answer please.
Take care,
JD

 

[athomegrowing]

Good morning Justin,
I hope you don't mind but I'd like to ask you a non-growing question. RUI is an international community and I see guys comment that where they live...grow stuff is hard to obtain.

Why is that so? Shipping companies deliver manufactured goods all over the planet every day. Is it cost because of customs and shipping...government intervention or what?

I'm not prying into your personal information...just a general answer please.
Take care,
JD

Customs and local regulations often prevent seemingly innocuous products from crossing the border. UK is a nanny state specifically, Canada too.

 

[southernguy99]

Lots of different way to try I'll through one out that I no worked for us , simple drain to waste with sunshine mix , use your conditions to you advantage
let your air temps run 85-90 or more, if you have the lighting run co2, Do not over feed , only feed to the point of what your plants need, high temps = less nutrients, feed your plants 2 to 3 times a day until the pot is moist/wet to the bottom don't worry about run off, easy to automate ,run a tad higher K in the solution , once a week (Every 7th day) run run a solution of just water seaweed/kelp, humic and fulvic acid and foliar spray with silica, you can also add a little humic and fulvic acid periodically to your nutrient solution . the only thing you really need to control is humidity in flower. if interested in this and you want PM me I can give you a bunch more detailed info to help you get going.

 

[OJAE]

Hey Guys, thanks for the feedback. The issue is where I live hydroponic supplies are extremely hard to get or to order from abroad.

I can get rockwool here no problem and can probably order pea gravel from a local hardware store.

Could I make a decent ebb and flow system using rockwool cubes? Would this work OK in a high temp setup?

Another option is to smash up some clay pots into small pieces. Basically the same as that seramis medium they sell.