DWC Bubbler bucket issues... ideas?

Hey guys, i got a 4 Bubbler Bucket setup under a 600w MH (in veg right now @ 400w), and i just checked my bucket temps, they are 80f. Very warm which could lead to problems down the road for me. I don't have them set up as a RDWC Buckets, so i have to check each one. I am wondering if anyone has tips and tricks to keep the res temps down. I could go with frozen water bottles but i am concerned that it would be ineffective and very time consuming. If anyone has suggestions on how to fix this, or even a completely different setup that can be done cheaply (under 100$).

I put chrome duct tape on the top of the lids to help cut down the heat. I intend to go with UCDWC system once i get enough bank for it, which allows me to have a single res i can control water temps with.

[edit] I have 1/2" holes drilled in the bottom of the buckets with a elbow and 5/8 clear line running up the side so i can observe water levels. [/edit]

here is a pic

Moving thread to dwc forum

I drop in a fresh 1L bottle of ice every 24 hours in my buckets. Have them wrapped up with 3 layers of reflectix from Home Depot for insulation.

Takes me about 5 minutes to swap the bottles and most of that is melting a little ice that overflows from the bottle so I can screw the cap on. It's just a task I've rolled in with checking PH once a day.

Wrap the bucket with insulation,I'm using duct tape. If the temp still wants to climb then I'll add silver tape.Once the plants get bigger my temps get better,from the plant blocking the light, I think. Happy Grows & Heavy Yields to ya!

Malevolence said:

I drop in a fresh 1L bottle of ice every 24 hours in my buckets. Have them wrapped up with 3 layers of reflectix from Home Depot for insulation.

Takes me about 5 minutes to swap the bottles and most of that is melting a little ice that overflows from the bottle so I can screw the cap on. It's just a task I've rolled in with checking PH once a day.

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I was doing that for awhile but got to wondering what it did to the roots,I know it doesn't hurt them,but does it slow the grow even just a tiny bit? I went to a gallon milk jug and put them outside the bucket,it works for me, because I don't need much help cooling just a little. I'm thinking about all the people I've read about putting the bottles inside the bucket,if it slowed it down they wouldn't have done it. Because it works I'm going to leave mine outside. How's it work for you?

I am looking at putting the buckets themselves in a tray, fill it with 4-6 inches of water and add my frozen water bottles to that. (or build a chiller out of a old water cooler)

nameno said:

How's it work for you?

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works fine.

Im playing with this issue .. Not that i have the issue right now but summer is coming . So i planned on cutting 4 holes in the buttom of my tent.. Then raise the tent up to the buckets lids so the entire bucket is "Outside" the tent.. Then just have a large fan blowing at them.. It must be the way to go.. (for me) I already have the RDWC and it helps a bit.. But i dont wanna risk anything and i should be fairly cheap and easy to do this..

Eurohigh said:

Im playing with this issue .. Not that i have the issue right now but summer is coming . So i planned on cutting 4 holes in the buttom of my tent.. Then raise the tent up to the buckets lids so the entire bucket is "Outside" the tent.. Then just have a large fan blowing at them.. It must be the way to go.. (for me) I already have the RDWC and it helps a bit.. But i dont wanna risk anything and i should be fairly cheap and easy to do this..

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Let me know how this works for you

I switched to a cooler that holds 5 gallons of water, then cut a piece of Styrofoam to function as a lid. It stays below 70-75 degrees in between weekly res changes. I switched from a bucket that would go room temp in a day, tops. You could set buckets into a larger cooler, take the cooler's lid off and cut a styrofoam lid for it with holes large enough to fit your buckets in. Fill up the cooler with cold tap water and add a frozen water bottle every couple days if you need it

try covering the outside of your dwc in mylar help reflect the heat also a piece for the lid....cut a hole for the main stem, and cut a line to the outside , slide stem between line and to the hole cut for stem this will also reflect light back up towards the plant effectively adding a touch more light ,also this will further stop any light getting to the water in your dwc causing algea problems.....

Adosbulc said:

I switched to a cooler that holds 5 gallons of water, then cut a piece of Styrofoam to function as a lid. It stays below 70-75 degrees in between weekly res changes. I switched from a bucket that would go room temp in a day, tops. You could set buckets into a larger cooler, take the cooler's lid off and cut a styrofoam lid for it with holes large enough to fit your buckets in. Fill up the cooler with cold tap water and add a frozen water bottle every couple days if you need it

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phenomenal idea, i cannot believe i did not think of it, i have a few ice chests (coolers) that could easily fit a 5 gal bucket. I have a bit of bank right now, so i am looking at building a RDWC system of some sort. But if all else fails your idea is a great example of ingenious thinking. Thank you for your post.

i sold my first harvest in small amounts. (they all jacked my Super lemon haze, i had to hide a 1/4 zip, told them i sold out.) i sold to 3 guys. one guy knew i grew and told another. but thankfully these guys do not live in my town, they are just at my collage going through the same trade i am. the 2nd guy that knew i grew asked for a front of about 80$ and finished his welding ticket so he left (without paying me) but i don't really care, i was more about sharing than selling to begin with and i know how tight budgets are while in school. although he did end up paying me about 120$ overall. I don't rock a scale when i sell, i have jars and i go on the honor system so all i sell to are getting a good deal. it to me was never about making money but sharing the spoils of my hard work. something i hope i will never repeat again. The biggest mistake i have ever made, that gave me countless sleepless nights and severe anxiety was the fact i told someone i grew. regardless of the circumstances to tell anyone that you grow will be the biggest, worst and quite possibly the final mistake you ever make. Since there are now manditory minimums in my country for more than 3 plants equates to me understanding exactly what it means to do what i am doing. One rule that has been hammered into my head day in and day out since i let the first word slip is NEVER. EVER tell ANYONE. i don't care if your dog is too close, do not speak of it. If you have a parrot, kill it. The thing most people don't understand is how dangerous it is to grow in canada. It USED to be a haven for growers, now with the revised C-10 bill i would rather be in the united states when caught growing. It is safe to grow when you tell no body. take it from me, i told someone i thought of as a solid person, someone that could keep a secret and within 2 weeks he told someone else. and who knows where his loyalties lie. worst thing he did to me was take off with 80$ of my pot, for that i say thank you and god bless. Imagine the alternative.

I ramble when i get high. also had nothing to do with this original post.

djxtreme said:

try covering the outside of your dwc in mylar help reflect the heat also a piece for the lid....cut a hole for the main stem, and cut a line to the outside , slide stem between line and to the hole cut for stem this will also reflect light back up towards the plant effectively adding a touch more light ,also this will further stop any light getting to the water in your dwc causing algea problems.....

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Djxtreme here is on the $ , I do the same but also I run my rez in another area , remotely [cooler] and the ballasts too , also I have cooler air entering grow at floor level , and a carbon filter pulling air[hot] out hanging near ceiling in line , via 6" flex duct thru the lamp hoods then vented to a different area . In this fashion cool fresh air is always being introduced and [as heat rises] warmer hot air & funk and I'm thinking some humidity are being pulled out of the area all the while pulling in fresh cool air from floor level creating a vacuum that my girls have been loving since its implantation