Do i Really Need the Meters???

hey man if u dont wanna spend alot of money to grow ur wasting ur time doing a hydro setup u r going to need a chiller to keep res temps within a healthy range also having ph meter is very important...stick with soil grows if u dont want to invest very much money, its forgiving and great for beginners I would suggest this over trying to dwc if u want to upgrade over time u can get into hydro and all the meters and stuff...first go dirt, upgrade ur meters then go hydro.

A chiller is not necessary but can help. Besides warmer water promotes faster growth. I have seen grows pulled off in 80 degree reservoirs. Give it a shot!

my rez on dwc gets cranking hot ,im not saying that this is a good thing but it still works good
dwc is a great way to grow but i found that air bubbles , good lights ,air movment are the ones ya wanna watch
build ya room right and the rest is easy

bigb1987 said:

hey man if u dont wanna spend alot of money to grow ur wasting ur time doing a hydro setup u r going to need a chiller to keep res temps within a healthy range also having ph meter is very important...stick with soil grows if u dont want to invest very much money, its forgiving and great for beginners I would suggest this over trying to dwc if u want to upgrade over time u can get into hydro and all the meters and stuff...first go dirt, upgrade ur meters then go hydro.

Click to expand...

hey man i appreciate the help. haha i looked into those chillers, man they are quite a contraption -- Christ willing He'll show me what to do; and maybe even some sort of "water cooling"...! thanks a lot for the idea bigb, seriously.

haha yeah i didnt realize until like the day i let go to get the materials, that DAMN this is Expensive Work -- but Christ willing i believe it shall be all worth it.

i really like your mentioning of using soil instead -- i mean others have mentioned it, but i didnt really think about it until you said it -- but it would be a pretty good idea.

but i dont know... the reason i dont want to use soil is because i will have to be away from my baby girls from long periods of time, and i want to be positive that they are breathing, drinking, and eating just fine and as they need. and with soil -- and my small place -- i believe it would dry out quickly; but what do i know.

thanks for the tips bigb.

JeffersonBud said:

A chiller is not necessary but can help. Besides warmer water promotes faster growth. I have seen grows pulled off in 80 degree reservoirs. Give it a shot!

Click to expand...

hahaha dude thank you so much jeffersonbud! you gave me back my breath... when i read that i needed a water chiller and looked at the price and how big they were i about shat myself... haha but nevertheless you saved the day for me. seriously thanks for all your help brother.

i actually just gave it a test run tonight to check the temp. and with the wall open its around 82 and with it closed it is about 100!!! so i was thinking... since i need some sort of exhaust, to cut a hole in the back wall, and place a fan in the hole to pull out the hot air??? does this sound like a good idea? like something that would actually work? or would i need something different???

abefroman35 said:

hahaha dude thank you so much jeffersonbud! you gave me back my breath... when i read that i needed a water chiller and looked at the price and how big they were i about shat myself... haha but nevertheless you saved the day for me. seriously thanks for all your help brother.

i actually just gave it a test run tonight to check the temp. and with the wall open its around 82 and with it closed it is about 100!!! so i was thinking... since i need some sort of exhaust, to cut a hole in the back wall, and place a fan in the hole to pull out the hot air??? does this sound like a good idea? like something that would actually work? or would i need something different???

Click to expand...

In an optimized setting you want the air in the room to exchanged every three minutes. This will not only keep the temps in check, but offer fresh co2 for the plants all the time. A fan pulling the hot air is a great start! Sucking the hot air from around the bulb would be ever better considering the bulb is whats producing the heat.

There are other solutions to keeping the res in check other then a chiller. It all depends on the volume of water in your dwc. A larger volume of water will make heat buildup take longer and keep your ph in better check. You can also try placing the air pump in a cool spot or in another room so that it pumps out the cooler air through the stones in your dcw thus helping to keep the reservoir a little cooler. You can also make a radiator using an old ac system for about $100 and pump the water through that which will drastically work.

My advice would be to concentrate on lowering the temps in the room the best you can using an intake and exhaust. In doing this, the overall environment will be better for the plants. Kepping the ambient air cooler will result in better plant growth, optimal replenish of co2, and will result in a cooler reservoir. Its killing three birds with 1 stone.

bigb1987 said:

hey man if u dont wanna spend alot of money to grow ur wasting ur time doing a hydro setup u r going to need a chiller to keep res temps within a healthy range also having ph meter is very important...stick with soil grows if u dont want to invest very much money, its forgiving and great for beginners I would suggest this over trying to dwc if u want to upgrade over time u can get into hydro and all the meters and stuff...first go dirt, upgrade ur meters then go hydro.

Click to expand...

this man is correct...i started in soil then moved to dwc i have to say the soil was far easier, start in soil to make some money then upgrade,you will need the meters,and i wouldn't just use a ph one get an ec one too, ph is imortant but so is the ec as the ec determines the nutrients that your plant will get either too much or not enough.

abefroman35 said:

hey man i appreciate the help. haha i looked into those chillers, man they are quite a contraption -- Christ willing He'll show me what to do; and maybe even some sort of "water cooling"...! thanks a lot for the idea bigb, seriously.

haha yeah i didnt realize until like the day i let go to get the materials, that DAMN this is Expensive Work -- but Christ willing i believe it shall be all worth it.

i really like your mentioning of using soil instead -- i mean others have mentioned it, but i didnt really think about it until you said it -- but it would be a pretty good idea.

but i dont know... the reason i dont want to use soil is because i will have to be away from my baby girls from long periods of time, and i want to be positive that they are breathing, drinking, and eating just fine and as they need. and with soil -- and my small place -- i believe it would dry out quickly; but what do i know.

thanks for the tips bigb.

Click to expand...

if you have to be away from them for long periods of time go with dirt and a gravity watering device. Dwc requires daily maintenance, somtimes you can get away with two or 3 days. You should be checking the ph and water level daily. couple gallons of water and a dripper for soil and you could probably leave them for a week.

yea u can pull it off w/out a chiller but it is not worth it in my opinion and that is from real exerience hydro is just not worth it unless u do it right. Get a timer and some dripper w/ a pump as wise guy said. u can leave fro long periods of time cuz u will have forgiving automatic soil system. u can get a dripper set up w/ pump for prolly round 40 bux. 5 - digital timer, 20 gallon rubbermaid tub - 10 drippers and tubing 10 pump - 10-25. U can get it all at home depot and is easy to set up.

wiseguy316 said:

if you have to be away from them for long periods of time go with dirt and a gravity watering device. Dwc requires daily maintenance, somtimes you can get away with two or 3 days. You should be checking the ph and water level daily. couple gallons of water and a dripper for soil and you could probably leave them for a week.

Click to expand...

yeah i will be checking it daily... but i just will have to leave it for 12+ hours at times.

bigb1987 said:

yea u can pull it off w/out a chiller but it is not worth it in my opinion and that is from real exerience hydro is just not worth it unless u do it right. Get a timer and some dripper w/ a pump as wise guy said. u can leave fro long periods of time cuz u will have forgiving automatic soil system. u can get a dripper set up w/ pump for prolly round 40 bux. 5 - digital timer, 20 gallon rubbermaid tub - 10 drippers and tubing 10 pump - 10-25. U can get it all at home depot and is easy to set up.

Click to expand...

yeah i would love to set up a dripper, but again thats more money that i have to dish out.

i believe my dwc setup will work correctly and well, it is just that i need to lower the temperatures in the box. mannn and i just broke a brand new 42w cfl -- there goes $10.

thanks for your help you guys.

JeffersonBud said:

In an optimized setting you want the air in the room to exchanged every three minutes. This will not only keep the temps in check, but offer fresh co2 for the plants all the time. A fan pulling the hot air is a great start! Sucking the hot air from around the bulb would be ever better considering the bulb is whats producing the heat.

There are other solutions to keeping the res in check other then a chiller. It all depends on the volume of water in your dwc. A larger volume of water will make heat buildup take longer and keep your ph in better check. You can also try placing the air pump in a cool spot or in another room so that it pumps out the cooler air through the stones in your dcw thus helping to keep the reservoir a little cooler. You can also make a radiator using an old ac system for about $100 and pump the water through that which will drastically work.

My advice would be to concentrate on lowering the temps in the room the best you can using an intake and exhaust. In doing this, the overall environment will be better for the plants. Kepping the ambient air cooler will result in better plant growth, optimal replenish of co2, and will result in a cooler reservoir. Its killing three birds with 1 stone.

Click to expand...

thank you so much jeffersonbud for all your help. i love your suggestion of placing the air pump in another room.

alright sounds good. ill keep working at this to lower these temps. Christ willing He'll show me what to do.

seriously, thanks again brother.