Who grows DWC without a chiller?

I've been reading conflicting reports everywhere. Some people say that a chiller is 100% necessary as well as reservoir temps of 68°.
Then other people say they grow without issues without a chiller and rez temps into the 80s.

So my question is simple.

Is a chiller 100% necessary?

I need people with experience to answer.

Thanks.

I swear my thermometer(s) are broken or something, because the temp outside is 10° and the ambient temperature in my bedroom with the the window open is registering at 26° which is already too hot for a reservoir.

So how is this possible?

It's 8-10° outside, and without any lights on it's already too hot in my room for a reservoir? Apparently it's 26° in here.

I don't get it. It seems nice and cool in the room.


I might have to wait until I move and just buy more gear when I have the money.

I was already saving my cash to move, now I find out I might need to spend another 500$ on a damn chiller

Hopefully my thermometers are just broken or something.

It's not NEEDED depending on how you run your systems. You can run sterile using all synthetic nutes with H2O2 or bleach, or you can run an inoculant to get beneficial bacteria. Both ways will allow the res to go outside the acceptable ranges of 20C-22C/68F-70F. My res's were hitting upper 70's and i was having root pathogen issues. I started using an inoculant ( Botanicare Hydroguard) and haven't had an issue since, res temps have gone as high as 78F at times, generally run between 70F-75F.

WeedFreak78 said:

It's not NEEDED depending on how you run your systems. You can run sterile using all synthetic nutes with H2O2 or bleach, or you can run an inoculant to get beneficial bacteria. Both ways will allow the res to go outside the acceptable ranges of 20C-22C/68F-70F. My res's were hitting upper 70's and i was having root pathogen issues. I started using an inoculant ( Botanicare Hydroguard) and haven't had an issue since, res temps have gone as high as 78F at times, generally run between 70F-75F.

Click to expand...

So if I use Hydroguard with my GH Flora nutrients I'll be able alright?

I also find it hard to believe that it's 25° in my room when its only 8° outside and with the window open.

It doesn't feel hot at all.. Like I'm surprised that this is too hot for DWC.

I'm not going to say you will be 100% ok using the hydroguard, but it helps. I don't see how your room can maintain heat with a window open..is your heating system blasting away trying to make up for the open window??

Simple...If you are in a environment where the ambient temperature is in the 60's F then all you have to di use that cold air to pump air into your controller/reservoir and done. Basically use the cold winter air to cool it down.

CanadianKushSmoker said:

So if I use Hydroguard with my GH Flora nutrients I'll be able alright?

I also find it hard to believe that it's 25° in my room when its only 8° outside and with the window open.

It doesn't feel hot at all.. Like I'm surprised that this is too hot for DWC.

Click to expand...

I do not use a chiller. I run a 5 gal res/bubbleponics, using GH Flora nutes and my temps are generally 75 or sometimes more. Every now and then I drop a frozen water bottle in for the hell of it(when room temp gets to 78+, generally it stays around low 70's), but my water temps are probably pretty stable at 75. I use Hydroguard though and I think that is what allows me to have those temps along with me changing the res water every weekend with a res starting temp of 63.

You'd be amazed with what you can do with an igloo cooler and a chunk of ice.....or maybe not.
'
If your room is at the temp is supposed to be then you shouldn't need to chill water.

My experience is temp doesn't really matter, my high temp is usually low 80's. I use gh, no h2o2 or bleach or anything, just change the res at least every two weeks.

What caused problems for me was light. If your res isn't light proof it can get nasty real quick.

You all do know that any temperature about 68 in the root zone with DWC stunts the growth on your plants right? There is no reason why you should even be doing DWC if you cannot keep the temperatures low as that is the whole point to have maximum oxygen to the roots and the only way to achieve that is temperature at 68 degrees F. You shouldn't be using DWC for high temps. Go with a passive hydroponic system or a NFT as they are designed for this and you will get similar results compared to DWC

50 gal rdwc with regular temps of 75°. No bennies, no peroxide, no problem. Lots of bubbles and circulation. Not sure why people make it so complicated. Last month I was getting 82° and still no issue. Maybe just lucky.

Alot of it has to do with water quality...the region your in and whats in the water.

How much are you trying to grow? If you haven't done DWC before, you could try a five gallon bucket to see how it works for you and if its too hot put some frozen water bottles in there. You don't have to get a $500 chiller.

RDWCs need a way to exhaust heat. Period.

twistedwords said:

You all do know that any temperature about 68 in the root zone with DWC stunts the growth on your plants right? There is no reason why you should even be doing DWC if you cannot keep the temperatures low as that is the whole point to have maximum oxygen to the roots and the only way to achieve that is temperature at 68 degrees F. You shouldn't be using DWC for high temps. Go with a passive hydroponic system or a NFT as they are designed for this and you will get similar results compared to DWC

Click to expand...

20-22C(68-72F) is ideal..70-72F is the optimal root temp for nutrient uptake, 65-68F has better O2 dilution in the h2o. O2 dilution starts to dramatically drop off over 75F, plants start to slow metabolic process under 65F. DWC is a passive hydro system. NO hydro system, at least none we commonly use, is designed to run at high temps, they need to be run 68F-72F..all hydro systems..different designs don't change that.

Frozen water bottles can help, but a little work. Tub in a tub works good, you place the smaller dwc tub inside a larger tub keeping the larger with cold water. & adding the frozen water bottles is easier. A bath tub works great, keep the level close to the level in the dwc helps keep it cooler. Get a water chiller if you can't consistently keep the water temp. near 21C (70F) it will be worth it. Way to grow!!!

I run without a chiller. Res temps are usually around 78 but have gotten up to 86 before. I tried bennies for a while but didn't have much luck. Now I use h202 and UC Roots. With a fresh rez, I add 10ml of h202 per gallon and 3ml of UC Roots per gallon. I change rez about every five days but whenever I top them off, which is average every 3 days, I add 5ml of h202 per gallon and again 3ml of UC Roots per gallon. I'm a newbie to DWC, this is my first grow with the method. I'm about 3 months in, 3 weeks into flowering and my roots are fucking beautiful. White, thick, strong and drinking over a gallon a day per plant. Hope this helps man.

Buy a cheap Wal Mart student freezer. Drill two 5/16" holes through and through. Place a 1/4" rubber grommet (available at auto parts stores way cheap) in each hole. Run 1/4"plastic tubing in it. If you are skilled enough to roll soft copper tubing around a 1" coffee can do it. The top connection is easy but tilt the bottom one up so the tubing doesn't bend sharply on the top of the larger can. Fill the larger can - which has no holes in it right? - with water. Adding rubbing alcohol helps prevent the water from actually freezing. Connect tubing to the ends of the coil and drop the coil into the water with the two ends inside the freezer. Close the door and turn the new $125 freezer on. Connect the ends of the tubing to your recirc pump. Voila - a cheap chiller. Run your pump. If you can vary the pump speed by rheostat you can pretty much control your rez temp easily.

Hello...Have finished 3 Dwc grows in 3 and 5 gallon buckets..not an expert by any means,,but,,have
never had to use a chiller and temperatures get up to 85 degrees in my confined grow space..have had pretty good results and decent yields..was very worried about the heat but have had no huge issues using 2 decent sized fans in grow area to keep air moving..still learning as I go...no one here in Fl to see there grows..Hopefully next year when the state goes legal we will have much more hands on info shared..Good Luck..

I don't use a chiller, 30l tote filled 22l. Water Temps @ 17-23c. Lid covered with black film, should be white because I can feel heat coming from it. At the start I was changing Rez about every 3 weeks, now tote is filled with root mass. Can't lift the lid up any more without snapping some roots. Now I just top her up with water and try to keep ph 5.8, use ppm reader to know when to add nutes. I don't over feed anymore. Just @ midway into 2 weeks flower. My roots are still healthy white.

Morning temperature are about 16c, which cools down my tote to about that temperature. When light are on for 12 hours, my room temp get to about 20-23c.

700-900 ppm. Dwc hydro h&g a/b. Just began adding pk13-14 to the mix.