Water Chiller
- Thread starter doniboy
- Start date
Airwalker16
Well-Known Member
2- 1/10HP
One ecoplus
One Active Aqua
One ecoplus
One Active Aqua
doniboy
Well-Known Member
Which do you prefer?
Airwalker16
Well-Known Member
Both work great. But the EcoPlus I've got is the older model when they were built in UsA and are way better quality so I like it more.
I'd probably prefer the active aqua over the newer ecoplus models though.
Mines the white version who h seems to have disappeared from Amazon and is replaced by a black, more expensive version.
ttystikk
Well-Known Member
DWC/RDWC should not need to be actively chilled. Commercial facilities don't do it. The only reason it's pushed in the cannabis market is because customers aren't educated enough to know they don't need it.
I use waterfalls to aerate and circulate nutrients in my DWC/RDWC systems and they simply don't need active cooling.
Eliminating components, especially expensive ones that consume electricity, is the best solution.
doniboy
Well-Known Member
Picture of your setup?
ttystikk
Well-Known Member
Airwalker16
Well-Known Member
Those roots are NOT healthy. Holy shit.
You absolutely need a chiller. You're missing out on SO MUCH potential.
I always wondered how you say you get away with no chiller. Now I know.
This is what you're after:
Airwalker16
Well-Known Member
I'm telling Ya... 66-68*F makes such a world of difference.
Keep a few bottles of frozen water in the freezer and put in one when required
doniboy
Well-Known Member
I work 12 hours a day, and I'm gone for 14 hours or so on the days I do work. That's not really an option for me. I need more automation.
Airwalker16
Well-Known Member
You will get mixed reviews on the importance of a chiller, but all I can say is there's no way I'd run without one. In RDWC at least.
Flood and drain works without one.
Also aeroponics.
redi jedi
Well-Known Member
Needing a chiller really depends on your water, or whats in your water. I found I can run without a chiller providing I added a sterilizer (pool shock) in my flower system but I still needed a chiller and a sterilizer in my veg system. Under 18 hours of light my veg system temps would hit low 80's but the larger flower system would reach 70-72. I also noticed faster growth with warmer water.
ttystikk
Well-Known Member
Lol that was after chop and that plant only yielded 32.5 oz dry.
Yup, I really fucked up.
LMAO
Logan Burke
Well-Known Member
Those don't look unhealthy at all to me...some nutrients do give color tinted stains on the roots (like floranova), particularly when running high ppm's towards the latter of flowering stage that he appears to be in. Unless there is brown slime or unpleasant smells those roots should be fine...root rot isn't something that's easy to miss between the PH fluctuations and the horrid smell. I get away without running a chiller...but that's because I do standalone DWCs on a cold concrete basement floor. There are days throughout the summer where I go above 68F, but if you use bennies your roots should be able to easily withstand 70F without rot. Obviously the water won't hold as much DO, and of course that takes away from the potential of growth.
I'm just curious do you run a chiller or not?
Yeah roots just look a bit stained from nutes but healthy in my opinion.
ttystikk
Well-Known Member
That's a pic of the root ball taken at chop.
ttystikk
Well-Known Member
I got into chillers in order to provide unified environmental control.
I do not actively chill my RDWC anymore.
I still use and highly recommend water chillers for environmental control. They're more efficient than AC and control humidity more effectively.
Logan Burke
Well-Known Member
Water chillers can also be used for cooling ambient air temps, you're saying?...Sorry, just trying to make sure I'm understanding you correctly! I literally just purchased a 350$ AC unit for my basement as summer is coming...kind of making me wish that I had gone the chiller route now if that is what you're saying, lol. As far as your plant's root goes, I think the difference from pearly white roots to darker colored roots like your's is simply from either the line of nutes you've used or from the strength of nutes used...for example, my early veggy plant's roots are damn near shining white because their water only has a couple hundred ppm's max. But after a few weeks in late veg/pre flower, the roots have darkened tint to them.