hydro temps through the summer? water chiller?

**Forest** · 26-06-11, 06:32 PM

ok im setting up a grow for a friend and its going to be in a loft
pair of 600s and nft 10inch extraction 8 inch inlet night time light cycle
the problem i can see is, ambient temps are going to be above 20c most days i would think now, so has any one else use hydro in a loft through the summer and is there going to be a need for a chiller ? the tanks are gt 424s 40 L each
2.4x 1.2 bud box my own grow is with the nft tank on a concrete floor so the tank temps are not to bad but i can see these being to high

what do you think? getting a chiller is not a problem but no point if it not going to be needed
any one with some experience of summer hydo please advise
cheers

**Forest** · 26-06-11, 10:47 PM

ok thanks for the help lol i found out on mine, the grow will need a chiller
my second nft which is off the floor was 25c today

**Murdock** · 27-06-11, 08:02 PM

you can work with 2 litre bottle of ice until the plants foliage acts as a screen but a chiller is far better , got them on ebay for 200 notes chiller/heaters i had to use one for my aeroflo coz warm water is no use , it lacks in o2 big time and its not good for root rot, ,im working an nft now in loft and i work it with lights off during day this helps a little too gl

**Forest** · 27-06-11, 11:34 PM

yes it what i thought even ny nft which is in the shed on a concrete floor was 24 today and the one off the floor was 26 so i hate to think what a loft will be
i use 2 l ice bottles round the sides of my tanks which seem to work well , i dont find the canopy helps only in winter to keep light heat off , guess thats what you saying bro
ive just seen a chiller for 200 like you said a dc 300 good for 10c on 500 L so should be fine do they have pumps in them or do you have to pump through them?

cheers

**Murdock** · 28-06-11, 07:33 PM

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/CHILLER-COOLER...item5d2f419cb1 here a link of one like mine , you set it up to your pump mate and it constantly pumps through, yea i think the canopy does work a little for direct heat but the heat is fluxuating too much which can only slow you down, 24,26 is a bit on the high side, i think 19/20 is good , well mine love it lol, wish i,d of done all ak47 now though coz the bubblegum is a dam bitch to hold back, and they only had 1 week veg

sqydro · 28-06-11, 07:41 PM

are you only running one tank? if your doing 2 you could make them recirculating that way its easier to keep temps down and have a external res just put some water bottles in it and that will save you alot from buying a chiller!

**Murdock** · 29-06-11, 08:47 PM

Originally Posted by sqydro

are you only running one tank? if your doing 2 you could make them recirculating that way its easier to keep temps down and have a external res just put some water bottles in it and that will save you alot from buying a chiller!

its hard to have an external res when your working in the loft, i would,nt bother with all the hassle for the sake a couple of hundred quid

**Forest** · 30-06-11, 12:39 AM

im linking to two tanks together to make one chiller do the job so it will be rc but with no main res

i made a chiller for my own nft yesterday from a old freezer i had, it works great and doesnt need to be run much at all two hours a day i think, its on a timer and im working on a thermostat, but its easy to control

heres what it looks like, its big, but i had the room, it cost 25 quid for the hose and pump

i lay ice bottles on the top of pipes for better efficiently and the fact the shelves are the cold pipes was a help, as other freezers have the pipe around the out side
cheap solution for my grow diy and cheap ! both words i like

**adalicious** · 30-06-11, 12:55 PM

Anybody got any other ideas for keeping it cool, but with no money? lol

Just cant spend anymore now!

**Forest** · 01-07-11, 02:14 AM

2 L ice bottle up against the sides of the res and you can lag you res and make it big enough to take the bottles any smaller bottles dont last very long works well