Noob to hydro, first attempt at NFT system

[GpsFrontier]

Now you see why I would have opted for using multiple lights points for a more even coverage, rather than a single light source. But still a 600 watt light should be plenty for the small 4x4 foot space your trying to cover. If raising the light up to cover the area better works, you shouldn't have any problem with light intensity (lumen drop) with that 600 watt bulb as long as you don't go beyond 4 feet. But if you can rotate it for better coverage and get it at 3 feet, that would be even better.

Direct heat from the lamp to the reservoir can be a problem in itself like you mentioned, but the reservoir temps will usually be close to the ambient air temperature even if you block heat from the lamp. In other words if the light is raising the ambient air temperature in the room, it can indirectly raise the reservoir temperature through the air temperature as well.

[brandonbelew]

I don't think the ambient temperature will be too much of an issue come summer when the AC runs for 12+ hours a day. Right now it will only run for maybe an hour a day, if that. My backup plan is to run 6" flex duct to the nearest window and exhaust the heat from it.

For now I bought a couple one liter bottles i'm going to freeze and put in during the hot part of the day to see if I can maintain 70 ish on the temperature without cooling it too much.

[GpsFrontier]

I know the plants aren't really big enough to be drinking much water right now, so you don't want to dilute your nutrient solution as the ice melts. But when they get bigger and start drinking up more water, you can just replace the water their drinking daily with ice blocks. That at way you can do both (add ice and water) at the same time, thus help keep the nutrient solution cool, while topping off the water volume.

P.S.
Depending on how much ice you add daily (frozen water volume), you may want to pH adjust the water before you freeze it. If not, it can change your nutrient solution pH. Depending on the pH of the water source and volume of water your adding in ice daily, it can change the pH fairly quickly. If you pH adjust the water before you freeze it, you won't have that problem. To make it easier, I'll pH adjust about 5 gallons of water at a time, then freeze it a few blocks at a time (using cleaned out butter or whip cream tubs) until I'm out of room. Then just use the ice blocks as I need them, and their already pH adjusted. There's been a few times I have even frozen nutrient solution, so when I added the ice it also added some more nutrients to the reservoir. I did so because I wanted all the water I added back to be ice because I needed the cooling effect, but I also wanted to add some nutrient solution back as well. So I just froze it first.

[brandonbelew]

Originally Posted by GpsFrontier

I know the plants aren't really big enough to be drinking much water right now, so you don't want to dilute your nutrient solution as the ice melts. But when they get bigger and start drinking up more water, you can just replace the water their drinking daily with ice blocks. That at way you can do both (add ice and water) at the same time, thus help keep the nutrient solution cool, while topping off the water volume.

P.S.
Depending on how much ice you add daily (frozen water volume), you may want to pH adjust the water before you freeze it. If not, it can change your nutrient solution pH. Depending on the pH of the water source and volume of water your adding in ice daily, it can change the pH fairly quickly. If you pH adjust the water before you freeze it, you won't have that problem. To make it easier, I'll pH adjust about 5 gallons of water at a time, then freeze it a few blocks at a time (using cleaned out butter or whip cream tubs) until I'm out of room. Then just use the ice blocks as I need them, and their already pH adjusted. There's been a few times I have even frozen nutrient solution, so when I added the ice it also added some more nutrients to the reservoir. I did so because I wanted all the water I added back to be ice because I needed the cooling effect, but I also wanted to add some nutrient solution back as well. So I just froze it first.

I'm not actually exposing the ice to the water. I took 2 - 1 liter pop bottles and filled them with water and froze them. I just take them out and pop them in the freezer in the evening and repeat the process. It seems to be working out OK. It'll work at least until the temperature outside warms up and my AC starts running more frequently.

[GpsFrontier]

Yes, I know your not exposing the ice to the nutrient solution at this point. Your putting the water in plastic bottles and freezing it, so when the water in the bottles melts it stays in the plastic bottles. I'm just saying when the plants get bigger and start drinking more water and you start having to replace that water volume the plants are drinking with more water. Instead of replacing that water volume with water, you can replace that water volume with ice instead. Thus, not use the plastic bottles.

[brandonbelew]

I hadn't had a chance to update my blog recently but I wanted to share what the status of my garden is. It's growing pretty big. I switched from the MH to HPS after about a week. The HPS is causing the plants to get, as Bernie Sanders would say "YUGE". They each have at least one runner, and a couple of them have one or two berries growing. The largest so far is about the size of a nickel.

I have got around the super high water temperature for the most part. I added a few more gallons to the reservoir and lowered the light intensity to 75%. The water is now staying around 68-75. A little on the high side on colder days when the AC doesn't run, but as the weather warms outside and the AC runs more frequently the temps seem to be dropping.

[GpsFrontier]

Hello brandonbelew,
Sounds like their doing good, any new pictures?

P.S.
Have you gotten your new strawberry plants in the system yet?