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| How does one keep the water in an EBB & FLOW reservoir cool when it's in the sun during the day? I'm doing a simple set up for 4 pepper plants, water on every 1hrs for 5 minutes. The reservoir is approx 15 gallons.
Thanks! |
Follow-Up Postings:
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| You could use a swamp cooler, put ice in it or use compressive refrigeration. You could also insulate it well and use a sun shade. |
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- Posted by tampahydro 9 (My Page) on Sun, Sep 7, 08 at 2:17
| Try putting the reservoir under ground to stay cooler. Shading always helps too. You could also put frozen water bottles in the tank as a cheap solution. Mine is partially exposed so I painted it white. In the summer heat, every bit helps here in Florida. You can buy refrigeration units, but they are a bit pricey for home growing. |
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- Posted by freemangreens 10b (My Page) on Tue, Sep 9, 08 at 1:07
| Goin' back to high school physics for this one: Dark colors absorb heat; white or shiny colors reflect heat. Look around and find someone who is remodeling their house and throwing out some mirrored closet doors. Build a frame and set the mirrors with the clear side facing the sun; shadowing the pump (which I'd bury, by the way!). This will not only put your sump in the shade, but will actively reflect both light and heat unlike using any other material. God bless. :O) |
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- Posted by garysgarden (My Page) on Fri, Sep 12, 08 at 17:52
| Mirrors is a bit extreme. You don't have to bounce the light back into the atmosphere (or into your neighbor's eyes). The temperature in the shade of a mirror is the same as the temperature in the shade of a sheet of cardboard. Dig a hole roughly the size and shape of your reservoir and drop it in. Cover it up to keep critters and crud out of it, but make sure it's not a hassle to get to it so you can check temperature, pH, and ppm. Put it in the shade, either natural shade or DIY shade. It doesn't have to be fancy. In fact, if you're growing bushy plants you could even position them so they shade their own reservoir. But don't forget to keep the accessibility in mind. You don't want it to be buried behind a wall of monster tomato plants later. |
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