Power Cut - First Aid

[u4r1k]

Hi Everyone

 

Sorry If this has been brought up before Im only new to growing indoors. Im currently building a DWC ScrOG Cabinet and I was just thinking with this setup what the F%$K do you do in a power cut? Ive been researching everything about growing like this and I still havent found anything. It seems that when growing using DWC or Bubbling bucket your roots need continuos oxygen from the air pump otherwise they will suffocate and your plants will drown!!

 

I'm not sure exactly how long they could go without oxygen but It cant be good! The only thing I can think of is removing the res tub supporting the plants and misting the roots with a sprayer like aeroponic style?? And then there is the matter of the light cycles surely if the power goes out during the light cycle It would freak the plants out and you would lose productivity??

 

Does anyone have ideas on this?

 

What do you do??

 

The power goes out alot here damn QLD storms!!

[SoliSticS]

If you're getting regular power outages, invest in a UPS.

[shirty]

Hey there u4 ..

 

Yeh , Ive often thought the same thing , as Im itchin to try DWC .. but after a little forum sneakin etc, Ive seen u can buy battery powered pumps etc from aquarium suppliers

 

I havent checked much further into it , but I bet anything u can get moniters or alarms that'll either boot in the back up pump , or scream like buggery n let u know theres a problem !

 

remember > Google is your friend

 

Edited June 10, 2009 by shirty

[u4r1k]

Hey Thanks for your input guys

 

A UPS would be perfect but they are definitely not cheap! And I'm sure I couldnt convince the missus to buy one but a battery powered air pump sounds like the go I already have a pump but to have a battery powered one handy for power outtages would be awesome! It wouldnt solve the lighting problem but I'm sure the disruption of the light cycle wouldnt kill them!

 

Thanks heaps

 

....This is becoming a really expensive hobby!!

[Ozzy420]

Another thing you can think about is a battery powered air pump the type fisher men use to keep bait fish alive for ppl like me that have to move and need to air in the water until i get reset up so the fish dont die.

 

U will pay from $15 to $50 for them and they run on 2 D cell battery, going with out light for X amount of time wont hert them...

[u4r1k]

Cheers for that Ozzy!!!

 

Just what I was after hope this helps others too

[Budman2012]

G'day U4,

Good Question mate

I was actually thinking more along the lines of the lights apon reading the title Didn't think about the bubbly res tanks so many people use

I would think it would take quite a while for the plants to be effected surely longer than most blackouts?

 

And Yeh , heheh I was gonna suggest the same as Shirty and Ozzy mentioned until I read their replies , I've used an an aquarium one whilst fishin' on a boat with mate to keep the bait alive works great but was 2 big batteries from memory , bloody big D+ batteries ...

Still great for a few hrs use

 

As for lights , I just get a torch and my lighter going , hold them over the plants until power comes back on ... Well I certainly cannafford a UPS and is only other way I can think of

heheh

 

All the Best and Happy Growing

Cheerz,

 

Budman

[u4r1k]

Hey Budman

 

Cheers for your reply. I think you may be right perhaps the reason no-one has brought this up before is because having no air for a few hours is no big deal! I'm sure someone out there knows but it's not really an experiment anyone really wants to undertake with thier babies! Do these pumps have air outlets like normal ones or are they some sort of freaky submersible thing? Ideally I would want a twin outlet air pump with about the same power (7500) as my mains pump. Then I could just switch them over in seconds. Yeah and as for the lights it's not ideal to have a broken light cycle but it definitely wont be fatal

 

 

PS How many lumens do you reckon ya get out of ya lighter haha

[u4r1k]

Just thought I'd better add this info to this post incase anyone is interested:

 

Apparentely in DWC your plants wont actually drown without aeration because the whole root system isnt underwater so the plant can actually still breathe!

 

Obviously it is alot better to have bubbles but Hydro-Culture uses still un-oxygenated nutrient and it still works!

 

....So it turns out I was worrying about nothing when I first posted this

 

 

U4R1K