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How to deal with 100 degree heat??

We're in Kansas and have had about a week of 100+ temps. Our sump tank is buried, and the fish tank is in the shade most of the day. The tomatoes are really taking off, but the peppers are dropping leaves and I've lost a couple of plants in the last 2 days. I've shaded the peppers plants, but it's not helping much. The water that is running into the grow beds is warm. Any suggestions on a cheap way to cool the system down?? The way our summers go here, we're looking at 2 more months of this heat!

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Permalink Reply by Phil Slaton on June 28, 2012 at 9:10am

White Bear - Great idea, bubble wrap because Armaflex is more than a bit pricy. Thanks for mentioning it.

This is a great subject.

Leo White Bear said:

Phil has a good idea, wrap the FT. If Armaflex is too expensive you could always go with bubble wrap. Maybe your husband could make a box and lid to fit around your Ft and use household fiberglas insulation between. My FT is an old milk bulk tank minus the lid, and is very good at keeping the heat out. I used some 1/2 inch plywood to make a top for it but when the temps get that high I use the frozen milk jugs through the warmest part of the day.

White Bear

Permalink Reply by TCLynx on June 28, 2012 at 9:51am

Just make sure that no system water is touching copper coil, fish and copper don't mix well.

rick kennerly said:

Do swamp coolers work in that part of KN? If I were still in Lubbock, TX., up on the plains, that would be my approach. Draw dry hot air through a water soaked mat to get some evaporative cooling going, maybe a copper coil for the water inside the chill tower.

other than that, can't think of much.

Permalink Reply by Phil Slaton on June 28, 2012 at 9:56am

Copper coils are only good for my kitchen made Moonshine cooker.

Permalink Reply by Tradewind on July 26, 2013 at 8:52pm

Well I too have the problem. I have been scratching my head trying to find a solution and today I may have just done that. I visited a bait shop that had a chiller on his tank. When the ambient temperature is so high there is little that will tactfully lower water temperature other than a chiller of some sort. He was running it at 65 degs. He was using the works from an old refrigeration unit and wrapped a coiled hose around the refer coils and insulated them with a thermal blanket. He pumped water into the coiled hose and back to the tank and around around she goes. I am thinking with the grow beds and sumps and what have you that we can just include those cold coils in the loop. So here is my handyman approach to it. Go to Walmart and buy a $65.00 refrigerator. Make some coils out of PVC using short lengths of pipe and elbows. Install those coils in the freezer unit where the coils are located. Drill a hole in the side of the unit large enough to run both the inlet and outlet pipes through and seal the hole with AC tape. Run a line off the pump through the refer and into the tank. Maybe that would be enough to combat the also 100 deg ambient temps we have in SE Texas. Maybe it is not enough but it is worth a try I think. I would gratefully take 70 deg water which is about a 20+ deg drop. If the restriction of the line causes too much back pressure to feed off the main pump, then use another dedicated smaller pump directly from the tank. One thing is for sure, my water is too hot and I have to do something. What do you think?