DWC questions

[Brother Bear]

OK i am putting together a 5gal bucket with a friend
i would like to keep it simple with just a stone or two in the bottom
one pump and that's pretty much it

however my boy wants to add a 2 or so gall rez for this one bucket
he also wants to run top feed tubing

just looking for some input from more knowledgeable folks
which direction should we go ?
we got the gear and just need to put it all together

 

[groady-ho]

BB, i found when using a recycling system your ph may change dractically as oppsed to it being just a bubbler..i ended up just using a master rez and dropping the top feed on mine..also use a 5 in round airstone, makes many small bubbles perfect for dwc..hope this helps..peace

 

[Brother Bear]

PH i HATE PH
thanks for the info

 

[groady-ho]

not a prob..i did the same thing converted my dwc system to top feed and had one hell of a time keeping the ph stable..i use gh flora series and never had a prob as bubblers always a perfect 6.0 ,till i started to recycle my system..but the master reservoir is a plus imho..peace BB

 

[dasmoke505]

How bad dose the PH jump on dwc?

 

[groady-ho]

it never jumped on me ever..except when i got fancy once and added a drip feed and recycled the water throught the reservoir..it only happened when i ran 5 buckets...it did not happen when i ran just one...

 

[FreezerBoy]

The primary reason for DWCs greater growth rate is increased oxygen to the air roots (those towards the surface). Top watering decreases oxygen to the air roots. Seems counter productive to me.

A 2 gal res seems unworth the trouble and expense.

 

[johnipedestran]

bear my only experience with DWC was a 5 gallon bucket I made. Just like you are talking about.
I found that I needed to add water every few days. I did not play with PH, just used straight tap water and Ionic Bloom and Ionic Grow for nutes.

Unless you are going to have more than one bucket going, there is really no need for a resevoir bucket.

The only trick was as the Lifesaver lady got big, I needed to suspend cords from the ceilingg in order to support her. no way to stake it.

as for the airstone, i just drilled a little hole near the top of the bucket and fed the tubing in their. the stone I used had to be weighted with washers.

good luck

peace
jip

 

[jm420]

i use a drip untill the roots hit the water ,but thats 18 gallon tub. ph isnt a prob .but a five gallon buccket ph is a bitch once you get into late veg and flower never mind water change out.IMO your basically making a gh waterfarm and adding an airstone

 

[cellardweller]

:good luck!:

 

[MeltingPOT]

Hey BroBear....NO PROBLEMO....I love me some DWC...

I prefer a 10 gallon tote, although 5 gallon paint bucket works just fine...10 gallon tote is wider, allowing the roots to really do whatever the hell they want, which they LOVE...2 airstones should do it, and depending how often yer gonna be babysitting the tub, I like to keep my nutrient level pretty low...like 2-3 gallons of nutrient in the 10 gallon tub...this allows the roots to REALLY get aerated, although having that little amount of nutrient can be tedious to look after...

Buy yerself a little dropper PH kit (like 10 bucks or so)...No need for a ph gizmo...Keep yer PH between 5.5 and 6.0 and keep yer nutrient temp chilly (65-75F)...I finish em up using PBP @ 20ml per gallon, and the PH is usually doesn't even need to be adjusted (depending on yer tap)...Um.Um.Um....so much info, I just don't wanna blab...

Check out the link in my sig. bro...put pictures to these words ya know?

Hope I helped a bit, any questions, holler...
MP

 

[punx777]

The primary reason for DWCs greater growth rate is increased oxygen to the air roots (those towards the surface). Top watering decreases oxygen to the air roots. Seems counter productive to me.

A 2 gal res seems unworth the trouble and expense.

So should i kill my top-feed? it takes a couple weeks for the roots to get all the way down to the res..

 

[Brother Bear]

lots to consider....
i guess since it is his $, i will let him do it his way
if problems arise we can always try my way
thanks for the replies and help my friends

 

[FreezerBoy]

So should i kill my top-feed? it takes a couple weeks for the roots to get all the way down to the res..

Don't fix what ain't broke!

If you keep the bottom inch or two of the netcup under the water line, that will provide the moisture required. BUT, you have to make sure it's properly submerged. I just lost a seedling that was too high in the netcup while the cup was not sufficiently submerged. My rockwool starters dried completely. The plant whose tap root escaped the cup survived, the other dried to a crisp. Top feeding would've saved me in this instance.

There's nothing wrong with top feeding but the reason DWC outgrows soil is the same reason Aero outgrows DWC. Lots and lots and lots of oxygen.

 

[headfortrinity]

I top feed into the 5 gallon buckets instead of the netpot that way I can run a larger 18 gal rubbermaid recirculating res so the EC and PH stay more stable and all I have to do is top off the larger res every day or two. This way I never have to move the plant to change water and the top feed doesn't drown the roots in the hydroton. I do this outdoors in a greenhouse so they use alot of water.

 

[punx777]

Don't fix what ain't broke!

If you keep the bottom inch or two of the netcup under the water line, that will provide the moisture required. BUT, you have to make sure it's properly submerged. I just lost a seedling that was too high in the netcup while the cup was not sufficiently submerged. My rockwool starters dried completely. The plant whose tap root escaped the cup survived, the other dried to a crisp. Top feeding would've saved me in this instance.

There's nothing wrong with top feeding but the reason DWC outgrows soil is the same reason Aero outgrows DWC. Lots and lots and lots of oxygen.

Hell yea i understand... it only drips for like 15 minutes twice a day, and when the other two hit the bottom i'll prob cut that in half again...


do you think aero is better than fogponics?

 

[FreezerBoy]

I would think that fog is just the extreme end of aero and would provide greater growth but, with great growth comes great responsibility, or some such nonsense. The additional growth requires a greater degree of effort on the growers part and the possibility of catastrophic failure increases while the safe period inside said failure decreases. My DWC could survive days, maybe weeks of no power. A fogger would last a few hours.

 

[narutonut]

As for the top feed or not question it is a toss up. Top feed allows for a quality flush of medium and doesn't hurt the DO counts to the roots. At the same time top feed is not ideal just for the pain in the butt factor. If you check the system pics in my grow link you will see that for my DWC I put holes on 2 sides of the bucket just under the lid flap. I just poke the 1/4" drip line through those holes and they spray a stream of nutes against each side of the net pots. This aerates the solution as it comes in to the bucket and the roots just love it. Food for thought.

 

[Brazilianfire]

I am a DWC fanatic! Yields large and works very well.. IMO go big with the container/s because IMHO, the smaller the bucket you will chase ph around, due to plant feeding off such a small source. Just a thought, Bless.

 

[Brother Bear]

getting there, thanks for the help guys