Blazeoneup's Recirculating Dwc Construction Tutorial!

[Raphael]

Dude i just noticed you are using clear air lines inside and outside your buckets. Unless your going to paint them, sure looks like plenty light is going to get in there.

Thanks for the heads up theblack

I have since covered the lines indirectly with poly plastic.

Cheers

 

[thirst4knwledge]

dwc construction

dwc construction

I'm building based on blazeoneup's, but increasing the feed line to 1/2'' all the way to the buckets, increasing the drain tubing to 1'', and using a more powerful pump (maybe 400-500 gph). Anyone try this with success? I'm also wondering, it appears that blazeoneup used shutoff valves for the drain lines right outside of the controller, as well as a few inches after the elbow is installed going to each bucket for the drain lines (thus there appears to be two shutoff valves for each drain line). Anyone know why this is? Please correct me if I misunderstood the tutorial, but two shutoff valves on the same line seems unnecessary. Only one per row of buckets, installed outside of the controller, seems necessary to both isolate rows and drain. Also, does the development of the root mass ever impede on the ability of the air stone/diffuser to get enough bubbles to the water surface to splash the net pot/hydroton? I also read in this thread that you should not use the rdwc to root clones. If I have clones rooted in say, rockwool, is it okay to put the cube on top of abt 2'' of hydroton and hope the roots reach down? Is there a better suited medium to make sure my clones are rooted before putting them in this system? I won't be rooting the clones myself just yet, otherwise I'd just make something to do the job. When they're purchased though, is a clone rooted in a rockwool cube sufficient? I'm just developing new questions as I'm developing the unit, anyone willing to help, it will be greatly appreciated.

 

[blazeoneup]

I would reccomend something like 3/8" tubing as apposed to 1/2", IMO 1/2" on a 1" drain can cause problems. Also 2 shutoff valves on one line makes perfect sense to me.

You got a line comming from the controller to the buckets.If you have just one shut off valve all you can do is shut that line off. Pull the line apart to say move a row over. And your going to be leaking from either the controller or the buckets. You have 2 you can shut it off directly at the controller and on the buckets so you can seperate the line and relocate a row if needed.

You can deffinantly use rockwool cubes to root your babies and transplant them in just as you described in your post above.

 

[thirst4knwledge]

dwc construction

dwc construction

Thanks blazeoneup, didn't figure the big dog would be rolling in to answer my questions
And it's quite understandable why two shutoff valves are necessary. You need to shut off the flow from both directions when disconnecting a line to move/drain buckets (duh). Sometimes you get so deep into the details that you forget the obvious. thanks for helping a grower with the tough decision of what type of system to try next!

 

[smithsutton]

hey yall just move the return half way down the bucket and get some nft goin so that the roots get more air .. i love when u see recirc systems with the return on the bottom of the buck .. lol i can see wet floor in your future that way .. good show rafey .. also how do u expect to spread out the plants or are u going to let them cluster fack and grow all together .. just an observation


ss ..

 

[theblack]

I would reccomend something like 3/8" tubing as apposed to 1/2", IMO 1/2" on a 1" drain can cause problems. Also 2 shutoff valves on one line makes perfect sense to me.

You got a line comming from the controller to the buckets.If you have just one shut off valve all you can do is shut that line off. Pull the line apart to say move a row over. And your going to be leaking from either the controller or the buckets. You have 2 you can shut it off directly at the controller and on the buckets so you can seperate the line and relocate a row if needed.

You can deffinantly use rockwool cubes to root your babies and transplant them in just as you described in your post above.

Wholly smokes, Blaze is back to his tutorial!
Blaze are there any upgrades that you have done to this system since your last post that you would like to share with us?

 

[Raphael]

hey yall just move the return half way down the bucket and get some nft goin so that the roots get more air .. i love when u see recirc systems with the return on the bottom of the buck .. lol i can see wet floor in your future that way .. good show rafey .. also how do u expect to spread out the plants or are u going to let them cluster fack and grow all together .. just an observation


ss ..

I'm going to put a screen over them today and keep them where they are. Thinking of a big ass screen as I am going to veg for 3 more weeks.

I hear ya on the wet floor I woke up to a 3am fire alarm because of a wet floor shorting out some alarms. I have an emergency res that will fill up now instead of the floor holding the 20 gallons haha

 

[ynot-llat]

I'm going to put a screen over them today and keep them where they are. Thinking of a big ass screen as I am going to veg for 3 more weeks.

I hear ya on the wet floor I woke up to a 3am fire alarm because of a wet floor shorting out some alarms. I have an emergency res that will fill up now instead of the floor holding the 20 gallons haha

Raphael what are you using to insulate your buckets?

 

[smithsutton]

I'm going to put a screen over them today and keep them where they are. Thinking of a big ass screen as I am going to veg for 3 more weeks.

I hear ya on the wet floor I woke up to a 3am fire alarm because of a wet floor shorting out some alarms. I have an emergency res that will fill up now instead of the floor holding the 20 gallons haha

been doin the recirc nft for 9 years now and ive exp just about every pit fall there is or at least red about it .. but hell practice makes perfect .. if ya get ahold of some old Krusty posts from overgrow .. hes an ashole but the man shure no's how to grow .. also dont worry about insulation untill u get the flooding under control ..

peez ..

ss ..

 

[Raphael]

Raphael what are you using to insulate your buckets?

It's foil covered bubblewrap I found it at Orchard Supply Hardware that's sold by the foot.

been doin the recirc nft for 9 years now and ive exp just about every pit fall there is or at least red about it .. but hell practice makes perfect .. if ya get ahold of some old Krusty posts from overgrow .. hes an ashole but the man shure no's how to grow .. also dont worry about insulation untill u get the flooding under control ..

peez ..

ss ..

​

Thanks for the post smithsutton I can't wait until I've been using one method for 9 years. I can attest that practice makes perfect haha and I am 50% sure that I am 90% leak proof for the rest of the grow haha

I have been reading and have seen KBS and it looks kickass. Another method that spawned from the DWC is always welcome. Combine KBS and nake vert bulbs and that's right up there with SoG no veg in terms of efficiency.

Anyhow, here are my girls at day 14 of veg.

Cheers

 

[ynot-llat]

Blaze, this is a great system for the flowering period.
If you wanted a perpetual harvest, what in your opionion would be the best system to veg before inserting them into this.

Veg in a similar dwc?

All opinions greatly appreciated.

 

[overgrow00]

Not a good idea to run this system perpetualy... Your plants beginning the cycle Won't be able to take the ppm's your feeding your plants that are in their final stage of flowering...

 

[cateros]

RE the RDWC setup

RE the RDWC setup

Just wondering as 69-71 farenheit is the optimal temp what is the max safe temp to run the solution at ? According to Bigtoke with the recirculating systme temp's can run warmer as the recirculation of the systme and benificial bacteria will keep dangerous bad bacteria from damaging roots My problem is My grow room runs around 75-78 degrees max during the summer and around 72-76 in the winter dues to good central air. But never found the max safe temp for decent growth and no chance of root rot , would a resevoir temp of around 74 -77 still be safe ? Or should I go with one of those drop in coolers for around 90$ 155 with a controller for it and will lower the temp of a 50 gall tank up to 10degrees as the system I am planning on building will only use 60 gallons total I was considering using the drop in cooler with no controller but place a couple of tank heaters in the resevoir set for 70 degree's i am on a major budget was considering taking my old cube fridge and placing a 10th bucket within it and have it running empty but being cooled by the fridge think this would be enough to bring temperatures close to 70 ? Oh as a safety precaution so it doesnt get to cold once again an aquarium heater running at 70 degrees would be used as well

 

[thirst4knwledge]

DWC

DWC

Just wondering as 69-71 farenheit is the optimal temp what is the max safe temp to run the solution at ? According to Bigtoke with the recirculating systme temp's can run warmer as the recirculation of the systme and benificial bacteria will keep dangerous bad bacteria from damaging roots My problem is My grow room runs around 75-78 degrees max during the summer and around 72-76 in the winter dues to good central air. But never found the max safe temp for decent growth and no chance of root rot , would a resevoir temp of around 74 -77 still be safe ? Or should I go with one of those drop in coolers for around 90$ 155 with a controller for it and will lower the temp of a 50 gall tank up to 10degrees as the system I am planning on building will only use 60 gallons total I was considering using the drop in cooler with no controller but place a couple of tank heaters in the resevoir set for 70 degree's i am on a major budget was considering taking my old cube fridge and placing a 10th bucket within it and have it running empty but being cooled by the fridge think this would be enough to bring temperatures close to 70 ? Oh as a safety precaution so it doesnt get to cold once again an aquarium heater running at 70 degrees would be used as well

I am guessing that putting the 10th bucket into a fridge to cool down the body of recirculating water will not work sufficiently. Not sure what size buckets you are using and how much water is in each, but due to the forces of gravity in a recirculating system and the fact that the water level in all of the buckets is below the net pots, the amount of water in that last bucket (3.5 gal of h2o in 5 gal buckets for me) imo won't do the trick. Using a drop in cooler in your 60 gal should do the trick. I wouldn't worry too much abt putting a heater in there until you find out if the drop in chiller cools your water too much. Keep in mind that light and your water pump, which I'm guessing is submerged in the controller, adds heat to the water as well. There is also a link for a DIY chiller made from the coil chiller setup from the inside of a water chiller. If you're working on a budget, I'd check out that link on the DIY link-o-rama, and see if it works for you. You can prob find an old cheap water chiller that will do the job at a garage sale or something. As far as temperatures, I'm impressed that you haven't experienced root rot running at those temps. Especially in a recirculating system, I would suggest keeping those temps within the optimal range so you don't experience widespread loss. I wouldn't go above 72 myself, and the DIY chiller seems like it might be something that would work for you...cheap and efficient.

 

[Danknuggler]

This is a killer DIY really.I have some question though.I see in the list of supplies 2 eco 8 air pumps.However I dont see anywhere in the tutorial about whre and how those get installed.I'm baked but I went back and read it like 3 times and cant seem to find it.You never say anything about bubbling the rez either.Are you not bubbling the rez?Where is the airpump that bubbles the entire system go AND how do you run the 1/4" airlines exactly as you show hooking up to the barb at the bucket but that all?So going backward FROM the bucket how is the arlines all ran to its pump???

 

[UltraSupersonic]

been doin the recirc nft for 9 years now and ive exp just about every pit fall there is or at least red about it .. but hell practice makes perfect .. if ya get ahold of some old Krusty posts from overgrow .. hes an ashole but the man shure no's how to grow .. also dont worry about insulation untill u get the flooding under control ..

peez ..

ss ..

Just realized that Overgrow was shut down by the RCMP here in Canada....

Sorry about that guys! :\

 

[PuReKnOwLeDgE]

You just run an airline from the pump to each bucket, you can install a 1/4" elbow barb to the bucket.

 

[medical_breeder]

great threat bro i will be putting this in effect asap

 

[gardenlover]

Blazeonup: i just made a system using your design and parts. It looks like a simple foolprof way to grow. Asome job man!

 

[TheFallenLion]

Very late post

Very late post

I got a Waterfarm, which is basically the same thing as what is being discussed, and honestly vinyl tubing is expensive as all hell compared with polyethylene irrigation line, it isn't nearly as a flexible but 50' for 7$ at HD, vs 10$ for 10' at HD for vinyl, it was pretty much a no brainer.

I highly suggest it as an alternative, I have to note I'm using 1/2" fittings. But for bang for the buck, I'm happy I didn't go vinyl.