DWC: Ideas and Observations

[GuerrillaRed]

Just wanted to start a thread to share some of our experiences and thoughts with the DWC. I personally am in my third grow with DWCs and am a huge fan of them. They honestly couldn't be easier to use and the yields have been ridiculously impressive so far. Here's some of my thoughts.

- The main thing I'd like to impart is to encourage the DWC growers to consider using coolers like this

They provide fantastic insulation and light control. Also they do a much better job of staying at the right temp. The main thing though is with the spout in the cooler, you can do PH readings and Res changes without ever fucking with the top or the plant. The tops are also reinforced so you don't have a plant retardedly fall through (although you might want to add weight to the top as my last grow a plant got so big that the weight of it literally made it topple out of the cooler. It was like the plant was trying to escape, it was epic) I used to try to use rubber maid tubs and painter buckets. However it was always a problem to light proof them, strengthen the lids, and especially do res changes or ph readings. Using a cooler fixes all of that.

- On that note, I don't see the need to use big reservoirs. I'm probably in the minority of on this but I've been able to grow Christmas Tree sized weed in a three gallon cooler.

I used to try to use five gallon coolers under the assumption that bigger = better for roots = bigger plants. However, I haven't found that to be the case. Right now I'm just putting five plants that I have in two gallon coolers into flowering. I'm interested to see how they fare. In veg they seemed to grow just as well if not better than bigger res grows. I also think that smaller means more air circulating.

- On that note, I've found that airstones really don't matter. This current grow I've been using a modified system of two hoses into the tank. One hose without an airstone taped to the bottom. One hose connected to a bubble wind that's just free in the tank. One a previous grow I had a plant absolutely explode in growth comparatively to the others. When I chopped the plants I notice the one that exploded roots as encapsulated and overgrew a bubble wand that accidentally got loose in the res. Just as an experiment to see what would happen, I used different outputting air pumps (anywhere from pumps rated for ten gallons all the way up to 80 gallons) in two gallon DWCs. The plant with the 80 gallon air pump absolutely outgrew the others and made it to the flowering room a good one to two weeks before the others will. Sidenote in the first few weeks of veg, the air being blown from the 80 gallon air pump was literally shaking the plant at some points. I'm really surprised the results were so good.

- The Lucas Formula is one of the most incredible things I've ever seen. I was always one of those people who wanted to throw $80 of nutes at a plan and always wondered why I had mixed results. Gradually I've just been weening off everything until now i just use Brita water with the Lucas Formula. It's fantastic, my plants have never looked happier.

- And finally I love the DWC, I'm so dialed in now I don't even check pH anymore. In the early stages of veg I only needed to attend to the plants once every few days. And the highest peak of maintenance aside from making them takes only like five minutes a day.

 

[Lorenzo]

i've been wanting to try not using air stones. can't think of a good way to get the air line to stay down in the water. can you explain how you simply "taped" it down?

i can see your point that less water = easier/more oxygenation. but less water also means a less stable res, especially with bigger plants. which is no problem if you are on top of it everyday.

big fan of dwc too. it has its quirks, but what doesn't, right? lots of O2 and lucas formula. bam that simple. thanks for reading. peace be safe out there.

 

[FreezerBoy]

I don't see the need to use big reservoirs.

Ease of maintenance. I can leave my grow for 2 weeks with no problem. 3 weeks if I have to (though plants are kinda pissed off when I do)

i've been wanting to try not using air stones. can't think of a good way to get the air line to stay down in the water. can you explain how you simply "taped" it down?

I feel the point of stones is more about stealth. Little bubbles are quiet. Big blorping bubbles are loud. I never had luck gluing or taping airlines. I've had better luck with weights. Either a heavy stone (bars, discs) or tying a hex nut to the line.

 

[Haps]

Coolers do make the best dwc, easy garage sales finds. Just get the outdoor duct tape and tape the clean air hoses to the clean cooler wall.
H

 

[CareFreeLivin]

Aqualabtechnologies.com has 36 gallon buckets and those really got me thinking. You could grow some sick trees in a bucket that size. Anyone have experience using these?

 

[IamNug]

i use rigid air line connected at the ends of the flexible lines to poke straight down into the water. stays in the bottom with or without stones. cheap and very effective! the rigid and flexible lines work great together, a one inch piece can be a splice for the other and vice versa.

 

[gardenbug]

I've wanted to try these for a long time and always stop in the ice chest row at the store to check them out. I need to be able to attach drain fitting to them to be able to recirculate. The spigot hole seems kind of small on most of them. Anyone attached drain lines to these? Anyone drilled/cut one open? Is it filled with something or just hollow walls?

 

[Haps]

I have worked on a few, not to add drain lines. The spigots are easy to remove, just crush it with a large pliers and remove the pieces, then see if you can work with the hole remaining.

 

[Rhyno]

I would like to add that I also love DWC and am having excellent results with my first grow. When I was putting my system together I drilled a 1.5" hole in the lid of my bucket and found a large cork at the hardware store to keep things sealed when not adding water or checking ph ect. It turned out that my Hanna meter fits into the hole and into the water without falling into the bucket which is a plus. As far as the airstone at first I was using a 6" "stone" w/a 60 gallon pump. I later picked up a 36" flexible and weighted air diffuser at the pet shop and it made a huge difference especially concerning sound. Works really well also from the fact that I can shape it in a spiral to cover the entire bottom of the bucket for very even air distribution.

 

[Rhyno]

Bump.