Thoughts On Hydroponics and RDWC Systems

[gr33nie]

so pretty billy!
you can't see your feed in this picture can you? or is it the white pvc n the background?

I'm pretty sure (correct me if i'm wrong BL) that the white pipe in the background is a feed to the passive rez...an auto top-up using a ball-cock when the water level in the rez gets below a certain point - it then feeds the active rez, i.e the rez that feeds the tree machines.

In this set-up, his tree machines are top-fed I think (slightly different to Heath's system as described in his thread) - the rez pump pumps water through the top of the plant and down through the clay pebbles. You can do it several ways - either a top feed through the clay pebbles with a hose-pipe, a dedicated tank feed like heath's system, or both running concurrently: a tank feed and a top-feed for extra DO in your system.

Each method adds good levels of dissolved o2 to the system on their own, running both couldn't hurt.

EDIT: I've just found some pictures of a vegging system that BL showed on another forum - hope it's ok for me to post these Billy, but they really helped me so I figure that they'll help MM....





Like Billy, if I was running this type of system, i'd veg in something like these (top feed only) until the roots are established, then lift the 4 gallon tank out and place directly into the tree machine in the flowering room.

Job's a good 'un!

 

[MediMary]

thank you very much gr33nie

 

[MediMary]

Does Icmag have private messaging? i just hit 50 posts, but only see an option to leave a public message on someones profile.

 

[DHF]

Yas gotta understand all our Euro Bro`s terms like " ball cock" that we just call float valves for topoffs.....

Took me a while ta figure out Heathie`s lingo back in the day , but it`s same shit different name....LOL.....

Like Billy , us old head`s take Heath`s knowledge and tweak it to our our own designs , but with the same general purpose of keepin it simple and effective......

The setup I was talkin bout with "T`s" inside the bottom buckets to divert juice away from blastin the roots was a hybrid of krusty buckets and Heathie`s "High Flow" Aquafarm`s with a top feed till roots were fully established in the bottom containers , and then running bottom flow like UC`s , but whole lot more nutrient solution movin with massive amounts of dissolved O2 exchanged per container per hr , day , etc....

It`s all bout them runs under your belt MM.......You`re either a waterdawg , or yas get fed up with it after multiple fuckups and go backta dirt or coco for safety measures and guaranteed finishes regardless if yields are less....at least there`s yields.....regardless.....

That`s where coco`s been a blessing for many folks that had crop failure after crop failure runnin straight juice flow grows.....

Guaranteed yas couldn`t hold a gun to Mr Dizzle`s head and make him go back ta straight juice/mpb`s..........Hell....he`s runnin mostly perlite Hempy`s with lil coco for juice retention......many folks like that ya know?..sold a bill of goods by Doubled`s and left hangin to fend fer themselves....Whadda guy.....yeah right.....

My vertical racks were designed after Heath`s angled shelf system , but I made it simple with DTW coco #5 smartpots cuz I only went to my locations once a week....

His racks recirculate and feed each level with hydroton containers that haveta be fed constantly cuz they dry out so fast.......

My # 5 smartpots had waaaay more medium and could wait till lights on the next day without worrying about wilting/lack of juice.....

Prolly could`ve done feed once a day after end of stretch , but didn`t wanna risk swellage and end results bein compromised by lack of juice when they really needed it......

Respect Billy for your help and knowledge as well......

Holler if I can help MM....DHF...........

 

[MediMary]

DDs left people high and dry over at the farm and tried to act like that system of his was some great creation, I dunno about that guy, over a year ago he said he sold it for some crazy some of money. Which if I was him, and that really did happen, I would have given half the money to heath.

Good grower he is, shady person IMHO
I love mrdizzle, cat is funny! Booty clapping on your grave.
ROFLMAo

Im staying with water till I die.

 

[abuldur]

hi,

I run this:
http://www.generalhydroponics.com/genhydro_US/instructions/WF_Upgrade_instructions.pdf

It only requires you to dig an extra hole in the bottom part of your aquafarm and runs exclusively with air pumps (no chiller needed in my grow).
It is slow as fack as far as recirculation is concerned but it does the trick.I am using hydroton plus coco and subculture with biofilter.
Ph remains steady threw the grow and it only requires one change of solution when switching to bloom. Roots remain white and healthy threw the grow.
Why all the pvc plumbing ?
Have any of you guys tried this?

peace

 

[MyGreenToe]

subscribed
I'll chime in when I finish readin it.

 

[green_thumb...]

Hmm awesome discussion guys and gals.

I haven't read much of heaths grows so I'm unfamiliar with the system that's being talked about,iv had awesome success with my rdwc (blazeoneup style) set up my last run,it was my first time with the strain,rdwc and pretty much hydro period and pulled 4oz per plant x 4 plants under 1k.

This round had a few hick ups but all is in order and my plants are growing like crazy with lots of white roots.

I'll have to read up heaths threads and see if I can modify my system further to increase its effectiveness.

 

[MediMary]

DHF great points,
I have been running them a bit to low I think .

Hey IGT......Stretch is strain related and with bare bubs hanging , plants grow sideways instead of up the more indica dominant the strain/variety is......

Always kept the bottoms of the bulbs close to the tops of the plants , and they hadta be raised daily till end of stretch......but that was with a 50/50 sat/ind hybrid runnin in krusty buckets , and they ended up about 5 1/2-6 ft tall outta the 5 gal buckets and 5 ft wide.....

Again....Rule of thumb till after stretch is over , is bottoms of the bulbs at top of plants , and then dropped down where top of socket/outlet box is even with plant tops for better sideways penetration.......at least that`s what worked for me many many yrs......

I`m sure Heath would agree......

Peace......DHF..............

 

[Billy Liar]

HI all,
DHF mentioned different terms used in different parts of the world etc, so I thought a picture paints a thousand words...
So here's how I plumb my Tree Machines which are just Heaths design... The only thing I do different is to use a Water butt to top up the system as most of the time I dont have a Mains Cold Water Supply near the grow... I call this a "Passive Reservoir" and the control tank I call the "Active Reservoir"... Heath uses the mains cold water supply to top up the system thats the only difference....

Hope this helps, any questions just fire away...
peace
BL

 

[DHF]

Teehee.......You`re definitely runnin a close second right behind Heathie on your autocad skills Billy.......

Top shelf illustration........Thanks for your time , knowledge , and experience......

Peace.....DHF............

 

[MediMary]

billy thank you, and dhf as well, you guys are very helpful.

 

[MediMary]

Originally Posted by heath robinson
ChaosCatalunya Ionic because it is a simple 1 part nutrient which is very ph stable, but it could have easily been Canna or Vitalink as I use them also.

I flower all my plants at an EC of 1.2 regardless of system its a waste of nutrients to feed at higher levels if the plant doesn't need it. In grow they ar at an EC of 1.2.

Stacked lights can work well if they are stacked between the plants, I often use stacked lights in my vertical grows.

I try and make my rooms as efficient as I can, my goal isn't to just grow the heaviest plant possible by surrounding it with lots of lights (as some do) but to get the most yield I can from the least amount of light. one of the benefits of this approach is the rooms run cooler which in turn means i don't need to run AC units or chillers.

I just realised it was you who smoked the chiesel! I hope you liked it, the following pics are of the exact cutting you smoked.


Hi weedobix there have been quite a few good smoke reports done on the Chiesel I will try dig a few out for you.


Technique I usually chop and change my grow styles, I like to go from one system to the next eg soon I will be running an aeroflo. So to answer your question not running a vert at the moment but could do if I can get hold of a Volksgarden or similar or I might just make one! lol

Hi TacomaComa i will know in the next day or two as i am still drying the bud at the moment.

thanks philmb I am glad I have been some help in the past. Its amazing how heavy some growers feed their plants, A lot of the blame is the nutrient manufacturers pushing you to use their nutrients at a high EC obviously high nutrient concentrations = more nutrients used = more profits for the manufacturers.

Ok these last pics bring us bang up to date.

 

[DHF]

The master speaks....How old is that post MM......regardless...proof`s in the pudding....Least amount of light per grow area , but maximum watts per sq ft to do the job in said sq ftg come end of cycle for optimum results......

600-750 ppm`s per cycle have worked for me many many yrs per Heathie`s advice after I got talked into ebb and flow buckets by my buddy......

The extra ppm`s in my room`s came from different nutrients compared to Euro products , but regular flushes and rez swapouts helped my dialage along the way.........

Never saw Heath run the same setup twice.....online......ADHD and insomnia come to mind........

Good luck Medi.....DHF.............

 

[Ravi Singh]

Never saw Heath run the same setup twice.....online......ADHD and insomnia come to mind........

Lol, I can definitely relate to all that..........

 

[Billy Liar]

Hi all,
glad to see this thread bounce back....
I have a question though....
Does everyone want to see a Billy Liar room/system build in this thread to show how the system goes together including extraction.... Or should I do it in another Thread????
peace
BL

 

[MediMary]

I would love it if you post in here billy,
DHF I just copy and pasted saw "wisdom from heath" on the front page.
https://www.icmag.com/modules/Journal/viewentry.php?journalid=723
I do have most of heaths grows saved(from 2006 out) will use this thead to put in once place when I have free time here and there.

 

[squarepush3r]

my idea, is to make an 'aeration chamber' outside of the reservoir, before the first plant bucket. So, the water travels from the res, to the 'aeration chamber' then finally lands in the first of the plant buckets (and the flows to the rest of the buckets and back to the res).

The reason for having the chamber outside the plant areas, because the high water flow and turbulence may damage roots. The chamber could be a very large type tube with lava rocks inside or even bio balls, such that the water goes through it and is completely broken up.

Next idea, is to use a venturi pump in the res, to oxygenate the water a ton. OR how about just a ton of airstones in the res? That should do the job, no?

 

[Apu]

does anyone running these type of systems ever get any deficiency at the plants near the end of the run... ie plants closest to rez or last plant to gett nutrients

 

[MediMary]

*opinions on water level*

So earlier when talking about water level.
I had mentioned how Heath runs his water up higher in net pots to avoid roping of roots but many other farmers say to run the water level below the net pots.

I have an opinion I thought I would share with you guys for what its worth.
Last week I reread all of Heaths old threads, he has significantly more water flowing through his system than what flows through a UC, at least 5x more.
(this is possible with the smaller diameter pipe he ran)

This higher volume of water ensured there was no dead spaces, where as in the UC the water is circulated much slower, so to me it seems like there could be something of a dead zone in the hydroclay(at least when compared to heaths designs)
*just an opinion*

What I can say is that there are a ton of 1st hand accounts by folks saying to have the water level below the pots and most the time these folks are doing standalone buckets or a recirculating system but the amount of water being moved is much less than heath was using.

So for me when I do UC or standalone buckets I will run the water below the net pots from now on(after roots hit the water).

The white urkle pictured above(was sitting in a 5gal bcket), when I dropped the water level down and inch below the net pot the roots blew up, they were really sluggish before hand running the water level up higher.

I mentioned before that the best roots I had develop was when I ran the water level high but that was using a variation of Heaths system and I had massive amounts of water being moved around each bucket.