I needed something to do this weekend

[DigDuggreen]

Okay so Im going to through together an under current DWC

 

[Chris1]

a 4? I'm loooking to set up a DIY UC 4 in a 5x5 or so closet...

 

[DigDuggreen]

Im actually working in a 4x4 closet. once I get a chiller Ill be able to move the res out of the closet and maybe put one more in the middle, I dont know Id like to get a QP of each one.

No leaks, I need to black out all the buckets and wrap the clear lines, I would have bought black but it was to much money, im into this 40 bucks and a few trips to the hardware and hydro shop. minust the air stones and pump, I already have a water pump that ill probly upgrade later.

 

[green_thumb...]

freakin sweeet. I'll be watching this for sure.

 

[DigDuggreen]

Mr. Green Thumb!!! how are ya pal? I remember some of your post. you had a baby and got robbed and stuff, hows the new little one? good I hope. and sorry to hear about your piece of shit rat bastards that cleaned you out. not fn' cool man who ever they were, all i can say is Karma is bitter sweet. Glad you checked in Hope I dont disappoint you, youve obviously been at this a while and well.. myself, im just a rookie trying to clear a lb. under a kw. but I think this is the ticket!!! Piece

 

[DigDuggreen]

Ps. Im going to throw in Two Blueberry trainwreck's and two chem d 4's, both about a 10 week strain and i think I can get away with it cause the trainwreck seems to do great on just about anything that shit is relentless, ive under fed it over fed it forgot to fed it and the babe just keeps comin. in fact my whole garden hermed out sept for 4 plants and the ones that didnt were purple kush, the BTW and a couple of the blueberry yum yums. I dont know what the F I did but its not pretty , the BTW is standing proud though. there all in a 72 hour dark cycle right now.

 

[brotherindica]

NICE Dig!!! Rock a monster air pump and some good diffusers and you're in for a GOOD time. I LOVE ceramic micro-pore diffusers, last forever, work REALLY well, but are a bit pricey.

Definitely keeping an eye on this!

 

[DigDuggreen]

NICE Dig!!! Rock a monster air pump and some good diffusers and you're in for a GOOD time. I LOVE ceramic micro-pore diffusers, last forever, work REALLY well, but are a bit pricey.

Definitely keeping an eye on this!

thanks but im afraid its going to be several of the air stones from walmart for a $1.56 for I am on a stricked budget with this, the air pump is the only thing thats keeping me from lighting this thing off and I have a gift card for half the cost at the hydro shop, so when every thing is said and done ill only be our of pocket like 80 bucks, ill should be ready to kick this thing off on monday. Im still going to make a screen to put over it and then its on!!!!

 

[highonmt]

Nice man RDWC is a stellar method as long as you ward off the root rot. If you can move your rez from under the lights; you'll be happier as your water temps will stay lower and your dissolved O2 will stay higher remember the optimum O2 sat in water is at about 66f. Keeping the rez temps in the high 60's/ low 70's range seems to be the sweet spot. Just a couple bucks worth of pipe and fittings and you're rez will stay cooler. Also I'd drop a few bucks on black paint or plastic to light proof the buckets(I wonder how many lb's of herb grow in homers buckets each year?) and the rez to keep the slime forming algae from growing. Also keep your air pump outside your grow space if you can to minimize the temp of the air you are blowing into the buckets. If you are not able to keep the temps low try using just a mineral salt solution like GH FMB or ionic etc it seems like higher temps and additives are a recipe for disaster. Best of luck can't wait to see a few ladies blowing it up in your uc.
HM

 

[John LOQUE]

Dumb question but where do you find the parts for waterproof connexions between the buckets ? In the growshop also ?

 

[DigDuggreen]

@ Highonmt... I hear ya, my only problem is, Im working in a 4x4 closet space out in the garage, I have an a/c that I use that will keep this space at 70 and the garage temps will get in the 90's some times on a real hot summer day. so in this particular I need it in with the a/c, at least till I can get a nice chiller and maybe a 50 gallon ice chest. I will definitely black this thing out. and the aip pump i will put right next to the a/c so that it sucks in cold air. I appreciate the good pointers but until I can get into a better environment theres only so much I can do.

@ John.... yeah between two Hydro stores, Orchard Supply Hardware, and home depot, I was able to put it all together but the actual fittings come from the Hydro store. they range in size from like 1/2" up to 1" with a rubber gasket and a locking nut for the back.

 

[DigDuggreen]

NICE Dig!!! Rock a monster air pump and some good diffusers and you're in for a GOOD time. I LOVE ceramic micro-pore diffusers, last forever, work REALLY well, but are a bit pricey.

Definitely keeping an eye on this!

So how bout a 25l per minute 2 lines into each homer and a separate pump with two lines into the res. you think that will be monster enough?? also with the water being spilled back in to the res is mixing it up pretty good. Did a test run last night, no leaks, picked up my air pump and stones today.

 

[brotherindica]

So how bout a 25l per minute 2 lines into each homer and a separate pump with two lines into the res. you think that will be monster enough?? also with the water being spilled back in to the res is mixing it up pretty good. Did a test run last night, no leaks, picked up my air pump and stones today.

That should do the trick, at least for a run or two. I've used those air stones too, . Lot of the cheaper ones work fine, but don't hold up long term. Guessing your system holds ~ 30-40gal? I run a 50lpm pump for ~25-30gal, been real happy...but even that could be upgraded IMHO. Never can run too much well diffused air in R/DWC.

Any idea the output on the other pump for the res? Since the system is recirculating AND has a water fall, IMHO, it isn't needed. I would try to put in towards aerating buckets where roots will be growing. Try to get the water to bubble as close to a rapid boil as possible.

I love these systems, just an expensive pain in the ass getting set up and running long term....well worth it though!

 

[DigDuggreen]

That should do the trick, at least for a run or two. I've used those air stones too, . Lot of the cheaper ones work fine, but don't hold up long term. Guessing your system holds ~ 30-40gal? I run a 50lpm pump for ~25-30gal, been real happy...but even that could be upgraded IMHO. Never can run too much well diffused air in R/DWC.

Any idea the output on the other pump for the res? Since the system is recirculating AND has a water fall, IMHO, it isn't needed. I would try to put in towards aerating buckets where roots will be growing. Try to get the water to bubble as close to a rapid boil as possible.

I love these systems, just an expensive pain in the ass getting set up and running long term....well worth it though!

The resi, is 18 gallon probably more like 14 is all it will hold to bring the buckets up to 4 gallons, I cant go any more than that cause the net pot will be in the water i want the water to be about an inch below it, so yeah 28-30 gallons, I think that pump will do good and later when I can afford a nother one or a bigger one then ill upgrade.

my next expence is going to be a reflector with a six inch duct so I can exhaust that heat out of the closet, and then a co2 controller/sniffer deal, I have a tank and regulator but it sucks trying to work it off a timer, not really ever knowing how much the plants are getting. and then maybe my conditions will be good enough to knock out a pound or so per cycle.

Im looking forward to seeing what this baby's gonna do.

what do you use for nutes in a system like this? Im probably going to go with cutting edge, maybe GH havent made up my mind yet. and Ive also heard to only run them half strength is this true?

 

[brotherindica]

The resi, is 18 gallon probably more like 14 is all it will hold to bring the buckets up to 4 gallons, I cant go any more than that cause the net pot will be in the water i want the water to be about an inch below it, so yeah 28-30 gallons, I think that pump will do good and later when I can afford a nother one or a bigger one then ill upgrade.

my next expence is going to be a reflector with a six inch duct so I can exhaust that heat out of the closet, and then a co2 controller/sniffer deal, I have a tank and regulator but it sucks trying to work it off a timer, not really ever knowing how much the plants are getting. and then maybe my conditions will be good enough to knock out a pound or so per cycle.

Im looking forward to seeing what this baby's gonna do.

what do you use for nutes in a system like this? Im probably going to go with cutting edge, maybe GH havent made up my mind yet. and Ive also heard to only run them half strength is this true?

You should be fine, especially being 30gal or under.

For nutes I've used Cutting Edge, GH, and H&G. All worked well, but I personally prefer Cutting Edge. Inexpensive, solid pH, and stays in solution great.

GH is nearly the same, tad less concentrated, and a little more $ for me. H&G is very nice, but it's more $ and IMHO it holds too much N in flower....at least for me.

 

[greenthumbdub]

H&G is very nice, but it's more $ and IMHO it holds too much N in flower....at least for me.

ive noticed the same thing so far with HG, love the line but it def needs less A than B about mid flower and WAYY less than recommended doses (normal schedule not aggressive) with my strains atleast

 

[DigDuggreen]

Im finding that less is always more with just about any nute, but I think its also good to have a good spike P/K spike through out flowering, im just trying to figure out when that is, the optimal time you know.

 

[brotherindica]

ive noticed the same thing so far with HG, love the line but it def needs less A than B about mid flower and WAYY less than recommended doses (normal schedule not aggressive) with my strains atleast

Exactly, that's what I found to be true as well. Nice product though, just not what I prefer. Great info!

Im finding that less is always more with just about any nute, but I think its also good to have a good spike P/K spike through out flowering, im just trying to figure out when that is, the optimal time you know.

I'm a firm believer of that school of thought. Well fed plants, but not over-fed plants. I would start low, ~300-400ppm (0.5 scale) veg, bump up to 500-600ppm late veg/early flower, 700-900ppm peak flower, drop down a bit before flush, and then flush. All strain depending of course.

For P/K boost, I start bumping P/K beginning of week 4 on a 10-11 week strain. Start slow, then bump harder weeks 6-8, ween down weeks 8-9, finish with a nice flush. RDWC tends to use nutrients quickly, but I would still give them a solid 8-10 day flush...with 10-14 days being optimal. My

 

[DigDuggreen]

yeah see I got a buddy of mine always giving me shit cause I run such low ppm's always telling me to bump it up to 1400-1600 dont worry the plant will take it. and the first time I tried it I got my plants up to around 1250 and 6 of 9 hermed, I got the strain from him and he kept insisting I bring it up and against my better judgement, here i am wishin I would have followed my gut feeling. now Im running the same stain in an oxy bucket off to the side and the plants are beautiful and probly going to be more productive at 700-800 ppm's any way life goes on.

so my buddy at the hydro store says you only have to change out the res like every 21 days is this true, I was hoping to go ever 4 weeks. its such a pain in the ass flushing out everything.

 

[brotherindica]

yeah see I got a buddy of mine always giving me shit cause I run such low ppm's always telling me to bump it up to 1400-1600 dont worry the plant will take it. and the first time I tried it I got my plants up to around 1250 and 6 of 9 hermed, I got the strain from him and he kept insisting I bring it up and against my better judgement, here i am wishin I would have followed my gut feeling. now Im running the same stain in an oxy bucket off to the side and the plants are beautiful and probly going to be more productive at 700-800 ppm's any way life goes on.

so my buddy at the hydro store says you only have to change out the res like every 21 days is this true, I was hoping to go ever 4 weeks. its such a pain in the ass flushing out everything.

Yeah, IMHO, the 1400-1600ppm in almost all situations isn't needed. Seems to hinder growth and hurt smells/flavors. Unless you're running a demanding strain with insane lights, maximum D.O. possible in system, and CO2 it seems excessive. An enzyme product helps increase nutrient uptake as well, decreasing amount of ppm needed.

Sure you'll see a happier plant with the lower ppm

Some people wait weeks to change their res, but I prefer every 7-10 days. I've tried a variety of methods and that's given me the best growth rates/happiest plants. I'd rather stay @ ~500-600ppm, check pH/ppm daily, and change out more often than going for higher ppm and changing less.

Being able to 'read' plants, besides knowing pH/ppm shifts, is really handy when running these systems. They're like a high end sports car, go fast as hell, but can crash equally fast.