any tips for a first time dwc try?

[OrganicGrowerMi]

This is my first time trying dwc , was wondering if you guys had any dos and don'ts with dwc. I bought the go box for nutrients, and lava rocks ( rinsed well), two of the bigger fish tank pumps, one for the halo and the other for a two foot flexible air diffuser in the nutrient solution. And I'm using reverse osmosis water. I just put the Cali connection sour diesel in their tonight. What should I keep the pH at? And any other tips or information would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

 

[Treetroit City]

This is my first time trying dwc , was wondering if you guys had any dos and don'ts with dwc. I bought the go box for nutrients, and lava rocks ( rinsed well), two of the bigger fish tank pumps, one for the halo and the other for a two foot flexible air diffuser in the nutrient solution. And I'm using reverse osmosis water. I just put the Cali connection sour diesel in their tonight. What should I keep the pH at? And any other tips or information would be greatly appreciated. Thankshttps://www.icmag.com/ic/picture.php?albumid=43740&pictureid=1131016View Image https://www.icmag.com/ic/picture.php?albumid=43740&pictureid=1131015View Image

Deep Water Culture and GO nutes will do that thing that everyone talks about.

 

[Snype]

This is my first time trying dwc , was wondering if you guys had any dos and don'ts with dwc. I bought the go box for nutrients, and lava rocks ( rinsed well), two of the bigger fish tank pumps, one for the halo and the other for a two foot flexible air diffuser in the nutrient solution. And I'm using reverse osmosis water. I just put the Cali connection sour diesel in their tonight. What should I keep the pH at? And any other tips or information would be greatly appreciated. Thanks[URL=https://www.icmag.com/ic/picture.php?albumid=43740&pictureid=1131016&thumb=1]View Image[/url] [URL=https://www.icmag.com/ic/picture.php?albumid=43740&pictureid=1131015&thumb=1]View Image[/url]

Not sure what your air pump is rated but I make sure to use an air pump rated at half of the total liters that the system holds per minute. For example if my RDWC system holds 160 liters of solution, i use an air pump rated at 80 liters per minute.

The other important thing in RDWC for me is running chlorine at 0.5 PPM. After adding more air and chlorine into my systems, i never lost a plant. I also keep my pH in a range from 5.8-6.2 at all times.

 

[OrganicGrowerMi]

I'm not sure on the fish tanks pumps liters per minute, they are suppose to be for 30-60 gallon fish tanks. And theirs two of them. And its only just over 2 gallons until the solution touches the bottom of the net pot.

 

[Snype]

I'm not sure on the fish tanks pumps liters per minute, they are suppose to be for 30-60 gallon fish tanks. And theirs two of them. And its only just over 2 gallons until the solution touches the bottom of the net pot.

You should find out. Many products are made just to take your money.

 

[ydijadoit]

+1 for Snype's chlorine addition. I used peroxide for years, and finally made the switch a few months ago. Nice white roots, and no signs of stress. I use 1ml per 10 gallons. If I ever got root rot, I'd boost that to 2ml per 10 gallons.
You have airstones now, but in the future, I recommend 1/4" soaker hose from lowes or home depot. 100' roll is about $7, and it just wont clog. You can configure it however you need, with a pack of barb fittings. Hold it on the bottom of your res with stainless steel hardware store bolts. (You can zip tie the bolts to the soaker hose).
I gave up on pet store air pumps. Active aqua commercial pumps work great, move a TON of air, and are fairly cheap, compared to piling up several fish store pumps. The only down side is noise, but that can be dealt with.
Insulate your system. Can't stress this one enough. I use either foam board or fiberglass batting, surrounded and taped in place by reflectix bubble wrap. Keeps my 30 gal system below 70F under 2400w of light. Only an occasional frozen water bottle needed.
Keep all light out of your solution. Algae loves light. You plants will not love algae. Bleach will prevent this as well, but the first line of defense should be no light leaks!
Looking at your pics, It looks like you are in a 5 gal bucket?? That will work fine, but you might consider getting a larger container, like a 18 gal good quality tote. Cut a hole for the netpot, off-center in the tote, and a smaller hole for dipping out samples, and adding/changing solution.
If you are growing a big plant (And that's a beefy clone in there now), you may drive yourself nuts changing/adjusting solution, as she gets bigger, in a 5 gal bucket.
The larger res will also be easier to manage, as far as fluctuations go. Ph/ec/temp, all move more slowly in a larger res.
Hope this helps!
Looks like you are off to a good start.
Regards.
PS, lower your drip rings, and cover them with a few pieces of lava rock. If the pumping column is bottomed on the bucket, you can shim it up by wrapping the netpot with foam pipe insulation, or a cut piece of garden hose. It will raise it the diameter of whatever you use. Splashing nute solution on the leaves and bottom of the plant is a no-no, and can cause a lot of grief.

 

[OrganicGrowerMi]

Thanks for all the info, it helps a lot.I appreciate you taking the time to help a guy out

 

[wantaknow]

use powdered pool shock 1 gram to a gallon to make your mix i use it at 10 oz of mixed to a 55 rez

 

[ydijadoit]

No worries, hope it helps. I've taken so much info from this site, and feel like I haven't given much back. Feels good to help cut some $ and time off the learning curve.

 

[OrganicGrowerMi]

Definitely helps