Res Size Question - DWC

Hey folks,

I’m building a simple DWC setup and I was wondering if res size was a significant factor when only growing a couple plants. I originally planned to use a 10 gallon tub, but I have a few extra 15 gallon tubs that are basically identical minus the size.

I’m planning on only running 2-3 at a time and scrogging them, would there be any disadvantages to going with a larger res besides using more water + nutrients? I travel a lot for work, so I figured having a few extra gallons in the res would allow me a little more breathing room if I’m gone for 2-3 days.

Cheers,

Kas

I haven't grown with DWC and/or hydroponically.

I would use a reservoir at least 2X the size of all the grow containers combined.

Larger the rez , the more stable the nutrient solution will stay PH and EC wise....far less fluctuations and addbacks needed to keep shit within proper parameters.....

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

I use a 2G DWC tote to start plants/clones, and will grow in it in a pinch. I transfer to F & D, which is much easier to adjust pH/EC (daily), add back either nutes or water

When using air pumps, you will introduce CO2 which will raise pH considerably each day.

Here's a simple system I have developed over a few years. I replaced air stones/pumps with a second low pressure pump in the rez. It's on a separate deep cycle timer 4/30 to prevent nutes heating up

See my Hail Hydro 2.O: New Beginnings for more


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DunHav`nFun said:

Larger the rez , the more stable the nutrient solution will stay PH and EC wise....far less fluctuations and addbacks needed to keep shit within proper parameters.....

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

Click to expand...

This is the correct advice to listen too.



DunHav'nFun is right on when it comes to keeping the nutrient solution stable. Using a small reservoir(stock tank) is asking for trouble. People who try this have nothing but constant pH issues.

Most nutrients are acids. Acids bring the pH down. A healthy DWC you will see the pH rise and EC decrease. This happens because the plants eat the fertilizer thus removing the acids which makes the pH rise. The worst thing to do in DWC is check the pH and not understand the reason it rises so people just add PH down thinking something is wrong with their fertilizer. They think lowering the pH will fix the issue but it only makes it worse. Because the plants don't have enough food in the nutrient solution because most of it was used/eaten up the first 18 hrs

If a person has 4 mature plants in a D.WC using a 3 gallon tote the nutrient solution will be out of plant food in a few days causing mad pH swings up. To avoid this use a 15 gallon tank. It will keep your nutrient solution more stable. Let it run down half way then top off with fresh nutes. Easy peasy.

A 3-4 gallon tote might work for clones but not for mature plants.

You can still use a smaller control res, along with a float valve, that is hooked up to another top off res.

Some situations it comes in handy, like space issues, longer vacations, etc...

The top off res could be up higher to gravity feed it, or even plumb the float directly to an RO filter instead. That way your water level never fluctuates. One con is that your PH could rise a little quicker, with the fresh water being introduced as the plants feed more heavily.

Once you get used to the system, you can compensate by adding a little PH down to the top off res, or even extra nutes and supplements..

Either way.. like everyone else is saying, extra volume is more stable. That means less maintenance.

I keep taking Ph down from 6.2 to 5.8 (last 3 days) as I am nursing some burned babies back to life. It seems that they are responding well to the drift (i.e. taking in all the nutes across the Ph range. Am I right? or plain fucking up?
Newbee

5.8 is coco .. Dwc it's better to start @ 5.5-5.6 n let it drift up... Lower your ph n they will look better in 2 days... Larger rez is always better..