[Douglas.Curtis]

When the plants are feeding heavily, you can really see if your res size is large enough or not. The smaller the res, the faster the ppm/pH changes. Ideally, the pH swing from 5.4-5.8'ish should happen within 7-10 days at the beginning of flower. As maximum uptake is reached (mid flower), it can be shortened by a few days.

When it reaches 5.8'ish pH (you'll get a feel for which strains like which peak pH point), add your nutes back to starting ppm. Your pH should be bang on at 5.4 again.

[iruleyou1]

Originally Posted by Douglas.Curtis

When the plants are feeding heavily, you can really see if your res size is large enough or not. The smaller the res, the faster the ppm/pH changes. Ideally, the pH swing from 5.4-5.8'ish should happen within 7-10 days at the beginning of flower. As maximum uptake is reached (mid flower), it can be shortened by a few days.

When it reaches 5.8'ish pH (you'll get a feel for which strains like which peak pH point), add your nutes back to starting ppm. Your pH should be bang on at 5.4 again.

I am running 6 Plants right now all in individual 5 gallon buckets of Norther Lights which is a quick flower strain. I am about 1.5 weeks into flower and they are going through the quickest growth I have seen. Next grow I will change to RDWC as this is far to much work per day to maintain.

What I have been doing the past few days is making a 5 gallon batch of nutrient solution 800ppm. I then made a batch of strong stock solution that I am using to bring the ppms back to the level I want to try. I add a cup or 2 of that per bucket depending. I am tonight trying 900ppms. The higher I have gone the more stable it seems to be getting however it still drops like 100 - 150ppm a day per bucket.

I don't want to do a full res change until 2 weeks since it is so much work. I can't wait to change over to RDWC. All the parts are here but I will get through this grow.

Does this sound normal for individual 5 gallon buckets? Since I have been working to maintain PPMs the new growth coming in doesn't look at pale.

Here is a picture of my grow. The front center plant looks like it has Mosaic Virus but I am not sure if that is the cause. I think if it was the other plants would have it too. It is still growing fast. At one point all plants had brown slime but I resolved the issue. That plant had it the worst. Because of this I don't want to change over to RDWC now.



This has been a great learning experience!!

[Douglas.Curtis]

DWC? I recommend one tub, one strain, one light. You can go two tubs, two strains and one light, but you'll have to mess with canopy heights and training. I seriously do not recommend RDWC, due to a variety of reasons. Usually too much nutrient solution volume for a proper pH swing, insane number of cracks and crevices where biologicals form. Additional electricity for a larger pump, along with an amazing number of places where leaks can spring.

Save the expense, learn from my experience and go with 1 strain per res. I like 45 gallons of nutrient solution, in my 70 gallon reservoir, for a 1000w light and 6 plants. Works out great.

[iruleyou1]

Originally Posted by Douglas.Curtis

DWC? I recommend one tub, one strain, one light. You can go two tubs, two strains and one light, but you'll have to mess with canopy heights and training. I seriously do not recommend RDWC, due to a variety of reasons. Usually too much nutrient solution volume for a proper pH swing, insane number of cracks and crevices where biologicals form. Additional electricity for a larger pump, along with an amazing number of places where leaks can spring.

Save the expense, learn from my experience and go with 1 strain per res. I like 45 gallons of nutrient solution, in my 70 gallon reservoir, for a 1000w light and 6 plants. Works out great.

Oh I only want to do one strain at a time. I just want a Res that can cover the 5x5 footprint if growing in one large one. Most totes wouldn't be that size unless you know of one. I would like to be able to do 9 sites for my next grow. Totes are usually rectangular and I want a giant square since it is a square tent. i want to cut down on veg time and seems to take them longer since their isn't the same number of plants width wise as length wise. That's why I am choosing 9.

I also like the idea of keeping the res outside of the tent for nutrient changes. Has anybody made one of those EBB and Flow systems more into a DWC? From my understanding ebb and flow fills up all the buckets from a control bucket and drains back out soon after. What if it stayed filled longer with an air stone in each bucket. You would get the benefits of one drain site and the nutrient levels would stay more consistent throughout the system.

[Douglas.Curtis]

Originally Posted by iruleyou1

Oh I only want to do one strain at a time. I just want a Res that can cover the 5x5 footprint if growing in one large one. Most totes wouldn't be that size unless you know of one.

I have a Growtec 70 gallon res. It barely fits in a 4x4 Secret Jardin 120. I'm not using one of their covers, I made my own out of a 4x4 sheet of HDPE, 6" netpot holes and a 4x4 sheet of panda plastic. It won't hold a human weight, but it holds the plants peachy keen.

[iruleyou1]

Knowing what I know now a 4x4 is a better space to work with when it comes to covering it. Most stuff is designed for that size tent. The challenges of a 5x5 tent . It doesn't sound that much bigger but it has about 50% more space. Flood tables are designed for 4x4 tents. The biggest LED lights cover that space unless you get into DIY which I did. This is why I think I am into DIY land RDWC or go with a bucket EBB and Flow setup.

Is DWC growth that much better than EBB and Flow?
Any opinion on my idea of a hybrid Ebb and Flow. Fast Drain cycles with an air stone in each bucket. This would allow me to keep a giant res outside of the tent with a float valve. I would also get the benefit of DWC growth.

[Douglas.Curtis]

Originally Posted by iruleyou1

Knowing what I know now a 4x4 is a better space to work with when it comes to covering it. Most stuff is designed for that size tent.

It's fairly ideal for a 1K hps or similar. It's handy when you don't have to modify as much.

Originally Posted by iruleyou1

Is DWC growth that much better than EBB and Flow?
Any opinion on my idea of a hybrid Ebb and Flow. Fast Drain cycles with an air stone in each bucket. This would allow me to keep a giant res outside of the tent with a float valve. I would also get the benefit of DWC growth.

DWC and E&F are comparable, when both are done correctly.

No need for airstones with an E&F setup, the fill and drain cycles provide plenty of air, plus it's a roots-out hydro so it has air roots and exposure to room air. Skip the pumps and stones for e&f. When I'm unable to control incoming air temps or the res temperature, I'm not interested in DWC. In these situations I use E&F, because it works great up to the high 70's in the root zone, no need to chill the res.

[iruleyou1]

No need for airstones with an E&F setup, the fill and drain cycles provide plenty of air, plus it's a roots-out hydro so it has air roots and exposure to room air. Skip the pumps and stones for e&f. When I'm unable to control incoming air temps or the res temperature, I'm not interested in DWC. In these situations I use E&F, because it works great up to the high 70's in the root zone, no need to chill the res.[/quote]


I have a feeling EBB and Flow may be the system I end up running when all said and done. It just seems like so much less work than DWC and less of the problems of RDWC. I am convinced RDWC may perform a little better but after reading about chillers, threads of pipe sizes, leaks, and uneven bucket levels I'm probably asking for trouble for little gain if any.

If I decide to run jacks with EBB and flow do I use the same PPMs or is it completely different?

[Douglas.Curtis]

Originally Posted by iruleyou1

I have a feeling EBB and Flow may be the system I end up running when all said and done. It just seems like so much less work than DWC and less of the problems of RDWC. I am convinced RDWC may perform a little better but after reading about chillers, threads of pipe sizes, leaks, and uneven bucket levels I'm probably asking for trouble for little gain if any.

If I decide to run jacks with EBB and flow do I use the same PPMs or is it completely different?

Having to keep the res temp stable is a major drawback to DWC, yes. Until you really get a feel for cannabis, E&F will be great for you. The ppms will always depend on environment, strain and so on as always with a little difference over DWC. The pH goes up slightly as the water evaporates in the root zone between waterings. It's important to get the pH to the 5.4'ish zone every once in a while. You can do this by starting with a low enough pH and allowing the pH to rise to around 6'ish.

The more waterings a day, the lower your ppm will need to be. I flood veg plants 3 times a day, with the last flood being just before lights out. The flood before lights on will depend on your setup and how fast everything dries out. Frequency of flooding will need to be increased during flower, water/nutrient needs will suck up a lot.

[Goats]

Originally Posted by Douglas.Curtis

Having to keep the res temp stable is a major drawback to DWC, yes. Until you really get a feel for cannabis, E&F will be great for you. The ppms will always depend on environment, strain and so on as always with a little difference over DWC. The pH goes up slightly as the water evaporates in the root zone between waterings. It's important to get the pH to the 5.4'ish zone every once in a while. You can do this by starting with a low enough pH and allowing the pH to rise to around 6'ish.

The more waterings a day, the lower your ppm will need to be. I flood veg plants 3 times a day, with the last flood being just before lights out. The flood before lights on will depend on your setup and how fast everything dries out. Frequency of flooding will need to be increased during flower, water/nutrient needs will suck up a lot.

great info DC!

do you find it better to increase the number of floods/day over increasing your EC? i went from 1 flood/day to 2 just before flower and the yellowing i was getting went away. maybe i'll add a third flood later on in flower.

im also using jacks and growing in coco.