Connecting DWCs?

[GaMs]

I dont like RDWC uses to much water , if u have any root or slime problem all plants get infected , just cant clean all the conection parts , u cant move plants arround and so on... DWC is simple u can feed each plant separately move them arround, little more work with control but thats the beauty of growin : )
sory my english is not too good : /

 

[IamNug]

I dont like RDWC uses to much water , if u have any root or slime problem all plants get infected , just cant clean all the conection parts , u cant move plants arround and so on... DWC is simple u can feed each plant separately move them arround, little more work with control but thats the beauty of growin : )
sory my english is not too good : /

the previous statements are untrue because:

The plants only use the water they need, and nothing more.

plants can be moved around very easily and repositioned or switched out very easily if the design is correct.

these generalized bashings on rdwc are very uninformed and I don't think many people would agree that 'the beauty of growing is HAVING to do a little more work'?

anyways, I guarantee if ran properly you will MORE than like rdwc.

I could make a giant list of the benefits of rdwc compared to other methods, but to truly understand it you have to do it.

Take it easy bro.

 

[El Toker]

I dont like RDWC uses to much water , if u have any root or slime problem all plants get infected

I've found that using simple DWC it's the same. The problem is that if you have the conditions that are likely to lead to root rot like high reservoir temperatures and unhealthy plants then you've got the ideal conditions for pythium to breed in all of the buckets whether they are connected or not. You can either change the environment by lowering temps or you can use agents like pythoff or plain H2O2 to keep them at bay. There's little point worrying about cross infection or disinfecting because there are always spores floating around in the air looking for a good place to settle, you'd need special filtering systems costing £££ like they have in operating theatres if you wanted to change that.

I find it's easier using preventative treatments regularly as you only have to dose one reservoir. Also with RDWC you can have the reservoir well away from the heat from the lights, even outside the grow room altogether.

Also you can move plants around with RDWC or move them into individual buckets as well with no hassle if you wanted to isolate them or put them into another room.

The only downside I've come across so far, is that it's impractical to use for a continual harvest, because all the plants get the same nutrients.

 

[IamNug]

I've found that using simple DWC it's the same. The problem is that if you have the conditions that are likely to lead to root rot like high reservoir temperatures and unhealthy plants then you've got the ideal conditions for pythium to breed in all of the buckets whether they are connected or not. You can either change the environment by lowering temps or you can use agents like pythoff or plain H2O2 to keep them at bay. There's little point worrying about cross infection or disinfecting because there are always spores floating around in the air looking for a good place to settle, you'd need special filtering systems costing £££ like they have in operating theatres if you wanted to change that.

I find it's easier using preventative treatments regularly as you only have to dose one reservoir. Also with RDWC you can have the reservoir well away from the heat from the lights, even outside the grow room altogether.

Also you can move plants around with RDWC or move them into individual buckets as well with no hassle if you wanted to isolate them or put them into another room.

The only downside I've come across so far, is that it's impractical to use for a continual harvest, because all the plants get the same nutrients.

very good informative post, el toker.

 

[superusa]

Toker is right, the only downside is running continual harvest *or* different strains (or even phenos depending) in the same system.

Other than that....a well designed rdwc is superior to individual buckets in all ways. Properly designed you can easily leave a RDWC unattended for 2 weeks at a time (I know cause I do it), and never do a rez change during your grow (i do that also). Instead of taking 10 minutes to adjhust each bucket ever other day, I spend 10 minutes adjusting my system every two weeks, it pretty much grows itself. And the only cost difference between a passively link system like the OP mentioned versus a RDWC is the pump, and they are cheap. Just use a standard submersible pond pump from home depot. they run $40 for a ~400GPH pump, which *could* feed 8+ buckets in blaze's setup. RDWC is every bit as easy to maintain as a ebb&flow setup. As for the rot, there are several threads on dealing with it in rdwc, i would call it nothing more than a minor inconvenience, and one that you can avoid altogether by keeping your system clean, lightproof, and free of organic nutes.

 

[Japanfreakier]

JapanFreakier, "in my system" the water is used to fast to become stale, the aeration in the resevoir is enough to cut off any worry about stale water.

I see black tubes on the floor which would certainly get room temp within minutes in that pic.

 

[HybridHydro]

JapanFreakier wrote: I see black tubes on the floor which would certainly get room temp within minutes in that pic.

Room temperature stays below 80 degrees, I love basements....

And as you can see from the other pictures, my plants aren't suffering because of it. The "black tubing" is actually blue clear acrylic tubing, which makes nor breaks anything. I've been using this system for years now and have had not a single problem with stagnant water, or root rot, or any other problem.

 

[Japanfreakier]

Just because it works for you doesn't mean it will for others. Some people never get root rot even with warm temps. Kind of like running with scissors in your hand and then recommending it to people.

 

[HybridHydro]

Ok, so then, those problems would be caused for or by other reasons, I never claimed that because it works for me that it would work "for everybody", to begin with. The original poster asked for a solution to a problem, so shared my experiences I have had. I can sit here all day and make up false dilemma's in an effort to put down other peoples projects but thats not what this site is intended for.
Thank you very much for your participation.

 

[IamNug]

Ok, so then, those problems would be caused for or by other reasons, I never claimed that because it works for me that it would work "for everybody", to begin with. The original poster asked for a solution to a problem, so shared my experiences I have had. I can sit here all day and make up false dilemma's in an effort to put down other peoples projects but thats not what this site is intended for.
Thank you very much for your participation.

 

[Japanfreakier]

Ok, so then, those problems would be caused for or by other reasons, I never claimed that because it works for me that it would work "for everybody", to begin with. The original poster asked for a solution to a problem, so shared my experiences I have had. I can sit here all day and make up false dilemma's in an effort to put down other peoples projects but thats not what this site is intended for.
Thank you very much for your participation.

You're experience is that you've never had root rot. That's different than your system is a safe way to go about it. Don't be so sensitive and realize this is a thread about a newbie asking questions that might have a big impact on his grow. Sorry but I think it's a good thing to be blunt in threads like this and say, "Hey non-moving water with low d.o. is not the best practice," sorry if that offends you.

 

[Japanfreakier]

Add the pump, just do it, don't think about it, do it.

 

[IamNug]

You're experience is that you've never had root rot. That's different than your system is a safe way to go about it. Don't be so sensitive and realize this is a thread about a newbie asking questions that might have a big impact on his grow. Sorry but I think it's a good thing to be blunt in threads like this and say, "Hey non-moving water with low d.o. is not the best practice," sorry if that offends you.

non moving water with low d.o. would only be in the lines in a non recirculating system. Which is a very low percentage of the total system volume of water. Black lines may cause a bit of temperature issue but not an algae issue because of light penetration. And again, at what percentage of the system volume. No point in dismissing a proven way to grow prolific plants easily, because of a minor technicality. It won't take long before someone with interconnected buckets adds a water pump to make the whole thing recirculate. Don't hate, propagate!

 

[IamNug]

Add the pump, just do it, don't think about it, do it.

great advice

 

[HybridHydro]

First off here is no "low disolved oxygen" as there is an air pump in both the resevoir and also each individual bucket.
Secondly, no one is insulted, as that would imply that I would have to care about your uninformed opinion first to matter.
Thirdly, if you were truly here to help the "newbie"(that is, if he is in fact, a "newbie", I will let you assume that), then you should probably be using your vast reserves of knowledge to help him, rather than ragging me about some made up issue of root rot.

Have fun, and have a nice day!

 

[Japanfreakier]

non moving water with low d.o. would only be in the lines in a non recirculating system.

That's what he's got, unless I'm mistaken. If so than my apologize.

 

[thefalsediviner]

I say "eff" all this. If you are willing to provide an abundance of dissolved oxygen and control your room temps, you can connect your buckets however you want.

TFD

 

[HybridHydro]

To be frank, I've thought about hooking up the 400gph pump to it, but thats in an ebb and flow system i have running at the moment.

With the air pumps continuously cycling the water in each individual bucket and an air pump 24/7 in the resevoir, it would be (IMO) redundant to hook up a water pump to cycle the water . Granted you can never have TOO much d.o. going to the roots, but, I think with air pumps on either end it is plenty.

My garden is far from perfect, I doubt any one could make the claim that they are done "improving" their systems. Just off hand I can think of a dozen things I could do to improve and still miss another dozen that could be done and in time will make those improvements and find the ones i missed when it becomes necessary.

 

[IamNug]

That's what he's got, unless I'm mistaken. If so than my apologize.

its a minimal factor when you consider the vigorous growth of dwc.

as I mentioned next about the water in the lines of a non-recirculating system:

Which is a very low percentage of the total system volume of water.

 

[jtk707]

A lot og great ideas floating around heres mine

A lot og great ideas floating around heres mine

If using rbber made containers you can use 4 or 6 inch diameter pvc pipe to hook all the tubs together . if you put a pump in one of the tubs pushing water out of the pvc you would have awesome water movement . I have done this with nine tubs the pvc that connected them was through the lowest part of the tub and only 1 foot long . I had bubblers in all containers . It worked great . Hope this helps Peace out and good luck


I AGREE WITH THIS GUY PROPS IAMANUG
ive done this. It works ok, basically the benefit of having connected buckets is they all stay the same level of water thanks to gravity. And a person can access just one bucket to drain and fill the whole system. A control bucket and a auto topping reservoir can still be used even if you don't recirculate the system with a pump.