Want to make the switch

[tankdogster]

I am not scrimping in any aspect for my grow. In my soil growing I use all Fox Farms Soils, All Fox Farms Nutes, Distilled Water, a 600 watt MH/HPS Lighting system with an aircooled hood, 380CFM inline Ducting fans for intake and exaust, Air conditioning unit to keep temp at 70-75. Mylar reflective material on the walls, BANG organic pesticides and micronutrients..

So as you see im doing it as bout as good as you can.....

I do not want to scrimp on my Hydro Growing either, Thats why I asked this post. I like the DWC idea for my first hydro and am going to the hydro store to check them out....

Hey New_2, you sound like you are taking a similar trail as me. My first soil grow with FF Ocean Forest soil was a huge success. I going hydro now so I have more control. I went flood and drain but I wish I had room to try DWC. Keep us posted. It sounds like you have invested about the same in this hobbie as me. This is some cool stuff

 

[GeNYC 07]

might want to invest in a book. seams a lil silly to waste money on distilled water seeing as most say its not a good thing to use. Congrats on having money for equipment thats great but i have to agree I would go ebb and flow much easier to sustain when you are away plus it is only one res. not so tuff to keep clean. do what you want but i think buckets are a pain and maybe 12 dollars on a growers guide could help you out. 30 gallons every 2 weeks of distilled water must be expensive.

 

[Dexter]

would you reccomend building your own, or going and buying a dwc system?

You have too much money!
It aint that hard. DWC = buckets - air stone - air pump - roots - bud
Pic1 : DWC White Rhino
Pic2 : STAUNCHEDEST plant eva Woot Woot (lights out, sleepy Rhino)

 

[andy52]

DISTILLED WATER IS ALL I USE.62 CENTS A GALLON AT WALMART.its better than tap water also.unless you have a ro system.i am running dwc in 5 gal buckets.as of now i only have 3 plants left due to a legal matter.but i will grow dwc in buckets from now on.its easy to maintain if you plan ahead.i have spare buckets.i get the bucket nuted,ph'd and get my tds right,then just lift the lid with the plant and set it on the fresh bucket,presto.then i clean my buckets and am ready for the next time.so easy even a cave man could do it.

 

[city]

Im not dissing DWC at all. i am still doing it.i like it.. its real nice. you can learn alot from it before you move onto other things. like i plan on doing a sea of green next. going to clown my girl in the DWC and do 6 2 footers now that im comfortable with being soiless. thats all. if he/she wants to make the switch go dwc and keep your mind open for new ways when the money comes

 

[JBonez]

DISTILLED WATER IS ALL I USE.62 CENTS A GALLON AT WALMART.its better than tap water also.unless you have a ro system.i am running dwc in 5 gal buckets.as of now i only have 3 plants left due to a legal matter.but i will grow dwc in buckets from now on.its easy to maintain if you plan ahead.i have spare buckets.i get the bucket nuted,ph'd and get my tds right,then just lift the lid with the plant and set it on the fresh bucket,presto.then i clean my buckets and am ready for the next time.so easy even a cave man could do it.

Hey andy, with dwc, when its time to change the water, what do you do with the roots and the lid whilst cleaning the bucket and adding more water,nutes,ph,pmm?

 

[The Hemp Goddess]

Hey andy, with dwc, when its time to change the water, what do you do with the roots and the lid whilst cleaning the bucket and adding more water,nutes,ph,pmm?

From Andy's post: "...its easy to maintain if you plan ahead.i have spare buckets.i get the bucket nuted,ph'd and get my tds right,then just lift the lid with the plant and set it on the fresh bucket,presto.then i clean my buckets and am ready for the next time.so easy even a cave man could do it."

Spare buckets is the answer.

 

[JBonez]

Ok, so if i want to do a 20 dwc bucket setup i need to have a least 10 spares, i get it. thanks so much hg, very insightful, BTW, did you build your own?

 

[The Hemp Goddess]

Ok, so if i want to do a 20 dwc bucket setup i need to have a least 10 spares, i get it. thanks so much hg, very insightful, BTW, did you build your own?

Yes, I built my own--I am quite handy for a girl and have all the "big boy" tools.

If you are doing a 20 bucket setup, I think you may want to consider a setup like the waterfarm with a controller and larger separate reservoir (you can make these yourself, too). Changing more than about 8 buckets gets to be a chore.

 

[JBonez]

def looking into making the switch to hydro. i mean, not having to transplant, mess around with soil, ups and downs with watering and nuting, besides, one dwc could be lst'd so that one plant makes 5 times the normal yield with ease, at least thats what ive gathered, thanks for your help! Male, female, it doesnt matter, youve been a big help, thanks for that!

 

[JBonez]

This is a DWC ww, he never tests his ppm, only his ph, and scrogs it, now this is what im talking about! making the switch asap!

 

[CasualGrower]

Yes, I built my own--I am quite handy for a girl and have all the "big boy" tools.

If you are doing a 20 bucket setup, I think you may want to consider a setup like the waterfarm with a controller and larger separate reservoir (you can make these yourself, too). Changing more than about 8 buckets gets to be a chore.

I just got a big 60 gallon garbage can that i mix up my nutes in and I just put a pump in it and fill my buckets once all is mixed..... MUCH better than mixing up 12 individual buckets.

 

[city]

ye ha. Oh ya i completely sealed my house and used the fire hydrant to fill it full of water. i have a plant so big its coming out thru the roof. biggest DWC you have ever seen....hahahahahaha.
but no really i like dwc. i like changing the water out. running air in the bucket of water a full day before i mix nutes. its all nice.. just did my water change yesterday...

 

[JBonez]

Hey casualgrower, im doing the samething, im making an inlet and outlet valve on my dwc's with a couple trash cans, one that will hold normal phd dwc friendly "topping off" water, and one that i will mix my nutes in and adjust ph with a pump to pump the water to my buckets that will be hooked up in series so i can pump out the old water, then reverse to pump in the new water!

its all so much easier than dealing with soil, AH! why did i think hydro was so darn complicated, its not! My hydro store guy that helps me tried to tell me, and now he wants to pimp slap me for not listening, now im spending more money on crap that i could have had in the first place! ah! ok, im cool now.

btw, hemp goddess, your my inspiration to move forward with dwc, thanks for all your help and very informative posts, nice to have you around, thanks again!

 

[TURKEYNECK]

Glad to hear it.. "Im old greg".. "I got a mangina!" hahaaaaaa goodluck.

 

[city]

Hey casualgrower, im doing the samething, im making an inlet and outlet valve on my dwc's with a couple trash cans, one that will hold normal phd dwc friendly "topping off" water, and one that i will mix my nutes in and adjust ph with a pump to pump the water to my buckets that will be hooked up in series so i can pump out the old water, then reverse to pump in the new water!
I guess thats alright if you have everything LIGHT TIGHT. you will have to clean out your container that your growing in. mine i have to clean out about every 2 weeks or it starts getting ICKY. HD buckets wrapped in 10mil. tape. light tight but some still gets thru. dont want slimmy roots.
Talk to Hemp Goddess about what water you should be using and Nutes. we both agree to dissagree whats the best water. mines more expensive to set up.lol and we have already had a 2 page debate about it.
Hemp did we ever find out if that guy got helped or did he just stick with soil?LOL

 

[JBonez]

I dont think im going to have a problem with icky buckets, in fact, i dont plan on cleaning them throughout the entire cycle. Light penetration will be no issue, algae absolutely needs light to function or live. you will see my setup and my buckets will be 100% light secure.

I am looking into ro for my water tho, should be interesting to see how much thats going to cost me. HG, what type of water are you using?

 

[Weeddog]

about $120 is what my 5 stage RO filter cost, and well worth every penny.

 

[The Hemp Goddess]

HG, what type of water are you using?

I am just using tap water now, because my tap water has a ppm of about 50. The place I lived before had a very high ppm and I used both cartridge filters and an RO. IMO, you want to start with water that has a low ppm, so you know what nutes you are giving your plants and that you are giving them in the correct proportions.