Hey guys, I am in the process of trying to plan out my first grow, and after a decent bit of research have decided to go with a DWC medium for my girls. The plan is to have 6 plants going at a time and I was wondering if I could do something like this but with 6 instead of 8. http://hydrobuilder.com/superponic-8-hydroponic-grow-system.html?dzid=strands_suppon8 It looks somewhat simple to replicate, but I have never done this before and would appreciate any help or advice possible. What really intrigues me about this setup is the top fed as well as DWC. How difficult would this be to replicate, and what materials would I need? Thank you all in advance for your help!
There's no need for top feed if you keep your reservoir topped up regularly. It's more effort and cost than its worth. You just need a large watertight container with a lid. Some net pots, clay balls, an air pump, air lines and some air stones. The air pump should be able to pump 1 litre of air per minute for every 2 litres of nutrient solution. You will need a hole cutter or something to cut the holes for the pots. You will also need some nutes. I recommend using single bottle nutes like growth technology's ionic grow and ionic bloom. An EC/ppm meter and a PH meter. Some PH up and PH down If you want top feed lines like the one in the link you will need a small water pump and some tubing, along with a few T connectors.
We have a water Ionizer that electrically changes Ph. Is that a viable way of regulating Ph in the plants? Or should I stick with chemicals? Kangen Water Machine: http://www.enagic.com/blog/tag/kangen-water-machine/ EDIT: And you recommend sticking to single bottle nute solutions? Thats good because i was a tad concerned about regulating 4-6 bottles of nutes. So Growth Technology, eh?
The container should be light proof because roots like it dark and and algae likes light. Sometimes the lid won't fit on containers when they are full of water.
I have never heard of that method of controlling PH. Is it suitable for plants? This is what I use, but don't bother with the boost, it's not needed. Grow for vegging, and bloom for flowering