Hey everybody, this is my first time posting on this forum and I need help with my DWC set up. I built mine out of a 5 gal bucket and I don't know how im supposed to recirculate the solution. Should I just empty the bucket and refill it once a week? Or should i build a second reservoir? Im pretty new to this so I dont really know what Im doing. I also need help with what kind of nutrients to use. Any info would be super helpful and greatly appreciated.
Hey there. How you circulate your water is up to you! You could setup a RDWC with a serperate res and a small water pump recirculating the water via water lines (you'd need a return line a well as the feed line), or you could simply run a few air stones in the 5 gallon bucket. The more air the better so don't skimp on an air pump. When I grew DWC I used from start to finish FloraNova Bloom by General Hydro with great results! (well almost to finish I had to leave for a few weeks before harvest and the plants obviously didn't fair too wèll)
I run 2 40 GPH air pumps in my 5 gallon DWC set up, don't empty out your bucket ever, get you a TDS meter and during veg keep your nutes between 650-750 PPM and when you switch to flower have your flowering nutes mixed and ready to go and their PPM level should be at around 1100 PPM with a ph of between 5.5 and 6.5 for the water. Check these daily as the bigger the plant gets the more you will need to keep adding water especially during flower.....if you check out some of my posts you will find all ya need to know on DWC or ya can just hit me up directly I'll be glad to help ya get up and goin right.
thanks smokintime that the information I was looking for, what kind of nutes do you use? in the past ive just used anything from fox farm and i would really like to stick with organic shit
Organic can be very tricky with DWC and most people wont recommend it, the difference between organic and chem is that you dont have to wait for bacteria and fungi to breakdown insoluble nutes into something the plant can use. No real difference to the plant, you just remove the middle man. If you are worried about smokablity of chem nutes then maybe check out Cyco brand, apparently they use pharma grade salts. But in my opinion, as long as you flush the plants well at the end you should be fine with most nutes. Also if you are concerned with quality, invest in an R.O. filter, ebay has them for around $150. The best info i have come across for anyone attempting DWC is to brew a beneficial microbe tea, seriously it is the silver bullet to almost all DWC woes. http://forum.grasscity.com/hydroponic-growing/903852-cure-root-rot-dwc-ewc-tea-find-out-how.html
LF425 the only nutrients I use with my hydro set-ups esp DWC is General Hydroponics......http://www.amazon.com/General-Hydroponics-FloraSeries-Performance-Pack/dp/B008OJY94M/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1417270065&sr=8-3&keywords=general+hydroponics these are what I use and the veg and production during flowering is incredible. I have never liked anything FF but wont go into slammin em as its not my place. Again anytime ya need help, also don't forget you need to get a TDS meter and make sure to watch your ph at least once a week as nutrients will change your ph even if you have been keeping them at level.
Check this link out, the first post explains how to maintain your nutrient strength http://forum.grasscity.com/hydroponic-growing/1198022-how-determine-what-your-plants-preferred-nutrient-strength.html
Sup GG, hows it....:d long time but I haven't been around a bit, LF this is who straightened me out on my DWC if there is anyone who can get ya right...."other than me" it would be him. When I first started growing DWC I had my nutes way off following the box instructions, Gold told me the right way and I have been growing the best since. Good to see ya gold, got that Darkstar goin, finished up my MK ultra, and a couple others since our last talk, hope it wont take so long again, gotsome notes to compare w/ ya ..... :d
Get as much air into your buckets as you can. Also for a five gallon bucket, you can use a cheap little siphon (like $3) if you want to change the reservoir. Look into the Lucas Formula for a nute feeding for the DWC. It couldn't be easier and it's still one of the best bases even after all these years. I think it's the best place to start learning with DWC.
Heya mate, yeah I've been away for a bit too. It's great to hear my method helped you out man. Have you got a journal on here?
It can definitely be easier. The Lucas formula still involves guesswork. Guess correctly and it will work I'm sure. But the bbeauty of hydro is that you don't have to guess, you can measure I totally agree about the air though, so many people start off without enough air and get slow growth and risk getting rot. I always recommend about 1 litre per minute of air, for every 2 litres of nutrient solution
What nute base do you use? Dude Lucas Formula is retardedly simple (which is why I like it ) 5/10 in veg, 8/16 in flower, 10/20 in late flowering. It couldn't be easier. I'm not disputing or challenging, I'm just saying in my experience there wasn't any guess work. I'm not an expert. But I tried and failed miserably in soil for about a year or two until I discovered Lucas. I'm curious about jumping to a FloraNova base though. I just haven't messed with it yet because of the expense and because Lucas is so simple, I haven't had the kick in the ass yet.
I have two buckets. One for the plant the other just water. Both have air stones. Using advance nutrients grow A and B and bloom A and B. I've gone a full month without a Rez Change. (Advantage of protein based nutes) but typically, once a week I syphon half the water out and put more in. Having the extra bucket insures I have aerated, Dechlorinated water ready in case I need an Immediate Rez change. In my opinion adding a pump and hoses and all that to circulate the water is a waste of money and time in the case of using a single bucket and plant. KISS keep it simple stupid. now with a multi bucket system circulating the water would be beneficial.
Like others have said lots of air. you dont have to have anything more. change water if it gets slimy or all out of whack. Otherwise you dont have to change the water. This stuff works awesome, 1 part nutrient solution and add some cal mag and you are golden. http://www.hydro-organics.com/site/products/fertilizers-liquid/earth-juice-sugar-peak-vegetative-h3710/
It is still just guessing though. Plants take up a particular concentration nutrient solution. This concentration rises as they grow. Eventually this concentration reaches a plateau. When flowering the concentration rises for the stretch and then steadily drops. Matching the nutrient solution to the concentration the plants are taking up creates osmotic balance. This allows the plant to take up the solution at the fastest rate due to no drag from osmosis. Individual plants and their environment depicts what concentration they take up so there is only one way to measure exactly what they are taking up. Measuring it day by day and adjusting the nutrient solution to match what the plant takes up will give you massive growth speeds and perfect healthy colours. As for the brand of nutes, it doesn't matter, they all work, but single bottle nutes are far easier to use because you don't have to mix them. I have been doing this system for a few years now and it's by far the best system for keeping the nutrient solution concentration correct How to measure what the plants are taking up is fully explained in the link I previously put up
I have 88 GPH pushing thru a single 5 Gallon bucket, I run General Hydroponics nutes only for soilless and General Organic for soiled grows, I used to follow the instructions on the box for the Hydro grows and was running thru them like crazy which cost me a fortune, after talking with GoldGrower he explained to me that the only time I need to change the water in the DWC is when I am switching from veg to flowering nutes, rather than following the box instructions he had me get a TDS meter - http://www.ebay.com/itm/LCD-Digital-TDS3-TEMP-PPM-TDS-Meter-Tester-Filter-Pen-Water-Quality-Purity-/121419156014?pt=US_Garden_Tools&hash=item1c45254a2e and this allows me to just add nutes as needed to keep the PPM at 650-850 for veg and 1150-1250 for flowering, also make sure that every couple of feedings check the PH even if you have ph'd it every time as the nutrients will affect your PH. For beginners on DWC I would recommend - http://www.ebay.com/itm/General-Hydroponics-Flora-Series-Performance-Pack-gro-micro-kool-bloom-kleen-/321033180806?pt=US_Hydroponics&hash=item4abf119686 , this is the only kind I will use and the results are amazing and it doesn't get much easier, for soil try - http://www.ebay.com/itm/General-Organics-GO-Box-Start-Kit-General-Hydroponics-Organic-Nutrients-/121443763940?pt=US_Hydroponics&hash=item1c469cc6e4 the soil nutes stick to the box instructions. Once you have a few grows under your belt you can switch over to the GH Flora series but the boxed nutes are just as good and will get you thru 3-4 grows depending on strain and feeding. My Darkstar in 5 gallon DWC at 60 days veg. with the GH box nutes. View attachment 1633871 My last Cherry Bomb Auto soil grow with the GO nutes View attachment 1509236