What up people! Quick question, about to do a dwc plant under a scrog net (single bucket, no s separate res or anything). Do you need to fully clean and scrub the bucket every week with nute change? I installed a drainage tap at the bottom of the bucket. Was hoping I could just drain the majority, flush out the last inch or so with some water, then just refill through a funnel with fresh soup. So essentially the bucket wouldn't be really "cleaned" the entire life of the plant. Any ideas? Come on people, tell me what I wanna hear Peace and love people! X
Few people would use dwc if weekly scrubbings were required. Also, that would likely be harmful to the plants.
As long as you're draining the water regularly it should be fine unless you get root rot or some other issue. The main point of draining the water completely is so that whatever nutrients you're using don't start overfertilizing the water or binding to each other and causing salt build up.
As long as there are no issues, by cleaning each change, you are removing beneficial bacteria. Some growers will do a flush before transition to 12/12.
I've gone through a whole DWC grow from clone to harvest without ever draining nutes once many times tho like to do a complete change after the stretch. The tub gets cleaned and sterilized before the next round. I use a drill pump to drain the tubs so there are no holes below the water line and no chance of leaks. If you haven't started already consider a RubberMaid tub instead of a pail to cut way down on maintenance. I generally top up and adjust ppm every three days. I use pH Perfect nutes with RO so never worry about the pH. The taller, 18gal/68L, tubs hold 50L when filled to an inch below the net pots so fluctuations in ppm and pH are much more gradual when the plant(s) are sucking back a gallon a day.
I am looking in this too. Isn't there a newer chemical that helps clean your res and cuts down on maintenance?