RDWC Startup

I built a simple RDWC system. With an Air Force 80 air pump, and a 1000 GPH inline pump.

Nutrient and Water Care
-3 Part General Hydroponics nutrients, HydroGuard, HygroZyme, and supplemental H202.
-200GPD Reverse osmosis system.
-1 HP Eco-plus water chiller, Reservoir Temps 62 degrees F

Lighting

-2-1000 watt Metal halide adjustable ballast to 400 watts on each light at the moment, 24 hours a day.
-Room temp is 70 degree F

Week 1

 

I just use it at reservoir changes. I haven't noticed really any effects it may have, I just want to keep Root Rot away. So, ill take every step as a preventive measure i can to keep it from happening in the first place.

 

For sure, its probably best to just scrub buckets with that or bleach, i think its more about the temps than the anything else and proper water care (reverse osmosis, correct PH and TDS/EC which is sitting at 500ppm right now) , I wish i built the system with 2" or 3" plumbing, i have to adjust the valve on the pump line to compensate for the lack of flow i am able to pull through the 1" plumbing.

This is my first RDWC system, I've done ebb and flow, NFT, soil and coco. I think i like RDWC a lot more than the others. I never kept my water temps at 62 F before, with massive air bubbles...Water Temp was at 70 degrees F and taking off then my roots looked like they were getting rot, so i changed it to 62 F, now they are starting to blow up again. Ill have it dialed in more the next run and will be switching out to 2" maybe 3" plumbing, so I can pull more water through the system at a higher flow rate.

So far so good with low water temps, no root rot and starting to recover massively. Im wanting to switch to House and Garden Aqua Flakes when i go into flowering and see how that line runs, I've used it once before with amazing results.

 

I started from seeds, Purple Kush, Master Kush and White Rhino.

The roots are starting to take off, i will post more pictures a week from now on the growth and progress of the roots and plant. These Plants can recover from almost anything as long as you're taking care of the system, and keep your reservoir clean and cool. I am going to add an inline filter on my pump line to remove any possible junk that could be floating around in the buckets..

 

Plants are starting to recover nicely had a few bumps in the grow that stunted grow by about 2 weeks, still in veg about 21 days since i put them in the buckets. Ill probably veg them out for 2 more weeks.

 

I have 3 Different Strains, I wish i stuck to just the White Rhino It is doing the best and smells the most potent in veg. I have White Rhino, Purple Kush and Master Kush. RDWC system is Definitely an interesting beast to figure out.

Next grow I am going to upgrade to the 8 site Current Culture for the 3" piping system Instead of the 1" I'm currently using "not enough flow", and I'm going to use Advanced Nutrients and buy a 1000 GPD reverse osmosis system so i don't have to wait forever for 55 gallons to fill up withe 200GPD and stick to just the White Rhino.