brazel
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Word
I started reading a DWC grow guide online to see what's up...
I didn't realize all the work you gotta put in.
I saw your system and thought it would fun to build.
Does it just sound like a lot or is it?
I started reading a DWC grow guide online to see what's up...
I didn't realize all the work you gotta put in.
I saw your system and thought it would fun to build.
Does it just sound like a lot or is it?
RHINObeast
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Just built mine a couple days ago. I used a 17.5 gallon tote, 1/2inch pvc, 400gph water pump and 942 gph air pump and of course all those misc parts to put it together. Took me 2 hours to build, mines a 6 site for now cuz I cracked one of the uni seals on the first bucket, was supposed to be 8 site
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heisen
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Getting set up is and there is definitely a learning curve.For the most part it is simple but getting to that point is the challenge.Kinda like building a car.Hard as shit to put together but once its together its easy as shit to drive.The hardest part is making sure your roots stay healthy.Ive done it and tried several different ways and what works for me now is bleaching out your system and having a hose hooked up to your return line that goes back to your control bucket.Once you run bleach water through and let it recicurlate a couple hours just put the hose in the toilet or wherever and flush it all out.Put in fresh water and let that run a while than flush that.this part is important.Making sure it is all flushed clean.After you refill the system add Hydroguard.This is what i use.Some guys make teas and shit but i dont have time for all that.Hydroguard is basically a healthy bacteria.It has worked wonders for me so im sticking with it for now.Ive only used it ONCE cause i dont flush my system at all during a grow.Once i add the Hydroguard thats it.2mL per gallon.I never empty my system.I just add what i need and the plants do the rest.Healthy plants will drink a 1/4 gallon of water a day each!so a 47 gallon system the plants will have taken in about that in 2 weeks easy.No point in flushing out what the plants have already consumed.
Your plants will always tell you want they want.Thats what i love about it.Its so easy to fine tune them in DWC,you can add more water on the fly and lower the PPM.bump up calmag if they are showing issues,tweak the N,P,K on the fly.The results are instant.You can see the changes within a day.Its not like soil where its harder to tune the plants,
In DWC the PH is constant.You can get it on the NOSE unlike soil.Soil is a crapshoot unless you have a very expensive soil tester or send samples into the co-op
In DWC you set the PH and thats where it sets.PH is never an issue at all.Also adding all that oxygen to the root zone just makes plants explode.
Honestly the hardest part of growing DWC is having to deal with explosive plants.Training is a bitch cause they grow so fast.Stretchy plants in soil will double there size in DWC.I doubt i will ever go to any other method cause i have worked so hard to perfect my system and all the pipes and hoses i have figured out how to make everything work perfect for me.
A top off res is a must to monitor how your plants are eating.YOU have to check the system PPM and check the PPM of the top res.Compare the numbers.If your top off res is HIGHER PPM than your system than your plants are eating more than your giving.Like i said your plants tell you and your PPM and PH pens are your best friend.Dont skimp on cheap ones.I got expensive ones and they have paid for themselves 100 times over.
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heisen
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Un seals sucks balls.they will all leak.Also 1/2 pipe will cause issues down the road with clogs.roots will go crazy.You need big enough pipe at the bottoms also so your system will gravity feed and not back up.If you get a clog in your system on the bucket side your gonna have a mess.
The bulkheads from uline are cheap.like 4.50 a piece.Cut the holes with a hole saw 2 1/4 and screw them in.Nut inside the bucket and gasket on the outside.After all the bulkheads are installed you cut your PVC to 1 1/2" to whatever size you need.PVC is easy as shit to glue together and you get all the elbows and T;s you need.All you need is a 1 and a half T that goes to 3/4 inch for the return line.A simple water hose will screw right onto it and hook the hose to a pump.Thats it.Make sure to use square buckets so the bulkheads dont leak.you want them flat.
Building the shit is easy.If you want your buckets on 18 inch centers just lay them on ground with the bulkheads installed and measure how long the pipes need to be to connect them.You want your pipes going into the center of the buckets so you get an under current flow of nutrients,You dont want any bottlenecks otherwise it will be a pain in the dick to get your PH leveled out
brazel
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Ha true, I'm always surprised when someone doesn't understand that!
Thanks for writing that!
Yeah at first seemed like a lot, probably cause it's been a long time since I was PH meter and mix nutes and so on... but then I was like I mix foliar spray!
I'm gonna read that a couple more times
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heisen
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Get these in the 4 Gallon in Black.only the 4's come in black.these are cheapest and best ones i found.Also you will need the lids and order some 5 inch net pots.
https://www.uline.com/Product/ProductDetailRootItem?modelnumber=S-13650
https://www.uline.com/Product/ProductDetailRootItem?modelnumber=S-13650
H
heisen
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Also get the double slip 1 1/2 bulkhead.you will need 2 per bucket.If your doing a 3 row system you will need 3 for the control bucket.if a 2 row you will just need 2.Also its ABS PVC so u will need to use All purpose PVC glue.It will say it on the can.Made for PVC,ABS so it will seal the fuck up good.cutting pipes and gluing that shit together is easy.
https://www.marinedepot.com/Double_...kheads-Plumbing_Parts-FT1151-FIFTBHDS-vi.html
https://www.marinedepot.com/Double_...kheads-Plumbing_Parts-FT1151-FIFTBHDS-vi.html
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heisen
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You can see this was the 12 bucket system i built.27 bulkheads and 12 buckets.I built this for running 12 pack regular seeds for sexing plants.Got sick of cloning out of dirt pots on sexed plants so i wanted to keep running them after i sexed them in DWC.So far this shit is the bees fukin knees cause i have 7 females out of 12 been flipped since a week ago.All i had to do was just lift them up and move them around to space them out.I pulled the males out and just put the pot back in there empty.This took a month out of me sexing regular seeds.
same plants 3 weeks later flipped into flower.
same plants 3 weeks later flipped into flower.
j wizzle
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that right there is key. as soon as I saw 1/2" fittings I thought that's a disaster waiting to happen. I made my own system with 27 gal bucket and I use 2" pvc and my roots still clog them. i just use a male/female connector with O rings on each side. Add silicone on the outside just to make sure i don't get any leaks.
i love your work, i need to add a top off res next run and try to the nutes how you are doing it. I just have my water going thru my small boy into my res and i measure PPMs lost and add back what's needed. 3 buckets, 6 plants, I'm adding about 10-15 gal every other day. 2k HPS system, 1/2 HP chiller set at 65, no root issues at all.
once the system is up and running, i don't see why you would grow any other way. massive explosive growth, that's the hardest part, keeping up with everything. I think i need to add a 2nd screen to support the massive kolas during the last 3-4 weeks
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heisen
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Yeah i was using silicone also but buckets are made of polypropylene and its silicone resistant.No matter how many times i would seal i would still get leaks.The bulkheads are nice as shit cause they do not leak at all.Plus they are double slip so the nut is threaded from the inside.I can take them apart no problem and put back together.I can even build a system and ship it out for someone else to put together.The gasket on the threaded side is useless cause water will still seep through the threads.I put my gasket on the outside where the flat flange of the bulkhead seals and thats it.No leaks at all
I got my res floats for like 20 a piece.Set the level and thats it.My top off res is higher than the control bucket so its gravity fed that keeps the system full.
The top off res is like a gas pedal.It controls how much nutes your putting in.I try and have the system and the res about the same so they are always taking in what im giving.Works very nice in flower transition cause you can creep the flower nutes in slowly.Once everything is set up and tuned every grow after that is easy as shit.Like ol dude with the 3/4 inch pipe.he will figure it out after this run and upgrade on the next.After every grow you always make itbetter and learn more.
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heisen
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I also have my return line going into the top of the control bucket.Under currents goes into the side but i was having leaks like that when the water level was a little high.The top is way better.Also put a shut off valve in front of the pump inlet so you can close it off and clear out any garbage.I put my pumps on the outside of my system so i can access them without going under the scrog.Another thing i hated about undercurrent system where they put the filter is dumb.You have to go reaching around corners and shit and there is no shut off.Also with the lids i use they are easy to pop up and cut off the long runner roots.YOU HAVE TO CUT THEM off or you will have a clogged system.I just remove the extra long ones.just trim them all even at the bottom before i put the scrog up and thats it.They wont grow into the pipes after that or effect the plants.
j wizzle
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I normally do the same with my return entering the top of the control bucket, for some reason I went through the side this run and its been working out, I have had issues in the past though when the level gets too high... I also have a ton of ball valves, before the pump and after the pump so I can control the flow. Ill post a pic of my setup, its taken me some time to perfect it but I'm pretty happy with it now. I have everything setup to drain too if I need to, just turn another ball valve and my pump shoots the water outside if I ever need to drain it, which I do maybe 2-3 times a run.
I found a very good sealant and I just over do it. its waterproof within 30 minutes, it was some supreme water sealant by GE or something, but I do get really small leaks every now and then. ill have to look into getting bulk heads for my next setup, I was just put off by the price. I hated the uni seals, waste of money for me, they were a nightmare to work with after 1 run. take them apart to clean the system and they would always leak after I set them back up.
I will just wrap the roots around each other or around the air stones if I can, I do cut if necessary though, doesn't seem to make much of a difference.
I found a very good sealant and I just over do it. its waterproof within 30 minutes, it was some supreme water sealant by GE or something, but I do get really small leaks every now and then. ill have to look into getting bulk heads for my next setup, I was just put off by the price. I hated the uni seals, waste of money for me, they were a nightmare to work with after 1 run. take them apart to clean the system and they would always leak after I set them back up.
I will just wrap the roots around each other or around the air stones if I can, I do cut if necessary though, doesn't seem to make much of a difference.
RHINObeast
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Gotta start somewhere, either way it's an upgrade from the plain old air stone and bucket. Trust me I'm a motivated grower, I've seen my results from
Grow to grow, there's always room for improvement. Thing is I gotta face those issues to truley find a solution. Hey man if the pipes get clogged lesson learned, I'll try cutting them like you guys suggested and run some hydroguard, roots are angel white right now so time will tell
brazel
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Nice and
Fvck that makes finding bulkheads at a good price really awesome!
H
heisen
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yeah man those things are nice.Ill tell you having a chop saw helps alot to cut the pipe.I also cut about an inch off the threads on the bulkhead.Im gonna build another 12 bucket system in about a month so i will make video on how to put everything together and the parts to get
brazel
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bulks are
If I remember correctly at home depot they around 10. Chop saw, everyone needs one.
Perfect, that's about when ill start building, so please do!
H
heisen
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Ill even mention your name lol in the video haha
#9 CV Ghost OG getting that leaf cupping.the only one out of them all doing it.This plant is pretty just not a good yielder.nodes are far apart.She will probably be the most photogenic not necessarily qualified to be a keeper.still have 6 weeks left maybe 5.around valentines day will be 8 weeks total.
brazel
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Please do! You know I'm gonna play that so much my girl is gonna kill me!
I was showing my partner your pics and told him we're gonna build a small one.
He just looked at me like I was fvckin around. I said bro you hangout on this forum and you're gonna end up with side projects too!
brazel
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Yeah she is! I don't mind small a yielder in the mix
j wizzle
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if your pipes get clogged, you have to be doing something correct. I used to run 5 gal buckets, hooked up with 1/2" lines on a DWC and I went in one day and had a dead plant just because it wasn't getting the circulation, so that's how I learned that lesson. they were all hooked up via 1 line so it wasn't like an under current. girl just got too big, drank all the water and roots dried out, couldn't save her.
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