HELP PLEASE!! INDOOR RDWC ADVICE

misterbudski · Dec 19, 2021

Hello all,

I’m new to the community and I’ve been doing a lot of reading on the forum to learn as much as possible about Deep Water Culture (DWC).

I’m looking to start off my 2nd official grow with a single-site Recirculating DWC system in a 5x5 tent under a sf4000 light, fed with floraflex nutes (1 plant, maybe more if it is advisable). It is to my understanding that there are several pros and cons to DWC including:

Pros: bigger, better, faster growth

Cons:
-High maintenance (sickness, disease, etc.)
-Water temps (68-73°F?)
-Root rot (causes, symptoms?)
-Cleaning system regularly (how often?)
-Monitoring and responding to ppm changes

I guess my main questions are surrounding how to maintain a DWC system for a beginner. I want to do RDWC so I don’t have to refill buckets manually, but what about cleaning buckets/res during grow? Is it necessary? Also, what beneficial bacteria/products are needed to prevent root rot (hydro guard, great white, enzymes, etc.).

I would ideally have a 10-20 gallon res pumped by a 3L/min chiller into plant(s) with pvc pipe recirculating water back into res passively. What size individual buckets are most ideal for plant(s), especially if I’m looking to potentially do 1 plant in a 5x5 space?

Am I overcomplicating it? Sometimes a brutally honest opinion helps LOL. I’m not sure if I’d be better off just doing a basic bubble system DWC and refilling the bucket 1-3 times a week. Possibly debating doing a drip feed to waste system in coco too….

Any photos for reference or additional advice helps. Like I said, this is my first DWC experience, so any additional tips are nice to know. Happy growing to everyone, and I hope this post can help answer some general questions for new DWC growers.

Thanks

SmokinnJoe19 · Dec 19, 2021

U could run a drain line if u use a big tote w 2 plants in it for dwc

if u can diy build a rdwc do it, far cheapest n best yield

how big of a grow dwc vs rdwc is the same amount of work.

PK1 · Dec 20, 2021

If you are planning to run a single plant in a 5x5 than i assume you would do a photoperiod so you could have a longer veg time. to be honest for a single plant i would rather do dwc instead.
I ran a single plant dwc in a 4x6x10 room and vegged for about two months and really stacked does branches out.
Nutrients= Mega Crop, two parts as it is better for hydro
Enzyme= z7/z9 depending where you are located. two parts | I use it and have never had root rot or any problems in rez. Water change every month and i had to top the water every few days. specially in flower.

Here is a picture of the setup. This is after i removed the scrooge net.

you can also run 4 plants in 5x5 as RDWC and setup your plumbing and everything to one rez and still use the same enzyme and or nutrients.

misterbudski · Dec 20, 2021

If you are planning to run a single plant in a 5x5 than i assume you would do a photoperiod so you could have a longer veg time. to be honest for a single plant i would rather do dwc instead.

PK1 said:
I ran a single plant dwc in a 4x6x10 room and vegged for about two months and really stacked does branches out.
Nutrients= Mega Crop, two parts as it is better for hydro
Enzyme= z7/z9 depending where you are located. two parts | I use it and have never had root rot or any problems in rez. Water change every month and i had to top the water every few days. specially in flower.

Here is a picture of the setup. This is after i removed the scrooge net.

View attachment 1198533

you can also run 4 plants in 5x5 as RDWC and setup your plumbing and everything to one rez and still use the same enzyme and or nutrients.

Sweet! What size system?
And what did you mean about the differences in enzymes and where I’m located?

theNedster · Dec 20, 2021

Well, first off I wouldn't bother with the auto reservoir chiller thing for one DWC. Just manually drain and replace the solution and top off if needed. Make sure you elevate the bucket so you can drain it. With a 20 gallon bucket you should get a monster bush. Pump a lot of air in there and you should fill that thing with roots.

Cashmeh · Dec 20, 2021

Buy hydroguard and study how live systems work. Avoid chillers and run at 72f water Temps.

Don't run a sterile system.. Thats my best advice lol..

I would also suggest a huge holding capacity. I use 5 gallon per plant veg and 10gallon per plant flower. My 6 plants sit in a rig that holds 75 gallons of nutrients, and I plan on putting a bigger res on one day. I'm thinking 10 gallon per plant veg and 20 gallon per plant flower.

I say thst because it's a very hands off approach. The less water your system holds the more adjustments you will have to make. I made 30 gallons of veg solution, never drained it, topped off with 30 gallons over 2 months. I never did a res change lol.. I transplant at 2 months take clones and veg them lol.. Very nice system I got.. My only regret is not having a bigger capacity. Right now I have to ph adjust and top off once a week. I wanna move that up to every two weeks. I got other shit to do. Hell I'm pretty sure I'm in my tent less than soil growers, which is rare for hydro.

Good luck bro bro

misterbudski · Dec 21, 2021

Appreciate it

Cashmeh said:
Buy hydroguard and study how live systems work. Avoid chillers and run at 72f water Temps.

Don't run a sterile system.. Thats my best advice lol..

I would also suggest a huge holding capacity. I use 5 gallon per plant veg and 10gallon per plant flower. My 6 plants sit in a rig that holds 75 gallons of nutrients, and I plan on putting a bigger res on one day. I'm thinking 10 gallon per plant veg and 20 gallon per plant flower.

I say thst because it's a very hands off approach. The less water your system holds the more adjustments you will have to make. I made 30 gallons of veg solution, never drained it, topped off with 30 gallons over 2 months. I never did a res change lol.. I transplant at 2 months take clones and veg them lol.. Very nice system I got.. My only regret is not having a bigger capacity. Right now I have to ph adjust and top off once a week. I wanna move that up to every two weeks. I got other shit to do. Hell I'm pretty sure I'm in my tent less than soil growers, which is rare for hydro.

Good luck bro bro

Any resources that you know of that would help shed some light on live systems?

Also, I’m only aiming for 1 plant since it’s my first DWC. Would you recommend just having an isolated bucket without a res that I refill manually? Or would it be easier to still have an external res which I can fill my plant up with?

Cashmeh · Dec 21, 2021

misterbudski said:
Appreciate it

Any resources that you know of that would help shed some light on live systems?

Also, I’m only aiming for 1 plant since it’s my first DWC. Would you recommend just having an isolated bucket without a res that I refill manually? Or would it be easier to still have an external res which I can fill my plant up with?

Yea hook that bucket up to a res and add a pump for circulation. Otherwise you will have long stringy roots and be in there twice a day during flower... Id say a res is a must for your sanity.

As for research on live systems, just look around here with the search bar. Aquaman has a guide to fighting root rot pinned for live systems. That should help you grasp the concept.

misterbudski · Dec 21, 2021

Cashmeh said:
Yea hook that bucket up to a res and add a pump for circulation. Otherwise you will have long stringy roots and be in there twice a day during flower... Id say a res is a must for your sanity.

As for research on live systems, just look around here with the search bar. Aquaman has a guide to fighting root rot pinned for live systems. That should help you grasp the concept.

Makes sense.

How about size of feed lines, pump, and return lines?

Smokey0418 · Dec 21, 2021

Another great and imho superior product to hydroguard is woohoo , orca .

Love this stuff and my wort coil chiller for rdwc.

Enjoy the growing.

QuarterbackMo · Dec 23, 2021

misterbudski said:
Hello all,

I’m new to the community and I’ve been doing a lot of reading on the forum to learn as much as possible about Deep Water Culture (DWC).

I’m looking to start off my 2nd official grow with a single-site Recirculating DWC system in a 5x5 tent under a sf4000 light, fed with floraflex nutes (1 plant, maybe more if it is advisable). It is to my understanding that there are several pros and cons to DWC including:

Pros: bigger, better, faster growth

Cons:
-High maintenance (sickness, disease, etc.)
-Water temps (68-73°F?)
-Root rot (causes, symptoms?)
-Cleaning system regularly (how often?)
-Monitoring and responding to ppm changes

I guess my main questions are surrounding how to maintain a DWC system for a beginner. I want to do RDWC so I don’t have to refill buckets manually, but what about cleaning buckets/res during grow? Is it necessary? Also, what beneficial bacteria/products are needed to prevent root rot (hydro guard, great white, enzymes, etc.).

you don’t have to clean during the grow and hydroguard / southern ag is the only organics / bacteria i

misterbudski said:
I would ideally have a 10-20 gallon res pumped by a 3L/min chiller into plant(s) with pvc pipe recirculating water back into res passively. What size individual buckets are most ideal for plant(s), especially if I’m looking to potentially do 1 plant in a 5x5 space?

pipe the chiller to a wort coil and chill your system with the wort coil. Don’t use a chiller inline.

misterbudski said:
Am I overcomplicating it? Sometimes a brutally honest opinion helps LOL. I’m not sure if I’d be better off just doing a basic bubble system DWC and refilling the bucket 1-3 times a week. Possibly debating doing a drip feed to waste system in coco too….

I only need to top my system off maybe once a week when it’s heavy feeding.

misterbudski said:
Any photos for reference or additional advice helps. Like I said, this is my first DWC experience, so any additional tips are nice to know. Happy growing to everyone, and I hope this post can help answer some general questions for new DWC growers.

Thanks

Cashmeh · Dec 23, 2021

QuarterbackMo said:
you don’t have to clean during the grow and hydroguard / southern ag is the only organics / bacteria i

I only need to top my system off maybe once a week when it’s heavy feeding.

I think it's time we add auto top off feeders, them float things. I need to that's for sure. I'm just scared they won't work right and flood my grow room.

Cashmeh · Dec 23, 2021

misterbudski said:
Makes sense.

How about size of feed lines, pump, and return lines?

Return lines 3 inch minimum. Do 4 plants in that 5*5 veg for 40 days. Feed lines size varies depending on what's easiest for you. I think it's 1/2 rubber. In the first pic I'm shooting it 7ft it splits into 6 lines one for each bucket, then it hits the T which allows for the waterfalls. As your water level drops your waterfall works better. It's called Fallponics. This also acts as top feeding which is far better than under current in my opinion. In the second pic is my single tote. It's a 500gph small pump. My flower system holds almost 80 gallons and uses a 900gph pump.

Also don't use random nutrients. I'd use flora trio, Calmag and hydroguard for your first run.. No enzymes... No bloom boosters. It's just easier to troubleshoot since it's what most of us use. Basically you want to lower your risk of issues. Eliminate anything that might cause a problem. Light leaks are also horrible for all systems live and sterile. Cover your net pots. Ppms 200 seedlings, equal ratios of calmag and flora trios.. So simple.. Impossible to mess up the first two weeks lol. Hydroguard also works best when the roots are fully submerged.

Sorry I'm rambling just trying to help.

Observationist · Dec 24, 2021

Cashmeh said:
Light leaks are also horrible for all systems live and sterile

why?

HydroDawg421 · Dec 28, 2021

Observationist said:
why?

because light allows bacteria growth...

Observationist · Dec 28, 2021

HydroDawg421 said:
because light allows bacteria growth...

Wouldn’t that be beneficial to the beneficial microbes?
Lol

HydroDawg421 · Dec 29, 2021

Observationist said:
Wouldn’t that be beneficial to the beneficial microbes?
Lol

possibly. but the bad will almost certainly outweigh the good! I've been growing since '95 and have never added beneficial microbes. not purposefully anyway.

Cashmeh · Dec 29, 2021

Observationist said:
Wouldn’t that be beneficial to the beneficial microbes?
Lol

"Harmful algal blooms, caused by massive and exceptional overgrowth of microalgae and cyanobacteria are root causes for pythium". The bacteria we add is not photosynthesis like cyanobacteria and fungus. So if we add light, the only thing it helps is all the fungus were trying to kill with our bacteria. Perhaps there is a cyanobacteria that eats pythium like Bacillus Amyloliquefaciens does, but atm we dont have it. So adding light will basically help everything but our cure for root rot lol it is very counterproductive.

Now if you are a chemist, sure you can allow light into your system. This will actually create free nutrients, but inorder to get them to be processed by your plant, you need to constantly add more bacteria and the correct enzymes, and yea idk. The only thing you would gain is available nutrients, if you could continue to defeat pythium. So sure, you can add more light, but there will become a point where your roots will get light, and they are not use to that.

Basically getting into aquaponics when you add light. Those systems can process it very well from my understanding.

HELP PLEASE!! INDOOR RDWC ADVICE

HELP PLEASE!! INDOOR RDWC ADVICE

misterbudski

SmokinnJoe19

PK1

misterbudski

theNedster

Cashmeh

misterbudski

Cashmeh

misterbudski

Smokey0418

QuarterbackMo

Cashmeh

Cashmeh

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