Blazeoneup's Recirculating Dwc Construction Tutorial!

[kovenant]

forkboy -> id post this in the Grow It!>Cannibis Infirmary thread. you're sure to get a quicker response as that sub forum is dedicated to it!

sorry i cant help you out, im unsure if high ppms will kill your roots - but if it burns your leaves and plants i dont see why it couldnt do the same to the roots. what ppm's did you use, and what ppms were you using prior?

 

[kovenant]

blazeoneup ->

quick question blaze. and if you'd like you can click on my 1st Grow link in the sig to take a look at recent pictures of mine.

i believe i may have had a potasium deficiency (that's the only feedback i got from a few people) and so i switched to flower nutes about 3 days ago. been pH'ing at 5.6 and my nute solution was mixed at 720ppm. i've had to pH down a little each day (it raises to 5.7 or 5.8 every 24 hrs or so) probably due to higher pH RO water adding on its own.

last night i lowered my float so that the water will drop to just below the net potting... nearly every plant has roots dropping below the bottom of the netpots, and ive had no more wilting - so havent had to top feed at all in over a week.

anyway. i removed all the yellow'ish leaves due to the nute burn (if thats what it was) about 2 days ago, after switching to flower nutes that should provide more than enough potasium. this morning i had to remove more yellow leaves (that means new yellow leaves.) not sure if thats normal and would be carry over from a potasium deficiency - if the problem has been corrected.

also - my nute solution is still 720ppm 3 days later - no change. is that normal? i would think that if im having to pH Down once every 24 hours that the ppm's would drop if the ladies are using any nutes. is that correct or not necessarily true? if this signifies a nute lock - what do i do to correct the problem?

im guessing flush for 2-3 days? then run a new batch of clean nutes... maybe at 500ppm in case it locked due to over fert? i probably should of flushed an extra day or two when i transplanted them (instead of like 2 hours) or are a few hours of flushing fine in this DWC bucket system?

any other ideas or advice? thnx!

 

[kovenant]

anyone use molasses in their hydro? i've heard some good things about using brer rabbit blackstrap molasses from helping supply vitamins & minerals as well as adding a sweet taste to the buds. i've heard its a great mineral cheleating agent and helps against nute-locks as well.

i've heard 1 tsp per 2 gallons in hydro (25 tsp per 50 gallon system) and working up to 2 tsp per gallon when flushing with pure RO the last two weeks in flower.

any experience?

 

[dj digigrow]

anyone use molasses in their hydro? i've heard some good things about using brer rabbit blackstrap molasses from helping supply vitamins & minerals as well as adding a sweet taste to the buds. i've heard its a great mineral cheleating agent and helps against nute-locks as well.

i've heard 1 tsp per 2 gallons in hydro (25 tsp per 50 gallon system) and working up to 2 tsp per gallon when flushing with pure RO the last two weeks in flower.

any experience?

Try it out and let us know how it works??

 

[kovenant]

i think i might just do that


i also figured out today what my problem is (im almost certain) - and that would be both a P and Mg dificeincy, caused by my low pH. i've been pH'ing at 5.6.... which is below the absorbtion rage for both.

once i get that dialed in and everything looks healthy, i'll add the molasses and see how it goes!

 

[Guest]

Blaze - fantastic design and tutorial man. Built one using only a couple buckets (closet style) and only found 1 issue that I'm not sure was mentioned or not....

Not all 'funny pipe' or 1/2inch OD is the same. I picked up some of the real flimsy stuff at the hardware store and it leaked like crazy. Went back and got some more sturdy piping and everything sealed up a-ok.

I love it when DIY's are easier to follow than building a piece of pre-fab furniture!

 

[J-Roc]

yes. this is definatly in contension for the best/coolest thread on the website.

also in contension for the hardest thing for anyone to build whos not a super alien and definatly not a burnout.

awesome work mate.

 

[Haps]

Howdy Chaps - I have a question on how folks handle the start up of an ebb n flow crop. I just set my girls up in the new system, but they have been in dwc till now, all have decent roots, so that part is ok. I have not set the timers on my pumps yet, because I am afraid to run at low tide for 2-3 hours right off the bat, even though my system is designed to run ok at either level in theory. What works for you?

So far my plan is to increase the "air" time, or low tide to my thinking over the next two days to let the gals get used to the flow, before I flip to 12's.

Thanks for the help.
H

 

[sharkice_69]

hi and how r we

hi and how r we

hay just read through all that and i think its great where did u get the info to put it all togeather i would like 2 know more how do i go about that.
sharkice_69

 

[Guest]

Haps - your plants aren't like fish my friend. They wont freak when placed in a recirc DWC compared to a stand-alone DWC. And the low tide, high tide thing I'm not following.

What I did to 'start' her up: Kept all plants out and filled up the controller using plain water. Marked the tub to figure out proper water height for all buckets... dumped it all,dropped in plants and refilled using nute solution. Turn water pump on and WALK AWAY.

Shark - I would imagine Blaze's 'info' comes from personal experience, knowledge of irrigation fittings and the ability to use a drill. If you want some fun just go to home depot or lows and start shopping - sky is the limit when building a hydro setup so have fun and get some exp.

 

[sharkice_69]

looking 4 info

looking 4 info

hi blaze recently spoke with father time and he said u the man 2 go 2 i have a n.f.t system and its great and i have found that the ph is the thing 2 watch 4 is ther a better way.? i have a few diferent strans that i am playing with and want 2 make them the best thay can b can u help
Sharkice_69

 

[blazeoneup]

help, I have been using the advanced nutes according to the nute calculator on their website and ph around 5.5 I am up to week 2. I was having a temp problem with water bering 78 F, but I corrected that problem 7 days ago and now have water temps of 68f. I would get white roots to grow into the solution but they have browned and died. I have new white roots growing and have removed the dead browning roots. What caused the roots to brown and die. I think I may have mixed the nutes too strong.would this cause roots to brown and die? I also thought the high temps up to last week maybe caused all the old roots to die off? but why would they grow white and strong then die a week later. anyone with some insight or advice would be much appreciated. I will go load the volcano and wait for a reply.

Sorry for the delayed responses I have been pretty busy with the other threads and didnt realize this thread had so many post. I think your problem was partly the high ppm and the higher solution temps, I would say the roots broke out the net cups really white hit the solution which is hot, Plus the solution temps are high which caused root rot, One things for certain if your using advanced nutrients knock 30% off the calculator reccomendations IMHO they are geared towards use more buy more. Their feeds are way to high for my likings.

hi blaze recently spoke with father time and he said u the man 2 go 2 i have a n.f.t system and its great and i have found that the ph is the thing 2 watch 4 is ther a better way.? i have a few diferent strans that i am playing with and want 2 make them the best thay can b can u help
Sharkice_69

Sorry buddy, I dont exactly understand your question could you be a little more specific please.Is there a better way for what?

 

[goodmangigabyte]

Amazing tutorial. If I ever go big, I'll be sure to use your setup...

 

[EatShitake]

Glad this tutorial is up! I modelled my system after this when it was on OG, and I can't wait until the summer temps in my location are manageable to start running the buckets again. Thanks for your work and dedication, Blaze!

 

[sexybudandnugs]

Blaze.. first off you're the man... I'm usually a lurker but I have to post to this man!

I just set this baby up!!

12 plant system....

Quick question:

Do you fill the res. with plain water or fert. water?

Problems and Recommendations:

I like someone else on this thread had leaks with about 50% of the valves... I guess u have to buy the $8 ones instead of the $2 ones... so I'm going valveless.... way too much work... I would recommend going valveless unless u got the expensive ones... I wanted it because Blaze's setup was awesome...

No leaks with the feeder lines!! I thought that's where I would get leaks.. I used Lee's tubing which is thicker.. if you leak try that.

I'm going to put a valve from the res. to controller because I want to make my water in the res. and fell up controller. Just a recommendation.

My airpump makes everything shake and is very noisy... not good if u have a stealth room. Any recommendations? I was going to put it on a bungee cord like I did with my exhaust fan.

I know I'm missing a few things.... so I will post when I remember..

Thanks Blaze... ur the man...

 

[Reinhold]

hey blaze how many buckets per every 1000w? dont know if its been answered but just curious cause I want to run some under a 1000w and was wondering whats a good amount, I have all the space I need so.

 

[StephenMcTowlie]

Hey folks. I'm planning to build this system soon, and I'm trying to do it as cheap as I can and still have a solid, leak-proof system. So, scoured the net for a second and found this (amazingly) cheap source of poly tubing - www.berryhilldrip.com - they sell irrigation tubing, hose clamps, fittings, etc. A 100' roll of 3/4" tubing is $25! Compare that to $1.29 a foot from texashydroponics.com, and you're saving some big $$$. Total cost of all the tubing needed for this tutorial (100' of 1/2" and 3/4", plus 50' of 1/4) is $50. So my only concern is this nagging feeling that, well, you get what you pay for. I found the manufacturer's specs, and this tubing's max pressure is 20 psi. Is that cool? It seems like this design is fairly low-pressure, at least as far as the feeding goes. Is the pressure of all that water distributed throughout the system more than 20 psi? Is there any reason not to use this stuff? I must say, the idea of getting all my tubing and hose clamps for less than a hundred bucks is mighty appealing. If no-one knows, I'll get some and be the guinea pig. If it sucks, I'm only out $50. If it works, hey, I'll buy a freakin rez chiller with the $$ I saved.

 

[blazeoneup]

Blaze.. first off you're the man... I'm usually a lurker but I have to post to this man!

I just set this baby up!!

12 plant system....

Quick question:

Do you fill the res. with plain water or fert. water?

Problems and Recommendations:

I like someone else on this thread had leaks with about 50% of the valves... I guess u have to buy the $8 ones instead of the $2 ones... so I'm going valveless.... way too much work... I would recommend going valveless unless u got the expensive ones... I wanted it because Blaze's setup was awesome...

No leaks with the feeder lines!! I thought that's where I would get leaks.. I used Lee's tubing which is thicker.. if you leak try that.

I'm going to put a valve from the res. to controller because I want to make my water in the res. and fell up controller. Just a recommendation.

My airpump makes everything shake and is very noisy... not good if u have a stealth room. Any recommendations? I was going to put it on a bungee cord like I did with my exhaust fan.

I know I'm missing a few things.... so I will post when I remember..

Thanks Blaze... ur the man...

I fill the res with RO water, I have my ro hooked up to my reservoir with a float valve, Every sunday I mix nutes in the main res, Tie up the float valve in the controller and then drain the system, After the system is drained I release the float valve it fills the system with the fresh nutes, and is auto refilled with plain RO water. Which topps the system off through-out the week.

I have yet to have a leak using the shut off valves, The key is to use hose clamps to clamp the tubing to the fittings. This will secure them and keep them leak tight.

Not much you can do for a loud air pump other then box it in and bring some fresh air into the box.

hey blaze how many buckets per every 1000w? dont know if its been answered just curious cause I want to run some under a 1000w and was wondering whats a good amount, I have all the space I need so.

I have gotten my best results when running 6 plants per 1k light.

Hey folks. I'm planning to build this system soon, and I'm trying to do it as cheap as I can and still have a solid, leak-proof system. So, scoured the net for a second and found this (amazingly) cheap source of poly tubing - www.berryhilldrip.com - they sell irrigation tubing, hose clamps, fittings, etc. A 100' roll of 3/4" tubing is $25! Compare that to $1.29 a foot from texashydroponics.com, and you're saving some big $$$. Total cost of all the tubing needed for this tutorial (100' of 1/2" and 3/4", plus 50' of 1/4) is $50. So my only concern is this nagging feeling that, well, you get what you pay for. I found the manufacturer's specs, and this tubing's max pressure is 20 psi. Is that cool? It seems like this design is fairly low-pressure, at least as far as the feeding goes. Is the pressure of all that water distributed throughout the system more than 20 psi? Is there any reason not to use this stuff? I must say, the idea of getting all my tubing and hose clamps for less than a hundred bucks is mighty appealing. If no-one knows, I'll get some and be the guinea pig. If it sucks, I'm only out $50. If it works, hey, I'll buy a freakin rez chiller with the $$ I saved.

I would say you should be fine, clamp the tubing down good everything should be fine!

 

[UltraSonic Dank]

now add some fog to that and u got me inpressed cuz that would be sick

 

[Squatdog]

Blaze Great thread, I have done ebb and flow with 4x8 tray for a while and just moved to hand watering and it works great, but I want to cut my numbers drastrically and have a low maintenace system. This system seems great, but I have a couple question?

1. Have you ever ran 2 or 4 plants per 1000W. I see you said 6 works good, but I would like to cut it to four, if possible. What is your experience on that? I am trying to maintain 2 elbows a 1000w.

2. What is your veg time? How Big are they when you flip, say they stretch 50%? Do you veg in a different room or system? I was thinking about using an ebb and flow system with the net pots and rocks, but without buckets and flooding for 15 mins every hour for the first two weeks or so. What do you think?

3. What nutes do you use? Do you use addiives, hardeners, finishers? Currently I use my base(Canna or House of Garden), Sensizym, Sweet, Liquid Karma, Cal-Mag, Rhizzotonic(small amounts). Starting the third week or so I start these additives PK 13/14, Shouting powder, and BudXL. Can I use all his in a system like this or should I keep more basic? Do you use h202 (hydrogen peroxide)?


I really appreciate your help with these questions.
Thanks,
S