Lettuce Raft System Setup (Picture Intensive)

[bounty29]

I posted another guide like this, I wanted to see what kind of response I got before posting more, but I think they're helpful and I've got nothing better to do. I don't know whether you could use this exact design for cannabis, but all it really is is DWC, but the plant remains on the top of the water all the time.

Even if it doesn't work for cannabis, it's an easy to follow guide, and I might have to grow some lettuce because it looks so easy!

 

[Haps]

Hey Bounty, it is a cool idea, and works, small plants for a system like that one. For big girls ya need 3 inch thick as a minimum. I ran a year of experiments on this from seed to a full crop, tubblers and buckets, it is real simple and cheap to build. The drawbacks were algea, tipping, and the killer for me was powdery mildew, this is an issue. If they tip all the way over, sometimes the root breaks and the plant dies.

I built mine with a steak knife, as something to do while I recovered from a heart attack - easy to build, hehe. I think Gold King is running some of these outdoors right now too.
H

 

[anonymiss12345]

The first issue that comes to mind with a floating system like these is that there is a high chance the stem base will get, and stay, too wet. Not a pretty sight!

As you said...it is essentially just DWC. In an actual DWC tho...the plant is at a fixed height and the water level is adjustable, as well as dropping lower each passing day and requires topping up eventually.
With a float...you gain some leeway with the topping up I suppose as the plants follow the water level at all times.
How about some extra floating pontoons under the floating top??? Make them whatever height you want to gain some airspace between the water and plant stem? Now you can control possible stem rot and still have the main float follw the water levels.

 

[stonedeconomist]

basically it works just like a regular DWC right? so why not just build yourself a regular DWC tub and not mess around with the foam. what would be the benefit of using this setup instead of a regular DWC?

 

[ArcticBlast]

http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=68990

 

[Haps]

You can control the root / water level by fitting the net pot higher or lower riding in the float itself. I did some that the bottom of the net pot stayed right at water level, and some where I left some air space, saw no difference in health or yield.

The issue with these, and 3-4 foot plants, is balance and tipping, notice one of my pics with water bottles by the stem? Those are weights to help balance the float from tipping due to the bud weight.

The only virtue this type unit has over dwc, is the ease of building it. This is not an improvement, just a variation on dwc.
H