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One for the newbs: cheap and simple hydro, but very effective
- Thread starter Dr. D
- Start date
theairupthere
Member
Well been using this super simple system for a little over a year now. Just wanted to stop back in and say thanks. Who would've ever thought that a setup so simple could produce such results?!
Tap water & Flora series in 2 gallon buckets; I get lucky during the midflowering and don't even need to ph the nutes. I started out with one airstone, but after one round I added an additional airstone and upgraded my pumps and haven't looked back! I think the key is to keep that water roilling and oxygenated and you'll have ridiculous healthy roots that will be able to not only produce massive buds, but also handle higher temps and prevent the onset of root rot.
One thing that I enjoy with this setup is you can really give the plants a good flush. I can use my shower nozzle to lightly rinse off any deposits and its like flipping a light switch- boom instant deliciousness.
Tap water & Flora series in 2 gallon buckets; I get lucky during the midflowering and don't even need to ph the nutes. I started out with one airstone, but after one round I added an additional airstone and upgraded my pumps and haven't looked back! I think the key is to keep that water roilling and oxygenated and you'll have ridiculous healthy roots that will be able to not only produce massive buds, but also handle higher temps and prevent the onset of root rot.
One thing that I enjoy with this setup is you can really give the plants a good flush. I can use my shower nozzle to lightly rinse off any deposits and its like flipping a light switch- boom instant deliciousness.
Ok so I read the begginning of the thread and it looks pretty cool and simple.....My question is once you get it started and run the water with the nutes to the netted basket.....How do you run it from there???
MAINLY:
Do you leave the pump running constantly the entire time?
How do you adjust water levels through out the grow?
Sorry if asked I didn't have time to read the entire thread just yet!
MAINLY:
Do you leave the pump running constantly the entire time?
How do you adjust water levels through out the grow?
Sorry if asked I didn't have time to read the entire thread just yet!
Leave the air pump running 24 hours. Add water as it evaporates and change out the whole solution every week or 2.
im shocked at how easy this method is and how vigurous the plants are in dwc,i bought an ikon oxypot as it wasnt that expensive and it had the air pump clay pebbles ect with it,i just used one to practice under a flourescent and im b lown away by the health and ease of using the dwc just fed it formulex to start at 0.8 ec and its still on 0.8 plenty of roots and lovely green colour also stems dont look bad for a flouro,normally quite thin,so i got to say a big thankyou to you dr d as seeing this made me decide to try it after seeing how easy and stress free it is 
thanks spearzy.
thanks spearzy.
J
juicepuddle
Looks amazing, few q's
Looks amazing, few q's
Hey DR D, gotta thank you for this thread man, it truly is an awesome DIY guide to what seems to be a foolproof method for beginner hydro.
Just read through 33 pages, I had so many questions along the way, however most of them were either answered by you or others
, so I really only have a few questions about this system right now but might post more in the future.
So if root rot some how did occur and you caught it fast you could simply clean the bucket and lid and cut off the few roots infected and then your clear?(Obviously you would keep a close eye after that)
You mentioned if you were to change the solution out or something that you would put the plant in another bucket and let the roots rest in there, does this meen a bucket with just plain water? Empty? How should I move the plant and roots around? Can they be out in the air long? You said that no light should be getting in the lid so how long can the roots be exposed to light before its bad? Or is that simply for algae growth?
I also noticed a few people asking about using a 1k wat HPS for flowering anywhere from 6 to 10 plants in 5 gallon buckets, how do you think this would turn out? If flowered for maybe 10 weeks?
If this is to vague let me know.
Sorry if these questions are stupid or were answered already, I really did try read the entire thread! much
dr. d!
Looks amazing, few q's
Hey DR D, gotta thank you for this thread man, it truly is an awesome DIY guide to what seems to be a foolproof method for beginner hydro.
Just read through 33 pages, I had so many questions along the way, however most of them were either answered by you or others
, so I really only have a few questions about this system right now but might post more in the future.So if root rot some how did occur and you caught it fast you could simply clean the bucket and lid and cut off the few roots infected and then your clear?(Obviously you would keep a close eye after that)
You mentioned if you were to change the solution out or something that you would put the plant in another bucket and let the roots rest in there, does this meen a bucket with just plain water? Empty? How should I move the plant and roots around? Can they be out in the air long? You said that no light should be getting in the lid so how long can the roots be exposed to light before its bad? Or is that simply for algae growth?
I also noticed a few people asking about using a 1k wat HPS for flowering anywhere from 6 to 10 plants in 5 gallon buckets, how do you think this would turn out? If flowered for maybe 10 weeks?
If this is to vague let me know.
Sorry if these questions are stupid or were answered already, I really did try read the entire thread! much
dr. d!ive been using a bought dwc pot called the ikon oxypot,when i do an inspection of the roots and check ec and ph i just rest the lid in an empty bucket with the roots dangling down,i think the roots are exposed for a few seconds at a time maybe a minute when im having a good look lol,does no harm whatsoever,ive had a mother in it for about 4 n a half weeks under a 250 watt flourescent and it is huge,ive only changed out the water nute solution in it about 3-4 times,maybe topped it up 2 times its so easy you wont regret using dwc,as regards to the amount of plants to 1 k watt im unsure it would depend how long you vegged 4 because they get big fast under a flourescent cant wait to see what they do under a hps.spearzy.Hey DR D, gotta thank you for this thread man, it truly is an awesome DIY guide to what seems to be a foolproof method for beginner hydro.
Just read through 33 pages, I had so many questions along the way, however most of them were either answered by you or others
So if root rot some how did occur and you caught it fast you could simply clean the bucket and lid and cut off the few roots infected and then your clear?(Obviously you would keep a close eye after that)
You mentioned if you were to change the solution out or something that you would put the plant in another bucket and let the roots rest in there, does this meen a bucket with just plain water? Empty? How should I move the plant and roots around? Can they be out in the air long? You said that no light should be getting in the lid so how long can the roots be exposed to light before its bad? Or is that simply for algae growth?
I also noticed a few people asking about using a 1k wat HPS for flowering anywhere from 6 to 10 plants in 5 gallon buckets, how do you think this would turn out? If flowered for maybe 10 weeks?
If this is to vague let me know.
Sorry if these questions are stupid or were answered already, I really did try read the entire thread! much
J
juicepuddle
Thanks! I figure I would put the plant in a bucket with just plain water while I changed the solution, that couldnt hurt anything right?
Also for the 1k wat question, how about 10 plants flower for 4 - 10 weeks?
deffinately no need to use any water the time you will have the roots out of the pot will be a very short time,just an empty bucket is alls needed just so you can put the plant down and be able to check ec ph ect i think personally id maybe go with 8 plants under a 1000 watt.spearzy
J
juicepuddle
Thanks, but lets say I am doing some work that might take longer, would having water hurt anything?
Thanks for response
I've been running 5 gallon buckets with 8" inserts for 4 weeks. I started with 14, under 1K in a 4'X8' room. First indoor grow. Tossed 4 males as soon as they showed. Just growing bag weed for a practice run. When I change solution, I have a Ph adjusted bucket of plain water high enough to rinse some of the Hydroton on the bottom of the mesh bucket. I transfer a plant to the rinse while I prepare a fresh batch of solution. Any old salts are rinsed before they go into a new solution. They don't mind at all. This is a simple method and I am SO glad that I found this thread! I had a few weak clones donated and this method actually has them producing buds after 10 days of 12/12. I can't wait to try it on some good weed!
it all depends on what ur temps are nutes u use etc. i run rdwc with a chiller but my sep buckets dont need it. the pump in the rdwc causes the res to heat up. im switchn to a inline pump inplace of the submersable pump to see if it makes a huge difference. but if u run seperate buckets a chiller just aint nessessary or practical. a frozen water bottle does the job if its gettn hot in there. i also insulate my buckets which helps alot to.
non-organic nutes are better for seperate buckets if temps are an issue. i run my seperate buckets at 72-74 deg at times i hit 77 and was fine.
non-organic nutes are better for seperate buckets if temps are an issue. i run my seperate buckets at 72-74 deg at times i hit 77 and was fine.
goldenahms
Member
Long time dirt farmer checking in. Giving DWC a go. Was given some sample hydroponic nutrients, so I went ahead an assembled one of these great buckets using this thread as a reference. Everything will be planted at the same time, so I can't wait to have my own side-by-side comparison going.
Great thread, thanx for the info. Good luck to all the new hydro growers getting their feet wet. Or thumbs, I should say.
Great thread, thanx for the info. Good luck to all the new hydro growers getting their feet wet. Or thumbs, I should say.
Keep us updated please! I wanna see what you do.
I am a soil grower again and I am thinking of doing DWC for my moms but temps are a pain in the rear here...
hey guys luv the thread extremely informative. got a question regarding bubbler shapes. for example a 50litre rectangular tub with the following dimensions; 70cm long, 40cm high n 25cm deep. compared to a 50litre round bucket thats 40cm in diameter n 40cm deep. which would produce healthier root systems therefore increasing yield? or is the actual volume the important part? thnx
