-
ICMag with help from Landrace Warden and The Vault is running a NEW contest in November! You can check it here. Prizes are seeds & forum premium access. Come join in!
Snype's RDWC Construction Tutorial For 250 Watts - 7,600 Watts!
- Thread starter Snype
- Start date
One hell of a tutorial
If I may make a suggestion it would be to stagger the inlet/outlet holes far enough apart to create an eddy current. I would add some large river rock directly in the path of the inflow. Make the rocks only high enough so that the nutes flowing over them creates turbulence which will help release O2 into the air space the roots hang in.
This would work easier in square base buckets
If I may make a suggestion it would be to stagger the inlet/outlet holes far enough apart to create an eddy current. I would add some large river rock directly in the path of the inflow. Make the rocks only high enough so that the nutes flowing over them creates turbulence which will help release O2 into the air space the roots hang in.
This would work easier in square base buckets
Please read post #38 for your answer.
Woops. Washers ship out Monday morning. The woman I spoke to had good things to say about the system and you as a professional. Can't wait until mine is up and running. My friend uses a custom organic soil mix using only straight water. Someone else I know of does rock wool and does good, but no one else that I know is doing top of the line RDWC. Excited to show everyone what's up with RDWC.
toastynoodles
Member
For post #13 are you going to give specs? Like in post#9-11?,And when filling the 4 bucket system do you just fill 20gallons of premixed nutes to the contolr and turn the pump?Thanks for your time that you have took to do this thread 
For post #13 are you going to give specs? Like in post#9-11?,And when filling the 4 bucket system do you just fill 20gallons of premixed nutes to the contolr and turn the pump?Thanks for your time that you have took to do this thread
Sorry noodles, I am going to give specs for post #13. This is just taking longer than I thought that it would and now I'm in town for an extra week so I have plenty of time to finish. I have to keep things interesting for myself so once something starts to feel dull, I have to move on to another subject that inspires me, which for me means creating another informative thread or working on a project around here. I will finish that post for you guys tomorrow or Tuesday. As far as how to fill up the system, you can either attach a hose to your Boiler Drain Adapter (while keeping the 1/2" ball valve above the pump in the off direction) or you can just dump water in the controller/epicenter. After you dump in your water, you can add whatever nutrients that you are going to use (with the pumps on) but I would never start over 700 TDS (500 Scale)/1.4 EC/980 PPM (700 scale). You also want to fill up the system so that the net pots are not sitting in water. If you are not going to use my techniques for my VEG-A system, then the solution line should be 1/2" below the net pot and you can hand water for the first few days until your roots hit the solution on their own.
Clorox Bleach is:Really interesting reading Snype! Thanks for sharing your work
Keep posting your work bro
ps:and thanks for the rep too
Water
Sodium Hypochlorite - 6% (NaClO)
Sodium Chloride
Sodium Carbonate
Sodium Hydroxide
Sodium Polyacrylate
If you are going to use Clorox Bleach, make sure to use the unscented regular Clorox Bleach. Not the Splash Guard one.
Last edited:
Hey Snype.. are you still doing the vertical set.. nice work.. as always..
found the answer..... thanks...
As long as the system passes all of my tests then I will complete the vertical tutorial as well.
Alright well im in the process of locating and gathering all my parts and supplies. Washers should be here mid week. The al-80s are going to run me $700...pricey but after some reading they appear to be the best air pumps on the market. But, I was looking at a different brand/model called a Supreme AP-100...pumps more air but those would run me well under $500 for all three. Any issue using the AP-100s w/ the same 4"cylinder stones?
You need 50 posts on ICMAG to edit posts. As you can see the air pump that you suggested is too small. If you were to use an air pump of that size, it would be more comparable to other RDWC systems on the market that come with higher plant failure rates. Air is very important in these systems and is very over looked.
It's really easy with all the information that I already gave but I will still have to give the complete steps to make it easier. It's as basic as taking measurements and lining up your pipes and control/epicenter. Place your epicenter/controller around 18"-24" away from the last pot in the line. The pictures show this pretty well. I will explain soon if you are not comfortable.
Yah there's definitely already a good chunk of info, and the pictures are all of high quality which is a huge help as well. However I'm slightly construction challenged
...it's August and everyone is busy at the farm so this is something that I'm doing in my time. so having the set up in complete steps would be epic. I'm just brand new to DIY hydro and with this being the top of the line DIY RDWC I don't want to fuck anything up...I want it to run 100% so I can share my experience and results with you and the IC community. Peace Snype.
I keep editing in more information and organizing my previous posts. It's so close to being done. It's really easy to do and not difficult. Just watch some Youtube videos on how to fit PVC Fittings with PVC Cleaner and PVC Cement. I have a very short attention span and just want to finish this up but it should be completed by Thursday.Yah there's definitely already a good chunk of info, and the pictures are all of high quality which is a huge help as well. However I'm slightly construction challenged
Last edited:
Zelen Ferma
Member
What's up Snype? Nice tutorial you got going.. k+... but don't you think the drains are too small? Those 1.5" drain lines can get clogged pretty quick in fast hydro systems because of the large root mass. Towards the end of bloom, the return pump is dripping instead of flowing if you got a good root system.
Also, have you had good luck with the Y filter you use? I had to stop using that type becuase the higher pressure pumps tear the mesh.
zelen
Also, have you had good luck with the Y filter you use? I had to stop using that type becuase the higher pressure pumps tear the mesh.
zelen
If you read the thread you would see that I use a Stainless Steal Y-Filter. This specific system has been used many times with many people. I've tested it up to 60" bushes in 12 bucket systems. I've never had a clog and I do have upgrades for the system if you wanted to add a pressure gauge to know if your need to change the Y-Filter or if you have a clog. I've never had a clog though with 60" Bushes. You can tell how loud the water is coming into the controller if there were to be a problem because you would hear less noise from the waterfall. Even if you were to get a clog it would be very easy to deal with unless you are doing a SCROG then you would need to be more delicate. I agree that if I could have 2" pipe on round buckets then I would do it but I don't. I need the specific net pots that I use because I fit VEG-A net pots with my RDWC net pots together like a puzzle. As far as your return line dripping with a good root structure, how did I accomplish this? I have a documented grow with the link in this tutorial that I got 0.963 Grams per Watt of Chemdog Double Diesel. Where else can you get a 4 bucket system for less than $250 or a 6 bucket system for $300 or a 12 bucket system for around $400 that can produce over 4 pounds per crop of pure fire?
There's a good reason why this system has 16" plant centers. You never have to VEG for long and you are only trying to grow 166.67 Grams or 5.95 ounces per plant to get a gram per watt. You aren't going to be growing pound plants in these systems with 16" centers. That's the point of this system. The roots don't need to get massive to grow 6 ounce plants with short VEG times.
Last edited:
Zelen Ferma
Member
I never thought to do this... thanks for the tip! I was using that exact brand and stainless steel too but after 2 filters ripped on me I stopped using the filter. Maybe I didn't clean it enough when it was clogged or my pump is too big or user error. Most likely the latter.
Good to know about the veg times. I'm chasing that +pound plant with long veg times in huge buckets with 3" drains. Maybe it's time to rethink my strategy if I rebuild. 1.5" fitting are so much cheaper than 3" fittings... plus your system seems easier to maintain and uses less water/nutrients/etc.
Still learning every day. Thanks Snype!
zelen
You might try this link, looks similar to your idea for bulkheads using common pvc adapters: An Improvised PVC Bulkhead Fitting for Liquid Storage Tanks For 1 1/2" PVC bulkhead fitting too.
Rugged
Compatible with and Inert to Most Chemicals
Impervious to Weather
Made from Common Hardware
Very Inexpensive
You might try this link, looks similar to your idea for bulkheads using common pvc adapters: An Improvised PVC Bulkhead Fitting for Liquid Storage Tanks For 1 1/2" PVC bulkhead fitting too.
Rugged
Compatible with and Inert to Most Chemicals
Impervious to Weather
Made from Common Hardware
Very Inexpensive
I actually found a better female adaptor that doesn't have an imprint on it at where my neoprene washer sits. That was the problem with the first one that I put in this thread earlier. I just have to update that model into this thread when I get a chance.
