Cannabis 1's DIY DWC & RDWC

[Cannabis 1]

Just in case, I put my pump on a timer of 15 mins on then 15 mins off for the full 24 hours to allow water to flow back slowly. It has been fine on this schedule. I did pull out roots about a foot long from the pipe on the right side bucket.

I like this idea too. I might end up putting them on a schedule like that once I get them into the RDWC. Easier than drilling overflow and drain line tubing....

You guys shoulda seen the roots that grew in and clogged my NGW screens in the Superflow system. It was so thick I had to use a screw driver to push them back out.

 

[MedFarmer]

I know the roots get mad but having to use a screwdriver to push them out is mad lol. I could have put overflows in but like you said it's just another job to do. I am happy with the way it works now though and I am confident there will be no more spills. Both buckets and the res still have their bubble tubing running 24/7.

 

[Greenthumb J]

>>> I usually forget what I read lol! DAMN thats expensive. I used to have a small one and it worked great. Im a water kinda guy. Bongs and bubblers......

No worries buddy.. i'm usually so medicated when i'm readin journals i have to re read them a couple times to understand what i read haha. Sometimes!!

>>>I have a few 1/2 uni seals laying around. If ya need pm me and Ill send it up to ya.

I might have to take you up on that offer.. Dont have an extra 2" one do you? i wanna get a new 20x-200x USB microscope, so i might just add a 1" and a 2" seal in the order (they're 9.99 each off Scamazon dot CA no free shipping, boo!) but the price sucks ass for the seals! The place i got my first 5 that sold them for 5.95 each has them in stock again, but they dont have 1/2" seals or even 1". Smallest is 1.25"! So kinda stupid to order just ONE uniseal when the shipping could cost more than the actual seal itself! I guess i could order another set of uniseals since i decided that i wont be making the system expandable. I'm going to have 2 separate RDWCs in my tent so that i can stagger the harvests better, as well as run different strains in each system and not have some strains that like less nutrients than others being affected by this.

>>> Are the widow clones in the big net cups or small?

one is currently in a 2gal nursery pot which would fit nicely in the 10" netpots i have for this system, and the other is in a 5gal super roots air pot, which could easily empty out into a 10" netpot to put into the system if i go this route. I might just finish up the widow first and then get the RDWC in the tent. Thats about 7 or 8 weeks away still.

All my plants are in Rockwool cubes, because i like the lack of transplanting shock associated with rockwool. grab by the stem, tap the sides of the container, and the plant should slide right now, transplant into either a larger pot, or into the 10" netpots and continue growing without missing a beat. I love that IF i wanted to (probably never will) grow in soil, i can go straight into soil with a plant or clone in rockwool or into any growing medium for that fact. i also love how inert the rockwool is and how it does not cause the PH to fluctuate at all.

As for the roots entering the piping, water pump membrane like i mentioned (you can buy it at any decent pet store that deals with fish and aquariums.) is still my best bet i think. I will be buying some once i have the RDWC dry fit together!

 

[Cannabis 1]

LOL, I know what you mean..........Get googley eyes after that bong rip!

I have 2- 1/2 inch, 2- 3/4 inch, 4- 1 inch, and 2- 1 1/2 inch, and no 2 inch brother, sorry! Let me know if you need them, I'll get them into the mail asap........ There is no point in you paying more for shipping then the item your ordering!

So you decided to keep the system as a whole and build another for staggered harvests?!?! LOL, so did I. I am leaving the original RDWC as is so I can break it down. Last night, I took my 14 gallon Brute container and turned it into a DWC for my main chronic clone. Shes all nice and cozy in her new home now. All I need to do is cut some holes for the uniseals and make another small res to turn it into a RDWC for vegging. I think we chose the right way to do it. Now we can always have some cannabis flowering and some vegging.... Nice perpetual harvest.........

Ill get some pics of her up later. The other Chronic clone is sitting all by itself outside the tent right now. I had to cut both of their roots in order to get them out of the small DWC I had built. So far they are both ok. Tonight I will get the smaller clone into another dwc, or maybe just put her in a pot with some RW.



And I have some very bad news guys. I went to check on the soil ladies this morning and my baby with hot pink pistils is freaking gone!!! God damn deer or rabbits. I spayed some repellent on Sunday but I guess it either didn't work or got washed away. So now all I have is the Hawaiian Skunk Haze. Man I was really looking forward to trying that baby

 

[Nwgrower420]

Question... sorry if youve covered it. How are you two securing your net pot lids? I plan to switch to totes shorlty and have been pondering it. And also are planning on using yoyos to keep those big colas up? Regardless I highly suggest my plant handles! I can pm you all the material and lengths if need be.

Happy growing, keep up the good work!

 

[Cannabis 1]

The holes I cut for them net pots are just wide enough to get them in. It is a secure fit, and has 3 inch lips, so I am not worried about securing them. As for the massive colas I hopefully get, I will build a two, 4x4 trellis nets to help hold them up. The only yo-yo's im using are for the lights

What are your plant handles? PM me and fill me in! Maybe Ill use that idea.....

 

[Nwgrower420]

For only a couple plants trellis will work womderful. But I willl pm you with some oics and details later about the handles. They work fantastic, especially if u plan to run a perpetual. I think around page 7 or 8 in my journal I go into a little detail about them.

 

[Cannabis 1]

OK, I'm headed over to your journal right now to check it out! Thanks NG!

 

[Cannabis 1]

Ok, I just checked it out...and read a few more pages lol..... I got a question. What are the measurements of the pvc? First the bottom ones with the cross bar, then the reamaing pvc from there up?

I like that you can gauge what the plant will produce just but where she comes up to the handle. 1 lb is good in my book!

 

[Greenthumb J]

Hey NW.. as long as your holes for your net pots are like 1/4" smaller than the net pot, it will slide in nicely without having to secure it. Even my DWC that my widow is in has a 3.5" hole for my 3.5" net pot. It doesn't move around with a heavy ass plant on top, so i'm not even worried about it being secured either.

The net pots in my growbox slide in and out easily too, in case you need to rearrange plants inside there.

My 10" top hats aka big ass net pots haha are going to sit snugly in the RDWC totes similar to C1's. a nice tight fit, but not too tight that i cant take it out or put a new net pot back in.


sorry C1.. i been slacking with the build.. i'm formulating nutrient recipes for early veg, late veg, transitional period (one week before and 2 weeks into flower), and 3 weeks and on into flower. As well as i have to go out and get a replacement ballast for my grow box cause only one of the HPS are fired up.

But i assure you.. i will get it all complete this week! My 5 2" uniseals should arrive tomorrow, so i can start putting this thing together!

 

[Cannabis 1]

Yea buddy, you have plenty to keep you occupied for a while. And now with the ballast failing, you got 1 more prob to worry about until tomorrow. Take your time and think everything through. Im sure your system will be top notch. Did you want those uni seals? If not, Im going to use a few tonight. Let me know sir!

 

[Greenthumb J]

wtf you got so many uniseals for? but sure man.. i'll take the two 1/2" seals, for my return feed for both systems. I'll PM you the address to Casa de GreenThumb as soon as i finish walking my dog.

Yea, i got so much going on its actually pretty crazy. I do so much research on the computer in between checking on seedlings, watering clones and seedlings. building this RDWC system and my flood table stand, not to mention having to keep the house clean and make dinner for Lady GT!!

Lifes pretty damn good right now tho, so i cant complain really how busy i am!

 

[Cannabis 1]

LOL, I think you need 2 more hands! I bought a shit load of uniseals incase I wanted to make another system. Growing Cannabis is a lot of work man. With every new website or forum, we add a little more knowledge to our banks!

I'll get them in the mail tomorrow! No charge of course!

 

[Greenthumb J]

Cant thank you enough my friend.

And if the GF would let me have a second girlfriend, i would love an extra set of hands... if you know what i mean hahahaha!

 

[Cannabis 1]

Hahahah man. It's nice dreaming lol.

And no problem friend. Put ' m to good use!

 

[Greenthumb J]

I will buddy.. i should have it all built by this weekend.

I'm thinking about adding a "T" right before the return feed to the control res so i can attach a hose for super easy draining of the system.. I would just have to run the pump until almost all the water was pumped out, then turn the pump off, so i dont run it dry.

Cause from what i am looking at with our systems, it isn't really going to be that easy to drain the system. Watching Hygro's video, how would he drain his system? from the rain drip filter? I doubt it..

If you put a "T" right after the water pump and attached a male ended adapter to the "T" and attached a ball valve after the "T" you could close off the valve so the water doesn't keep circulating, and then the water would be pumped out of the "T" into a hose into a drain bucket.. what do you think of that idea? plausible?

 

[Nwgrower420]

Thanks Greenthumb!
And sorry got swamped tonight will pm you the specs and pictures if you would still like them tomorrow.

 

[Nwgrower420]

I will buddy.. i should have it all built by this weekend.

I'm thinking about adding a "T" rht before the return feed to the control res so i can attach a hose for super easy draining of the system.. I would just have to run the pump until almost all the water was pumped out, then turn the pump off, so i dont run it dry.

Cause from what i am looking at with our systems, it isn't really going to be that easy to drain the system. Watching Hygro's video, how would he drain his system? from the rain drip filter? I doubt it..

If you put a "T" right after the water pump and attached a male ended adapter to the "T" and attached a ball valve after the "T" you could close off the valve so the water doesn't keep circulating, and then the water would be pumped out of the "T" into a hose into a drain bucket.. what do you think of that idea? plausible?

This is pretty much how my drain set up is and works great... T off my res with a ball valve and a hose Goin through the floor.

 

[Greenthumb J]

love it! thats going to be implemented in my system!

 

[Cannabis 1]

I will buddy.. i should have it all built by this weekend.

I'm thinking about adding a "T" right before the return feed to the control res so i can attach a hose for super easy draining of the system.. I would just have to run the pump until almost all the water was pumped out, then turn the pump off, so i dont run it dry.

Cause from what i am looking at with our systems, it isn't really going to be that easy to drain the system. Watching Hygro's video, how would he drain his system? from the rain drip filter? I doubt it..

If you put a "T" right after the water pump and attached a male ended adapter to the "T" and attached a ball valve after the "T" you could close off the valve so the water doesn't keep circulating, and then the water would be pumped out of the "T" into a hose into a drain bucket.. what do you think of that idea? plausible?

It will work, but not without a few problems to overcome.

I was also trying to figure out a way to drain the system easier. First, the pump cover on the Mag drive 7 is not very strong. Its plastic..... It cracks very easy. I found this out first hand when I installed the pump the first time, and the cover cracked b/c I was moving the 1/2 pvc around. I was going to add a t and male adapter inside of the res to pump the water out, but any finicking or moving any pvc thats attached to the pump is going to crack the cover. I guess if we can secure the pvc very tight, maybe we can do it this way....

The second problem is that the mag drive will only pump out approx 3/4 of the water in our systems. As soon as air gets sucked into the 2 inch pipes to the pump, it quits pumping. Leaving us with 5-10 gallons of water that need to be manually removed by scooping, which is a pain in the fuckin ass, or use another pump to get the remaining water out.

Our only other option I see is to drill a hole in all 3 containers as low as possible and install ball valves as quick drains.
What are your guys thoughts?