Quick RDWC question!

[AbrahamA]

Hello 420 family!

I'm getting a system, and I've been looking up stuff to answer my questions, and so far, I've got almost all of them answered. I've got one question, though, that I couldn't yet find an answer of. So, I'm getting a 5 Gallon, 4 site RDWC system with a 5 Gallon (same as the others) reservoir. My question is, when I add the nutrients, obviously I'll be mixing it in the reservoir, but if I filled it up to 4-5 Gallons, I'm afraid that the water level in the other 4 buckets where the plants will grow will be too low. In other words, since the reservoir is 5 Gallons only, how do I make sure that the levels in all of the buckets are high enough for plants' roots, but at the same time reservoir as enough water in it in order for the pump the pump water to all of the buckets?

Should I just leave 5 Gallons, and add enough nutrients and water just enough for the reservoir, ignoring the other buckets; or should I first add 5G(for the reservoir) start the pump, keep adding water (keeping a record of the amount of water), until all of the buckets and the water level in them is at a desirable level, such as: 4G(reservoir) + 3Gx4 (for 4 buckets), then add nutrients for 4+(3x4) Gallons = enough nutrients for 16 Gallons?

I hope that I was clear, if not, please let me know! And thanks so much!

 

[c526]

5-5gallon buckets would be mixed altogether,added together---if the system holds 20 gallon mix to that---only mix to how much water you have,not what it will hold

the 5th bucket is the control bucket,where ever the water level is in it,it should be the same in all the buckets.

welcome to the site

 

[AbrahamA]

5-5gallon buckets would be mixed altogether,added together---if the system holds 20 gallon mix to that---only mix to how much water you have,not what it will hold

the 5th bucket is the control bucket,where ever the water level is in it,it should be the same in all the buckets.

welcome to the site

Thanks! So, let's say I'm only using 2 of the 5 Gallon buckets to grow, and plus the control bucket. Theoretically, it's 15 Gallons. How do I mix nutrients and where? Can I just add 15 Gallons of water, turn the pump on, get to the desired height of water, then add the nutrients for 15 Gallons to the control bucket? Thanks for your help!

 

[c526]

when the system has no plants,measure how much water it will hold

for seedling and seeds you want to be about a inch above bottom of netpot,,,for plants that have roots dangling you want the water below the netpots by a inch or 2.

your control bucket is just that,the center of your operation,the ph ppm adding h20 or nutrients,all take place there should be zero reason to open any bucket except it

my bucket use about 3.5 gallons when roots are in it,so you would mix it(in a 2 + control bucket)@ 11 gallons or so,run ppm low so you dont burn the shit out of them.

for this setup DONT use aquarium pumps,look at a more commercial style of air pump,you want the water turbulent

 

[c526]

here is one of my bb's see how it only holds about 3.5 gallons instead of 5??

 

[AbrahamA]

here is one of my bb's see how it only holds about 3.5 gallons instead of 5??

Thanks for your detailed answer, yet that's not exactly what I asked. My question is, since the control bucket is 5 Gallons, so are the buckets I'll be using for plants, how am I going to mix nutrients in the water when my limit is 5 Gallons, and not 11 Gallons, (since everything will be turned off in the control bucket) so that water will go up as high as you said in the buckets plant will reside. As in, when I turn the system on, the pump will pump out all of the nutrient water (let's say it's filled up to 5 Gallons) to the buckets, and they'll have maximum amount of 2.5 Gallons each, which is not the desired amount. So when I want mix nutrients, let's say 4 G for the control bucket and 3.5 G for the buckets I'm gonna be using that total to 11 G, how am I supposed to mix 11 Gallons of water with nutrients and add it to the empty system? Should I just buy a large sterile box (maybe one 20-Gallon), mix all the nutrients with water, then add it to the control box, and turn the system on?
Thanks, and sorry for the misunderstanding.

 

[AbrahamA]

Your system looks great btw, I checked out your journal!

 

[c526]

your control bucket is the same height,you cant change that,the lines should be free flowing,if the pump needs to stay on,leave it on
the water will get spread out as fast as you pour it in,yes mix your nutrients in the control,no reason to add to individual buckets,it will all circulate to all the buckets

do not add 15 gallons of feed,if you only have 11 gallons of water,you will burn the hell out of them,use only 50% of manufacturers recommend to start out with,adjust accordingly.

Now,when it comes time to check/change ph/ppm use a separate bucket and fill the control bucket back up,(leave pumps on,fill back up to desired level.with new ph correct water/nutrient solutions.

learn to make Heisenberg tea,I stopped using this style 3 years ago because of root rot and line clogging,do not use 3/4 inch lines the roots will clog them,I used 2 inch last time and they couldnt stop the water.

why did you choose this style of growing??,it isnt hard when you get set up and going,but can be a bit intimidating at first.

get a picture of the setup,it may help in some of my answers.

thanks for the words on my journal,I try

 

[AbrahamA]

your control bucket is the same height,you cant change that,the lines should be free flowing,if the pump needs to stay on,leave it on
the water will get spread out as fast as you pour it in,yes mix your nutrients in the control,no reason to add to individual buckets,it will all circulate to all the buckets

do not add 15 gallons of feed,if you only have 11 gallons of water,you will burn the hell out of them,use only 50% of manufacturers recommend to start out with,adjust accordingly.

Now,when it comes time to check/change ph/ppm use a separate bucket and fill the control bucket back up,(leave pumps on,fill back up to desired level.with new ph correct water/nutrient solutions.

learn to make Heisenberg tea,I stopped using this style 3 years ago because of root rot and line clogging,do not use 3/4 inch lines the roots will clog them,I used 2 inch last time and they couldnt stop the water.

why did you choose this style of growing??,it isnt hard when you get set up and going,but can be a bit intimidating at first.

get a picture of the setup,it may help in some of my answers.

thanks for the words on my journal,I try

Thanks and thanks! It's not intimidating really, I'd gotten everything else figured out. It was just the question of where to mix the nutrients, I even know the order of it. It seems a lot easier than soil, and since it's going to be inside a tent, I didn't wanna worry about a lot of the other stuff. I'll have a log book that I'll be using twice a day to keep a track of the added water, ppm, and ph. Believe me, this system is worry-free to me compared to the other ones! Thanks again for your help, I'll let you know (hopefully in a month or two) when I've got the seedlings in this system. It's going to be pretty awesome!