My RDWC setup: I'd appreciate your input
- Thread starter medhatgrower
- Start date
PK
Well-Known Member
nice system!
r0am1ng st0ner
Well-Known Member
I commented in your other post above this with the poll then seen it has been made. looks great
straightup
420 Member
You want just general comments?
First - you have a great little beginner system so take my comments in stride, as they are just suggestions.
Given you have a RDWC setup with waterfalls, the air pumps/diffusers are going to be overkill. My rule of thumb is if you are using a water chiller, air pumps are fine, if you are not, and do have a waterfall effect (as you do), you might as well get rid of them. Water can only absorb a certain amount of dissolved oxygen (DO) and the DO comes from the exchange of gasses at the *surface of the water, which is directly effected by surface agitation. When you use an air pump/diffusers, it's simply the effect of the bubble popping on the surface that initiates gas exchange - nothing is happening when that bubble is rising through your nute solution until it pops at the top - no oxygen is absorbed from the air bubble itself. Surface agitation can be accomplished in a lot of ways and having a waterfall effect is one of the best, which will saturate your nute solution's DO level to maximum levels depending on water temps. Remember that DO has a direct relationship to the temperature of your nute solution - the higher the temp, the lower the DO. You want your nute solution to be about 68-72 deg F optimally (although for optimum DO levels it's actually colder than that, but this is a compromise given the plant's needs of certain water temps). In the last 48 hours before harvest, some people will drop that water temp to 60-62 deg F to shock the plant. This, along with an 8 on 16 off light schedule, will significantly boost your resin and potency (only during the last 48 hours).
Anyways, I'm going off on a tangent. Let's get back to water temps and DO. A major drawback to air pumps is that they are blowing hot air into your water, raising the temps of the water and thereby reducing the DO. Further, your plant's exposure to airborne pathogens significantly increases given the air pump is driving them right into the water. Water temps >72 F are rolling the dice with algae, pests, etc. That's why I told you that unless you have a chiller, I wouldn't run air pumps if you have a RDWC waterfall setup.
Also - you could replace your pvc waterfall manifolds with a straight pvc coming thru the bucket that is reduced down at the tip to increase flow dynamics (think about when you put your thumb over a garden hose to squirt it). I have 1/2" waterfall lines coming from the pump. Once they go thru the bucket at the top, there is a 3 way pvc elbow that gives me two spigots and allows them to point down rather than to the sides like a tee connection would. I then have a reducer that allows me to connect a sprinkler barbed connection (looks like a firehose kind of). I then cut up some old window screen and wrapped it over the tip with a small hose clamp holding it in place. This acts like an aerator similar to what you have in your kitchen sink without the drastic flow limiter.
In the future, you may also want to think about using square pots as opposed to round ones - it will give you much better seals whether you are using uniseals or bulkheads.
All I could think of based on your short video. You got the idea though - everything I'm talking about is for optimal growth. You certainly can be successful without doing all of that, it is a "weed" after all and it's pretty resilient. Off to a great start though.
First - you have a great little beginner system so take my comments in stride, as they are just suggestions.
Given you have a RDWC setup with waterfalls, the air pumps/diffusers are going to be overkill. My rule of thumb is if you are using a water chiller, air pumps are fine, if you are not, and do have a waterfall effect (as you do), you might as well get rid of them. Water can only absorb a certain amount of dissolved oxygen (DO) and the DO comes from the exchange of gasses at the *surface of the water, which is directly effected by surface agitation. When you use an air pump/diffusers, it's simply the effect of the bubble popping on the surface that initiates gas exchange - nothing is happening when that bubble is rising through your nute solution until it pops at the top - no oxygen is absorbed from the air bubble itself. Surface agitation can be accomplished in a lot of ways and having a waterfall effect is one of the best, which will saturate your nute solution's DO level to maximum levels depending on water temps. Remember that DO has a direct relationship to the temperature of your nute solution - the higher the temp, the lower the DO. You want your nute solution to be about 68-72 deg F optimally (although for optimum DO levels it's actually colder than that, but this is a compromise given the plant's needs of certain water temps). In the last 48 hours before harvest, some people will drop that water temp to 60-62 deg F to shock the plant. This, along with an 8 on 16 off light schedule, will significantly boost your resin and potency (only during the last 48 hours).
Anyways, I'm going off on a tangent. Let's get back to water temps and DO. A major drawback to air pumps is that they are blowing hot air into your water, raising the temps of the water and thereby reducing the DO. Further, your plant's exposure to airborne pathogens significantly increases given the air pump is driving them right into the water. Water temps >72 F are rolling the dice with algae, pests, etc. That's why I told you that unless you have a chiller, I wouldn't run air pumps if you have a RDWC waterfall setup.
Also - you could replace your pvc waterfall manifolds with a straight pvc coming thru the bucket that is reduced down at the tip to increase flow dynamics (think about when you put your thumb over a garden hose to squirt it). I have 1/2" waterfall lines coming from the pump. Once they go thru the bucket at the top, there is a 3 way pvc elbow that gives me two spigots and allows them to point down rather than to the sides like a tee connection would. I then have a reducer that allows me to connect a sprinkler barbed connection (looks like a firehose kind of). I then cut up some old window screen and wrapped it over the tip with a small hose clamp holding it in place. This acts like an aerator similar to what you have in your kitchen sink without the drastic flow limiter.
In the future, you may also want to think about using square pots as opposed to round ones - it will give you much better seals whether you are using uniseals or bulkheads.
All I could think of based on your short video. You got the idea though - everything I'm talking about is for optimal growth. You certainly can be successful without doing all of that, it is a "weed" after all and it's pretty resilient. Off to a great start though.
