RDWC People

TheMadMonk

Active Member
Just looking to connect with some people into RDWC ,to follow and help each other out along the way. So if your new into it, or a master of it. i'd love to follow like minded people and chat along the way.

I love to chat and sometimes talk to much but feel free to pm me etc or follow. :cool:

:ganjamon:
 
Just looking to connect with some people into RDWC ,to follow and help each other out along the way. So if your new into it, or a master of it. i'd love to follow like minded people and chat along the way.

I love to chat and sometimes talk to much but feel free to pm me etc or follow. :cool:

:ganjamon:

@Grandpa Tokin @Rider509 (there are so many.......)
 
One thing i have learned is that you don't need 20 different products, now this can be hugely debatable for some people.
This is not a method I created by any means so I take no credit for it other then passing it along, a simple google of K.I.S.S or the lucas formula/method will give much more insight. But you can cut costs allot so basically here it is

- Maxibloom $20 for 2.2lbs bag use 7grams per gallon this is very close to the lucas formula

- Hydroguard use it to keep the roots clean and healthy if you live in canada and cant get it like most general hydrophonics Subculture B is the same beneficial bacteria $50 for about 150 grams of it you use about 1/2-1 tsp per 5 gallon

- have ph up/down for adjusting ph

- maxibloom tends to lower ph for most people so use a silica supplement (something at least 7-8% silica) to raise the ph instead of just a ph up so you are getting 2 in one benefit. silica is not required but read up on the benefits if you dont know what it does imo its worth it. especially since your saving everywhere else. Also let the ph run through the acceptable range for RDWC so that you allow all the nutrients to be used by the plant as each mineral nutrient etc will be used more at different ranges of ph.

Also another cost saver is the fact that maxibloom has magnesium (3.5%) and calcium (5%) added to it so chances of needing those supplements are much lower depending on water and plant strain etc . Also alot of these are powdered supplements so they require good mixing, do it in a separate bucket and add it to the res. use a wine mixing wand and a drill to mix it in a bit warmer water but not to warm.

Once you get this down start looking at other things to add since you saved, if you like but its not required you will get good crops with this method there are lots of grow journals and reviews on it. spend the money on the grow environment it plays a huge impact on the grow, nothing will grow good if its not in the right environment.

Hope this helps and saves someone cash, dont get robbed by your local hydro store !!


TheMadMonk
 
Here is a ph range chart i found on 420 magazine, this scale shows to me there reason you should allow you ph to run through the acceptable range for either soil or hydro grows. on the scale you can see when the different nutrients become available to the plant more then other ranges. having it at the 5.8 ph sweet spot its at the high end of Calcium intake availability and the low end of magnesium. same with manganese it hovering at the high end of availability.
imo running it between a 6ph to 5.6 lets it spend enough time at each range without depriving it long enough to get a deficiency.
TheMadMonk
pH_chart71.jpg
 
I'm trying to hold off on getting a chiller. I'll only grow in the winter, promise. I just got some Hydroguard. My temps have gotten up to 75. 20 + gallons to cool. Temps average is 70. Can I tough it out or do I need to think of something else to get the temps down.
 
there is allot of people who u will see dont use one and they are perfectly fine and have no issues. running hydroguard definitely will help, also silica will help it boots the plants immune system and also strengthens it to handle more stress, if u can avoid adding stress do it. once u reach 21'c dissolved oxygen becomes much less for your plant and more likely for root rot to become a problem. putting your res outside the grow area if possible might help, ensuring there is no light leaking into the water in the buckets too. covering the buckets with a thermal reflector material can help, throwing frozen water bottles into the res can do bring down the temp, just be aware of the displacement to the water levels.

you might be fine letting the temp rise but you also might not be, there is no perfect answer. also if you are fine you might have had better outcome if you did keep them in the good range.
 
I'm trying to hold off on getting a chiller. I'll only grow in the winter, promise. I just got some Hydroguard. My temps have gotten up to 75. 20 + gallons to cool. Temps average is 70. Can I tough it out or do I need to think of something else to get the temps down.

My water temps in my DWC buckets can run up to 78f at times. I have been using z7 water treatment for years without issues.
 
Have today bought 8 pot root rapid rdwc. Soon as my current crop is down. I am in for the adventure. Grew in nft for about 10 years , no fancy training around or dwc back then either. Came back to it 3 years back and screwed whole crop of nft due to 2 day power outage and swore i was done with it now. Been in coco for last 3 grows and loved it but been eyeing up dwc amd water farms for a while now. Bit the bullet and going for it wirt a Multi strain of Barneys Farm cup winners. To use a famous quote " I'm so excited , and i just cant hide it......."
Here to learn and peruse
 
My first RDWC in hanging.
I had zero help along the way, but learned a great deal. My crop is very disappointing, but the reasons are clear and avoidable in the future.
I’ll read along and soak up what I can.
 
wassup Monk, i've been doing a dwc perpetual grow for 3yrs....i built my rdwc system into my 5x5 flowering tent, i still run individual buckets in my veg tent but i am currently building an rdwc system for that too.

excuse the mess...i had to booby rig some of the buckets with tupperware container lids as i ran out of my usual net pots


sometimes my water temps get into the mid 70's....i don't have a water chiller (yet) but i put my air pumps in front of my air con unit so they pump cold air into the res. i have been using hydroguard from day 1 and won't do dwc without it. i also use hygrozyme (an enzyme, not beneficial bacteria) as well, but i have never had a problem with root rot when just using the hydroguard alone.

i've done a lot of research into running bennies vs sterile - if you want to share some info then hit me up. happy growing!
 
Hey Islandgrow, great looking grow. I had the same idea of the res being outside your tent. Did you cut a hole in your tent? I elevated everything to the level of the port hole and went out there to an outside res tank. I just couldn’t cut my tent. The pic shows the crates my entire system sits on making it level with the port.
 

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I am far less disappointed with my harvest than I thought. I have just under five pounds of buds, and they are just fine.
We had issues that nearly did the girls in, but all is well now. It is amazing how stupid a person can be sometimes, but I guess you have to learn somehow. My son pulled a couple of underperforming plants, and left the roots in the baskets. I never thought about it. Naturally root rot ensued, and it was made worse by some of the tubes being partially blocked by hydroton.
So, since it’s 110 degrees outside right now, we have a few weeks to work on re engineering the system. I think 2 inch lines will help a bunch.
I’m glad to have you experienced folks willing to help.
I have many basic questions, especially when it comes to feeding frequency and duration. I muddled through this first trip, but would like to have more guidance next time.
 
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