I took the "R" away for awhile. It's ok
DWC is the basic building block to Evolution.
The RDWC Club
- Thread starter Lonestar11
- Start date
DWC is the basic building block to Evolution.
I went with 2" pipe and a water chiller for mine. Water temps being such an issue in hot climate. And even with 2" pipe in 5 gal buckets I would still get roots flowing into the pipe. I could see an issue with that and clogging or slowing flow with smaller pvc. If I were to do a larger grow, I would go with even bigger buckets and larger pvc pipe. But for a 3-4 bucket system 2" in a tent, 2" and 5 gal was fine.
Does this system works with only a few airstone. Without the whole system. Would be easier.
Ian Bastage
Well-Known Member
Can I join the club? Mine is almost functional. It worked during a test run last weekend until some idiot (me) broke the housing on the water pump so I'm waiting for a parts replacement . . .
I was sucked into forums @ 420Magazine when a Google search led me to a grow by Tulip from 2009. His DWC made me realize how easy a hydro grow could be, which was good because my gardening aptitude is in the negatives. So I searched & read a kazillion posts & how-tos with different ways to accomplish the goal. Back in a former life several decades ago, I had a few freshwater fish tanks. The last one I kept was a home-built 120 gallon monster. One thing I learned was that it is far, far easier to keep a large volume of water pH stable. So . . .
My plan:
2 x 4 tent
2 x 12 g grow totes + 1 x 17 g external reservoir = 29 g of active water (110 litres) in an undercurrent system.
The red rectangle is the footprint of my Mars Pro II Epistar 160 LED light.
So I ordered everything - it was 50% more than I originally had guessimated because of course, I got carried away.
I use 2" PVC for the central flow pipe connecting to the tanks with 2" Uniseals. Angled surfaces on the tanks made normal bulkhead fittings impossible. I use a 2" coupling at the outflow with a screen on it as a filter. The outflow drops to 1/2" Schedule 40 pipe to the recirculating pump & out to the res.
I have an air pump feeding 2 x 12" airstones in each tank.
It pretty much fills the tent. The grow tanks:
Water pump (note shutoff & unions):
External reservoir connection. The zipper went around the bottom in a 2 zipper system. I fabbed it a light seal with foil insulation & sticky foil tape so I wouldn't have to cut the tent in a bad spot. The 1/2" outflow to the res did require a cut. The 2" shutoff/coupling was pretty pricey btw.
I ended up using grating on top of rigid foil insulation for the top of the tanks. Cheap & easy to cut, it also gives me tie downs for LST connection and I can change it to a different pattern for $20. I left easy access to the inside to clean the filter & admire the roots.
I should be up & running in 10 days or so.
I was sucked into forums @ 420Magazine when a Google search led me to a grow by Tulip from 2009. His DWC made me realize how easy a hydro grow could be, which was good because my gardening aptitude is in the negatives. So I searched & read a kazillion posts & how-tos with different ways to accomplish the goal. Back in a former life several decades ago, I had a few freshwater fish tanks. The last one I kept was a home-built 120 gallon monster. One thing I learned was that it is far, far easier to keep a large volume of water pH stable. So . . .
My plan:
2 x 4 tent
2 x 12 g grow totes + 1 x 17 g external reservoir = 29 g of active water (110 litres) in an undercurrent system.
The red rectangle is the footprint of my Mars Pro II Epistar 160 LED light.
So I ordered everything - it was 50% more than I originally had guessimated because of course, I got carried away.
I use 2" PVC for the central flow pipe connecting to the tanks with 2" Uniseals. Angled surfaces on the tanks made normal bulkhead fittings impossible. I use a 2" coupling at the outflow with a screen on it as a filter. The outflow drops to 1/2" Schedule 40 pipe to the recirculating pump & out to the res.
I have an air pump feeding 2 x 12" airstones in each tank.
It pretty much fills the tent. The grow tanks:
Water pump (note shutoff & unions):
External reservoir connection. The zipper went around the bottom in a 2 zipper system. I fabbed it a light seal with foil insulation & sticky foil tape so I wouldn't have to cut the tent in a bad spot. The 1/2" outflow to the res did require a cut. The 2" shutoff/coupling was pretty pricey btw.
I ended up using grating on top of rigid foil insulation for the top of the tanks. Cheap & easy to cut, it also gives me tie downs for LST connection and I can change it to a different pattern for $20. I left easy access to the inside to clean the filter & admire the roots.
I should be up & running in 10 days or so.
Nice system, very simple but effective. Me likey!
- Thread starter
- #27
Lonestar11
Well-Known Member
I like to incorporate a water pump to keep things circulated. I've seen systems with only air stones though.
Definitely looks like you have it all planned out nicely IB!
Ian Bastage
Well-Known Member
Thanks, Pennywise. It worked nicely while I had it running. With 110 litres, the bottoms of the pots were getter nicely bubbled with water after a minute or two of run time.
A note for future builders, a Sched 40 1/2" coupling has to be modded to fit onto the output of a Danner Mag Drive Supreme 250 gph pump. Just tightening it on cracked the pump housing & a full on tighten til it dies broke it off completely. A Dremel solves it by shaving the coupling & the pump body.
Thanks for the heads up Ian.
floridafinest
Well-Known Member
In the process of building my first grow and I'm doing RDWC. Any tips would be greatly appreciated?
floridafinest
Well-Known Member
So kinda lost here? Does anyone have a RDWC feeding schedule for advanced nutrients or cutting edge??
floridafinest
Well-Known Member
Thank you scrogdawg. Just what I needed. I'll post some pics as soon as I get everything up and running. Should be by next weekend. I'm doing 16- 12 gallon rectangle buckets. DIY rdwc that I'm building myself. I have a 36,000 btu mini split, 45 pint a day dehumidifier, a 1/3 hp chiller and 4 dimlux 630 cmh's. I have the recipe for success just not the knowledge so any tips are much appreciated.
floridafinest
Well-Known Member
Here's a quick pic of the layout. I'm using 2" pvc with uniseals and an air stone in every bucket. I also have a titan 4 burner co2 generator.
floridafinest
Well-Known Member
My room is 11x10.
Ian Bastage
Well-Known Member
Here’s a quick pic of the layout. I’m using 2” pvc with uniseals and an air stone in every bucket. I also have a titan 4 burner co2 generator.
That is going to be awful crowded once the plants go to flower imho. You are going to have to maintain them & that layout doesn't leave much walking space.
Ian
Scrogdawg
Well-Known Member
I was thinking it, but you said it Ian.
I also wonder if the lighting will be intense enough to make good use of the CO2 generator.
I also wonder if the lighting will be intense enough to make good use of the CO2 generator.
floridafinest
Well-Known Member
Yeah I totally agree. Not really sure what I should do. I'm going to either mainline or scrog the whole thing. I want a solid canopy of nugs that big. I will be doing some pretty heavy defol as well. And about the lighting I was thinking of throwing in a couple of gavitas in the center. What do you guys think? Also thanks for the reply's
floridafinest
Well-Known Member
I think I can reach under the canopy to the plants in the center. I do have room to walk around the whole thing.
floridafinest
Well-Known Member
Maybe like this? Also I turned the buckets long ways from the epicenter fits a little better.
