Hydro Newb looking for help with DIY build

[firsttimeARE]

The chemical burns 18% causes I dont wanna see what happens when 50% gets on your skin.

 

[Ghost67]

After filtering through all of the excellent input, I've decided to forgo the bucket project I started on (anyone in the market for 8 discounted 1.5" PVC bulkheads?) and build my own tank with low pressure sprinklers. The tank is 70% put together and looks pretty good so far. Inside dimensions measure 40.5" wide x 11.5" deep x 18" tall. My SCROG'ed grow space is 48" x 24" and I've settled on 3 net pots. For the sake of simplicity, I'll be running GreenLeaf Mega-Crop. Here's the general layout without a lot of detail (note that despite the label, the green pump is 250 GPH, NOT GPM. An error in labeling that I didn't feel like redoing:
View attachment 4061544

I mistakenly omitted the 3 air stones, 1 below each plant but please use your imagination. At 250 GPH, the low-pressure pump comes close to maxing out the capacity of the 6 sprinkler heads which are rated at 8" of spary at 13 GPH each. I'm aware that this is not true aeroponics with misting, etc., but anecdotal reports are positive despite the larger droplet size. This system seems more analogous to bubbleponics rather than aero, but after the roots develop, I think this system will assure more complete coverage over the root mass. We'll see. At just under 1/2 full, the tank is at 20 gallons, so if I'm understanding @OldMedUser and others, as longs as I maintain appropriate pH and TDS levels, I should be good with only 3 nute changes, correct?

Keeping in mind I'm a complete hydro Newb, feel free to shoot holes or make suggestions.

Other questions/concerns:

With the pump and sprinklers bringing nutrients from the bottom to sprinkle the baskets at the rate of ~200 GPH, would you recommend I still add another pump to circulate the nutes in the tank or will I be good with just the pump and sprinklers.?

Since I'm "sprinkling" the netpots and root systems, what would be a reasonable level to maintain the nutrient solution below the netpots?

Since this is all low pressure, do you think the sprinklers are worthwhile, or would I be just as well off by foregoing the sprinklers, and just run a tube with a bubbler on the end in the top of the net pot? Certainly simpler, but just as effective?

I'm with the other poster, I like the total simplicity of the dwc and I always have wet roots from the bubble popping. Just keep that solution an inch or two below the pots, the roots will find the nutes. As far as frequency of changes, I still like to change my nutes at least once a week. When they are in the stretch, sometimes I have to fill them every couple days, water uptake seems to go through the roof. Not sure how scientific of an answer that is, I am quite the novice myself. I had originally planned on doing the sprayers, etc., but after success with a simple dwc with only an airstone, I opted for the less is more route. Less equipment, less chance of mishaps. At least that's the theory i'm operating on.

 

[OldMedUser]

Maybe we should stop chlorinating our water supply?..lol...serious though, its SOP at any commercial hydroponic grow...lettuce mostly. Does calcium hypochlorite aka pool shock, form toxic compounds also?

It's the hypochlorite that does the work whether sodium or calcium hypochlorite. Similar to foods that advertise No MSG but when you read the label see things like Autolyzed Yeast Extract, Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein and dozens of other names used to hide glutamate in foods. It's the glutamate in MSG that does it's nasty work as an excitotoxin that has a host of health consequences of which none are good. The mono sodium part does nothing much like the sodium or calcium part of the hypochlorite.

I just try to avoid junk that is not needed and can have harms associated with it wherever I can whether I eat, drink or smoke it. I still smoke cigs tho we get cured leaf tobacco that has almost none of the hundreds of chemicals used in the processed tobacco industry.

It's probably not a big deal but just something that I'd prefer to use a safer alternative to do the same job with.

Chlorinating the water supply has it's benefits but also it's risks. On the whole the benefits outweigh the risks but there are still risks as there are with so many things. We only drink RO water here as our house water comes from our dugout and is not treated other than filtering down to 5 microns. I add a good shake of Pink Himalayan Sea salt and a pinch of coral calcium to my mug of water to get healthy minerals in there. As I have hypo tension, (low blood pressure), I need added salt in my diet and extra, easily absorbed calcium to keep my aging bones stronger.

There is so much unhealthy crap in our diets and lifestyles that the most recent generation will have shorter lifespans and generally worse health in their twilight years than boomers like myself. (I'm not the best example after a life of hard drinking and drug abuse). I went out to Kelowna, BC in August to celebrate my mom's 90th b-day and she still manages to grow a garden full of veggies and surround her yard with giant pots of beautiful flowers. Sharp as a tack too.

 

[OldMedUser]

The chemical burns 18% causes I dont wanna see what happens when 50% gets on your skin.

You can't get 50% as that strength and higher is only used in industrial applications and rocket fuel. The 35% will bleach your skin right away but if rinsed off shortly does no damage and the white is gone by morning. I use 96% sulfuric acid for pH down and pure caustic soda, (lye), to clean my thermos and bong. Just gotta be careful with it.

 

[OldMedUser]

I'm with the other poster, I like the total simplicity of the dwc and I always have wet roots from the bubble popping. Just keep that solution an inch or two below the pots, the roots will find the nutes. As far as frequency of changes, I still like to change my nutes at least once a week. When they are in the stretch, sometimes I have to fill them every couple days, water uptake seems to go through the roof. Not sure how scientific of an answer that is, I am quite the novice myself. I had originally planned on doing the sprayers, etc., but after success with a simple dwc with only an airstone, I opted for the less is more route. Less equipment, less chance of mishaps. At least that's the theory i'm operating on.

You are wasting perfectly good nutes changing so often especially in the first month or more of veg. The smaller plants barely use any so as they get bigger I just add small amounts of nutes in the right ratio to bump up the ppm or keep it at the level I want as the plants eat it down. As they go into the stretch they can drop the ppm up to 4x as fast as they do just before you flipped as they are really building a lot of new plant material. Best time for adding CO2 as well to support that growth spurt.

I generally only do one change the whole grow right after stretch is over then switch to Lucas Formula for the final stretch. I've often gone the whole grow without any changes and got good yields. RO water is the key to that as minerals in tap water build up in there with every top up. Same thing with plants grown in pots. Every watering adds more minerals that will eventually cause major pH problems and the resulting lockouts and other issues like toxic salts buildup. Think of the scale that builds up in a kettle. Same thing going on in for the plants.

Your theory is correct and DWC is the simplest of all.

 

[OldMedUser]

Its really not that important to have circular cuts for this purpose. Aerocloner where the netcup lips are 3mm? Yeah you probably want to use a hole saw. A 6" netpot with a 5" lip? Nope.

I saw a video recently where a guy used a heated tin can nailed to the end of a stick to melt holes thru the lids to get really clean edges. Still trying to find the right sized cans to do my 3.5 and 5" net pots with.

 

[klx]

The chemical burns 18% causes I dont wanna see what happens when 50% gets on your skin.

It burns. Skin goes white.

 

[firsttimeARE]

I saw a video recently where a guy used a heated tin can nailed to the end of a stick to melt holes thru the lids to get really clean edges. Still trying to find the right sized cans to do my 3.5 and 5" net pots with.

You worried about chemicals in bleach yet you wanna melt plastic? Lol bro FOH

 

[OldMedUser]

You worried about chemicals in bleach yet you wanna melt plastic? Lol bro FOH

I would have done it outdoors like the guy in the video. Stoned I may be but stupid I'm not.

 

[PetFlora]

I saw a video recently where a guy used a heated tin can nailed to the end of a stick to melt holes thru the lids to get really clean edges. Still trying to find the right sized cans to do my 3.5 and 5" net pots with.

I've seen > 3" hole saws at HD/Lowes, probably Ebay or Azon

 

[firsttimeARE]

Man I hate harvest time. The runny nose. The sneezing. The burning itchy skin.

 

[graying.geek]

Take it from a guy with 50+ DWC grows behind him that you don't need to be spraying the roots at all.
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Just a few thoughts to maybe save you some money, complexity and likely some grief too. Nice idea and looks great whichever way you go. View attachment 4061630

I only grow hydro indoors. As far as I am concerned Organics, soil etc have no place indoors but that is another story. I would recommend you take the advice above and keep your hydro setup as simple as possible.
<snip><snip>
The 2 most important rules for hydro are KISS and Sterile res imho.

Good luck!

Yeah, thanx for reality check, Guys. I was hypnotically drawn to the shiney object (the promise of aeroponics) without considering implications for unnecessary complexity. Thanx for the slap in the face.

Since I already bought the pump and sprinklers (I know, kid in a candy store, right?) I'm going to install the main water lines as planned, but rather than install the heads in the tank to sprinkle the roots, I'll run a 0.25" line with a sprinkler head on the end to put in each net pot along with a timer for 58 minutes off and 2 minutes on to replace the turkey baster protocol. I am a lazy bastard, after all.

50% H2O2 @ 0.25ml per litre every 2nd day RELIGIOUSLY and you can forget about needing chillers and all that crap and your res will stay crystal clear and your plants will be happy.

This is *really* useful. Sounds like it simplifies the whole process and saves a bunch on unnecessary chillers, Thanx! My res temperature gets down to 18'C at night and 21'C during the day, so I've been concerned that I might not be able to control bio nasties. H2O2 sounds like the fix. I'll order a gal of 35% tomorrow.

The power grid in our area is tenuous, at best. We regularly get 15 min - 2 hour outages maybe 3 times a year. Can DWC withstand that kind of outage, or should I reluctantly consider a UPS for my air pump?

 

[OldMedUser]

The power grid in our area is tenuous, at best. We regularly get 15 min - 2 hour outages maybe 3 times a year. Can DWC withstand that kind of outage, or should I reluctantly consider a UPS for my air pump?

I used a car battery and a $30 power converter from Canadian Tire to get my girls through a 4 day outage. A Mr. Heater on top of a propane tank so nothing froze. They were flowering so going without light didn't hurt them. Even if they were vegging it wouldn't have made them flower.

If It's just a couple hours they will be fine without doing anything. With the lights off they won't be using much oxygen out of the water anyways and you just have to keep them from freezing so low temps won't bother them either.

We get short outages here too so I keep using my 16 yo mechanical timer so I don't have to reprogram nothing. It's flipping my 1000W light right now and keeping good time.

 

[klx]

Yeah, thanx for reality check, Guys. I was hypnotically drawn to the shiney object (the promise of aeroponics) without considering implications for unnecessary complexity. Thanx for the slap in the face.

Everyone is different but once you start doing run after run after run, the novelty of all the bells and whistles wears off and you find yourself looking for ways to reduce work. There is enough work as it is with res changes, defoliating, mixing nutes, taking clones, popping seeds, trimming (the worst job of all) etc etc so I am always looking for ways to reduce work. I have managed to reduce my use of medium down to just mothers and test runs so that was a whole lot of work I dont have to do anymore (cleaning pots, clay balls, sterilising etc etc).

That frees up more time for experimenting with growing techniques and trying new strains which is much more rewarding than doing plumping and cleaning imo!

This is *really* useful. Sounds like it simplifies the whole process and saves a bunch on unnecessary chillers, Thanx! My res temperature gets down to 18'C at night and 21'C during the day, so I've been concerned that I might not be able to control bio nasties. H2O2 sounds like the fix. I'll order a gal of 35% tomorrow.

The power grid in our area is tenuous, at best. We regularly get 15 min - 2 hour outages maybe 3 times a year. Can DWC withstand that kind of outage, or should I reluctantly consider a UPS for my air pump?

H2O2 is the best. I would guess my res temps are at least 25C in summer and it keep it clean as a whistle. You must be religious with it though. Add it like clockwork. I dont even cover my res, even though for the most part it is under the tray table.

I would not bother with a UPS. If your power outages become a problem, I would look to an alternative method such as flood and drain with pots of medium so they roots stay nice and happy for a day (clay balls) or 3 (coco).

 

[graying.geek]

What do you all use for an air pump and diffusers?

 

[OldMedUser]

What do you all use for an air pump and diffusers?

I posted this one page back.

I'd get some of those fancy micropore diffusers and put one under each pot. Not sure where to get them but they last forever I'm told and I may go on the hunt for some myself. Using 2 - 12" airstones in each tub and got an EcoAir5, 1300gph commercial air pump with an 8 outlet manifold to run 4 independent tubs with 2 airstones each. Using it to aerate my dugout atm. $104Can last Sept.

Something like that air pump but maybe a bit smaller and cheaper would do the trick for you.

 

[Ghost67]

I have a smaller ecoair, their 2 outlet unit actually seems to be a little less powerful than the double outlet pumps at Walmart. Eventually going to get a bigger commercial pump, but for now I have a 2 outlet pump for each bucket, and i'm probably gonna run an additional one in the new bigger single res container i'm getting ready to start. I've been pondering the power situation myself, we are subject to frequent power loss, been lucky this year. I have a 4 KW generator, but it's broken, and my laziness has put it on the backburner. I may actually have to buy another one, which I really don't have the funds for, if I can't fix it. That car battery/power converter idea sounds pretty intrigueing.

 

[Terry385]

Commercial Air Pump works good handles 8 stones I have on ground with Aquarium Plastic One Way Air Pump Line Check Valves Water Control Valve ..I had power go out before

 

[OldMedUser]

I have a smaller ecoair, their 2 outlet unit actually seems to be a little less powerful than the double outlet pumps at Walmart. Eventually going to get a bigger commercial pump, but for now I have a 2 outlet pump for each bucket, and i'm probably gonna run an additional one in the new bigger single res container i'm getting ready to start. I've been pondering the power situation myself, we are subject to frequent power loss, been lucky this year. I have a 4 KW generator, but it's broken, and my laziness has put it on the backburner. I may actually have to buy another one, which I really don't have the funds for, if I can't fix it. That car battery/power converter idea sounds pretty intrigueing.

I had to buy a genset about 3 years ago when we had a 4 day power outage. Got it fired up and our furnace going then an hour later the power came on. Haven't used it since. $700 for an hour. Got to drain the fuel and refill to see if it still works. They rebuilt the local substation and haven't had but very short outages since.

 

[OldMedUser]

Commercial Air Pump works good handles 8 stones I have on ground with Aquarium Plastic One Way Air Pump Line Check Valves Water Control Valve ..I had power go out before

That's the same kind of pump I got with the 8 outlet manifold. EcoAir5, 1300gph. Seems like a good little machine.