1 site RDWC??

Hey dudes...

I've been lurking here for a while, and have looked around but figured I'd ask this here...

Ok... well for starters I'm a 42 year old dad... I live in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada... Good to meet everyone!

Ok... so I am currently running a rdwc outside... it's my second grow and it's going REALLY great!!

I have a shower stall that isn't being used downstairs... it's 24" x 24" and to the ceiling... I was wondering:

Should I get a tent to grow in there... a 2' x 2' ... and setup like that... or should I just line the shower with reflective material... (or leave it white?) and use the drain etc... to my advantage?

Alsooooo... I was wondering... I was going try a DWC... but then got to thinking.. WHAT if I made a reservoir down below... and then STACKED another bin on top of a PVC frame... then have it pump from below up to to a top feed, and back into the res... Do you think it's worth making it recirculating for one plant?

Here's a pic of my shower and my setup outside... Thoughts???

Thanks A lot GUYS!!

I can't tell you how much I recommend anybody in DWC to just switch to drain to waste with your choice of nutes and medium.

I like tents for their air-flow control because I filter but if you are just doing one light and the shower and not worried about smell then I say just go for it, it's white which is reflective enough. good to go.

DaFreak said:

I can't tell you how much I recommend anybody in DWC to just switch to drain to waste with your choice of nutes and medium.

I like tents for their air-flow control because I filter but if you are just doing one light and the shower and not worried about smell then I say just go for it, it's white which is reflective enough. good to go.

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Man... here I thought I'd NEVER posted on here before... then found my first grow thread from 2013... HAHA!

I'm glad you said that... the Drain to Waste... as I was ALSO thinking COCO would be cool to try out... and I could just drain... well... into my drain... lol

I guess I just figured the yield in DWC would be bigger?

No, your yield is going to be the same in whatever style you choose if you do it right. People switch systems and get better yield and think it's the system and don't take into account that they are getting better as growers. It's all the same. There is no magic sauce.

Ok... thanks man... I appreciate it...

Welcome, Vibe.
I've grown DWC & RDWC for the past 3 years. My experience tells me that simple is usually the best method.
If I was faced with the same problem, I'd stick with the HDX tote(s) with some netlids. Use a rubber grommet and a barb fitting in the side of the tote. A short piece of hose will act as a sight tube to check rez level and because you're already sitting in a drain just rotate the elbow 90 and place the hose in the drain-simple.
Shower rod acts as a support for your light, add ventilation and grow.

GBAUTO said:

Welcome, Vibe.
I've grown DWC & RDWC for the past 3 years. My experience tells me that simple is usually the best method.
If I was faced with the same problem, I'd stick with the HDX tote(s) with some netlids. Use a rubber grommet and a barb fitting in the side of the tote. A short piece of hose will act as a sight tube to check rez level and because you're already sitting in a drain just rotate the elbow 90 and place the hose in the drain-simple.
Shower rod acts as a support for your light, add ventilation and grow.

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Sooo like on the side near the bottom... for a sight tube/drain tube... and just run it DWC... ? rather than circulating?

Yep, I use a 1/2" barb elbow with an appropriate size grommet centered on a short side and as low as you can get the grommet to have a flat surface to seal against. I run a larger version of what you're thinking about in my UC setup. 4 of the 17 gal totes plumbed together with 2" pipe and a simple recirc pump on one end pumps to the first and induces a current flow through the totes-simple and effective. The only real advantage to using a rez is that it allows you to run a larger total volume.
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1EEbC26B_4aWhz8C9HS3N-nQqp-4KfvcnWg
https://drive.google.com/open?id=12vWK-Ie1a8T9UWxBiFsODC2jb0bpvG8J1A

hey on a side not those outdoor plants water would stay cooler with some bubble wrap insulation or something to insulate the buckets

and if you do a RDWC system, make sure that when it circulates back to the bottom reservoir it makes a waterfall.
Many growers have fixed all their root rot and whatnot issues with waterfalls in hydro because it dissolves the most total oxygen (way more than airstones) into the water

Nizza said:

hey on a side not those outdoor plants water would stay cooler with some bubble wrap insulation or something to insulate the buckets

and if you do a RDWC system, make sure that when it circulates back to the bottom reservoir it makes a waterfall.
Many growers have fixed all their root rot and whatnot issues with waterfalls in hydro because it dissolves the most total oxygen (way more than airstones) into the water

Click to expand...

Thanks a LOT guys! Great idea re: the bubble wrap... !!

DaFreak said:

No, your yield is going to be the same in whatever style you choose if you do it right. People switch systems and get better yield and think it's the system and don't take into account that they are getting better as growers. It's all the same. There is no magic sauce.

Click to expand...

Simply not true.

Obviously people get better at growing but a hydroponic system will always be faster than dirt. The ability for the plants to uptake nutrients in water, plus the ability to manage those nutrient levels is vastly improved in hydro.

It's more complicated, but it is a system that will yeild more under the same environment next to dirt.