1st Hydro System, Grow Design - Help!

Rofl, i understand what u got now, u good listen to that guy. $ buckets, cool. DWC is so easy and forgiving u gonna have a good time

3 and half in net pots i use, seem plenty big.

Phinxter said:

there is no need for a res. in a dwc system the bucket is its own res.
what you have in its simplest terms is 4 independant DWC buckets that happen to share a single pump .
take the bucket install the airstone cut a hole in the lid to fit your net pot and fill to appropriate nutrient level . done .... no need for a separate res

Click to expand...

How would i change out my water, adjust PH, add nutes?

pull the lid off the bucket same as you would in a tub dwc.
also might be handy to have 1 spare bucket to set the lid on while you work on swapping nutes / adjusting PH and such.
then replace the lid to the proper bucket and move to the next.
the reason people like 4 pots in 1 tub is they only have to maintain 1 tub of nutes instead of 4.
but the same can be said of 4 independant buckets . you can adjust each bucket to suit the individual plant it houses

so I'd have to pull the lid off grab a sample.. and then adjust accordingly.. That's why i was wondering how I could just add a res so it feeds everything to the 4 buckets instead of having to pull each one..do you know?

You think i should just buy a big 30 g rubbermaid container and make 4 net pots? I mean from what ppl are saying they don't recommend that over 4 individual buckets.. plus i'm not sure if they are male or female yet.. so i don't want to have to leave roots in the system if one comes out male.. thats another issue.

re-read my edited post ... as for adding a res. if you add a res you are going to be going with a more complicated flood and drain where the buckets are empty antil the pump turns on ... it fills the buckets then turns off and gravity drains them back to the res.
DWC is definately where you want to start as a first grow and move to a bigger tray type flood and drain system after you are comfortable with the concepts of hydro

Nice thanks, now for part 2.. I gotta get my containers. How big of net pots should I buy if I buy a 3 gallon container,...5 gallon? I'm actually making my own closet from OSB wood from Home Depot, whats convenient is that OSB wood I found already has a foil coating on it, is that okay? or do I need to go back and recoat it with something?

that will be fine on the OSB
either size bucket oughta do . id probably go with 5 gallon buckets and 5 inch net pots
you can use smaller 3.5 inch netpots but i dont think this allows for enough stability of the plant

i was thinking about it, for my HPS system, do you know how many volts or amps that would take up? I'm asking because I have a socket adapter for a lightbulb.. i bought a grounding adapter which connects to that .. hooking up a ballast system to this.. will this be okay?

ThatCandela said:

i was thinking about it, for my HPS system, do you know how many volts or amps that would take up? I'm asking because I have a socket adapter for a lightbulb.. i bought a grounding adapter which connects to that .. hooking up a ballast system to this.. will this be okay?

Click to expand...

You need to do your research. If you are asking this then, no, it probably wont work. IIRC anything larger than a 100w hps is going to need a mogul socket, which is larger than a standard lightbulb socket. Remember, google is your friend.

? What? The HPS is hooked up to a ballast.. and the ballast plugs in to a regular socket.. check this one out

NEW High Pressure Sodium 400 watt HPS Grow Light w 400w - eBay (item 150286047914 end time Sep-16-08 11:40:00 PDT)

that item.. it plugs straight into a 3 prong outlet (USA)

Dude!!! What a pain in the ass that DWC setup is!!! You are going to get what you pay for...good to dick around and see if it works, and it does. But not cool if you want to dependably grow stuff.

Just make a flood table and put the plants in net pots inside the flood tray, then eff & flow the table a couple times a day. With that cheap ass DWC thingy you gotta keep dickin with the plants, movin em around and shit while you're trying to get the water out/in check ph,tds,ec,whatthehellever you want to do to your garden.

Check out the flood table I built below...this table is 2X4, but the tray is only 1X3. I just built a bigger one in the same closet with a 2X4 tray that I can get 28 - 5 inch pots into.

It does not get any easier than this: Table, fluorescent light, timer, flood tray with drain/fill fittings, Rubbermaid container, fountain pump, digital timer, tubing, aquarium air pump & stone (to help with pathogen control). About $150.00 later you have a really dependable and simple to maintain 100% hydroponic garden.

ahhh, i've spent close to $150 for four 5" net pots, four buckets with lids, a 60 gallon air pump, 8' air tube, four 4" air stones, T valves & air control valves, and the 10 seeds,
I still need to buy hydrotons, nutes, and the hps/mh bulb with a ballast and reflector.. and still build my closet.. its going to come out close to $350 which is a lot i thought.. should I go return all this? if there's an easier way I'm down since im already spending a lot

well i almost as new a you but i am a dwc right now and i planning to do a ebb and flo if i can budget it. I got a gorw tent a 400 hp with conver ion valve the fan i need and ducting. I got a bubbler and 20 or o net pot. I waiting on my learning grow to finih and the 1 plant i got that i pollinated i hope(sorta) is goin well. I cloned 5 so far with 100 percent success. I wanna do 10 plants nex time. I wish all clones, but i only got 5 before i reseeded beside the plant might be hermie so i will do 5 seeds. I def gonna go ebb and flo. Im gonna buy a tray, well really ill diy one, fill it with 3 gallon pots get a rubbermaid container for a reservoir get a small water pump and i already got the air pumps. I got some ok 15 minut timers so i think while not the best they will work but did i seen for 20 on ebay. I say go for the ebb and flo, and if yu look online yu can actually buy the parts for a good table for under 150 plussay 40 bucks of a lifetime supply of hydrotin. U can also use cut up rockwool cubes which is way cheaper, as i herd from a guy. I wish lava rocks or a cheap home depot stine was out there. Keep me posted as i will yu if i find one. Dwc is easier than yu think tho. Sorry anbout the long post, but i exciterd as ever about grow my flower shot up like half inch during tis night(light on day) i think and the hairs getting all thick. HEHE,

spelling sucks=english major. enough said.

lol, its okay.

but thanks for your advice.. i wasn't sure what a ebb & flo model was til now.. I had seen different types of DWC and all of the models had their own uniquesness to it.. I'm going to see how to go about this..

From what I have do i need to return anything? I would need to buy a water pump now from what i see, do i need to buy more air pumps or is 1 sufficient.. the rest is all tubings/elbows/ to connect.. ugh. oh well, this is the reason i brought my design to the forum and i appreciate everyones advice. I need to get a camera because I actually created 1 bucket last night.. but this was my way.. (small hole at the top wiring a air tube into an airstone.. hooked up to a pump but now ill need to remodel)

bleubeard said:

Simply Hydroponics - System types

Click to expand...

Now that's a cool...simple explanation of the different types of hydro systems!!!

Thanks BB