A Compact DWC

Duncan McDonnell

Duncan McDonnell

Member
hey guys, just wanted to shoot an idea out there, and see if anyone who has more experience than me in DWC, could foresee and problems i may have with the unit.

My idea is to take a 12 inch diameter pvc pipe, and cut the holes for 3 net pots, around 3 1/2 inch pots, place 4-5 two foot bubble wands along the bottom, and then seal off the sides. there will be a drain in the middle at the bottom for complete water changes, aswell as a fill valve on the top between two of the plants. i will be using this for scrog so the plants will not be huge, but i was wondering if any of you had any improvements/comments/concerns about this idea, the key here is it needs to be compact, thanks!:joint:
 
Respect The Herb

Respect The Herb

Member
I like the idea!
My only possible concern would be is, I dont know if the nutes (depending on what you use) would react with the pvc in any negative way.

I have a micro grow and something like this, if perfected would be freakin sweet!
 
Respect The Herb

Respect The Herb

Member
maybe figure out a way to put in a clear window in the side to see the res lever. Make it coverable though cause you want to minimize the the light exposed to the roots.
 
Stoner Smurf

Stoner Smurf

Active Member
Why use 12" PVC over a 5-gallon bucket? A 5-gal bucket is usually 11 3/4" in diameter, and would probably be much cheaper. Plus no nasty PVC glue needed. Full res changes are as simple as popping off your lid, and placing it on a different bucket. No drain valves to be weak spots means no coming home to a flooded closet. You can place 3-4 small net pots in one bucket lid. It seems to me like you're trying to reinvent the wheel. The wheel is good man.
 
Duncan McDonnell

Duncan McDonnell

Member
thanks for the input! the pvc is already used in flood/drain hydro so i cant see it being a problem for a DWC, and actualy me and my brother just snagged a 10' section of the pvc i needed from a construction site about 20 min ago , so it just became not so expencive! aha. and the reason im not going with a bucket system, is i can get more water in a 12'' tube. and i am also want it to be expandable without requiring a res or refilling as often, that and its the height requirment that mostly has me hooked, i want to do a scrog in a space around 28'', so i feel this and four 2' sunblaster t5s would be perfect. and a clear window was on my list of things to figure out how to do, but i think i figured it out, i will either fit some clear tubing on the end to create a "C" on the end so i can see the water level the the tube, with a telescopic cardbord light blocker on it to help with the light. or i was going to cut a slit in the tube, and silicone a piece of plexi glass onto the side with a piece of duct tape over that i can peel away to take a look. im conserned that the root system of the 3 plants could possible smother the air stones, anyone had this problem before?
 
pazuzu420

pazuzu420

Well-Known Member
Duncan McDonnell said:
thanks for the input! the pvc is already used in flood/drain hydro so i cant see it being a problem for a DWC, and actualy me and my brother just snagged a 10' section of the pvc i needed from a construction site about 20 min ago , so it just became not so expencive! aha. and the reason im not going with a bucket system, is i can get more water in a 12'' tube. and i am also want it to be expandable without requiring a res or refilling as often, that and its the height requirment that mostly has me hooked, i want to do a scrog in a space around 28'', so i feel this and four 2' sunblaster t5s would be perfect. and a clear window was on my list of things to figure out how to do, but i think i figured it out, i will either fit some clear tubing on the end to create a "C" on the end so i can see the water level the the tube, with a telescopic cardbord light blocker on it to help with the light. or i was going to cut a slit in the tube, and silicone a piece of plexi glass onto the side with a piece of duct tape over that i can peel away to take a look. im conserned that the root system of the 3 plants could possible smother the air stones, anyone had this problem before?
Click to expand...
So the pipe is going vertical with what kinda of lid? I was just trying to picture it in my head as I've seen quite a few NFT PVC setups. This may be more benificial in your small enviorment, just throw the idea out there. I'm always up for secondary rez setups for ease of change and aeration, as you don't have to worry about roots clogging it up. You could do the C with clear tubing and cover it with a piece of that black pipe insulation that you can pull on or off, going for simplicity and less chance of leaks...

I'm growing in a small double tote in my veg cabinet and it sees to work quite well and don't see why it wouldn't go all the way into flower. The bottom tote can also be the rez but like I said I like my rez out of the grow area to keep temps down and easy changes and cleaning.
 
Duncan McDonnell

Duncan McDonnell

Member
the pipe will be horizontal, and about 20 inches long or so to allow room for 3 net pots, and the ends will be siliconed and sealed off with another piece of pvc, and there will be about 4 or 5 long airstones running the length (only about 18") on the bottom of it. and do you think there would be a problem with the roots smothering the air stones?
 
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