J...my issue with the RDWC was not enough air...not enough flow it was a DIY system that just didnt work, in theory it did but gravity and a small pump feeding 8 buckets was just too much to feed and too little water flow...resulting in root rot and other issues, i tried everything and re made the sytem 3 times and still no luck to o gave up.
the last plant just kept stretching and stretching anf stretching all the way through to the end of flower, i tied and bent and even broke some of the limbs (super cropping) and they just kept stretching..so i eventually just harvested the main colas..it was a super yeild for one plant i think i pulled about 8 zips off it in the end but a pain in the ass...
the tops started burning and then foxtailing to "repair" the damaged area...not what i wanted at week 6-7 of flower so i cut em early and let the rest finish up..
the blueberry gum i did in DWC last sucessfull DWC grow i had did great with no issues, i had to do the ice bottles every day but still worked out well.
i think Youngbuzz101 is dead on with the overwater/not enough O2 thing, i mean that pump is small for a 30g rez..
anyways im going to order them nutes you suggested and prob use them on next grow..i dont want to keep changing shit as im just stressing her out right now as it is. i wont be doing a large rez again unless i get a good air pump.
heres some pics of the new modifications.
Yeah DWC is funny like that it' more difficult than most think. If it goes well it goes awesome! If one thing goes wrong... it goes to hell in a hand basket. I have had the same experiences I have had some nice harvests with fat dense colas and I have had failures low oxygen has caused all but one ph swings was the other.
Unless your experienced with cannabis cultivation soil is your best friend I always liked soil starting off because things progress slower and gives you time to learn your botany. Hydroponics is so immediate and aggressive you have to be confident in each move. Or at least have experience enough to see a problem and fix it fast.
The whole system is like a paneled barrel each part of your set up being an individual panel. All the rest of your set up (panels) can be flawless but your one problem is your biggest weakness. Water in your barrel will only fill as high as your lowest panel.
I am happy to see your roots are still healthy I assume you had your solution temp proper good job! That can be a job on it's own unless your lucky enough to have a chiller. So you moved to a 5 gal? You really don't need more just let your root fill that bucket. You should be fine now with that dual pump in the 5 gal. When I do DWC I use the 5 gallon pail and two dual air pumps, I run all four lines into my one bucket. God know that makes a difference. You can never have to much oxygen in fact do some research and do a side by side comparison of a plant with normal amounts of oxygen versus a plant which oxygen supply has been super saturated.. your eyes will open.
Any ways I'm going to stay posted to see how things work out.
If I can recommend one last thing go to petsmart or and aquarium store and by airstones.. Not just any air stones as I see you already have but,
fine mist stones They come in course's Fine, medium, and Course (large). Those are not the size of the stones but the size of the bubbles released.
The reason the fine mist stones are better is because a lot more tiny tiny bubbles are released from each stone at the same time this means that as the bubbles rise to the top of your container they are able to spread out through out the container but still remain close together. This increase in surface area, allows a larger diffusion of oxygen into your solution before the pressure of the water forces the oxygen bubble out of the top of the viscous. Also; the smaller bubbles will rise slower in comparison to the larger bubbles which will allow for more direct oxygen for your roots and longer time for oxygen to absorbed into the solution.
Sorry for the long post.
youngbuzz