1st rdwc run with 5 dracrays seeds by Katsu seeds. Seeds germed around the 1st of January. Paper towel method by the 4th all but 1 had about a half inch tail. They then were transferred to rapid rooter plugs soaked in a mild nutrient solution to about .5 ph 5.8. I germed another seed within 2 days it popped so I put it in a plug until it broke surface it was then put under the lights dimmed down at about 2.5 ft above tops. 7 days later they were transplanted into netroots. So day 1 of veg was yesterday the 13th. Temps with lights on around 82 lights off 70s. Ph set at 6.0 ec .6 water temp 68.
DIY COBS and RDWC
- Thread starter Rdot03
- Start date
BluntMoniker
Well-Known Member
The rdwc system looks killer... great job on the setup! Lowes/HD had those totes on sale pretty cheap recently, hope u got em at the sale price!
What size are your LED's? Looks like 9x COBs per frame, with 2 frames? So what is that, like a 1000w HPS equivalent for each frame?
What is your water temp like with lights on/off? Sitting on a concrete floor might drop water temps below that 68-72 degree "optimal" temp with lights out, depending on your climate.. id keep an eye on that if your in a colder climate.
Either way, setup looks great, cant wait to watch the grow!
What size are your LED's? Looks like 9x COBs per frame, with 2 frames? So what is that, like a 1000w HPS equivalent for each frame?
What is your water temp like with lights on/off? Sitting on a concrete floor might drop water temps below that 68-72 degree "optimal" temp with lights out, depending on your climate.. id keep an eye on that if your in a colder climate.
Either way, setup looks great, cant wait to watch the grow!
I think I did catch them on sale actually haha. The cobs are vero29 se 5 3000k and 4 3500k @1750 pulling around 1118 watts. My rdwc is connected to a chiller running around 66-68 degrees. I hope I make the thread worthy of a follow
This morning when I checked in I noticed some yellowing and slight burn on some tips. I believe it was caused by me misting res water on the leaves and some bigger water drops sat on the leaves. My Ec is .6 res temp 67. When I had them in solo cups I watered with .5 ec with no yellowing. So I'm slightly confused. No roots touching water yet I put about an inch of hydroton on the bottom of net pot with the water level barely touching the bottom. I hand water one solo cup over hydroton every morning.
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After one week in the system each basket has some roots touching the water I'll give them another week before I drop water level. Had some nute burn for sure but they seem to be coming around.
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Yes just waterfalls
WillieP
Well-Known Member
I looked really hard at the RDWC system when I was doing my research.
I chose to go with a modified E & F system instead.
I would like to try the RDWC at some point, but I was scared of the issues of not having a chiller.
I'm just starting my first grow. There are a ton of cool methods out there, and I'm kinda a DIY gadget kinda guy.
Really not interested in just dirt, at least not at this point.
Good luck with your system, and your grow!
Cheers,
WillieP
Edit: Rdot,
I just realized that you didn't open your journal for comments.
TOTALLY SORRY. I would never want to stomp on anyone's journal.
My Bad.
I'm in the early stages of building my own DIY RDWC and just want to know whether you get relatively even pressure in all of your totes as far as the waterfalls are concerned.
Since you've connected the feed from only one end (as opposed to more of a wheel/spoke setup), I would think the pressure would be significantly less at the far end than in the first tote.
What have you noticed thus far?
Since you've connected the feed from only one end (as opposed to more of a wheel/spoke setup), I would think the pressure would be significantly less at the far end than in the first tote.
What have you noticed thus far?
Good luck this is my 1st too. We shall see what happens
That was my biggest worry but once the system was filled it's pretty even honestly. I have a 1200gph pump pushing maybe 1000 or 1100 with a 1ft of head. It seems to be working pretty evenly and breaks the surface quite a lot I played around with different discharge heads and the t worked best. I placed it right next to the net pot so the water splashing would be close to the roots. I've since cut it back about an in to allow for more root growth.
Also I went from 3/4 pipe to 1/2 and I think that helps.
Comments are welcomed
Thank you!!
So week 2 is coming to a close and the girls are getting bushy. I want to remove some fans but I wanted a second opinion. My humidity drops to 20ish percent when lights are on so this weekend I'm purchasing a humidifier bc I think its affecting growth. I want to see how they respond before I remove fans. I've tried to bend the larger fans out of the way but they arent long enough on some plants.
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So I got a humidifier and its brought up the humidity like 40 to 45% when lights are on. 
Started some lst bc they are super bushy cracked a few branches at the stem but I'm sure they'll pull through. Also noticed my rez was super low so I refilled with 7 gallons not thinking the roots in the last tote was clogging the return so now my water level is higher than normal. Drink up ladies.
Started some lst bc they are super bushy cracked a few branches at the stem but I'm sure they'll pull through. Also noticed my rez was super low so I refilled with 7 gallons not thinking the roots in the last tote was clogging the return so now my water level is higher than normal. Drink up ladies.