DWC Questions

so i aet up a test dwc system with a 2 liter pop bottle large gravel and airpump, everything stated out great the seed germinated and sprouted the first 3 sets of leaves grew faster than my soil set up and now the plant is a bright green colur and has not grown in two weeks, (my soil plants have surpased the DWC plant, so what is the issue im using well water, 4 23w cfl and 2 13w cfls and 1 floro grow light, i keep the water at the same level and u know the plant has a good root system so WTF why is the same bagseed growing faster than the dcw under the same conditions?

give us some pics

i do not have a camera at the moment but when i get it back i will throw a pic up, any tips in the mean time though?

a dog named chico said:

so i aet up a test dwc system with a 2 liter pop bottle large gravel and airpump, everything stated out great the seed germinated and sprouted the first 3 sets of leaves grew faster than my soil set up and now the plant is a bright green colur and has not grown in two weeks, (my soil plants have surpased the DWC plant, so what is the issue im using well water, 4 23w cfl and 2 13w cfls and 1 floro grow light, i keep the water at the same level and u know the plant has a good root system so WTF why is the same bagseed growing faster than the dcw under the same conditions?

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Are u feeding ur plants hydro food? U didnt mention that. U can use regular tap to germ seeds and clones but the true HYdro experience comes in the next couple weeks after u start feeding ur plants (once ur roots hit the water)and they explode. In DWC u should be able to reach if all standards are met at least 12" of growth from seed within 3 weeks. Even in a coke bottle.Although U would be topping this bottle several times a day to keep consistant water levels in the latter stage of veg. U couldnt possibly flower in the bottle in this way. Unless U hooked up some type of auto topping measurements to fefill the bottle once the water got to low in it. If done the way i suggested, then yes these lights are sufficient enuff to grow a plant. But u will need better lights to flower. Specifically HPS.50 watts/sq.ft. minimal.

I could show u a pick of buds in a jar of the same exact plants started at the same time. Needless to say the plant in soil is still flowering while the plant's I grew in DWC harvested a couple weeks ago.
Hope that helps.

no nutes yet because it is still a small plant, the water is kept at a consistant level and the roots have filled up the entire bottel so i know the are getting the water they need the water is from a well but i leave it out 24 hours just incase, and it is on a 24 hour light cycle, i think my box my grow area is too small cus the temps have gotten into the 90s three times i have a small fan but i think i need to upgrade witch is odd cus i used it for my 1st grow (soil) and it never got abve 80

so i figured it out, i didn't black out the bottle and i got some alge growth and with the unpredictable heat, so i transplanted it to soil and am going to re-design my DWC system for the next grow if this plant survives then cool if not well its not hard to get bag seed.

Sorry to hear man.Temps between 78-82 degrees are ideal.AWE i didnt think about the light tightness bro. When ur back up and ready to do it again check out our dwc grow club.

yea i saw that, i think it is the way im going from now on, it is must faster and alot less mess, also can be striped down fast in case of intruding eyes

Yes secret sir secret.

i had to abandon DWC because of heat issues (chillers are too expensive)... its not only the room temperature... but several things... the water to the roots in the DWC you do not want to get above 70 deg. F and you also do not want to let any light hit the roots or the DWC nutrient solution or you will get algae...

there are additives that you can add to the nute solution to prevent other biological growth from forming in there, but the biggest thing is the nute solution temp... ebb/flow systems are not so affected by the nute temps...

I dont know who ever said the water cant be above 70 degrees farenheit, because that just isnt true. Mine is around 72-75 and is just fine. chamber smells like fresh vegetation when I have a sniff. And if light hitting your solution is an absolute no-no, then how do all those ebb & flow grows do so well? E&B water gets pumped up in to the resevoir 6-8 times a day, completely exposed to intense light for 15 minutes at a time... How come no-one ever says anything about the water/light situation then? I'll tell you why, history books are filled with people who condemn innovation. DWC is awesome. Not only is there no need for a seperate resevoir, but you can grow with the roots dangling directly in the solution itself. Everybody likes to say things like, "In DWC the plants drink more water than nutrients, leaving behind solutions that have highly toxic nutrient levels" Its no different from the nute soloosh in an ebb& flow, or peroidic tub feeding, or NFT, or a constant spray of Aeroponic solution directly to the roots. The plant takes up what it wants/needs and leaves the rest behind. Thats why we change our resevoirs periodically. DWC is too new to have the following it needs to have a bunch of tip rats jumping on the bandwagon yet, so that is why people still condemn it. Its called unfounded opinion - and there is no shortage of people who just talk based on what they heard someone else say or write. DWC is highly innovative, highly effective, and very cheap to produce and maintain. Algae grows in every hydroponic rez no water what, it is a large recirculated body of water and is succeptable to algae growth. Sometimes you cant see it but it is there, garaunteed. H2O2 does help immensley but be sure to only run h202 without nutes, because it breaks down the nutes in to unusable waste - which of course effects your plants uptake. I have seen some semi commercial type grows with outstanding results using DWC. Its all about how much one actually really knows about hydroponics. Alot of DWC bloggers say "First time grow", or "Help DWC plants dying", or "First time grower needs help DWC" You never see anyone write a thread that says "Help, Veteran DWC grower doesnt know what to do with all the weed he just grew". So its easy to spot only the bad in something so new as DWC. It is like anything else, you get better at it every time you do it.

Peace,
NYK

yo man - i wasnt dissin' DWC or anything, i was just saying its a lot more difficult to maintain than an ebb/flow... I didnt just hear about it - i ran a DWC system with 5 gal buckets for several grows, but sometimes it was just too hot, and the res got above 72... and where i am, that induced root rot... and i almost didnt get any bud out of that, there is no way to cure a bad case of root rot...

my main problem was 2KW in the same room as the air pumps, and they were pumping nearly 80 degree air through my res... its only a matter of time before it heated up, and i had no good way to chill it...

i think DWC is good an innovative, but its not trouble free, and its not so easy to maintain... but when you do it well - its beautiful



i love any hydro system, and DWC is in my top 2 favorites...

No worries man, I wasnt addressing you personally. I read alot of things out there that lead people down the wrong path. Alot of guys and girls who grow out there dont really have any other grows to compare it to, as they dont wish make their MJ endeavours too public (if they're smart). So they turn to the Inet for clues - alot of that shit says that DWC is not at all a viable means of producing crops. So I was just doing my duty of trying to correct some of that mis-info by posting my very small reply, in hopes that it would make sense to someone who was on the verge of understanding DWC, how it works.

My next grow will be ebb & flow. I am done playing Mr. Wizard, experimenting with different hydro-styles. I found this unit from Botanicare (turbogarden) that would fit neatly into my 3x3 area and dont want to have to go in there 12 times a day. You were right about that part of DWC. Its cool to see progress everyday, but my "anxious grower" days are behind me now & I'd rather it be more of a time lapse event. Come in there every 2 - 3 days and see real progress, have three months slip by and then "Suprise!!! heres pot!!!". I am ready to be more lazy about it.

Peace,
NYK