DWC ?'s

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OoOeYGoOeY

Active Member
I JUST GOT DONE MAKEING MY DWC. I DONT EVEN KNOW HOW TO USE ONE YET.

This is what i got.

1 2 gallon rubbermaid water tank with drain.
1 60 gallon air pump
1 24 ft hose. will cut!!!
12 air stones 1in (will only use 8?)
spliters

I just hooked it all up. let it run for an hour or so. I got a few ?'s:

The water in the bottom should have a Ph of 6.0 till 6.8 correct?
How often will i need to chage the water in the bottom?
Is that a good size pump? Are air stones ok?
What should the temp of the water be in the bottom?
 
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groprofosho

Well-Known Member
sounds like your tank is too small. 2 gal? I use 25 gal rubbermaids for 2-3 plants so each has sufficient water so ph and ppm does not fluctuate too much. The most important thing ive found about dwc is letting the roots get plenty of air. The water level should always be 6" below the netpots. Get a PH meter....this is the most important tool you will be using. Keep the ph between 5.5 and 6.0

5.6 is ideal.

They dont need that much air. i only use one air stone per bucket, but the more the merrier. The air helps mainly to kill bacteria, along with slightly oxygenating the water. let the air run all the time, as plants transpire and use oxygen during their night cycle as well.
 
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OoOeYGoOeY

Active Member
Im not sure when im going to put it to the test. I got a Ph test kit with ph + and Ph - how offen should i change water.
 
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GrowManZach

Well-Known Member
ok i have a DWC system, a 5 Gal. Setup for 1 plant.


ok my ph is all crazy, when it comes out of the tap is perfect 5.4-5.7. i let it sit in my setup ant ittl raise, it raises to about 6.9-7.1 then stops. i lower the ph then 3 hours later its high again. so im like WTF?!?!?!

so my questions are; does oxygen via air bubble change the ph(i had a cup of water sit out for 3 hours but ph stayed....wierd.) and any ideas on me being able to maintain a certain ph range w/o adjusting 5-6 times a day?

Please help its vital

ty
 
KholdStare

KholdStare

Active Member
You will have to constantly monitor and adjust the pH/TDS if you continue to use that tiny bucket. The bigger your res, the smaller the changes in the pH/TDS as the plant used nutes/water, and vice versa for smaller reservoirs. I would suggest getting a bigger bucket. :bigjoint:
 
oscarmiya

oscarmiya

Drugs Taught Me Metric!
2 Gallon is a little small, but not too small. If your growing a smaller plant that will be fine for a good while if not throughout.. Check out my grow, I had 4 plants in a 6 Gal Rubber maid tub that was only 6" tall in my dresser. I pulled 2 and the 2 females in there are doing great. I am 100% sure there is plenty enough room for roots. I have 2 Whisper- 60-80 Gals Air pumps in there and I am using RO water with GH Nutes. My pH fluctuates a little from day to day but not much. I only check once a day. You go through water a little quicker and like I said in another post.. some people find that to be a hassle.. however I like to think of it as giving my babies New, Freshly Balanced N-P-K Water. If you "Top" up your Res with Nute Water your N-P-K Ratio will get surprisingly messed up. So I end up doing a Res Change, (which doesn't much time) about every 3-4 days. I like to start the New Res fills at about 1/4" below pots and let go until there is about 2"-2.5" left of water on the bottom or until they show me they need more food. I Think watching your PPM in Hydro is Key, pH is easy to keep right around 5.8. Understanding Nutes and in what Ratio's to give your plants, to push their growth to the edge with out harm...that is what I think Hydro is all about and that can be done in small or big containers depending on size of plant. I would say start off with what you have if your happy with it and if your roots start getting crowded after a while, it is very simply to move to another slightly larger container in hydro. Good luck
 
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