First-time DWC, with plenty of questions

In the scramble to put together a cheap DWC system, I have made a few choices which I am feeling uneasy about. I am able to get discounted and occasionally free supplies from my work, so I went with some things for convenience. My first grow went horribly wrong, due to a huge lack of knowledge and resources. I have decided to go with a system similar to Roseman's DIY 5-gallon bucket, only that I'll be running a simple DWC rather than full bubbleponics, but will probably convert to full bubbles with my next grow. Before I put everything together:

I'm using 3 or 4 3" net pots in a 5-gallon paint bucket (exact same as roseman), a 6-inch airstone, and I was thinking of replacing the hydroton with pea gravel and the rockwool cubes with peat pellets. The reason I'm doing this is because I can get free pea gravel and peat pellets, but I don't have easy access to rockwool or hydroton. Since I'm going the DWC route and will be watering manually until the roots hit the nute solution, does it matter if I'm using peat pellets instead of rockwool?

Once the roots hit the water I'm starting off with a 1/4 dose of nutes and moving the dose up with time. I have 24-8-16 to start with, plus some 20-20-20 and 10-30-20. Any thoughts on mixing these? I only have enough for two gallons of each, so I'll need to re-supply soon anyway.

I bought a cheap ph kit from petsmart, containing ph up and down, test solution, a little vial, and a comparison card which reads between 6.0 and 7.5. The only reason I bought this was because I don't have the time to wait for a digital meter to arrive from the internet, nor do I have the funds. I figure if I get my water to read close to 6.0, I'll be ok until I get a good meter. Once I have the digital meter, will this ph up and down still work? Will it work in the first place?

I personally use Fox Farm tri-pack hydro nutes with the tri-pack of solubles. I've found that mixing them straight into my tap water (ph 7.9) leaves me with a final ph of 5.8 and is great for growing. I made the mistake of using way more ph down trying to get my water adjusted before I added the nutes and just ended up raising my ppm crazy high. Burned my babies as a result. The only time I use the ph up or down (down mostly) is when I replenish the tank after they have drank a gallon and the ph has risen to roughly 6.5. I mix up one gallon of nutes per the Fox Farm hydro feeding schedule and add a very small amount of ph down (about 1/2 tsp) to the one gallon. I then put that entire gallon into the rez and walk away.

What do you mean by full bubbles?

rule 1 of DWC - Light proof the fuck out of your container with foil or paint, and put something over the pebbles to prevent light from getting to the root zone. Root rot is going to happen if you dont prevent it and it will kill your crop I speak from unfortunate experience.

rule 2 - Use hygrozyme - Again, this protects your roots and that will results in a strong plant.

Illegal Smile said:

What do you mean by full bubbles?

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I just mean I'm only using the airstone at the bottom, without the additional water pump running to the pots. I was just thinking I'd probably start from clones next time around, and my budget will be a lot more flexible, so I'd be able to get the rockwool and irrigation hub I'd need for true bubbleponics.

If you don't want to water manually, I say you can get away with careful management of the water level in your nutrient bucket instead. If the waterline's just high enough that the bubbles breaking the surface 'tickle' the bottom of your rooting medium (Position the airstone appropriately!) then the medium will take up plenty of water and oxygen. This is what I did because I'm lazy, and I've yet to encounter any early moisture problems.

I use no water pump or feeder tubes and keep water level an inch below the bottom of the netpots with 4 large airstones and a robust pump. My netpots stay wet 2/3 of the way up their sides. THAT is true bubbleponics when the bubbles are relied upon not tubes.

hallo.

first off I wouldn't put 3 in one container unless they are the same strain, otherwise changing the solution for the strains is impossible and your plants will not be maximized to their full potential.

Instead have you considered doing three 3 gallon or there 5 gallon setup? (I'm doin three 5 gals this time).


as for your nutrients you are on your own with those kinds of nutrients man... I think the general method would be a one or multiple part hydroponic nutrient and a pH and TDS meter so you know the acidity and strength of your nutrient solution, which is much more important than the ratio (which is easy to customize with multipart hydro nutes). TDS and pH are important. brands like General Hydroponics and BC Nutrients put pH buffers in their nutrients to keep the pH in a desirable hydroponic range.

best of luck come back with more questions!

The seeds are all the same strain, but I don't know the strain. My nutes are no-name hydro nutes off ebay, all I know is the N-P-K. I'm using the same five-gallon bucket set up that roseman explained in his DIY bubbleponics tutorial, except that I'm leaving out the irrigation hub and keeping the water level close to the pots. TDS?? Is that to measure the amount of nutrients in the solution?

tds is total dissolved solids and is expressed in ppm. Yes, it is to measure nutrient level. No name hydro nutes off ebay - that doesn't inspire much confidence in me. If you want a serious yield nutrients are an important investment. I'd go with a major one like AN or GH or Humboldt or foxfarm etc, and then follow their nutrient schedule.

Illegal Smile said:

tds is total dissolved solids and is expressed in ppm. Yes, it is to measure nutrient level. No name hydro nutes off ebay - that doesn't inspire much confidence in me. If you want a serious yield nutrients are an important investment. I'd go with a major one like AN or GH or Humboldt or foxfarm etc, and then follow their nutrient schedule.

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I've looked into the name brands and I really can't afford it, isn't there a way to get legitimate nutrients without paying for the name?

I recommend General hydro theyre tha bomb

stylez said:

I recommend General hydro theyre tha bomb

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Then you'll be happy to know that I've sucked it up and bought some flora grow! Net pots coming soon, so I'll be starting my journal in a few days !

EDIT: Do you think a quart will last me through a two or three-week veg feeding three or four plants in a five-gallon system?

My net pots have arrived! I'm beyond excited. Setting up the system tonight when I get off work! I'll be starting a grow journal which I'll post a link for, and I'll put up pics of the system and all the specs. Any discussion of my grow should take place here, though, right?

Started my grow journal here: https://www.rollitup.org/grow-journals/250717-here-we-go-again.html

Any suggestions?

drabstab said:

Then you'll be happy to know that I've sucked it up and bought some flora grow! Net pots coming soon, so I'll be starting my journal in a few days !

EDIT: Do you think a quart will last me through a two or three-week veg feeding three or four plants in a five-gallon system?

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I think you should be aight. Im on my first grow to though so you might wanna get some advice from one of the other bubbleheads