I have a DWC question

I currently grow in an ebb and flow system.I wanted to try DWC. I know ebb and flow is a type of DWC,but i want to do away with all the timers and pumps.My question is how big will the root mass get,and do they grow as much as they do in an ebb and flow?
I only ask because Im looking into the future and can see myself trying to change the nutes and trying to pick up a lid of 5 plants and a whole mess of roots.seems impossible to do without ripping roots apart.Can someone help please

The diff between E&F and DWC is that in DWC the plants are always in nutes. The roots get as big as the container and time allows. You need air pumps but you can ditch water pumps or use them only until roots hit your determined level of nutrient in the bucket.

Well lifting a lid with plants, the roots lift with the plant it is connected too. I don't f with the roots much.

I use a stealth hydro bubbleponics system in a 10gal tub. I opted out of the drain valve so here's how I change my rez out without harming my precious roots. First I turn off my lamps and leave one cfl on so I can see. I then unplug the water pump and the air pump. Then I pull the entire tub out of the closet. It slides easily across the carpet. I then place an empty 10-18 gal tub in the closet where I just pulled the other one out. I then remove the lid with all the plants in it, disconnect my irrigation manifold and move the entire lid onto the other empty tub roots and all. I choose to use a larger than 10 gal. tub so I can set the lid with plants in it sideways on top of it. That gives me better access to the manifold and tubes and roots. Makes cleaning and flushing much easier. You can run fresh water over the roots system and catch the water in the empty tub! Then I take my reservior and dump it in the bathtub, clean, and re-fill Repeat the steps in opposite order to get everything back in place then turn the lights back on! I take my time and it takes about 20 min for me to properly clean and refill my rez.

Thanx guys.
This will be my first attempt at DWC, I already have six clones about 6" tall in 5" net pots in peagravel and coco croutons all in an ebb and flow setup just waiting to see roots and I will make the transition to my DWC bucket.If there are any pointers anybody want to give, please im open to all ideas or better ways

Dowd1 said:

Thanx guys.
This will be my first attempt at DWC, I already have six clones about 6" tall in 5" net pots in peagravel and coco croutons all in an ebb and flow setup just waiting to see roots and I will make the transition to my DWC bucket.If there are any pointers anybody want to give, please im open to all ideas or better ways

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Are you using 5gal buckets for the DWC? And are you going to grow all 6 clones to harvest?

Build your res with a sizable access port. Look for a tote bigger than 10 gal that gets its extra gallons from length and width rather than height. In other words, try to get more real estate on top without adding so many gallons requiring more nutes and more work. Mine is 15 gal and it can run 5 plants, 3 in back, one on each front corher, and the access port front and center. A drain is easy to put in but I have used a shop vac to suck most of the water out. You can't get it all but that's ok unless you are dealing with a problem.

The other thing I would say is, if you don't want to have to use feeder tubes or top feed, plan to run 4 large airstones and drive them with a powerful pump. The breaking bubbles create a mist that is aeroponic-like in the airspace between the lid and the water level - the space the netpots are in. I also advise using rapid rooters instead of rockwool. You can adjust how wet they are getting (important at first) by loading a netpot with hydroton and the rapid rooter, but no seed, and putting it in one of the holes for 5-10 minutes and then examine it. Just remember the bubbles are critical because this is the real bubbleponics, where the bubbles are relied on not the tubes.

sympLED said:

Are you using 5gal buckets for the DWC? And are you going to grow all 6 clones to harvest?

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To tell ya the truth I have an 18 gallon tote,and I dont know if thats really enough for all 6 clones.Are you suggesting a 5 gallon bucket for every clone?

Dowd1 said:

To tell ya the truth I have an 18 gallon tote,and I dont know if thats really enough for all 6 clones.Are you suggesting a 5 gallon bucket for every clone?

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That would be alot of buckets. Roseman puts 3 clones in 4" net pots per one 5gal bucket. I don't know if 3 would fit with the 5" net pots. You could use 2 10gal totes with 3 in each one. That's what I personally use and it works great. You could do 6 in the 18gal tote but would be a bit cumbersome to change nutes, etc. You would need a drain for sure.

I have one more question, Can you over crowd the plants foilage wise?A friend kinda walked me through it but he doesnt know that much more than i do.He did the same setup,18 gallon tote with 5 netpots.though i did not see any of the grow time i did taste the results and was impressed. Which brings me to one more question is there really gonna be that much difference in the amount,taste or overall potency from ebb and flow to DWC?
Basically is there going to be a noticable difference in the two growth methods or is it kind of a trial and error thing?I like the ebb and flow method and have gotten quite good at it.I dont want to stop a good thing if the other way is not much better
But I am curious.

Just a little tip. If you build your own, put in an on/off valve with a detachable hose. Believe me, if you have a few 5 gallon bucket grows, it gets to your back when you are changing out 15 of those fuckers.

wilsoncr17 said:

Just a little tip. If you build your own, put in an on/off valve with a detachable hose. Believe me, if you have a few 5 gallon bucket grows, it gets to your back when you are changing out 15 of those fuckers.

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Yea, i have a hurniated disk in my back.If i got to lift six five gallon buckets(along with the six 5 gallon water jugs that store my fresh water) I would be crippled in about 1 month.