RECIRCULATING DWC ANYONE?

I'm looking to change from regular single bucket dwc to recirculating dwc. Any advice on a set up? how exactly is the water circulating? If you have a set up can you post pictures and show me how it works as well? thanks in advance.

google an undercurrent setup. it should give you an idea of how to set one up. your goal is to move alot of oxygenated water.

rkymtnman said:

google an undercurrent setup. it should give you an idea of how to set one up. your goal is to move alot of oxygenated water.

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Ok, thanks a lot.

one big expense will be an aquarium chiller.

rkymtnman said:

one big expense will be an aquarium chiller.

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Which is by no means required depending on setup.

GIJonas said:

Which is by no means required depending on setup.

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if you want optimal results, water temps should be 68F. from my experience, i'd put a chiller in your budget.

rkymtnman said:

if you want optimal results, water temps should be 68F. from my experience, i'd put a chiller in your budget.

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I've done dwc plenty of runs and never used a chiller. my water temps stay pretty low. its pretty cold where i live. and i keep the buckets on the cement floor in the basement, the girls love it.

you are lucky. well, one less expense for ya. good luck! i enjoyed rdwc way more than just single dwc buckets.

rkymtnman said:

you are lucky. well, one less expense for ya. good luck! i enjoyed rdwc way more than just single dwc buckets.

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Yeah thats why im trying to get into it. Im just trying to figure out what actually makes the water circulate. i want to use a 3 bucket system, i have 3 dwc's i wanna use to make the new system

i built a 3 tote system. 2 in the grow room, one control tote. i used about a 600gph pump in the control tote which fed the other 2 totes via heater hose which created waterfalls in both totes. then had 2" pvc feeding back from the 2 to the control. didn't use airstones. was pretty simple and worked really well. i already had the pump so the totes were my biggest expense i think.

rkymtnman said:

if you want optimal results, water temps should be 68F. from my experience, i'd put a chiller in your budget.

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I just had to buy one, believe me, the 2ltr ice bottles becomes a pain in the ass quick unless you got nothing else to do.

Here's how I got mine set up, I got my recirculation pump in my head tank, and chiller outside grow tent. Sorry about the light but you should get the idea

Ignore bucket in middle, that's separate.
It's a 4 pot system with nutrient tank.
1000ltr per hr pump
And hailea 100a water chiller, works a treat, I just need to learn how to grow now lol

HerbalBudman said:

Here's how I got mine set up, I got my recirculation pump in my head tank, and chiller outside grow tent. Sorry about the light but you should get the idea

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Thanks, so are those diy humidity domes?

I just switched from 3 DWC buckets to 6 RDWC buckets. There are pretty much two options, top feed or undercurrent. They're about the same price if you're keeping it budget, but the undercurrent is definitely more if you decide to spring for 3" piping.

I use a 3/4" feed and 1/2" return with a 270GPH pump for my undercurrent and I had to close the valve on my return line half way so my reservoir won't flood due to the water not being able to get back in to the buckets fast enough. I will definitely upgrade to 3" piping with a 3/4" return and probably bigger containers in the future, but for now the system does what I want; keep every bucket at the same pH and ppm so I don't have to monkey around crawling under plants and between buckets to check them.

It cost me $66 for the pump and fittings, and then another 30 for three more buckets/lids/stones, so overall not too bad for an undercurrent system. There's a current, but it's not ripping through the buckets like it would be with larger pipes which means less root stimulation but still better than before.

My buckets run at 72°F without a chiller, occasionally up to 75°F in hotter weather. Never had a problem, got some root aphids, added DM Zone, problem free since. If you do decide you need colder water, don't get sucked into buying a chiller for $500+ just DIY a 5-gallon water cooler or a window air-conditioning unit for $50 off craigslist, they use less power and don't have to have water running through them.

Here's a picture of my set-up right after I got done installing the three new buckets a few hours ago.

WalterWhite810 said:

Thanks, so are those diy humidity domes?

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Yep, good old diy

A cheaper and less pain in the ass system then constantly recirculating is to use a central rez with a ebb flow control bucket.
Set it to drain and refill every hour. You can chill the rez with a chiller. This way you can make all your rez adjustments easily when the ssystem is drained.

This way you skip the big expense of large pumps, 4" water lines, and gaskets, roots clogging the water lines, and trying to ph balance the water without burning the hell out of the roots, and maintaining the right water levels.

You need the folowing:
1. Ebb and flow control bucket... the diy kit from aqua hub is excellent. $110.
2. Bunch of 3/4 tubing. $40
3. Two mag drive 3 pumps.. $100
4. Penguin 1/2 hp chiller. $400
5. Pond master 100 air pump $120?

DO NOT, I REPEAT, DO NOT TRY dwc without a chiller. The penguin chillers fucking rock! I would shoot for 65 degree water. We have had MUCH better results with colder water.

Here's my diy undercurrent system. Holds 28gal. Bought a 1/10hp chiller on craigslist for $80, works great. Now that it's dialed in, I just change out the water about once a week, fill the rez tank and that's it. Rez tank is hooked up to control bucket via water line and float valve which keeps the water level in the pots constantly the same. Decent learning curve involved!

legallyflying said:

A cheaper and less pain in the ass system then constantly recirculating is to use a central rez with a ebb flow control bucket.
Set it to drain and refill every hour. You can chill the rez with a chiller. This way you can make all your rez adjustments easily when the ssystem is drained.

This way you skip the big expense of large pumps, 4" water lines, and gaskets, roots clogging the water lines, and trying to ph balance the water without burning the hell out of the roots, and maintaining the right water levels.

You need the folowing:
1. Ebb and flow control bucket... the diy kit from aqua hub is excellent. $110.
2. Bunch of 3/4 tubing. $40
3. Two mag drive 3 pumps.. $100
4. Penguin 1/2 hp chiller. $400
5. Pond master 100 air pump $120?

DO NOT, I REPEAT, DO NOT TRY dwc without a chiller. The penguin chillers fucking rock! I would shoot for 65 degree water. We have had MUCH better results with colder water.

View attachment 3536521

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Nice brother, whats the yield usually like?

I dont think im doing something right. I have about 8k watts dedicated to flowering yet ive never harvested over 3 pounds so yes im most definitely doing something wrong.