Starting first grow LED/DWC - questions.

auto1dwc said:
When it comes to how many air stones, first consider whether the pump his the right copasity to feed enough oxygen through each stone.
Are you using 1 air pump per bucket or relying on splitters to divide the oxygen.
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I've got one pump for each pair of buckets. 1 pump has 2 outlets and is rated at 7.8L per minute, the other has 4 outlets and is rated at 15L per min. I figured I'd use 4 stones with the larger pump and 2 with the smaller. That may have actually been my original thought in only ordering 6, now that I re-count the number of available outputs. Should be enough, yeah?
 
Jypsy Dog said:
You don't keep them wet in DWC. They are there to stabilize the plant. Sounds like you need to do some more research on your new hobby, DWC can go "south" with a lack of understanding. You also need to be able to calibrate that pH meter, and calibrate those cheap one's once a week.
After you kill a couple plants, DWC gets pretty easy.
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Yeah, I asked because I've seen several threads where folks washed them, soaked them in PH balanced water for periods of time prior to transplanting. I wasn't sure if I was missing something.

But we'll consider my first run and this thread as an exercise in trial and error style research. I'll learn much faster making mistakes and corresponding with those of you who are gracious enough to share your experience than reading a whole lot more before I start. Hopefully I'll be lucky and won't sacrifice too many plants by rushing into the hobby!

Thanks again for the information. I'll definitely look through everything you've all suggested and use it to my benefit :)
 
be4meliz said:
using bubble buckets, get one of these: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000HE9YEM/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 and using holesaw, cut access hole in lid to change water, draw samples, add nutes, etc- the root ball will get so big it will help you access res.. good ppm/ec meter and ph meter is a must and also water supply( i'm running 12 buckets and go thru 25 gal. a day when full flower and veg) use scrog or LST to keep plants spread for more light penetration.
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Oh! I got one of these, too. Good tip. Thank you!
 
I also wanted to share an update. The Sour Crack seeds have both broken the shell and are peeking out a mm or two. The Skywalker don't look quite as hearty. One is peeking out just a tad, the other seed looks a little small, and like it's gonna take a little longer to sprout. Either way, I'm excited to see some activity.
 

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auto1dwc said:
Question 2.
Your nutes can last up to three weeks mixed with the water.
I fill my res a couple hours before I transplant the seedling into Rockwool.
I also turn on the air pump as well to circulate the water and to prevent it sitting still.
Putting the pump on also provides a dissolved oxygen pocket at the top off the bucket, I personally think this creates quick growth at the start.
To prevent the water creating algae I use a bacterial enzym to protect the water from algae, and bad bacteria which forms through high water temps.
So yes you can mix your nutes and have the water bubbling away even though the roots haven't shown.
Plant roots stretch and grow to find the water, and the roots locate the water in no time at all.
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What bacterial enzyme are you using?

I figure I was gonna let this taproot get about a quarter inch before putting these seedlings into the hydroton, and will probably want some on hand before I get to that point. That sound about right?
 
2_minutes_hate said:
I've got one pump for each pair of buckets. 1 pump has 2 outlets and is rated at 7.8L per minute, the other has 4 outlets and is rated at 15L per min. I figured I'd use 4 stones with the larger pump and 2 with the smaller. That may have actually been my original thought in only ordering 6, now that I re-count the number of available outputs. Should be enough, yeah?
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Yes should be fine.
 
Looks like a decent setup. I normally grow using RDWC(been at it for a few years now) but I decided to run a couple of Auto's in 5 gal buckets. Only real difference I do is to use a Grodan Delta 6.5 4x4x2.5 cube in a 6" netlid. I add a layer of hydroton in the bottom and then place the cube in the lid and cover with hydroton. I've found that using Rapid rooters to start seedlings and then place in the hole in the cube-always gives me great results. Only real difference I've seen between the DWC and RDWC is that it's a must to hand water the seedlings/starts until you see roots in the solution-after they have submerged it's the same routine for both.
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Nice! I got some jiffy pellets today, because they were the only ones I could find. Just got my seedlings transplanted into them today. Taproot is almost an inch long on the better seeds today. I've got them in the little humidity dome now, with the veg section of my lights on them. I have the lights pretty high up right now, and the seedlings are just below the surface of the peat, with the roots going further down into it. I'm guessing that keeping them moist, I'll see the seedlings pop up out of the soil and the roots through the bottom in the next few days to week?
 
They're starting to peek up out of the jiffy pellets, so I've got them under lights. Humidity's only @ 25%, so I put a humidifier in the room near the tent to hopefully bring it up. One of the beans popped out of its shell, but is still curled up in the soil. Not sure if it looks good or not.
 

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