powergrow Dwc

[ame]http://www.amazon.com/Culture-Hydroponic-Bubbler-PowerGrow-Systems/dp/B00E5JZOZS/ref=sr_1_27?ie=UTF8&qid=1422781209&sr=8-27&keywords=hydroponics+supplies[/ame].

Was lookin at buying this setup, anybody use this setup? Any info would be great! Thank you
BtL

This is a simple DWC set up. Nothing at all fancy about it and incredibly easy to put together yourself for less money. You can put something like this together probably a lot cheaper. Forget the tubes up the sides--not needed and just a place to leak and let algae grow. It is just black 5 gal buckets, lids with net pots built in that you can buy, and a not very big pump and some air stones. All of these things are fairly inexpensive. I personally would get a larger pump. I believe that if you price putting this together yourself it will be substantially less. All you would need to do is to put a hole in the side of the bucket up high for the air line. I don't like that they do not tell you the volume of the pump or the size of the air stones. But at $112, that is $28 per bucket.

I also believe that you will find the air pump not up to adequately aerating 4 buckets. I like to have an air pump for every bucket or every 2 buckets unless it is a large commercial type (which are quite a bit more powerful, but louder). I also like to run 2 air stones per bucket. They can foul fairly easily in nute solution and if it fouls and the roots are not getting O they can rot and die.

Thank you Goddess.. i have been looking into building my own an researching different styles. BtL

I have been doin my research an i like the recirculating dwc system, and i will be building it myself after doin some pricing on parts . Im thinkin about 5-5 gal buckets 4 to grow an a res. Found some nice long air diffusers to coil up in the bottom of the buckets, i have aquariums so water testing an maintaining it i do alot, im gonna start a parts list an get the rest figured out an start getting stuff here for assembly. Goddess thank you!! Im sure ill have more question!! BtL

I don't really like those air stones like that that curl up in the bottom--they never seem to last long and they are hard to keep in the bottom of the bucket. You may have to experiment to find air stones that last and provide enough aeration for 5 gal buckets. Like I said, I run 2 stones per bucket. Do you have pH meters? Those strips or liquid are most people use with aquariums are not accurate enough for hydro.

I do not use RDWC because of the need to have all the same strain (or very compatible strains) because they are all getting the same food and the same height of plants as you cannot raise or lower any buckets. Unfortunately this makes it necessary to create a canopy at the height of the shortest plant. For a small space and just starting out, you might want to try individual buckets and then make them recirc as you get a little more familiar with your plants. One disaster can kill your plants and when recircing, if it is nute related in any way, all your plants can suffer. Also with individual buckets, you will have the opportunity to experiment some and see what level of nutes your plants like best, you can learn canopy management. I really really like to clean out all the buckets on a regular basis and inspect the root systems of the plants. This is another thing that will be hard with a RDWC. Please give it some thought before you connect all these buckets together and start adding water pumps.

Yes i have a digital ph meter, i think as a noob to hydro a rwdc would be easier to keep stable with only 1 res. instead of tryin to keep 4 separate buckets stable, an i plan on making it easy to disassemble for cleaning, if you use flexable tubing you should be able to raise a bucket an put a spacer under it if need be. The air diffusers are stainless steel so they should be heavy enough to stay on the bottum, i have a bunch of different kinds of pumps an air stones already so ill be able to do some testing an see what works best. I havent made a forsure decision yet, an im still in the design stage so things could change..BtL

I am actually of the opposite mind. While larger volumes of water are easier to keep the pH stabilized, there are other things that can cause more and larger problems, IME. A root problem/disease in any one of the plants will be transferred to all the other plants. Water pumps raise the temperatures of the res, sometimes this requires the addition of an expensive res cooler. Res water that is too warm will not carry the amount of DO that cooler temps will and the roots will be at risk of problems and disease caused by this. Any imbalance in the nute mix will affect all the plants. If you have any problems, it is virtually impossible to remove and clean the buckets and res. Icky gunk will build up. There will have to be advanced canopy control to keep the canopy nice and even. Even with clones from the same mother you can get quite varied growth.

Of course it is up to you, but if you are going with RDWC just because you believe it will be easier, I do disagree.

As always great advice! I think ill start with the DWC to get my feet wet! Lol
gathering items an prepping the space, i need something to keep my mind off the plants about to harvest soon! Thanks Goddess! Lookin forward to this been wanting to for awhile! BtL

If youre gonna DIY a hydro system, want something a little more forgiving and can have a varying number of plants in, why not look into building your own ebb n Flood table? You still only have to use 1 res, you don't need as many air pumps or stones and your roots will stay super oxygenated all the time.

Im just getting started with the hydro so im starting out small.

How many plants are you wanting?

I usually run 4-6 plants, im in the process of setting up this second spot so i can grow continuous an try to harvest every 3 to 4 months is the goal. Dwc is simple to assemble an very easy to move, clean, etc from what ive read an heard from others thats why im going Dwc instead of flood & drain. That might change down the road we shall see. BtL

http://www.kalyx.com/shopexd.asp?id=1211237

anybody use these type air diffusers for Dwc? They look pretty good. BtL

I do not like the ones made from that rubbery material. They just do not seem to last or to bubble as well as other types. I also would rather have 2 smaller stones/diffusers than 1 single large one as they do foul and quit working sometimes.

Ive decided to hold off on the hydro for now, i just spent alot of money getting setup from scratch, im gonna continue in the soil for now an slowly work in the hydro. Thank you all for the input. BtL

Thank you Godness!