In regards to DWC and Ebb and Flow:
How many times per/crop do you DWC growers have to dump your reservoirs and clean them?
I use a fountain pump for my reservoir and in the entire time I've grown using Ebb and Flow, I've never had one fail during a grow. Maybe I'm just very lucky. I have one pump that's done about 10 grows so far. The ones that quit, do so after being shut off for an extended time. For some reason, fountain pumps don't like being out of use.
I use Beckett fountain pumps exclusively. The 185 gallon per/hour adjustable is my favorite.
If all I do is set up my system and then add nutrient solution until harvest, how can anything be easier than that? No cleaning, no dumping of reservoirs and no wasting of nutrient solution.
The fact that with DWC, you have to dump your reservoir and make new nutrient solution every week ? or so makes that much more work than the Ebb and Flow. Or do I have a mistaken impression of how DWC works?
As far as Hydroton dust...you should wash it prior to use. By doing this at setup, I've never had any collect in my reservoir.
All in all, the DWC is the easiest to understand. It's a plastic tub full of water with an air pump in it.
Ebb and Flow is much more complicated to set up, but it makes up for it during the grow with no maintenance at all. Just adding nutrient solution every couple of days and as with all inside grows, moving the light up when needed.
Hey, they all beat the hell out of buying weed on the street.
If you're growing in an old toilet, it still beats buying it on the street!
It's almost free weed.
The various spray methods do seem to clog spray heads way too often and that nasty old dirt is just, just, just....dirty! hehe
(All my Mothers are grown in dirt. I like the way it makes them grow slower.) :hubba: