DIY -DWC systems

[NYC_Diesel x Jack_Herer]

Hi all, I am in no way an expert at building DWC systems but I have done my fair share. I recently had someone send me a message asking me how I design mine after commenting in a post that they are cheap and easy to build. So I thought I would post my method here for everyone and just send him the link...yes I am going to this much trouble for one random person I have never met. I like the community here. I have learned a lot from this site so when someone asked me for help I thought I would return the knowledge. Everyone please feel free to comment, ask questions, or point out ways to improve the designs...

OK first thing first, you have to select your totes (reservoirs). There are a few important things to remember when selecting a container to be used as a DWC reservoir. Generally you can find something to use at Walmart, Lowe's etc....
1) The larger the reservoir you want to use, the sturdier it has to be. The larger the container, the more water it will have to hold. Don't go out and buy ten 30 gallon totes at Walmart, get them home, glue air stones in them, cut holes in the lids, fill them with water, and realize the sides distort too much from the water to fit the lid on. The same principle applies to the lid. The lid must be sturdy (and flat) enough to withstand having holes cut in it. You do not want your lid distorting halfway through flowering because of the weight causing your plants to all lean together.
2) The container you choose for a reservoir needs to be a minimum of 10 inches (12 preferably) deep. Picture a container that is ten inches deep. One inch off the bottom sits the top of your air stones. 3 inches below the top rests the bottom of your net cups, and the water level needs to be roughly 1 inch below that, this mean you are left with 5 inches of water in a 10 inch tall container. Plants can deplete water quickly and you do NOT want to ever let your res run dry. The plants will suffer quickly and also engulf the air stones which can cause them to not function properly. You also don't want to have to be adding water every day or mixing batches of nutes all the time.
3) You do not ever want to use a clear container. The roots must be kept in darkness at all times, light seeping into the reservoir will cause algae and other nasty stuff to start growing in your reservoir.
4) While most people know about #3, you also want to use a light colored container. It is important that your reservoir is able to stay in the mid 60 degree range, and having a black container that absorbs heat from your lights will cause the temps in your reservoir to rise. I always end up painting reservoir lids white for this reason (plus any extra light reflection I get when the plants are young and some light is getting all the way down to res level).

Here is a pic of a container before I have started altering it (roughly $8 at a big box store) The dimensions are 18x24x15 inches tall.

 

[NYC_Diesel x Jack_Herer]

Before we get started here is what we need besides our container...
1) Air stones (size and number depend on the size of the res, but figure 12 inches of air stones for every 20 gallons). You do not need your reservoir to be rolling like a hot tub, just bubbling.
2) Air pumps, again the number of outlets needed depends on the # of airstone. I typically use two 12 inch air stones per tote. The pics of the air pumps here just show you different types that can be used. There is an EcoAir 8 here that can run 8 airstones, a single outlet and a dual outlet. The small dual outlet air pump can be purchased for less than $10 at a bog box or pet supply store.
3) Air hose...very cheap and easily available at any place that sells aquarium equipment. It is probably sitting on the shelf in the store next to the air pumps. Since you want no light entering your resevoir, I use black air hose.
4) Hydroton, for your net cups. This one you are probably going to have to either order online or get from a hydro shop. Either way it is really cheap.
5) Air check valves. They cost $.90 each and can prevent you from electricuting yourself. They also make it easy to disconnect your air pumps from the air stones.
6) Water resistant superglue.
7) Cordless powerdrill and a 3.5 inch circular drill bit. I bought this drill at Home Depot for $19.95, the drill bit was $7.
8) Net cups. The net cups I use are easily available online or at any hydro shop, they cost $1.99 each. They have a 3.25 inch diamater base and a 3.75 inch diameter top, this causes them to sit perfectly in the 3.5 inch holes I cut.

(next post comming momentarily, please give me a minute....)

 

[NYC_Diesel x Jack_Herer]

Step #1:
Glue your airstones to the bottom of your res. Make sure you allow time for the glue to set before doing anything else.
Step #2:
Using a standard drill bit, drill the necessary number of holes needed to run your air hose. Do this on the SIDE of the res, as high as possible and as far from your net cup holes as possible.
Step #3:
Attach your air hose to the air stone, and run the other end through the hole your drilled (if you need to shave the hole a little bigger an exacto knife works fine). Cut the hose about 1-2inches outside of the hole you drilled.
Step #4:
Attach your air check-valve. (BE SURE YO ARE INSTALLING THE VALVE IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION!!!!)

Step #5(not shows in pic):
Run another air hose from your air check-valve to your air pump. The check valve prevents water from backing up in the line. They are not necessary if you keep your air pumps well above your resevoirs, but hey, they are $.90 and quite frankly anything for further piece of mind is great.

 

[NYC_Diesel x Jack_Herer]

When you cut the holes for your cups in the lid, remember that more holes is not always best. Plants need space. I usually devote anywhere from one square foot down to 8"x8" for each plant, but I have heard of people going one half square foot per plant in a plantlet sea of green method. Plants directly under the lights are kept short and bushier, plants in the corners are allowed to stretch and grow taller to reach over the other plants in the room. Because of this you can usually go with a slightly higher density in the corners if you are going to train the plants vertically.

These two pics illustrate the above. Tote #6 will be in the corner of the room, Tote #8 will be in the center. You can also see the air hose coming out of the side of this container. That is because the entire room was designed before I ran a single hose. This way i knew where I wanted my air hoses to come out for easiest approach and removal.

And for those of you that want to know why I run the hose out the side of the container instead of the top the answer is simple. I can walk up to my res. and remove the top lid, platns and all simply by picking it up. I do not have to disconnect anything. Since the water level in the tote never reaches higher than one inch below the net cups, water never comes out of the holes I drilled to run the hose.

 

[NYC_Diesel x Jack_Herer]

Once everything is finally done as I said above I paint the res. white. I label them before I paint them because I want to keep track of where each one is going.

Here is the new res with some baby girls in them. These were 6 clones that were given two weeks to root, and another 10 days before placing in the res.

The last pic shows them 17 days after that.

GOOD LUCK!

 

[donkey942]

Im going to give this a try with half my next batch, if all goes well Im going DWC all the way. I just built a bubble cloner. Thx for the DIY post very good. Hint-hint(sticky all the way)

 

[NatzTurnazHeadzBustaz]

Once everything is finally done as I said above I paint the res. white. I label them before I paint them because I want to keep track of where each one is going.

Here is the new res with some baby girls in them. These were 6 clones that were given two weeks to root, and another 10 days before placing in the res.

The last pic shows them 17 days after that.

GOOD LUCK!

Seeing this was great however I still have?'s How can I use this when starting with seed.

 

[NYC_Diesel x Jack_Herer]

Just start your seeds in grodan or another brand of rockwool cubes (or go paper towel and then move to the cubes when they pop). Leave the seerdlings in the cubes under a humidity dome and once the roots are popping out the bottom you just carefully move them to the DWC cups.

 

[NatzTurnazHeadzBustaz]

Whats a humidity dome? They don't have a dummy book for growers so I will ask alot of ?'s Hope its not a problem.

 

[NYC_Diesel x Jack_Herer]

When seedlings or clones are very young higher levels of humidity help speed growth and root formation. HOWEVER, humidity that is too high will kill the seedlings. A humidity dome is basically a square or rectangular piece of plastic with one side open that can be placed over seedlings or clones. The better ones have valves on the top that can be adjusted open or closed to control the humidity level.

I don't have a pic of mine on my computer but I use the exact same one that NorCalHal uses and he has some pics here in his cloning thread (his 4th post, last pic you can see it)....you can also see the grodan cubes I mentioned.
http://www.marijuanapassion.com/forum/showthread.php?t=33009

 

[ShecallshimThor]

very good thread thank you for taking the time to help everyone here

 

[NYC_Diesel x Jack_Herer]

Im going to give this a try with half my next batch, if all goes well Im going DWC all the way. I just built a bubble cloner. Thx for the DIY post very good. Hint-hint(sticky all the way)

Good luck. You will be surprised at how much smaller the node spacing is on DWC plants as compared to soil. Much easier to grow dense healthy plants and avoid stretch if you stay on your nutes.

 

[socbutter]

I am going through the mental process of constructing a DWC system. I am thinking of using black buckets with pre-made net pot in the lids for individual control of each plant. Painting the lids white is an excellent idea!

Does the size of the bucket matter for the growth of the plant or is that govern by the light source? What about the net cups does size matter?

I am wondering since I will be using a wardrode closet that is 48inches wide x 24inches deep x 72inches tall. Stealth is a major priority. I'm thinking of painting the interior a High Glossy White.

I 'm a noob so please excuse the following questions:

Are the entire roots/net cups immerse in the water/nute mixture?

How often do you change out the water? or do the plants completely use the water so all you are adding are combine water-nute mixture to the appropriate level?

Still I do not know how high the water level should be??

 

[NYC_Diesel x Jack_Herer]

Your answers sir, in no particular order.....(sorry I am really high)

When I fill the res the water level comes up to one inch below the bottom of the net cup. This allows the roots to draw the maximum amount of oxygen from the air & solution as well as nutrients and H2O from the solution.

The res's get emptied out, cleaned, and refilled with new solution once a week, if I need to top off the res during the week I will add more nutrient mix or plain water depending on the stage of growth I am in and what I feel the plant's condition dictates. Thisd is why if you figure you are going to put X number of resevoirs in your grow room, you always buy X + 1. This way when you go to take the lid of a res and clean it, you have another container to set the lid (plants) in while you do what you gotta do.

Painting the interior wall of the closet white would be smart.

The res should NEVER be allowed to run dry, ever. The roots will engulf the air stone, causing it to not function properly. Plus plants grown in DWC can die pretty quick if the res runs dry. This is something you should be checking constantly, you will be amazed at how much plants in a DWC drink.

Your closet volume is 48 square feet, and your footprint is 8 square feet meaning you could probably fit 8 plants in there easily enough. The problem is the height. With only 6 feet of vertical space, you will need to devote roughly 12 inches to to the DWC and another 8-12 to lighting, leaving you with 4-4.5 feet of vertical space to work with. This is enough, but you should read up on LST and you will not be able to veg huge monster plants, meaning you should not have any toruble with pot size.

Make no mistake about it, DWC is a lot more difficult growing medium than soil. Currently I use 6 different nute products in my res plus hydrogen peroxide at any given time in varying amounts depending on the stage of flower the plant is in. You also have to keep tabs on your PH and use products that adjust the ph, you have to monitor your ppm's and your temperatures to make sure your res isn't getting too hot.... a lot more stuff to worry about than picking up a watering can each day and watering a girl in dirt. But the rewards are amazing when you get your act together.

 

[Budders Keeper]

High Glossy White

Hello Socbutter, and sorry to but in NYC, but I would recommend using flat pure white paint as the gloss has the potential to create hot spots.

 

[NYC_Diesel x Jack_Herer]

Hello Socbutter, and sorry to but in NYC, but I would recommend using flat pure white paint as the gloss has the potential to create hot spots.

As Ed McMahon used to say, "YOU.....ARE CORRRECT SIR!"

 

[NatzTurnazHeadzBustaz]

Once everything is finally done as I said above I paint the res. white. I label them before I paint them because I want to keep track of where each one is going.

Here is the new res with some baby girls in them. These were 6 clones that were given two weeks to root, and another 10 days before placing in the res.

The last pic shows them 17 days after that.

GOOD LUCK!

Doc, instead of painting the res. white, can I put Omniflect on the lid of the res. instead?

 

[NYC_Diesel x Jack_Herer]

sure, I just do it because a darker colored res will absorb light and heat up more than one that is white. The omniflect would meet the same purpose.

 

[NatzTurnazHeadzBustaz]

sure, I just do it because a darker colored res will absorb light and heat up more than one that is white. The omniflect would meet the same purpose.

I misunderstood U. I thought U painted only the lid of the res. white, but U paint the entire res.? What if I paint the bottom half of the res. and use Omniflect 4 on the lid. Will this work better than a painted lid? Doc, U have 2 forgive Me 4 all the questions, but I LUV MJ and I want to provide optimum conditions.

 

[NYC_Diesel x Jack_Herer]

I just paint the lid white because when the plants first go into flower and they are short, the lights are kept down close and a dark res would heat up a little more. Some I spray painted the entire thing white but I get the same benefit as doing just the lid because it is really the only part that receives direct light. I'm sure the omniflect would do the job.