cutthoatish420
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anyone got any links to make a badass dwc system........................
dwc help
- Thread starter cutthoatish420
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Bleek187
higher than captain kirk
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DWC is so easy to make you dont really need plans... basicly all U need is some kind of tupperware, a air pump, air line, some air stones, and netpots and your ready.. just figure out how many plants you want in each tupperware, messure out the holes for the netpots, cut tha holes and the top is done... personaly i like to cover the top with black plastic and duct tape it on so no light gets thru... then hook up tha air pump to tha hose to tha stones and throw one in tha bottom of tha tupperware.. then just put your plants into tha netpots and stick um in tha holes you cut out for them.. turn on tha pump and there ya go... the ones i use hold about 10 gals each and i just top them off once a week and adjust the nutes and ph... works great... oh one tip that will help... when you first put the plants into tha dwc, most likely the roots wont be in tha water yet, so i just fill mine up to make sure the water is touching the netpot.. the rockwool soakes up tha water and the roots explode.. The beauty of DWC is the simplicity.
Tater
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I will post pictures of the ULTIMATE DWC project I've been working on. Hopefully I can get them up tonight, provided I finish working the kinks out of it. 55 gallons of water rushing into a 5 gallon pail all at once creates quite a bit of pressure. Its leaking out the lid lol, but I got an idea to create a proper seal that I REALLY hope works. Keep your eyes open kiddies, this is going to be cool.
T
The Hemp Goddess
Guest
Tater said:
Can't wait to see it--I am having trouble picturing this in my mind...but it sounds great.
B
BuddyLuv
Guest
Sounds like a soon to be flooded grow room to me
Tater
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Flooded with amazing pot maybe. But not water, the wife made it perfectly clear that I'm not allowed to create an indoor pool. The lid itself can handle the pressure its just that 5 gallon pails don't come with gaskets so at the moment I am experiencing a very small leakage problem. Due to unexpected events though the project is being put on hold for a day or two until I get a few things straightened out. And just to dispel the nay sayers no the problems did not arise in my grow room but out in the real world lol.
B
BuddyLuv
Guest
Can't you buy roles of DYI gasket at Lowe's? I still see your wife kicking your butt in the near future.
A
andy52
Guest
WHY WOULD YOU NEED THAT MUCH WATER FOR.i'd sure hate to have to change that res out.
andy52 said:
:yeahthat:
How many buckets ya got hooked up to 55 gallon res? I take it you aint never gonna have to top anything off.
A
andy52
Guest
this goes back to my beliefs on dwc.each plant has different needs and if you are doing different strains,thats even more reason to have individualized res's even the same strain,the plants grow at different paces and have different nute needs.jmo
Tater
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Your opinions are all dully noted (typo made on purpose).
1) the 55 gallon barrel doesn't contain 55 gallons of water at all times.
2) the only water that gets put into the 55 gallon drum comes from the tub.
3) each tub holds 8 plants and 40 liters of water (about 11 gallons give or take)
4) 6 tubs X 40 liters = 240 liters (or about 63 gallons)
E) I'm high
lolz) ok so the tubs are never totally emptied, each one will contain approximately 10-15 litres of water at all times
9) the 55 gallon drum acts as the mixing pot
Time to abondon the bullet points.
The 5 gallon pail is on the floor and is about 8 inch's lower than the tub. The 55 gallon rez, mix tank whatever you want to call it is above the 5 gallon pail. Every pair of tubs has a drain/fill line leading to the 5 gallon pail. It drains and fills on the same line. Now if the tubs are full then the 55 gallon drum is almost empty with just enough water to create a seal on the flapper valve (toilet tank valve). The 5 gallon pail remains full at all times because of hydrostatic pressure (hope I'm using the right term here). There is a pump in the pail that pumps water from the tubs into the 55 gallon rez, once its emtied about 3/4 of the water from tubs a float activates the flapper valve and the water runs from the 55 gallon drum out a 2 inch pvc line and back into the bucket then because of the differnce in pressure (the drum is higher than the tubs) all the water rushes back out the lines and into the tubs. This works because the pump can't keep up to the pace of the water rushing into the 5 gallon pail. Once the tubs are full the water level in the drum drops, the flapper closes and the cycle begins again. This way you get the best of both worlds. You get a recycling dwc system AND an ebb and flow system. Each tub has 2 6 inch airstones and at the moment everything is being run by a multitude of air pumps. In the near future I am purchasing a Coralife SL68 (don't quote me on the model number its off the top of my head) with 8 heads and it moves 68 liters of air per minute.
Every tub has its own individual connector and valve so tubs can be taken out of the sytem or added as needed. Plus it can easily be adapted to suit a flood and drain table. Oh yeah and I also got a 12 dollar tank top up valve for a toilet and installed it so that when the barrel drains back into the tubs if the water level drops below my set point it will automagically replenish the water in the system and keep it at a certain level. This avoids nutrient burn due to the plants transpiring water. Even if you check your ladies 1-2 times a day they could still cause themselves to burn if they were to say heavily feed while you are sleeping.
Thanks for the tip I'll look into that this afternoon. And I sure hope you are wrong on the butt kicking part.
Hopefully the above straightened some of that out and made things clearer for you. Also changing the res is a simple procedure. I take the fill line from the res and put it in a drain I installed in my wall of the grow room (yes its plumbed in lol) flip the switch on my pump and in 10 minutes the system is drained and ready to be changed. Most likely easier than what you do. I quite literally have take ALL of the physical labor out of maintaining my plants.
6 heavy duty rubbermaid tubs with 8 4" pots in each for a total of 48 plants
True but you can always find a balance that keeps everybody happy. Just because your plants CAN handle more nutrients does not mean that they NEED more nutrients. I've seen quite literally THOUSANDS of bedding plants of differing varieties, strains, hell species doing very well all being fed from the same trough if you will. I'm automating my system for three main reasons.
1) the challenge
2) because I can
3) it will result in healthier plants and bigger harvest in the long run.
Now after all that, if anyone has anything constructive to add I'm all ears.
PS Sorry for jacking your thread new dude, but it kinda answers your question to lol.
1) the 55 gallon barrel doesn't contain 55 gallons of water at all times.
2) the only water that gets put into the 55 gallon drum comes from the tub.
3) each tub holds 8 plants and 40 liters of water (about 11 gallons give or take)
4) 6 tubs X 40 liters = 240 liters (or about 63 gallons)
E) I'm high
lolz) ok so the tubs are never totally emptied, each one will contain approximately 10-15 litres of water at all times
9) the 55 gallon drum acts as the mixing pot
Time to abondon the bullet points.
The 5 gallon pail is on the floor and is about 8 inch's lower than the tub. The 55 gallon rez, mix tank whatever you want to call it is above the 5 gallon pail. Every pair of tubs has a drain/fill line leading to the 5 gallon pail. It drains and fills on the same line. Now if the tubs are full then the 55 gallon drum is almost empty with just enough water to create a seal on the flapper valve (toilet tank valve). The 5 gallon pail remains full at all times because of hydrostatic pressure (hope I'm using the right term here). There is a pump in the pail that pumps water from the tubs into the 55 gallon rez, once its emtied about 3/4 of the water from tubs a float activates the flapper valve and the water runs from the 55 gallon drum out a 2 inch pvc line and back into the bucket then because of the differnce in pressure (the drum is higher than the tubs) all the water rushes back out the lines and into the tubs. This works because the pump can't keep up to the pace of the water rushing into the 5 gallon pail. Once the tubs are full the water level in the drum drops, the flapper closes and the cycle begins again. This way you get the best of both worlds. You get a recycling dwc system AND an ebb and flow system. Each tub has 2 6 inch airstones and at the moment everything is being run by a multitude of air pumps. In the near future I am purchasing a Coralife SL68 (don't quote me on the model number its off the top of my head) with 8 heads and it moves 68 liters of air per minute.
Every tub has its own individual connector and valve so tubs can be taken out of the sytem or added as needed. Plus it can easily be adapted to suit a flood and drain table. Oh yeah and I also got a 12 dollar tank top up valve for a toilet and installed it so that when the barrel drains back into the tubs if the water level drops below my set point it will automagically replenish the water in the system and keep it at a certain level. This avoids nutrient burn due to the plants transpiring water. Even if you check your ladies 1-2 times a day they could still cause themselves to burn if they were to say heavily feed while you are sleeping.
Thanks for the tip I'll look into that this afternoon. And I sure hope you are wrong on the butt kicking part.
Hopefully the above straightened some of that out and made things clearer for you. Also changing the res is a simple procedure. I take the fill line from the res and put it in a drain I installed in my wall of the grow room (yes its plumbed in lol) flip the switch on my pump and in 10 minutes the system is drained and ready to be changed. Most likely easier than what you do. I quite literally have take ALL of the physical labor out of maintaining my plants.
6 heavy duty rubbermaid tubs with 8 4" pots in each for a total of 48 plants
True but you can always find a balance that keeps everybody happy. Just because your plants CAN handle more nutrients does not mean that they NEED more nutrients. I've seen quite literally THOUSANDS of bedding plants of differing varieties, strains, hell species doing very well all being fed from the same trough if you will. I'm automating my system for three main reasons.
1) the challenge
2) because I can
3) it will result in healthier plants and bigger harvest in the long run.
Now after all that, if anyone has anything constructive to add I'm all ears.
PS Sorry for jacking your thread new dude, but it kinda answers your question to lol.
pcduck
Feed the soil, not the plant
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tater said:
I am having a tough time following this
Do you have it going from a 55 gallon drum to a 40 liter tub then to a 5 gallon bucket
Would there be any chance that the roots would clog the drain and fill lines and valves?
A
andy52
Guest
thats why everyone has their own preferences.if it works for you,so be it.i personally would not want to take a chance on 50+ gals of nutrient solution leaking,unless i had it in an area with a floor drain.hell,i had a 5 gal bucket leak in my tent and it was a mess.plus water and elec. have a way of disagreeing with each other.good luck on this venture.i'm not ragging you,just commenting.
Tater
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Thats the only way I took it andy52. If I quit everytime someone told me I couldn't do something I wouldn't be here lol.
PCDuck:
Think of the 55 gallon drum as a mixing tank.
If the tubs are full the mixing tank is empty
If the mixing tank is full the tubs are empty.
It just constantly cycles the water between the tubs and the tank ensureing a good solution mix.
The line that drains the tubs is also the line that fills them, so it shouldn't clog because if it clogs on the way out the pressure on the way back in would clear the line, plus I got filters on them all (pantyhose). Also there is never enough water in the system to completely fill the tubs at anytime so the risk of flooding is low. The only way it could happen is if I had a line break or the seal on the 5 gallon pail fails. But because I'm aware of the issue I will address it before it becomes a problem.
think of the 5 gallon pail as a controller. It has the pump inside of it and three drain lines hooked to it. Each line is connected to two tubs. When the flapper is closed on the barrel gravity pulls water from the tubs to fill the bucket. The pump in the bucket pumps water up a line to the top of the barrel. When the barrel hits the drain mark the flapper opens and the water goes into the 5 gallon controller pail and gravity forces it back into the tubs.
PCDuck:
Think of the 55 gallon drum as a mixing tank.
If the tubs are full the mixing tank is empty
If the mixing tank is full the tubs are empty.
It just constantly cycles the water between the tubs and the tank ensureing a good solution mix.
The line that drains the tubs is also the line that fills them, so it shouldn't clog because if it clogs on the way out the pressure on the way back in would clear the line, plus I got filters on them all (pantyhose). Also there is never enough water in the system to completely fill the tubs at anytime so the risk of flooding is low. The only way it could happen is if I had a line break or the seal on the 5 gallon pail fails. But because I'm aware of the issue I will address it before it becomes a problem.
think of the 5 gallon pail as a controller. It has the pump inside of it and three drain lines hooked to it. Each line is connected to two tubs. When the flapper is closed on the barrel gravity pulls water from the tubs to fill the bucket. The pump in the bucket pumps water up a line to the top of the barrel. When the barrel hits the drain mark the flapper opens and the water goes into the 5 gallon controller pail and gravity forces it back into the tubs.
A
andy52
Guest
sounds like this will be a very efficent system.good luck and keep us posted with some pics.
Tater
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I'm hoping so. No guarantees but if it works the way I see it in my head it will be awesome. I'm sure I will ahve a few hiccups along the way.
I understand the pessimism, it dosen't bother me, in fact it's the opposite. You have all raised valid points and forced me to think more on the issue which is a good thing. Nothing like having another 30 sets of eyes check over your work.
I understand the pessimism, it dosen't bother me, in fact it's the opposite. You have all raised valid points and forced me to think more on the issue which is a good thing. Nothing like having another 30 sets of eyes check over your work.
