Help choose between 2 diff dwc setups

[old blue]

I'll be moving into a new house in 2 months and will have a walk in closet specifically for growing. I was thinking of buying a 4x4x8 grow tent for flowering and a 4x2x4 tent to grow mothers and to clone and veg(under floros), to do a perpetual grow. I was wondering what would be a better setup to grow 4-5 BIG plants in, single 3gal bucket dwc or 1 main 20gal rubbermaid dwc with 5 holes in the top??? The light i have is a 400watt digital hps with 30% blue added, that's in a cool tube. And with that wattage light, and having all that height, should i just let em grow up, or lst em? Or maybe should i buy another cool tubed 400 to add and run inline with mine and let em grow big???

 

[BuddyLuv]

Go with single buckets. It will be easier to rotate the new plants in the garden while harvesting the old.

 

[old blue]

Go with single buckets. It will be easier to rotate the new plants in the garden while harvesting the old.

If i go with singles, is it better to go with 3 or 5gal buckets?

 

[TURKEYNECK]

If you plan to grow big you should go ahead an use 5gal, They drink alot in flower.

 

[old blue]

If you plan to grow big you should go ahead an use 5gal, They drink alot in flower.

ok, i'll go with the 5s. Since i'm gettin a 4x4x8 tent, should i use my 400 mh/hps combo to just veg in the mother chamber and buy a bigger light for the flower chamber, or is the 400 good enough? maybe go with a 600 or 1000 in a cooltube?

 

[massproducer]

I would say that you want to consider getting a 1000 and a cool tube or 2 - 400's

 

[old blue]

I would say that you want to consider getting a 1000 and a cool tube or 2 - 400's

hey mass, would it be more cost efficient to get the 1000 in a cooltube or just buy an additional 400 to run inline with mine? Like i said above, i'm going to have a big flowering tent AND a seperate small mother & clone/vegging tent. So i can either use my 400 mh for the small tent, and buy the 1000 for the big one, or i can get t5s for the small tent and use my 400 with an additional 400 for the flowering tent. Which whould be better? Is a t5 setup better to use for mothers/clones/vegging than my 400 mh??? It would probably be cheaper to just get a 1000, right?

 

[city]

well from reading this and me i do both. so it just deppend on what you plan on doing. if you want to keep a low profile and do a sea of green grow. go with the tub. if you are only doing a couple of plants do the buckets..
you can harvest the same. 1-6' plant harvest the same as 6-1' plants. running that light in the tent i would go sea of green.

 

[CasualGrower]

Depending on how big, Big is.... I grow about 6 3 footers under each 400 watt HPS. with pretty good results.

 

[old blue]

Depending on how big, Big is.... I grow about 6 3 footers under each 400 watt HPS. with pretty good results.

I like the sound of that. I will be doing kind of a perpetual grow, so 6 3-4' plants in flower at a time is right about what i want. Do u think it's worth the extra $280 to add an additional cooltubed 400hps inline with mine? I don't know how much extra weight i would get by going from 1 400 to 2. I'll be growing 8wk flowering plants, so i'll basically be vegging for 8wks from cutting clones.

 

[Brussels]

I'll be growing 8wk flowering plants, so i'll basically be vegging for 8wks from cutting clones.

Old Blue, In my experience, if you veg clones for eight weeks, you're going to have some monster plants using DWC. If your intention is to have finished plants at 3' to 4' tall, you'll need to start flowering clones at about one foot. They'll grow a great deal more during flowering.

Also, using the formula of 50w of HID lighting per ft/sq, 800watts will do nicely. There will, however, also be another issue. The distance from your plant canopy to the light should be a constant distance. Light diminishes very quickly. Consequently, your light with need a method to be raised and lowered -- I use simply pulleys with cleats to secure the lines -- or you'll need an adjustable platform for your plants to sit on. With four 5gal dwc's, that platform will need to be quite sturdy.

One last 'fly in the ointment' is going to be draining and replenishing your solution. Inside your new house, in a 4'x4' space, this could range from difficult to a disaster. I use a pond pump to replace/add solution: also, my five gal buckets have a drain fitting near the base, with a length of clear plastic tubing attached. A gravity drain works well for me. This tube has the added advantage of, when secured in a vertical position up the side of the bucket, shows the solution level at a glance.
While an incredible method to grow, DWC does take a bit of forethought.
Good luck with your project, and keep us informed...B

Edit: Just one last thought: exhaust. If your tents will be in a walkin closet, venting into your attic might be ideal. Few of us want to cut a hole in an outside wall, to install a 'dryer vent' coming from a bedroom.

 

[Puffin Afatty]

I'll be moving into a new house in 2 months and will have a walk in closet specifically for growing. I was thinking of buying a 4x4x8 grow tent for flowering and a 4x2x4 tent to grow mothers and to clone and veg(under floros), to do a perpetual grow. I was wondering what would be a better setup to grow 4-5 BIG plants in, single 3gal bucket dwc or 1 main 20gal rubbermaid dwc with 5 holes in the top??? The light i have is a 400watt digital hps with 30% blue added, that's in a cool tube. And with that wattage light, and having all that height, should i just let em grow up, or lst em? Or maybe should i buy another cool tubed 400 to add and run inline with mine and let em grow big???

:ciao: OldBlue

:farm: I only use about 1/2 of my space, the far end, for my grow. I use 1 400w hps for the lighting and it does fine for me. placing the 400w in the middle of a 4ft side, 24 inches from the back wall, gives me the most efficient use of the lamp [only effective in a 20-22 inch radius from the lamp] it nicely lights a 4ft x 4ft area. I can get alot of 22 inch tall colas in a 4x4 canopy

That said, when I want more depth, I run a light mover :hubba:

I have often contemplated going to a 1000w, and I'd have to move the right side wall, raise the ceiling and run a new circuit from the box. Way toooo much work for me and On top of that, I dont need that much smoke :rofl:

 

[old blue]

Old Blue, In my experience, if you veg clones for eight weeks, you're going to have some monster plants using DWC. If your intention is to have finished plants at 3' to 4' tall, you'll need to start flowering clones at about one foot. They'll grow a great deal more during flowering.

Also, using the formula of 50w of HID lighting per ft/sq, 800watts will do nicely. There will, however, also be another issue. The distance from your plant canopy to the light should be a constant distance. Light diminishes very quickly. Consequently, your light with need a method to be raised and lowered -- I use simply pulleys with cleats to secure the lines -- or you'll need an adjustable platform for your plants to sit on. With four 5gal dwc's, that platform will need to be quite sturdy.

One last 'fly in the ointment' is going to be draining and replenishing your solution. Inside your new house, in a 4'x4' space, this could range from difficult to a disaster. I use a pond pump to replace/add solution: also, my five gal buckets have a drain fitting near the base, with a length of clear plastic tubing attached. A gravity drain works well for me. This tube has the added advantage of, when secured in a vertical position up the side of the bucket, shows the solution level at a glance.
While an incredible method to grow, DWC does take a bit of forethought.
Good luck with your project, and keep us informed...B

Edit: Just one last thought: exhaust. If your tents will be in a walkin closet, venting into your attic might be ideal. Few of us want to cut a hole in an outside wall, to install a 'dryer vent' coming from a bedroom.

The closet is fairly spacey, so i'm not too worried about access to the plants for water changes. The way i'll do it is have 4 extra buckets to use for the change up, to simply lift the "net lid" and transfer it right to the new bucket, and just remove the old ones, one by one. Due to the veg/clone area being low, i'll be using 3 1/2 gal buckets with 6in net lids in veg, and then put the lid on the 5 gal buckets when putting them in flower, to let the roots breath a lil more. Or should i just stick with 3 1/2 gal the whole way thru?

And about the 8 wk veg. That would include a few weeks for the clones to root, that will be taken a week before the vegging plants go into the flowering chamber. So, in reality, they'd be only vegging for 6-7 weeks. And i'm only going to do 4 plants at a time, and top or lst them in veg. I've decided to just stick with the 400hps i have, and flower the 4 lst'd bushy plants at a time. I figure if a plant is cloned for @ 2 weeks, vegged for 6 weeks, then in flower for 8 weeks(doing short flowering strains), i can get a fairly decent yeild every 8 weeks. ;-)

 

[Brussels]

And about the 8 wk veg. That would include a few weeks for the clones to root, that will be taken a week before the vegging plants go into the flowering chamber. So, in reality, they'd be only vegging for 6-7 weeks. ;-)

"In reality", for 6 or 7 weeks of dwc vegetative growth, you'll have massive plants to deal with. I have seven successful dwc grows behind me, and I'm simply trying to give you fair warning and sound advice, not diss your thoughts on the subject. Doing 'hand transfers' into spare buckets is fine for one or two plants. (it's still messy, get a good tarp)I quickly tired of it with four plants in 5gal buckets. I suspect you're tire of it after a couple weeks like the rest of us and moved on to a more time/labor efficient method.

Your clones, if done in rockwool cubes (I always boil my rockwool first) will take root in from 7 to 10 days. If you use coco coir, it's take 6 to 7 days...B

 

[old blue]

"In reality", for 6 or 7 weeks of dwc vegetative growth, you'll have massive plants to deal with. I have seven successful dwc grows behind me, and I'm simply trying to give you fair warning and sound advice, not diss your thoughts on the subject. Doing 'hand transfers' into spare buckets is fine for one or two plants. (it's still messy, get a good tarp)I quickly tired of it with four plants in 5gal buckets. I suspect you're tire of it after a couple weeks like the rest of us and moved on to a more time/labor efficient method.

Your clones, if done in rockwool cubes (I always boil my rockwool first) will take root in from 7 to 10 days. If you use coco coir, it's take 6 to 7 days...B

Well, i greatly appreciate any and all advise u can give me. I do want to have 4 bushy monsters(i'd like to get 2-3ozs/plant). I want a pretty even canopy so that my 400watter will penetrate.

And i made one of massproducers, DIY cloners, that i plan to use. And i'll either put into rockwool after they root, or just put rooted clones right into netpot with hydroton.

I can see how changing out all the buckets every 7-10 days will be a pain, especially with having 4 in veg, and another 4 in flower all the time. So what do u recommend as an easier way to change solution. I'm thinking maybe cut a 3/4" hole in lid, and stick a tube down to the bottom(with a screen taped on to not suck roots up) and use an inline electric pump. And then just reverse it to refill the buckets with new solution. That would probably be easiest.

 

[andy52]

dang,i'm going to try one bucket for my 1st run and you guys sure made me sweat there,lol i will do some serious thinking about the res change deal.i'm in tents and it has to have some thought.thanks all for the great ideas

 

[HydroManiac]

Are you sure your tent can hold HID lights usually tents hold flos or cfls...

 

[old blue]

Are you sure your tent can hold HID lights usually tents hold flos or cfls...

That's not true. Actually tents are made to handle HID lights.

 

[ALLWaYsHiGh]

im going to do 4 5gal buckets in flower too but for veg im goining to start them off in a tote together then put them in the 5gal under 400hps

 

[old blue]

im going to do 4 5gal buckets in flower too but for veg im goining to start them off in a tote together then put them in the 5gal under 400hps

How long will u be vegging for? Won't their roots get to tangled up? I don't think this will work for me, being i'll be doing a perpetual grow, so they'll be vegging the whole time others will be in flower. So, i'm guessin they'll be huge by the time they go to flower with a big root structure.