organic soil grower looking to go DWC

[trichnut]

Iv been growing for about 5 years in 5 gal pots with a coco soil blend.
iv got four 4x8 table each with 2 1k watt hps lights. iv been producing 1.5-2 lbs per light on average.
its all hand watered.
a few reasons i want to switch:
some of my plants take longer to dry out.
some of my plants get yellow while others stay good and green.
hand watering is getting old.

after reading some other threads it sounds like DWC is the way to go.
im planning to use 72 buckets in a 128 sqft area... expandable to 90 buckets eventualy.

another concern i have is cleaning the buckets rez and feed lines.
oh and will there be any issues with staying with my organic nutes?
thanks for your comments and advise.

 

[ShecallshimThor]

depends on what kind of nutes i believe
some organic nutes might not be made for hydro,what you got?
as for plants yellowing and others staying green are these clones or seed?
i would guess if seed then it could be genes some plants stronger than others
as for cleaning your rez unless you decide not to i think your s o l
feed lines wont need cleaning unless you run a large rez that feeds the others because the only line you really need are air lines but the air stones might need replacing in time

 

[Tater]

You'll definatly need to look into organic hydro nutes as some react well and others not so much. I've heard of people having problems with organic nutes and airstones. Passing any gas through water will have an effect on it so thats something to watch for. I've heard of the bacteria going crazy and causing wild pH swings. I don't have the answer to your question wish I did. Let us know what you come up with, you could also just set up a feed line and a pump and timer and incorporate it into the system you already have, create a water table by placing a drain a few inche's off the bottom of the bucket. Mass producer has DIY on his coco buckets in the DIY section that shows what I'm talking about, makes it impossible to overwater. Good luck friend.

 

[trichnut]

depends on what kind of nutes i believe
some organic nutes might not be made for hydro,what you got?
as for plants yellowing and others staying green are these clones or seed?
i would guess if seed then it could be genes some plants stronger than others
as for cleaning your rez unless you decide not to i think your s o l
feed lines wont need cleaning unless you run a large rez that feeds the others because the only line you really need are air lines but the air stones might need replacing in time

-im using Botanicare Pure Blend Pro and compost tea
-I only use clones.
-Are you saying cleaning your rez is not required untill the end of the cycle? are there treatments you run in the system to keep stuff from growing in the water like HyOx? could that affect plant grow performance?

 

[trichnut]

you could also just set up a feed line and a pump and timer and incorporate it into the system you already have, create a water table by placing a drain a few inche's off the bottom of the bucket. Mass producer has DIY on his coco buckets in the DIY section that shows what I'm talking about, makes it impossible to overwater. Good luck friend.

not sure what your talking about. could you explain?

 

[trichnut]

I've heard of people having problems with organic nutes and airstones. Passing any gas through water will have an effect on it so thats something to watch for. I've heard of the bacteria going crazy and causing wild pH swings.

isnt there some systems that do not require air stones in each planter bucket. iv seen some that use an air pump that perculate water up to a feeding ring over the hydroton. (i cant remember where i saw that so i may be mistaken) only place i would need an airstone is the rez.

 

[pcduck]

isnt there some systems that do not require air stones in each planter bucket. iv seen some that use an air pump that perculate water up to a feeding ring over the hydroton. (i cant remember where i saw that so i may be mistaken) only place i would need an airstone is the rez.

I think you are thinking of GH's Waterfarm, I do not consider them DWC.

 

[ShecallshimThor]

no h2o2 when using organic
sorry not exp enough to say whats wrong with your babies but pics will help others to help you
im sayin that other ppl dont clean their rez some ppl just add water till ppms are low then add nuted water its just most ppl beliave that clean is better
ive read someone who has reveggeed 6 times without changing rez just adding
botanicaire is good for hydro i used it just watch not to burn

 

[pop65]

yo trich what size buckets you going to use.why dont you change over to say 12 to 15 gall tubs and put two or maybe three plants in each when it comes to changing and cleaning its half the work i know i changed my grow setup this way and its way easier to maintain and bigger rez means easier to keep cool to.as for cleaning i clean my tub with every rez change i clean airlines and airstones as well i use frozen bottles of watter to cool i even sterilise these on reg basis hopes this helps pop:afroweed: