DIY versatile hydro setup!

Gilligan's Highland

Gilligan's Highland

Member
i would love to hear from growers experienced in hydroponics (including dtw drip feed styles, recycling styles, dwc methods) and help me build something really cool here. I'm a fairly seasoned soil gardener currently but want to switch over to hydroponics (leaning towards coco coir). Definitely have done A LOT of research on different methods. Sounds like it can be as easy or as complicated as you want. Would love to hear people spitting out some ideas. So far a bought a 10 dollar metal sink top and set it in a metal "flood stand" haha.
 

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rkymtnman

rkymtnman

Well-Known Member
i started with dwc, went to rdwc and then to hempy buckets drain to waste. why? cause i like being able to go out of town and not worry about pH and EC. now i can go away for 2 weeks and come back to healthy plants.
 
Gilligan's Highland

Gilligan's Highland

Member
rkymtnman said:
i started with dwc, went to rdwc and then to hempy buckets drain to waste. why? cause i like being able to go out of town and not worry about pH and EC. now i can go away for 2 weeks and come back to healthy plants.
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Thanks for sharing! Sounds like you have a fully automated setup and one that you are confident in. im around my plants usually once a day but it would be nice to be able to get away and not worry. Mainly switching growing methods bc I'm between grows and what better time than now. Again, thanks for sharing. Pics would be great too people!
 
Gilligan's Highland

Gilligan's Highland

Member
How's the time to brag about your setup if there is a time hah. Would love to see some and or hear about other hydro setups. I think it would be cool to make this useable for top feed systems and dwc systems or something. Seems like a lot could be done. I will share pics as I continue to work on it.
 
rkymtnman

rkymtnman

Well-Known Member
Gilligan's Highland said:
I've never heard of hemp buckets. About to look up that. I might know what they are, just don't recognize the name
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it's basically a 5 gal bucket with a 7/16" hole drilled 2 inches up from the bottom. you can use most any media: i use growstones. it can't be overwatered and it's about the simplest hydro setup you can get.

did i lose yield over dwc/rdwc? yep. but being able to go away without worry was more important to me.

if i was home all the time and wanted to challenge myself, high pressure aeroponics is where it's at. NASA stuff.
 
Gilligan's Highland

Gilligan's Highland

Member
rkymtnman said:
it's basically a 5 gal bucket with a 7/16" hole drilled 2 inches up from the bottom. you can use most any media: i use growstones. it can't be overwatered and it's about the simplest hydro setup you can get.

did i lose yield over dwc/rdwc? yep. but being able to go away without worry was more important to me.

if i was home all the time and wanted to challenge myself, high pressure aeroponics is where it's at. NASA stuff.
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I will def have to check that out. Do you just hand water the growing medium from the top and then let the solution drain out the side holes. Does sound very simple. Too simple lol jkjk. And yea, I haven't even tried to read up on aeroponics bc it seems to easy to goof up, but my local hydro store guy grows that way
 
luv2grow

luv2grow

Well-Known Member
Rdwc for me. Started with a basic what I thought was Aero setup at the time. until I learned real quick how involved that equipment is to be a True Aero, Def some nasa shit... With Rdwc I leave for a while and have never had a problem. Just automate the ph system top that res off and get on with the surf trips. Works for me. Hempy's cool too. Basic and easy.
 
Gilligan's Highland

Gilligan's Highland

Member
Thanks fellow farmers for the ideas. Right now I'm leaning towards an automated top feed dtw setup. But that's just bc I've been doing a lot of reading about top feed systems. I am considering all possibilities though. I would like to make it interchangeable bc I'm always changing my mind on each grow ha
 
Gilligan's Highland

Gilligan's Highland

Member
Actually, after reading and youtubing all night again, I'm extremely turned off by dwc methods (including the waterfarm kits, if I understood them correctly) due to two factors....the threat of root rot and the threat of an electrical outage. I know there are ways to prevent it that roadblock, but it seems like it would make more sense to go with a method that could be taken over manually if need be....like a top feed dtw set up. But that's just my perpespecrive. Please let me know if I'm missing something, because those smart farm kits would seem ideal for single plant growing of for keeping a mother plant around but it seems like they employ a method with similar cons to a dwc setup
 
luv2grow

luv2grow

Well-Known Member
Power outages and hydro in general don't mix, unless you have a battery back up for your air pumps in Dwc then all is well for a time.
I've seen plants with nothing in the room running hang in there for a week in a half" There are problems with every kind of hydro system. And there are solutions. Just keep a open mind when figuring out which one will work best. They all have faults and they certainly all have benefits.

That water farm is pretty cool. Gonna have to look at that one.
 
visajoe1

visajoe1

Well-Known Member
I'm running two 5g DWC buckets modded to waterfarm in a 22"x35" tent. I love it. I think its much easier to grow than soil/soil-less, but I run a small setup. If I was doing something with 5+ plants, I would probably do some sort of drain to waste tho
 
Gilligan's Highland

Gilligan's Highland

Member
Man I'm telling you, I'm feeling burnt out from trying to figure out how to go about this. I went to a really really nice grow store today and talked to a long time grower who's been growing in hydro methods for a while, and I'll be honest,..it sounds like I'm in over my head. Buying one item for a hydro setup only led to having to buy another item....example...I went to buy a ppm meter and then went to get a reservoir,...and the guy then tells me that in order for me to even be able to grow properly in hydro and get peoper ppm readings, I have to get a r/o filter or buy r/o water constantly which is another 70 bucks...but it made sense because I don't want to measure my waters unknown chemicals and having it interfere with my nutrient readings, I might just stick with soil. Honestly, just the meter itself is fucking over a 100 bucks. I've been farming in soil for years and never messed with ec/ppms. It really seeems like a ripple effect once getting involved in hydo, and my wallet does not have the ability to surfive a ripple effect
 
Gilligan's Highland

Gilligan's Highland

Member
visajoe1 said:
I'm running two 5g DWC buckets modded to waterfarm in a 22"x35" tent. I love it. I think its much easier to grow than soil/soil-less, but I run a small setup. If I was doing something with 5+ plants, I would probably do some sort of drain to waste tho
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Sorry for sounding so negative in my response. I'm just upset that I've done all this research and I feel it's going to be to expensive for me to do. Could you explain further, because books say that dwc is very high maintenance, but growers of dwc say it's the easiest and best way to grow. Do you have to use reverse osmosis water and a $130 blue lab wand and a $90 resovoir etc lol
 
Gilligan's Highland

Gilligan's Highland

Member
I to just want to start running smaller setups but higher yields. I don't need to grow 12 plants at a time like I did in soil. Just need a nice mother, a few in veg and at least one in flower at all times. what I mean is, if I were getting higher yields like other dwc growers claim to get from each plant, I wouldn't need to run so many plants perpetually. I just grow for myself and sometimes donate clones to local compassion clubs
 
luv2grow

luv2grow

Well-Known Member
Just step into it slowly. A ppm/tds meter is a essential in my book regardless of your growing style. there's a lot of info and equipment to understand for sure. but it does come. In the end always go with the style that makes this hobby enjoyable for you. That's all that matters. And it shows through out your grow's
 
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