Aero vs RDWC, lets talk about it

[redi jedi]

So we dont have these same concerns in RDWC? growing big plants compared to aero i mean?

The plan was to grow 4 monsters over the winter, just to keep the room running. Its either gonna be RDWC or Aero, at this point im no closer to deciding lol

One thing about RDWC , theres tons more vids and threads/journals out there compared to Aero and many growers around here using RDWC so getting help and troubleshooting would probably be easier. So thats a bigger plus for sure.

Ive never done anything because it was easier tho, im in it for the love of the game lol

No, rdwc is great for large plants. Theres no way only part of the root mass is taking up water/nutes when its all submerged

 

[redi jedi]

Ya it would have been nice to see some of the details on how he did it. It seems a common theme with the stuff ive seen regarding aero setups, its like a closely guarded secret or some shit lol

Then it would be too easy for you to buy the individual components and make your own system

 

[diggs99]

@diggs99 here is my current "lpa" tote design. no control res, just a pump and manifold inside. 23 1 3/4" holes per lid with 2" neoprene collars. nothing fancy. if i were to replace them or build more, i have better designs in mind. i run five of them (plus an old, small ez cloner), and i use them for cloning, mom keeping, and light veg duty. when i am gearing up for a flowering cycle my own setup, i run 4 per tote and they sit in there for 2-3 weeks before moving to the rdwc veg.
View attachment 4423079 View attachment 4423081

Yep this is basically how i built my cloner, it works great, i love it.



I think for flower your idea of a top rim of sprayers would be good to help avoid root clogging ect.

I only want 1 plant per tote, 4 totes total. I was looking at 13g or 18g totes and a 40g res...i think these sizes would be fine for both aero or rdwc right?

 

[diggs99]

Then it would be too easy for you to buy the individual components and make your own system

Touche!!!

lol

 

[diggs99]

rdwc for sure. a 27 gal tote per plant=huge plants.

27g ? i was looking at 13s and 18s, never even considered bigger for some reason. How big would my res have to be using 4x 27s?

 

[rkymtnman]

27g ? i was looking at 13s and 18s, never even considered bigger for some reason. How big would my res have to be using 4x 27s?

i used 3 27 gallons. 2 plants per tote and the 3rd as the control outside the room. approx 30 to 40 gallons total.

and then i fed each grow tote with a waterfall from the control tote.

 

[rkymtnman]

and you don't really need a standalone res, the whole system becomes one large res moving tons of water thru it

 

[Axion42]

I agree with @rkymtnman RDWC all the way. The aero will be a pain for larger plants.

 

[Axion42]

Vegged for 4 weeks then 62 days in flower. Look at that stalk. Also dont mind all the fallen leaves my last grow had thrips and they got way out of hand on me in flower.

 

[thenasty1]

I only want 1 plant per tote, 4 totes total. I was looking at 13g or 18g totes and a 40g res...i think these sizes would be fine for both aero or rdwc right?

they would work, but id use the biggest totes that you can fit in your space

 

[diggs99]

View attachment 4423162
Vegged for 4 weeks then 62 days in flower. Look at that stalk. Also dont mind all the fallen leaves my last grow had thrips and they got way out of hand on me in flower.

Holy shit lol that's amazong

they would work, but id use the biggest totes that you can fit in your space

Ok sounds good. Rky suggested 27s so maybe I'll go with those.

 

[myke]

So looking at that root bound plant.if say you had water falls how would that work? There’s no water for the falls to hit so no bubbles.this is why I use air stones even with a root bound pot the roots float and the air bubbles are always on the bottom floating up. Now even with a large tote this same thing will happen. Roots will fill whatever container you have. So waterfalls will always have a problem when growing large plants.
Or am I missing something?

 

[Airwalker16]

View attachment 4423162
Vegged for 4 weeks then 62 days in flower. Look at that stalk. Also dont mind all the fallen leaves my last grow had thrips and they got way out of hand on me in flower.

I had thrips too.Fucked me over. Thank god for Monterey Bay garden insect spray with Spinosad. Bout to harvest and have nothing to put in their place. Taking clones tomorrow, then they gotta root, then veg for a few weeks, THEN go into flower... Put me a month behind at least and it fuckin sucks Ass.

 

[Airwalker16]

View attachment 4423162
Vegged for 4 weeks then 62 days in flower. Look at that stalk. Also dont mind all the fallen leaves my last grow had thrips and they got way out of hand on me in flower.

I could not for the life of me get ANYTHING to root in the cloner when they were infested with thrips. Did you experience this?

 

[Airwalker16]

So looking at that root bound plant.if say you had water falls how would that work? There’s no water for the falls to hit so no bubbles.this is why I use air stones even with a root bound pot the roots float and the air bubbles are always on the bottom floating up. Now even with a large tote this same thing will happen. Roots will fill whatever container you have. So waterfalls will always have a problem when growing large plants.
Or am I missing something?

The roots don't suck oxygen up through the bubbles. The bubbles break the waters surface tension and that allows the exchange to happen. Waterfalls simply have to be putting out water and filling the tote continuously. That's it. Constant breaking of surface tension

 

[Axion42]

So looking at that root bound plant.if say you had water falls how would that work? There’s no water for the falls to hit so no bubbles.this is why I use air stones even with a root bound pot the roots float and the air bubbles are always on the bottom floating up. Now even with a large tote this same thing will happen. Roots will fill whatever container you have. So waterfalls will always have a problem when growing large plants.
Or am I missing something?

I think its more about the circulation of water. I was amazed myself when I saw the roots but I went with 3 inch return lines and had plenty of flow of water. I had 6 plants in that system all with similar root balls.

 

[Axion42]

I had thrips too.Fucked me over. Thank god for Monterey Bay garden insect spray with Spinosad. Bout to harvest and have nothing to put in their place. Taking clones tomorrow, then they gotta root, then veg for a few weeks, THEN go into flower... Put me a month behind at least and it fuckin sucks Ass.

Yessir spinosad was the saving grace for me too. 1 week of treatments every 3 days and they were gone.

 

[Axion42]

I could not for the life of me get ANYTHING to root in the cloner when they were infested with thrips. Did you experience this?

I didnt end up continuing those genetics because of the infestation, I wanted to get rid of those plants asap and clean everything for 2 weeks with a bleach spray until I knew they were totally gone before I started a new run. Here's my current run 15 days since 12/12, vegged for 3 weeks. As you can see I still have sticky traps set just incase, but not a single bug so far.

 

[myke]

I think its more about the circulation of water. I was amazed myself when I saw the roots but I went with 3 inch return lines and had plenty of flow of water. I had 6 plants in that system all with similar root balls.

Ya it must be the air in your feed water. Cause there wasn’t any room for water in those pails.

 

[Wastei]

This is true. And why I said I use my system for moms and new strains and that's it.
It works,but aeroponics is really called FogPonics and you better know you're gonna need more than a neoprene collar to hold up a flowering plant. 3" netpot with hydroton MINIMUM.

Fogponics use ultrasonic foggers while Aeroponics use spray nozzles. Aeroponics will create big healthy lateral root growth. I've see to many problems with Fogponics, the roots won't develop hardy enough. They get to brittle with almost no laterals.

I use 2" neoprene rings in my system. You just have to support the plants with SOG net or whatever.