First grow need some good advice DWC

[fragileassassin]

I keep spacing the fact that you want to get to scrog. A little creativity with drains and pumps can go long way.
I use dwc totes for mothers and various projects. I keep them slightly elevated and put a drain valve in them with a piece of 1/2" tube coming out to drain them. One nice part of this setup is I can put a pump inline on that hose turn the valve and pump the totes out.

 

[Vegatrain31]

When setup for wet use, you can just vacuum up straight water with it. I use it for everything from general sweeping up to spills to draining my systems. It can make things much easier in a limited work space. I have an 8 gallon one i think it is and it was worth every penny.



Peroxide is on the opposite side of hydroguard that was mentioned earlier.
Most of us in hydro use either something to sterilize the res or a beneficial bacteria to keep the bad stuff in check. Its not 100% needed by everyone, but doing one of the two makes things less likely to go bad and can hold off stuff like root rot in conditions that youd otherwise probably get it in.
Beneficials are stuff like hydroguard, southern ag garden friendly fungicide, and great white. With the southern ag being by far the cheapest.
Sterilizers are peroxide, chlorine (often in the form of pool shock), and bleach. All of these get used in very small amounts to kill off everything.

Both sides have been proven to be effective. The one you pick is up to you.
Sterilization is going to be cheaper, but I personally prefer to not nuke everything in my res.

Thank you very much I was going to use hydro guard and I was also wondering about rowater

 

[Vegatrain31]

I usually grow using an RDWC system but I have done random closet bucket grows.
My suggestion would be to rig up some method that allows you to drain/refill your buckets without having to move the plant.
If your plants get large(which is what most of us are after), it's a struggle to maneuver them onto another bucket without damage.
Using any type of scrog/trellis prevents you from moving the plants at all.

Man that is my has been my main worry I have done lots of research reading watching videos and talking with real people li j.g e you all.... so do you think I could do a 2 5g bucket rdwc in a 4x4x6 tent with scrog

 

[fragileassassin]

Man that is my has been my main worry I have done lots of research reading watching videos and talking with real people li j.g e you all.... so do you think I could do a 2 5g bucket rdwc in a 4x4x6 tent with scrog

sure could. square totes or buckets makes connecting things much easier though. If you can get the buckets off the ground a few inches, something simple like a shower drain in the bottom of the bucket with a connecting pipe between them can go a long way with a small budget.
You could even skip the pump and just have connected dwc buckets with an outside res to make draining and maintenance easier. I have stones and a pump in the flower system so if I turn the pump off theyre just connected dwc totes. tons of options here and lots of room to get creative and make your system work for you.

A lot of ppl that use RO dont need RO. I bought a filter and stopped using it halfway through my first grow. If you need it, its great, if you dont need it, its just creating unnecessary work for yourself and RO water is a harder to keep ph stable. RO strips out everything so you have to use calmag to add those back where as tap water may need little to none.
If you are on city water, start by trying to find water reports. This is typically public info that fairly readily available, but if youre in a smaller town you might have to make some calls.
Passed water reports a simple ppm check, most tap water below like 250ppm is perfectly fine for growing.

 

[Vegatrain31]

sure could. square totes or buckets makes connecting things much easier though. If you can get the buckets off the ground a few inches, something simple like a shower drain in the bottom of the bucket with a connecting pipe between them can go a long way with a small budget.
You could even skip the pump and just have connected dwc buckets with an outside res to make draining and maintenance easier. I have stones and a pump in the flower system so if I turn the pump off theyre just connected dwc totes. tons of options here and lots of room to get creative and make your system work for you.

A lot of ppl that use RO dont need RO. I bought a filter and stopped using it halfway through my first grow. If you need it, its great, if you dont need it, its just creating unnecessary work for yourself and RO water is a harder to keep ph stable. RO strips out everything so you have to use calmag to add those back where as tap water may need little to none.
If you are on city water, start by trying to find water reports. This is typically public info that fairly readily available, but if youre in a smaller town you might have to make some calls.
Passed water reports a simple ppm check, most tap water below like 250ppm is perfectly fine for growing.

Thanks I'm going to RDWC now I really appreciate your help, the one thing I need to do is see about what kind of water I'm going to use and then I will feel comfortable thanks again I really appreciate you and everyone else

 

[fragileassassin]

Thanks I'm going to RDWC now I really appreciate your help, the one thing I need to do is see about what kind of water I'm going to use and then I will feel comfortable thanks again I really appreciate you and everyone else

Not a problem at all! recovering from surgery on good meds and can talk r/dwc for days to start with.
Always happy to help, especially when its getting someone into hydro.

Just tossing this idea at you to get the thought process going. 2 27 gallon totes will fit nicely in a 4x4 and will give you the option of running 1 or 2 plants per box since they are big enough to fit 2 6" net pots in the lids. You can have 2 sets of lids or just cover the extra hole when not in use. You could do a simple setup like this for around $50 for the totes and all the plumbing parts. Just built a 4x 27 gal setup in a 4x8 for a local friend.
More water = more stable.
Here's 2 of the posts I kept up with if you havent seen my stuff.

Fragile back at it. DIY RDWC with the things.

Rinsing the system out with fresh water tonight so figured I would share the process some this time. Goal is to transplant tonight. Build of the veg system is in the link in my signature. This is my 5x5 veg tent, will share progress of the flower setup as I start prepping it here in the next...

www.rollitup.org

Fragile's Flowers Rnd 2! New veg room RDWC from first clones.

Feel free to post any comments or questions about my setup or grow!! Please just keep it on topic and somehow related to this post and try to keep multiple points to one post. I am always open to feedback or questions. Getting things set up for my 2nd crop and figure I'd start one of these...

www.rollitup.org

 

[Vegatrain31]

Not a problem at all! recovering from surgery on good meds and can talk r/dwc for days to start with.
Always happy to help, especially when its getting someone into hydro.

Just tossing this idea at you to get the thought process going. 2 27 gallon totes will fit nicely in a 4x4 and will give you the option of running 1 or 2 plants per box since they are big enough to fit 2 6" net pots in the lids. You can have 2 sets of lids or just cover the extra hole when not in use. You could do a simple setup like this for around $50 for the totes and all the plumbing parts. Just built a 4x 27 gal setup in a 4x8 for a local friend.
More water = more stable.
Here's 2 of the posts I kept up with if you havent seen my stuff.

Fragile back at it. DIY RDWC with the things.

Rinsing the system out with fresh water tonight so figured I would share the process some this time. Goal is to transplant tonight. Build of the veg system is in the link in my signature. This is my 5x5 veg tent, will share progress of the flower setup as I start prepping it here in the next...

www.rollitup.org

Fragile's Flowers Rnd 2! New veg room RDWC from first clones.

Feel free to post any comments or questions about my setup or grow!! Please just keep it on topic and somehow related to this post and try to keep multiple points to one post. I am always open to feedback or questions. Getting things set up for my 2nd crop and figure I'd start one of these...

www.rollitup.org

Wow!!! Nice!! How would I set up a 2 tub rdwc with reservoir in a 4x4 is there a parts list thank you

 

[fragileassassin]

Wow!!! Nice!! How would I set up a 2 tub rdwc with reservoir in a 4x4 is there a parts list thank you

Just woke up and catching up. I can draw you a diagram in a bit once I'm caught up and all the way awake.

 

[fragileassassin]

Just woke up and catching up. I can draw you a diagram in a bit once I'm caught up and all the way awake.

This is the only pic I have of the friends seup. Thats how the 27 gallon totes fit in a 4x8 so just imagine half of this.

 

[Vegatrain31]

This is the only pic I have of the friends seup. Thats how the 27 gallon totes fit in a 4x8 so just imagine half of this.
View attachment 4481709

Oh wow maybe I should stick to 5g rdwc huh

 

[fragileassassin]

Oh wow maybe I should stick to 5g rdwc huh

Why though? It's a 4x4, you dont need to get inside it imo. It looks cramped, but it fits pretty damn well imo. This will maximize potential for that space with up to 4 plants. Hell you could even go smaller than 6" pots and do 4 smaller plants per box.

This is how I would setup a 4x4 and pretty much how I did the previously mentioned system. Both options work, I like even things so prefer to go with option B for the drains.
With option A you could potentially put them up on blocks and use a single shower drain in the bottom of each box instead connecting them side to side.

 

[Vegatrain31]

Wow!!! Outstanding! I like option B as well and you are right I will not have to be in it and with reservoir outside it would be perfect!! I'm amazed you did those diagrams like that I appreciate it more th sc n you know THANK YOU

 

[fragileassassin]

Wow!!! Outstanding! I like option B as well and you are right I will not have to be in it and with reservoir outside it would be perfect!! I'm amazed you did those diagrams like that I appreciate it more th sc n you know THANK YOU

Not a problem at all. I absolutely LOVE doing this shit.
For me the setup was just as fun as growing. I had a blast figuring out how I wanted my systems and help everyone I can with planning.
That took me all of 10 mins to knock that out..

 

[Vegatrain31]

What's the best brand tent you like

 

[fragileassassin]

What's the best brand tent you like

I honestly just went with the cheapest one I could get on amazon that had all metal poles and corners, metal zippers, and the door/vent configuration I needed to make it work.
The 10x10 is pretty cheap and has pinholes I covered with foil tape but they havent been an issue during flower, idr the name but its some real cheap china company. Its otherwise held up fine for going on 2 years now. It was like $250 which is nuts for a 10x10
My 5x5 is a zazzy and Ive honestly been really impressed by the quality of that one for the price. Good and sturdy, quality zippers, and no pinholes.
I have flooded both of them with at least 1" of water and both bottom trays held the water in. The 10x10 had some minor seeping through the seems though.

 

[Vegatrain31]

I honestly just went with the cheapest one I could get on amazon that had all metal poles and corners, metal zippers, and the door/vent configuration I needed to make it work.
The 10x10 is pretty cheap and has pinholes I covered with foil tape but they havent been an issue during flower, idr the name but its some real cheap china company. Its otherwise held up fine for going on 2 years now. It was like $250 which is nuts for a 10x10
My 5x5 is a zazzy and Ive honestly been really impressed by the quality of that one for the price. Good and sturdy, quality zippers, and no pinholes.
I have flooded both of them with at least 1" of water and both bottom trays held the water in. The 10x10 had some minor seeping through the seems though.

Thank you very much

 

[GBAUTO]

What's the best brand tent you like

I don't know about 'best'.but the Vivosun tents I use downstairs have held up well for me.
I use a pair of 17 gal totes along each wall(5x5) of my 5x9 walk-in closet. Each tote has a 6" netlid connected with 2" drains. I don't use an external rez so I just pump from one end of the 'string' and dump it back into the first. Seems to work well for me.

New item by GBAUTO

photos.app.goo.gl

New item by GBAUTO

photos.app.goo.gl

 

[Vegatrain31]

I don't know about 'best'.but the Vivosun tents I use downstairs have held up well for me.
I use a pair of 17 gal totes along each wall(5x5) of my 5x9 walk-in closet. Each tote has a 6" netlid connected with 2" drains. I don't use an external rez so I just pump from one end of the 'string' and dump it back into the first. Seems to work well for me.

New item by GBAUTO

photos.app.goo.gl

New item by GBAUTO

photos.app.goo.gl

Where did you get those totes....nice setup

 

[GBAUTO]

Just some Home Depot HDX 17 gal totes. 700gph mag drive pump and 1/4hp chiller.
It's been an evolution for the past 4 years. I think I may have it all figured out next year...

 

[fragileassassin]

Just some Home Depot HDX 17 gal totes. 700gph mag drive pump and 1/4hp chiller.
It's been an evolution for the past 4 years. I think I may have it all figured out next year...

6x 17 gals, 800gph pump 30lmp of air per site and a 1/4 hp chiller. Ive loved every minute of it, even my failures.