another grow journal

nongreenthumb

Well-Known Member
Ok so my dwc setups are going quite well, I started out with the idea that i would run aero alongside dwc and see which turned out better, well after setting both systems up I soon realised that dwc was the better option. The reason for this is that I soon realised that when running aero the roots would be misted and to allow this to happen the nutrient tank would have to be kept relatively low and eventually the roots would make it down to the solution and then end up having to use an air pump anyway, plus there was more maintanence involved with the aero with having to check and maintain and smaller nutrient level.


So now i am just doing dwc and thats it.

I run through how i set it up

I got myself two large containers for 20 plus postage
eBay.co.uk: 120ltr plastic container with rollers (item 300034253804 end time 31-Mar-07 08:54:14 BST)

I got 2 double outlet air pumps for 10 each

I got 12 airstone for 2.20
eBay.co.uk: 12 AIRSTONES AIR STONES 4 AQUARIUM FISH TANK PUMP POND (item 200089527656 end time 21-Mar-07 20:15:00 GMT)

Bubbler line 3 meters of £3

Some bubbler line t connectors

Some hardboard
1.99 for a large sheet

Net pots
6" 10 for £8.90

and covering for the hardboard lid
i used mylar and some bin liners as i had some left over maybe not a great choice but its done the job i wanted it to do. £5's worth



Total cost £68 ish for two 8 pot dwc systems
 

nongreenthumb

Well-Known Member
Instead of destroying the lid and not really having enough stability in the lid, i chose to use hardboard as it was easy to cut and would hold the weight of the 8 plants per system, I made the outlines of where i wanted the pots to be then I allowed for the lip of the net pots and cut the hardboard using a jigsaw, then covered the res side with bin liners and covered the topside with mylar.

I made good lengths from the bubbler line to lead from the air pumps into the res's and then made shorter lengths and used the t joints to hook up 3 airstones per outlet filled it up with water then added nutes blah blah blah, and then put my home made lid over the top, and then sank the net pots in and everything fits just nicely.
 

skunkushybrid

New Member
Looking good mate. I like the size of your container. I've only got 20 litres between 3 plants, so I'm not expecting them to get very big.

I have a larger grow with a friend. We have 2 x four plants sharing 60 litres, and 3 in a fish tank sharing 90litres.

Looking forward to more pic's.
 

nongreenthumb

Well-Known Member
ok so 19/20 germinated so far and for the good of the many i put them into rockwool yesterday and today I have 10 white rhino and 9 snow white seedlings

I pre soaked the rockwool in ph 5.5 and 700 ppm solution

This is how they are coming along

Oh and they arent stretched at all its just the camera angle, they are only 1 inch tall max
 

nongreenthumb

Well-Known Member
These are my white rhino and snow white, not very old at all. I had a ph issue when they first started as I got to grips with my new flood and drain veg station.
 

skunkushybrid

New Member
Looking good NGT. Are those in dwc? I have 2 dwc grows on. On the larger grow the plants are growing astronomically. I'm getting worried that the 8ft ceiling height isn't going to be enough. In fact, I know it isn't... So the plan is to bend and tie. I don't think I'm prepared enough on the larger grow for the amount of weight that these plants are going to produce. I'm going to have to tie the main stems at the bottom as well as the middle, just to guarantee enough support.

On the smaller dwc grow they are flowering really quickly. It's only been 8 days and the pistils are nearly meeting each other up the multiple stems. Plants LOVE DWC.
 

ILoveUMaryJane

Well-Known Member
Really helpful journal NGT, thanks very much. I'm thinking my next grow will be DWC too, do you find the results much different from soil?
Also, i'm interested to know where you get your seeds from and what nutes you use, and where you get them from. I'm in the UK too and am always interested in good suppliers.
Cheers
 

KushMaster85

Well-Known Member
NonGreenThumb, Looks good so far. I am just starting a system similar to yours only im using a 3gal bucket for the res. What nutes are you using, and what is the schedule you use? I just want to be able to get an idea of what other people are using for nutes and the schedule at wich they use them in this type of set-up. I know actual ppm levels depend on many things including climate, strian, set-up.. Keep up all the good work.:joint:
 

nongreenthumb

Well-Known Member
Really helpful journal NGT, thanks very much. I'm thinking my next grow will be DWC too, do you find the results much different from soil?
Also, i'm interested to know where you get your seeds from and what nutes you use, and where you get them from. I'm in the UK too and am always interested in good suppliers.
Cheers
the rate of growth when making a comparison between soil and hydro is phenomenal

I get my seeds from a shop that is about 20 mins down the road, same as any hydro supplies.

From my personal experience, i would go with a 1 part grow and bloom and get yourself a ec meter as this will save you amazing amounts of time.

With the two parts, i.e. grow a and grow b to make the solution you are going to have to measure out the parts accurately to get where you want to be.

Get a 1 part and an ec meter, then just pour a small amount in, check the ec, add water or nutes to get it up to the right level for the stage of the plant

I use growth technologies ionic rance

Ionic grow, ionic bloom and boost, super drive and liquid silicon.
 

skunkushybrid

New Member
That silicon sends the ph right up. How long do you leave it to settle before testing the ph of your feed?

I'm asking because we used liquid silicon on the larger dwc grow and we ph'd as normal. After a few days we ph'd the actual tanks themselves and the ph had risen to 7.

I didn't use it on the smaller grow and the ph of the tank has never gone above 5.8
 

nongreenthumb

Well-Known Member
When make a tank up, i half fill with water give it a good amount of nutes, then fill up with more water to help it mix and then add the final amount of nutes to bring it up to level. I use hard water nutes and this brings the ph down to around 6.2, then i ph down to 5.0 and then bring it back up to 5.7 with silicon and then check again the next day. But yes liquid silicon has a very high ph value and can be used as a ph up.
 

nongreenthumb

Well-Known Member
Well I decided I prefered how the plants grew in straight hydro, so ive altered my dwc and made them into flood n drain and re-utilized my wilma.

heres some vid
 
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