Dual water DWC Idea

Spasticrat · Oct 16, 2023

Planning on expanding my grow area next year,
And have been thinking about a ways to implement a better setup.

I had this idea of splitting the buckets (in my case square buckets) with a divider, and then one each side of the divider having separate water for the roots, one side could be kept at a constant 5.8ph , and the other at a constant 6.3.
Then later in the grow with the root in both reservoirs of water, nutrient uptake would be perfect, I wouldn't have to swing the ph around, to allow for ideal uptake of x nutrient.

And this adds a safety buffer to prevent lockout, if one of the reservoirs ph dips or spikes outside of normal for some reason, the plant will still have the other side of the reservoir, that is within normal ph. To prevent lockout.

I know this would be more work, any thoughts?

TCH · Oct 16, 2023

Seems like way too much work and effort fir me. That said, post a journal, id love to watch it unfold.

MedicinalMyA$$ · Oct 16, 2023

Spasticrat said:
Planning on expanding my grow area next year,
And have been thinking about a ways to implement a better setup.

I had this idea of splitting the buckets (in my case square buckets) with a divider, and then one each side of the divider having separate water for the roots, one side could be kept at a constant 5.8ph , and the other at a constant 6.3.
Then later in the grow with the root in both reservoirs of water, nutrient uptake would be perfect, I wouldn't have to swing the ph around, to allow for ideal uptake of x nutrient.

And this adds a safety buffer to prevent lockout, if one of the reservoirs ph dips or spikes outside of normal for some reason, the plant will still have the other side of the reservoir, that is within normal ph. To prevent lockout.

I know this would be more work, any thoughts?

That sounds interesting, makes me wonder about multiple splits into separate N/P/K/Micros.

Splitting buckets with a divider sounds like trouble, maybe two separate buckets?

Spasticrat · Oct 16, 2023

MedicinalMyA$$ said:
That sounds interesting, makes me wonder about multiple splits into separate N/P/K/Micros.

Splitting buckets with a divider sounds like trouble, maybe two separate buckets?

Yea I thought about separate buckets, but then how do you seal them and keep light out?
Man now you got my head spinning with npk divisions

bluegill · Oct 16, 2023

This is called a split root system (SRS). It's used a lot in ag science for experimentation purposes. Generally, there is a risk that this will lead to uneven growth patterns. If you start seeing a deficiency, how exactly would you know which reservoir split to address?

Installing a reso partition/divider with some marine epoxy would probably be the easiest part of this experiment.

rkymtnman · Oct 16, 2023

i think you're gonna find it's better to let the pH range b/t 5.5 and 6.5 instead of 2 fixed values.

but try it out. take pics. start a journal.

MedicinalMyA$$ · Oct 16, 2023

Spasticrat said:
Yea I thought about separate buckets, but then how do you seal them and keep light out?
Man now you got my head spinning with npk divisions

What about separate buckets inside a tote? Net cup sits on tote lid like normal, underneath the roots are split into buckets/divisions?

amneziaHaze · Oct 16, 2023

That would be a cool diary to follow.
Just use aquarium silicone and devide it with plastic or plexi

Spasticrat · Oct 17, 2023

rkymtnman said:
i think you're gonna find it's better to let the pH range b/t 5.5 and 6.5 instead of 2 fixed values.

but try it out. take pics. start a journal.

What got me thinking was looking at this chart.
I wonder how accurate it is? And if there are any other to compare it to. Looks like 1 res at 5.7, and the other at 6.3 would do the trick.

Spasticrat · Oct 17, 2023

bluegill said:
This is called a split root system (SRS). It's used a lot in ag science for experimentation purposes. Generally, there is a risk that this will lead to uneven growth patterns. If you start seeing a deficiency, how exactly would you know which reservoir split to address?

Installing a reso partition/divider with some marine epoxy would probably be the easiest part of this experiment.

Theoretically if I had melobdynum or phosphorous deficiency, I'd know it's on the 5.7 res, if I had a cal/mag deficiency it'd be on the 6.3 res, and all others would mean both res are low on that compound such as nitrogen, atleast according to the chart I posted above

Lou66 · Oct 17, 2023

I mean I would like to follow it. The idea is crazy and probably won't work in practice but you will learn a lot.

You need good pH control to actually realize your concept. Throwing some cheap or mildly expensive pH probes in there won't do it. High quality meters coupled to dosing pumps to correct drifts as they happen. They need to be calibrated and cleaned regularly too, probably multiple times per week to stay accurate.

And if you're willing to go all the way in terms of labour and money, why not focus on basics? Hit VPD and light and have better outcome. Last time I checked nutrient uptake was not the problem in many grows.

bluegill · Oct 17, 2023

Spasticrat said:
Theoretically if I had melobdynum or phosphorous deficiency, I'd know it's on the 5.7 res, if I had a cal/mag deficiency it'd be on the 6.3 res, and all others would mean both res are low on that compound such as nitrogen, atleast according to the chart I posted above

I actually don't think it would be as simple as that. Granted, I'm just speculating, but I'd really look forward to seeing this technique implemented in DWC. AFAIK it's only been used in soil.

Spasticrat · Oct 17, 2023

Lou66 said:
I mean I would like to follow it. The idea is crazy and probably won't work in practice but you will learn a lot.

You need good pH control to actually realize your concept. Throwing some cheap or mildly expensive pH probes in there won't do it. High quality meters coupled to dosing pumps to correct drifts as they happen. They need to be calibrated and cleaned regularly too, probably multiple times per week to stay accurate.

And if you're willing to go all the way in terms of labour and money, why not focus on basics? Hit VPD and light and have better outcome. Last time I checked nutrient uptake was not the problem in many grows.

I may try to build a rig for this after the current grow, just to see what happens,
I would planning on using arduinos with the atlas scientific gravity pH setups.

I'm not so much in need of higher output, I want lower work. Funny enough what started this was me wanting to use pH automation. But didn't want the ph locked at a particular level.
I could honestly just just get ph automation and set it for a window between 5.5, and 6.5 and let it eat. On a regular res setup I mean.

If I do end up doing it I'll post results here

Dual water DWC Idea

Spasticrat

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TCH

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MedicinalMyA$$

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bluegill

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rkymtnman

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