DWC with Foam Rafts in 5 gallon buckets?

If you want to flower for a long time, and with 2 plants per M2, those plants will get heavy. Styrofoam might not be the best material then. Take some heavy board that can carry the weight.
 
ttystikk said:
SIPS (sub irrigated pot system) might be worth looking at. There are some threads around here...
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I have some relatively huge pots that would work as SIPS, I have some rubbermaid blanket boxes with drains in one end, I could run sumps back to the top and it would recycle, but that’s two flood tables, I would definitely need to buy a proper one to feel happy about it. Probably something I should consider
 
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Keesje said:
If you want to flower for a long time, and with 2 plants per M2, those plants will get heavy. Styrofoam might not be the best material then. Take some heavy board that can carry the weight.
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2” thick dow blue board, cut to fit fairly tightly, with a pvc guidepost running through a hole in the raft and two pvc supports 2/5ths of the bucket height up from the bottom so the raft doesn’t sink too far during draining, the supports and guides can be put in place with a wall flange and some silicone 2+. I plan to cap or plug the guidepost and support tubes after filling them with play sand. I think it will work...I’m just not sure if it will be low maintenance enough to justify the setup or what unknown challenges I might face.
 
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Keesje said:
Are you doing this for fun, or do you want an easy system that will give you enough yield?
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I am doing it for fun and trying to improve performance at the same time. It would be interesting to find new systems that work well, but I am just playing around, really. I have run a fair bit of soil and coco media, time to try some full on hydro.

Rockwool and gravity fed drippers might be a great answer, too, I just don’t like all the media waste, and it is a logistical challenge to safely dispose of it.
 
Michael Huntherz said:
I am doing it for fun and trying to improve performance at the same time. It would be interesting to find new systems that work well, but I am just playing around, really. I have run a fair bit of soil and coco media, time to try some full on hydro.

Rockwool and gravity fed drippers might be a great answer, too, I just don’t like all the media waste, and it is a logistical challenge to safely dispose of it.
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I hear that. I just recently started reusing my hydroton. The time I spend re-rinsing the used hydroton is equal to the initial rinse of new hydroton. I always felt like a dick when tossing 20 lbs of the stuff in the garbage every 8 wks.
 
HydroRed said:
I hear that. I just recently started reusing my hydroton. The time I spend re-rinsing the used hydroton is equal to the initial rinse of new hydroton. I always felt like a dick when tossing 20 lbs of the stuff in the garbage every 8 wks.
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I don’t have an easy way of disposing of anything, though if they were to the point of investigating my garbage I would probably be fucked anyway.

I understand being wasteful, and feeling it. We threw away large numbers of empty aquafina bottles for many years, gf wouldn’t drink anything else. The RO machine was one of the smartest things I ever bought. I don’t usually use it for the plants or fish tanks any more, but the drinking water is a boon.

I pulled the trigger on basic supplies for doing traditional DWC in these buckets for now, only thing left is to grab some media. If I decide to go with the raft method down the road, I can do that with some minor modifications.

I would love to find something to break down root material quickly. Muriatic acid would do it, but that shit is dangerous, hoping to avoid that, if possible.
 
rkymtnman said:
harbor freight electric chipper/shredder. pretty cheap. mix up dried roots with yard material and done.
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I like it! My friend is an arborist with a chipper truck, but he won’t let me use it for this, hahaha, buying my own cheap one is a solid plan. Thanks, dude!
 
HydroRed said:
You running independent or with a master res?
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In fact I just realized all I need is tubing, two buckets and one more lid! Everything else will be here Monday, or I already have it.

I already have a couple of sumps, one for the return to the top and one for fill and drain operations.

I guess I am doing RDWC next run!
 
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