forScience
New Member
Have been playing on and off with DWC systems for a bit, thought I would share my most recent hobby. The plan is to build two
identical systems, where I can exert as much control as is reasonable, and generate good data and good bud.
The aim here is to make something that can be consistent while minimizing maintenance. I have had some successes and
some setbacks. First, here is the system right now. The plants were taken from their clone tray a month ago. The mother that they came from has been ravaged by spider mites, and these clones ended up webbed within a week. I think they are recovering nicely. The runt in the front was barely two sticks and a couple of tiny leaves a month ago.
The plants are in 3.5 gallon buckets, which have the same width as the top of a 5 gallon. There is a custom built pallet under them which allows the water return lines to run under the buckets. Each planter bucket has an air stone. This setup is great because plants can be individually removed for maintenance/spraying, just pop the top off and toss it on another bucket.
There is an air stone in each bucket, and passive drain from the bottom. The recirculation is accomplished via a timed top feed pumped up from the resevoir. I use an interval timer for this, 15 seconds on 5 minutes off.
Bottom mounting and wanting to keep the stand simple lead me to use 1/2 inch tube with grommet connections. I like these but they can become clogged, as happened in one of the buckets. It overflowed a bit, maybe 3 liters. I like the larger fitting connections with screens on the back better, but, they would require a higher stand, and larger tubing, even more so.
I put 3 valves and 2 Tees on the output from the resevoir. This allows the recirculation pump to do double duty to empty the
system out. The valve on the far end then becomes the input, allowing me to top feed water or or a wash solution, while I drain.
I have another bucket with a float valve (not pictured) to feed water in. That float valve is special and can take pressure (note: Not all can, the local hydro shop confessed to having a flooding issue when they hooked tap water to a gravity feed float valve!), so I hook it up to the line tap (I am contemplating adding a filter)
There you can see some of the water line. It is 1/4". You can get it and the compression fittings to connect it up at any hardware store. When the system is not being drained, I cover the res bucket, and toss a bucket full of water on top. That bucket is marked off in liters, and I just record the deltas every day when I check the PH and EC.
I am going to do a bit more pruning back and letting them grow for another couple of weeks, while I continue to treat the mites.I am thinking CO2 is the next logical addition, since it is a pretty well sealed up tent. 3x3x64. I will probably want to run one tank to two controllers, going to be pricy but should be worth it in the long run.
identical systems, where I can exert as much control as is reasonable, and generate good data and good bud.
The aim here is to make something that can be consistent while minimizing maintenance. I have had some successes and
some setbacks. First, here is the system right now. The plants were taken from their clone tray a month ago. The mother that they came from has been ravaged by spider mites, and these clones ended up webbed within a week. I think they are recovering nicely. The runt in the front was barely two sticks and a couple of tiny leaves a month ago.
The plants are in 3.5 gallon buckets, which have the same width as the top of a 5 gallon. There is a custom built pallet under them which allows the water return lines to run under the buckets. Each planter bucket has an air stone. This setup is great because plants can be individually removed for maintenance/spraying, just pop the top off and toss it on another bucket.
There is an air stone in each bucket, and passive drain from the bottom. The recirculation is accomplished via a timed top feed pumped up from the resevoir. I use an interval timer for this, 15 seconds on 5 minutes off.
Bottom mounting and wanting to keep the stand simple lead me to use 1/2 inch tube with grommet connections. I like these but they can become clogged, as happened in one of the buckets. It overflowed a bit, maybe 3 liters. I like the larger fitting connections with screens on the back better, but, they would require a higher stand, and larger tubing, even more so.
I put 3 valves and 2 Tees on the output from the resevoir. This allows the recirculation pump to do double duty to empty the
system out. The valve on the far end then becomes the input, allowing me to top feed water or or a wash solution, while I drain.
I have another bucket with a float valve (not pictured) to feed water in. That float valve is special and can take pressure (note: Not all can, the local hydro shop confessed to having a flooding issue when they hooked tap water to a gravity feed float valve!), so I hook it up to the line tap (I am contemplating adding a filter)
There you can see some of the water line. It is 1/4". You can get it and the compression fittings to connect it up at any hardware store. When the system is not being drained, I cover the res bucket, and toss a bucket full of water on top. That bucket is marked off in liters, and I just record the deltas every day when I check the PH and EC.
I am going to do a bit more pruning back and letting them grow for another couple of weeks, while I continue to treat the mites.I am thinking CO2 is the next logical addition, since it is a pretty well sealed up tent. 3x3x64. I will probably want to run one tank to two controllers, going to be pricy but should be worth it in the long run.