NEED SOME HELP WITH HYDRO

bl4ze:20

Well-Known Member

  • Eco Air 4 Air Pump - Four Outlets - 12 watts (with variable control)



Dual Diaphragm Air Pump with 4 Outlets - 20 Liters per Minute - Accepts 1/4 in. Tubing - 8 Watt - 120 Volt - General Hydroponics GH2716

Which of these 2 pumps would work best any information is appreciated before i purchase one and hate myself for getting the wrong one :|
 

cat of curiosity

Well-Known Member

  • Eco Air 4 Air Pump - Four Outlets - 12 watts (with variable control)



Dual Diaphragm Air Pump with 4 Outlets - 20 Liters per Minute - Accepts 1/4 in. Tubing - 8 Watt - 120 Volt - General Hydroponics GH2716

Which of these 2 pumps would work best any information is appreciated before i purchase one and hate myself for getting the wrong one :|
the second one is best, and would work well.
 

bl4ze:20

Well-Known Member
the second one is best, and would work well.
For my sake, i hope you're right cause i ordered the dual diaphragm pump and 4 air stones today. working on getting the money for the rest of my equipment. when its all here and everything is setup i will make a thread with pictures to show everyone how everything went and what it looks like. I'm doing the DIY (Do it yourself) method of my setup and buying the buckets and net pots from a local hardware store to save money as much as possible, gonna go pick up 5 pounds hydroton from a grow shop 3 towns away, i ordered Rockwool Stonewool plugs (Grodan) and TDS Meter + 50 feet of 3/4" airline tubing im gonna make it into 4 seperate tubes for the pump and i need to get 2 sets of ratchet ropes for the way i want to set my shit up.
 

cat of curiosity

Well-Known Member
For my sake, i hope you're right cause i ordered the dual diaphragm pump and 4 air stones today. working on getting the money for the rest of my equipment. when its all here and everything is setup i will make a thread with pictures to show everyone how everything went and what it looks like. I'm doing the DIY (Do it yourself) method of my setup and buying the buckets and net pots from a local hardware store to save money as much as possible, gonna go pick up 5 pounds hydroton from a grow shop 3 towns away, i ordered Rockwool Stonewool plugs (Grodan) and TDS Meter + 50 feet of 3/4" airline tubing im gonna make it into 4 seperate tubes for the pump and i need to get 2 sets of ratchet ropes for the way i want to set my shit up.
make sure you use BLACK airline tubing, and pretty sure you need 1/4'' for that pump. clear tubing will let light into your res, and promote algae and pythium.
 

mr sunshine

Well-Known Member
make sure you use BLACK airline tubing, and pretty sure you need 1/4'' for that pump. clear tubing will let light into your res, and promote algae and pythium.
What's up guys!! Op listen to everything the cat tells you!! He knows exactly what he's talking about....The guy is a hydro master!! I see that fucker moonshine was in here...talk about a troll huh!!
 
Wow this thread really turned around. Great info available here. Thank you Blaze for getting this started and much appreciation for the knowledge Cat!!!

I am trying to get a DWC going myself. I have a question about pot and container size that hasn't been answered here.
So, is the size of the net pot a limiting factor for growth? Is there a general rule to follow? Like 6 in pots for X expected height and 8 in will support a Y sized plant.
Same question but for the rez. How many gallons should be available per plant in early, veg, and flower stages?
I'm limited by space and time. I don't want big plants and don't have time for a long veg. I have two sizes for the rez a 12g and 18 g. I was going to start either 4 or 6 plants. I wanted to do 6 smaller ones with a 3.5 or 4 in pot. I would transfer them to the larger rez when needed. I've heard that its possible to use 3 or 5 gallon buckets as an individual rez. Would my 6 sharing 18 gallons be equivalent to the 3 gallon bucket as far as available water/nutes/air/space etc???
Thanks for the info and sorry for jumping in with my own questions. Thought they might apply here.

OP check youtube for DWC DIY videos. Sometimes the visual helps. Your tubing is a concern as Cat mentioned.
Most of the smaller pumps take 1/4 tubing. 3/4 would support way more airflow than you need for a few stones. You also want to make sure to get dark tubing and dark everything to keep algae from forming. Whichever size you end up with use a drill bit that size to put some holes in the side of the rez. Thread your tubing through and you won't have any lid closing issues. Good luck
 

cat of curiosity

Well-Known Member
Wow this thread really turned around. Great info available here. Thank you Blaze for getting this started and much appreciation for the knowledge Cat!!!

I am trying to get a DWC going myself. I have a question about pot and container size that hasn't been answered here.
So, is the size of the net pot a limiting factor for growth? Is there a general rule to follow? Like 6 in pots for X expected height and 8 in will support a Y sized plant.
Same question but for the rez. How many gallons should be available per plant in early, veg, and flower stages?
I'm limited by space and time. I don't want big plants and don't have time for a long veg. I have two sizes for the rez a 12g and 18 g. I was going to start either 4 or 6 plants. I wanted to do 6 smaller ones with a 3.5 or 4 in pot. I would transfer them to the larger rez when needed. I've heard that its possible to use 3 or 5 gallon buckets as an individual rez. Would my 6 sharing 18 gallons be equivalent to the 3 gallon bucket as far as available water/nutes/air/space etc???
Thanks for the info and sorry for jumping in with my own questions. Thought they might apply here.

OP check youtube for DWC DIY videos. Sometimes the visual helps. Your tubing is a concern as Cat mentioned.
Most of the smaller pumps take 1/4 tubing. 3/4 would support way more airflow than you need for a few stones. You also want to make sure to get dark tubing and dark everything to keep algae from forming. Whichever size you end up with use a drill bit that size to put some holes in the side of the rez. Thread your tubing through and you won't have any lid closing issues. Good luck
size of the netpot doesn't really matter; i used 3'' hd net pots for 3'x3' plants. downside is the net pots were busted at harvest from the huge trunks and roots. 6'' is fine for a 5g, the bucket is the root zone, not the pot.

i recommend 5g per plant for dwc. 3g per plant will work, but it's much higher maintenance. as for a multi-plant container, i say not a good idea; the plants have tons of lateral growth, and will crowd each other. dwc is a high performance technique. a 6'' clone is easily 14'' and bushy after two weeks of veg, and 3x3 after stretch. if you use one tote for several plants, flower after only a few days of veg from cutting to prevent overgrowing.

here's a picture of some early flower bushes...
 

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I think you may have asked about a hydro cloning system. DIY look here.
if you want an inexpensive one l think Botanicare has one for under $40 but I don't know if that is just the casing or everything you'd need(sprayer and pump)
Forgot to include that.
 

cat of curiosity

Well-Known Member
Thread your tubing through and you won't have any lid closing issues. Good luck
unless you have a drain line for the bucket, run the hose through the lid. that way, when you lift the lid to place on a fresh bucket of nutes, the stone goes with it. after 4 weeks in flower, the roots will have swallowed the stone, and it will be almost impossible to remove.
 

bl4ze:20

Well-Known Member
unless you have a drain line for the bucket, run the hose through the lid. that way, when you lift the lid to place on a fresh bucket of nutes, the stone goes with it. after 4 weeks in flower, the roots will have swallowed the stone, and it will be almost impossible to remove.
<3 you bro. You have been super helpful couldnt ask for better replies. I got black airline tubing instead of clear, black buckets (gonna surround my buckets in mylar to keep light from penetrating) i've got a 50 foot roll of mylar in my attic. i got 4 hydrofarm brand air stones i bought the general hydroponics dual diaphragm air pump (4 outlet). I bought 8 buckets (identical , made by hydrofarm) so that i can switch them out when i change rez without having to hurt my plants by setting them on something they shouldnt be sitting on i can just switch them to the fresh bucket / rez. I bought another 440 cfm blower w/ a y adaptor so i can use it with 2 different sets of duct and not have 2 fans running (just 1 with 2 ducts with twice the speed) and to top it off i bought another 1000w bulb so i can run the 1000w for soil and 600w for hydro. anything else i should know about ? :)
 

bl4ze:20

Well-Known Member
I'm gonna skip the cloning station and just use a dome with rockwool stonewool plugs for seeds / clone rooting.
 

bl4ze:20

Well-Known Member
Did i fuck up buying the dual diaphragm pump w/ 4 outlets?? i already bought it and i can't return it, but it only puts out 8 watts and im gonna be using it for 4 - 5gallon DWC systems, so 20 gallons all together (5 gallons per outlet) that only divides 2 watts per 5 gallon bucket. doesn't seem like its gonna work out in my favor. i hope this doesnt come back to bite me in the ass :|
 

cat of curiosity

Well-Known Member
that doesn't answer my question... Is 2 watts per 5 gallon Reservoir going to be enough or did i waste my money :| :cry:
it should work no problem. it's doing very little work, and dual diaphragms work like a see-saw; push pull, so one action does the work of both. as for pressure, not much is needed with airstones, so a high output/high pressure pump like mine isn't necessary unless you're running very long lines or many stones.

as for other stuff, play it by ear, ask if you encounter any problems. feel free to pm me anytime, i don't always see new threads.
 
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