WATER LEVELS in DWC

If the nutrient solution is too close to the bottom of basket you can build up salts in the hydroton clay balls and cause toxicity over time.

Niblixdark said:

If the nutrient solution is too close to the bottom of basket you can build up salts in the hydroton clay balls and cause toxicity over time.

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Then why would Under Current have their systems run this high if it's problematic? Would all of their systems eventually fail from toxicity if this was true?

And are you saying that the Hydroton shouldn't get wet at all from nutrient solution? Because, even if it's 2" from the bottom, wouldn't the popping bubbles wet the Hydroton, thereby also causing these salt build ups?

FennarioMike said:

Then why would Under Current have their systems run this high if it's problematic? Would all of their systems eventually fail from toxicity if this was true?

And are you saying that the Hydroton shouldn't get wet at all from nutrient solution? Because, even if it's 2" from the bottom, wouldn't the popping bubbles wet the Hydroton, thereby also causing these salt build ups?

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Yes it does over time thats why you flush every once and awhile. If it's too close (touching or submerged) You will get too much salt build up too quickly and then the medium gets over saturated with salts, root burn, plant burn & curled leafs, stunted growth, rust spotting. Over watered symptoms do happen in hydroponics if the water is too high. This is not a myth, it's fact.

Am talking about standard DWC systems.

2 weeks into flower. Water level - 2" above netpot. Crazy good root growth all the way to the netpot with most of the thicker cord roots way up high on it. This means ZERO wasted space where no nutrient exchange would take place - just transport.

It doesn't make sense to keep an air gap. The solution is your medium right? I mean, you wouldn't do this with anything else - it would be absurd. Would you strip away the first inch or 2 of soil underneath the root crown and just force them to dig deeper? No, you wouldn't. Just like in soil, you want the roots to spread out from the very top as it goes down so that it can MAXIMIZE it's available to and fill it with roots.

Sure, it works just fine keeping the levels lower - but is it better and does it make sense? I haven't heard an argument yet that contradicts ^

Also - ZERO salt buildup. No, these systems don't always fail with toxic levels of salt - unless you're mixing stuff way too strong. No RO flushes either (except the final flush). In fact, no complete nutrient change for 2 - 3 weeks. I bump the levels each week, keep a large top off rez with the following week's mix in it, and by the end of the week it has filled itself with the new mix. Repeat. If you actually get to know the science and chemistry and a bit of physics of it all, you can really learn to run these systems with precisely what the plant is calling for. A superb design.

Niblixdark said:

Yes it does over time thats why you flush every once and awhile. If it's too close (touching or submerged) You will get too much salt build up too quickly and then the medium gets over saturated with salts, root burn, plant burn & curled leafs, stunted growth, rust spotting. Over watered symptoms do happen in hydroponics if the water is too high. This is not a myth, it's fact.

Am talking about standard DWC systems.

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To say this is FACT is a little over stated I believe. I run my DWC, standard stand alone 3.5 and 5 gallon buckets all the way to the top of the bucket. My plants will suck down 1 to 2 gallons of solution a day. If I only kept a little over 3 gallons of solution in a 5 gallon bucket to stay below the net pot my girl's roots would be nearly out of the water in only 12hrs. Also more solution makes for a more stable bucket. I have ZERO salt build up in the hydroton. On some of my grows I only do a few complete bucket changes for the entire grow. I have never had a need to do a "flush every once and a while". If you have to do a fresh water flush mid grow you are doing something wrong.

I believe there are a lot of other "FACTS" regarding DWC that really are untrue and it's a matter of people just not having a handle on their system and understanding how it works. One of these "FACTS" is needing to run your buckets down into the mid 60's temp wise. I see guys freaking out adding chillers and frozen water bottles to their buckets. I use no chillers. I give ZERO fucks about bucket temps and run some massive plants with bucket temps sometimes into the 80's. My current bucket is at 78 degrees, I just took it's temp and the plant in it is 32" tall and over 30" wide.

HotBunz said:

To say this is FACT is a little over stated I believe. I run my DWC, standard stand alone 3.5 and 5 gallon buckets all the way to the top of the bucket. My plants will suck down 1 to 2 gallons of solution a day. If I only kept a little over 3 gallons of solution in a 5 gallon bucket to stay below the net pot my girl's roots would be nearly out of the water in only 12hrs. Also more solution makes for a more stable bucket. I have ZERO salt build up in the hydroton. On some of my grows I only do a few complete bucket changes for the entire grow. I have never had a need to do a "flush every once and a while". If you have to do a fresh water flush mid grow you are doing something wrong.

I believe there are a lot of other "FACTS" regarding DWC that really are untrue and it's a matter of people just not having a handle on their system and understanding how it works. One of these "FACTS" is needing to run your buckets down into the mid 60's temp wise. I see guys freaking out adding chillers and frozen water bottles to their buckets. I use no chillers. I give ZERO fucks about bucket temps and run some massive plants with bucket temps sometimes into the 80's. My current bucket is at 78 degrees, I just took it's temp and the plant in it is 32" tall and over 30" wide.

View attachment 3933526 View attachment 3933527

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Exactly. Thank you...

get some hydrogaurd for your rez.

If it's helpful for anyone for me to share (my mistakes), this is what my roots looked like at harvest. I kept water levels about 6" below netpots - no real reason, just because. I believe these thick cords aren't helpful at all.



But I now know that keeping the water level high and close/at the netpot is the right call.

chasingwaterfalls said:

If it's helpful for anyone for me to share (my mistakes), this is what my roots looked like at harvest. I kept water levels about 6" below netpots - no real reason, just because. I believe these thick cords aren't helpful at all.

View attachment 3970037

But I now know that keeping the water level high and close/at the netpot is the right call.

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I've found that keeping the water half to one inch below the bottom of the baskets is the best.

Running a waterfall in the space is also a good way to make the system less sensitive to water level. The splash and churn it generates seems to help.

Niblixdark said:

Yes it does over time thats why you flush every once and awhile. If it's too close (touching or submerged) You will get too much salt build up too quickly and then the medium gets over saturated with salts, root burn, plant burn & curled leafs, stunted growth, rust spotting. Over watered symptoms do happen in hydroponics if the water is too high. This is not a myth, it's fact.

Am talking about standard DWC systems.

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Really liked yourr post on the water levels, I myself have also found that a high water level results in droopy plants/over watered & root rot problems if not treated.
I have experienced this myself only last week when I filled my 2plant 70L dwc bucket to the net pot it compleat saturated the net pot & the underside of the systems lid thus leading to droopy/over watered plants.

The moment I noticed droopy girls I looked at the water line and thought' I made a mistake;last top up and ' accidentaly filled to just below the water line what is about 67litres, with 32litres of air going through 8airstones &3x airpumps there is a a lot of water movement sO 02 levels are not the problem in this case.

imo, leave room below the pot, id say a few in should be just fine. i let my buckets and totes go dry, i have one plant going to push about a pound, its in a 5x8 and it takes the whole tent up, plus the others in other tents.