Which would produce more DO in a DWC?

JSB99

Well-Known Member
I just use plastic window screen and a SS hose clamp.
I had thought of that as well, but also thought that the same problem would persist. Whether growing into the pipes, or bunching up against a filter, I'd have the same issues. But I could be wrong. I haven't grown anything in a system like this before.


I use the 5" for tubs with 1 - 4 plants and made a SoG lid with 12 - 3.5" net pots. Need a lot less hydroton to fill them too but I have two large bags of those. I drilled a bunch of 3/8" holes in a tobacco can to use as a filter to get the tiny balls out of each batch that I'm going to use as the little ones plug up the holes in the net pots or fall thru into the tub.
That's cool that you can swap out the lids based on what you want to grow!

I'm looking to have up to 6 tubs going at once. Four in the flowering room and 2 vegging in readiness to move into the flowering room as one gets done. I expect to be running 3 or 4 strains at once so that's another reason to have separate tubs as they will have different nutrient needs according to strain and stage of flowering. With the pH perfect nutes I won't be bothering with checking that. Quick top-up and ppm check so 5min each every 3 days or so isn't a lot of work. Hopefully be cropping one tub every couple weeks once it's all up and running.
You must have a decent amount of room to work in with that many tubs :)

This is right after I switched from 2 totes to RDWC + Sprayers
 

OldMedUser

Well-Known Member
Hadn't thought of that. I could bore a few holes in the lid.
Then you have to use a porous cover to block the light while letting air pass thru. Still won't circulate fresh air into the area where the spray happens without a fan of some kind. I still think airstones are the way to go to maximize DO.

You must have a decent amount of room to work in with that many tubs :)
I figure 4 tubs in the new 8x4' space and a couple in the current grow room or in the upstairs bedroom that is going to be for veg only. Each tub sitting on a dollie so I can easily shift them around to work on the plants. I've been doing my DWC ScroGs that way so I can sit on a chair while tying down grow tips etc. My back can't handle me being bent over for more than a few minutes so I rarely do the dishes and leave that up to the women. ;) Compression fracture of the L1 in a 1987 motorcycle accident. Could have been a lot worse.
 

JSB99

Well-Known Member
Then you have to use a porous cover to block the light while letting air pass thru. Still won't circulate fresh air into the area where the spray happens without a fan of some kind. I still think airstones are the way to go to maximize DO.
It's fairly dark where the controller sits. I've got a 70 L/min commercial air pump for the 4 buckets (1 line/bucket) and a Large cylinder airstone for each bucket. I didn't really see the need to have an airstone in the controller with the waterfall. Are controllers with a waterfall usually have an open lid or something? I thought that the water jetting into the reservoir water created the DO. Am I mistaken?



I figure 4 tubs in the new 8x4' space and a couple in the current grow room or in the upstairs bedroom that is going to be for veg only. Each tub sitting on a dollie so I can easily shift them around to work on the plants. I've been doing my DWC ScroGs that way so I can sit on a chair while tying down grow tips etc. My back can't handle me being bent over for more than a few minutes so I rarely do the dishes and leave that up to the women. ;) Compression fracture of the L1 in a 1987 motorcycle accident. Could have been a lot worse.
Same with my back. Lots of military injuries (Infantry Mortars, 1987-1993). It's one of the reasons I wanted to go back to hydro. Besides the initial setup, there's really no heavy lifting.
 

OldMedUser

Well-Known Member
It's fairly dark where the controller sits. I've got a 70 L/min commercial air pump for the 4 buckets (1 line/bucket) and a Large cylinder airstone for each bucket. I didn't really see the need to have an airstone in the controller with the waterfall. Are controllers with a waterfall usually have an open lid or something? I thought that the water jetting into the reservoir water created the DO. Am I mistaken?
If you got stones in each pail then the spray bar is most likely redundant but certainly won't hurt.
 

Shag Pile

Active Member
Square buckets are more convenient, but round ones will still work.

If you're set on square buckets and don't mind the cost, you can get 8 and 13 gallon buckets and lids from here

The round buckets will flex and flatten when the bulkheads are tightened. To make your own bulkheads, here's what you use (2" for example):

Male bulkhead adapter (Male PVC conduit adapter) $1.16


Female bulkhead adapter (Female PVC conduit adapter) $1.26


20-pack union Washers $16.63


2" hole saw $13.97


Black 5-Gallon buckets $3.98 ea at Home Depot (lids available too)


Black netpot lids $6.25 ea


  1. Cut the 2" holes using light pressure
  2. Sand the sides of the holes to remove burrs and allow the male fitting to easily pass through
  3. The male adapter can be used either inside the bucket, or outside. It doesn't matter. What does matter is where you place the washer. The washer should always go on the male adapter. This is because of the threads. Water will leak through the threads if the washer is placed on the female side. Having said that, you may have to use a washer on both sides because the fittings really tighten up the more you screw them together. The extra washer will act as a spacer.
  4. Hand tighten the adapters, but do not over-tighten. You want to tighten them so that a little water might drip out when the bucket is filled. At that point, hand tighten until the water stops dripping. This means you have to do this once the system is in place.

Note:
You can cut the female adapter in half so that it only has the threads. This frees up room in the buckets.



Original DIY concept here

Hope that helps

Right on bro! That's super simple to follow.

I have 4 individual round 5gal dwc buckets going right now. Looks like I'll just convert those into my rdwc.
 

JSB99

Well-Known Member
If you got stones in each pail then the spray bar is most likely redundant but certainly won't hurt.
Kind of what I figured. It's cool though :-) One of the reasons I'm going UC is because it's cool seeing the machine that grows your weed in action. Tired of staring at my coco grow and yelling "Do something!" LOL I started out with hydro and actually find it easier than soil.
 

JSB99

Well-Known Member
Anyone ever use a venturi to create DO? My pump came with a venturi attachment. I tried it out and it's really f'n cool. Creates a tremendous amount of bubbles, and probably DO as well. Not sure you can use the venturi attachment when the pump is in-line rather than submerged. Could be wrong. I tried looking for grows using a venturi, but didn't really find anything substantial.

Just curious
 

JSB99

Well-Known Member
Right on bro! That's super simple to follow.

I have 4 individual round 5gal dwc buckets going right now. Looks like I'll just convert those into my rdwc.
It's nice going from managing multiple containers down to a single, controller container/bucket.
 

Shag Pile

Active Member
What do you think of a setup with a water pump that pulls water from the bottom of your control res, then pushes the water though a venturi setup(injects air into the line) and into the bottom of your buckets.

Screenshot_20170721-105425.jpg

Your return lines would be up high on the buckets and simply gravity fed back to the control res where it can then waterfall and create more DO.
 

Shag Pile

Active Member
Anyone ever use a venturi to create DO? My pump came with a venturi attachment. I tried it out and it's really f'n cool. Creates a tremendous amount of bubbles, and probably DO as well. Not sure you can use the venturi attachment when the pump is in-line rather than submerged. Could be wrong. I tried looking for grows using a venturi, but didn't really find anything substantial.

Just curious
Read my mind haha

Theoretically its the same as an air stone and air pump just without the added noise. It still adds o2 to the bucket and creates and disturbance on the water surface for water to become oxygenated
 
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JSB99

Well-Known Member
What do you think of a setup with a water pump that pulls water from the bottom of your control res, then pushes the water though a venturi setup(injects air into the line) and into the bottom of your buckets.

View attachment 3981619

Your return lines would be up high on the buckets and simply gravity fed back to the control res where it can then waterfall and create more DO.
Now I know why no one does it. Too complex :)

I was thinking about having the pump push the venturi bubbles into the res, then that water starts going through the buckets again. Basically just a way to add DO to the controller. Probably overkill.
 

OldMedUser

Well-Known Member
Kind of what I figured. It's cool though :-) One of the reasons I'm going UC is because it's cool seeing the machine that grows your weed in action. Tired of staring at my coco grow and yelling "Do something!" LOL I started out with hydro and actually find it easier than soil.
No shit. A lot of Hurry up and wait going on with almost any kind of growing but for me the simpler the better and that's mainly why a complex system doesn't float my boat. Same with cars and electronics too. The more bells and whistles there are the more likely something is gonna give me grief.

I find hydro much easier and much more productive so looking forward to getting back into it for the bulk of my growing. I'll still be growing plants like moms and breeders in ProMix as it's pretty simple and maintenance free. Not to mention I stocked up with about 1000L of ProMix last fall and have to use it up on something. :)
 

JSB99

Well-Known Member
Mounted air pump:

I mounted it here because my fridge is right on the other side and it blocks any remaining noise. When I had my house built, I had the builders insulate all the interior walls. Doing that has made a huge impact on how quiet the room is. It's silent unless you stand right outside the door. Also added door sweeps. That helps quit a bit as well.

 

Shag Pile

Active Member
Now I know why no one does it. Too complex :)

I was thinking about having the pump push the venturi bubbles into the res, then that water starts going through the buckets again. Basically just a way to add DO to the controller. Probably overkill.
I don't think its too complex. A bit more plumbing and more points of failure maybe. I probably just cant explain it simply enough. Wait till i build it :bigjoint:

If you were to add the venturi it'd be replacing the waterfall into the res right? I dont think either way would add any more DO then the other.
 

JSB99

Well-Known Member
I don't think its too complex. A bit more plumbing and more points of failure maybe. I probably just cant explain it simply enough. Wait till i build it :bigjoint:

If you were to add the venturi it'd be replacing the waterfall into the res right? I dont think either way would add any more DO then the other.
If you build it, I definitely want to see it! :p

Yep, right into the res below the water line, which is going to immediately start going to the buckets. I'd really be interested in hearing from anyone who's done this, and the results.
 

JSB99

Well-Known Member
Been running for hours, and no leaks yet :)


Suspending the air pump reduced some of the hum


Pipe/tubes pass-through - I cut holes using the inside diam. for the sizes so that they were smaller than the pipe/tubes. It takes a little force to push them through, but it makes a nice tight seal.



 

JSB99

Well-Known Member
A little off-topic here: I've got a healthy Headband on a cart that I'm growing both indoors and outside. Every day I take her out for 10 hours at 9:00 am and bring her back in at 7:00 pm. The other 8 hours she's under a 600w MH. She's the only plant I've got going, except for the multitude of clones from her I've got rooting. In about a month, when the clones are ready for transplant into the DWC, I plan on flipping her to flower. I've got another bedroom that's not in use. I'm planning on blacking out the room and keeping her in there when she's not outside for 12 hours. It's all legal here so I don't care if she stinks up the spare bedroom, which has a ceiling fan I plan on keeping on.

I've read about the dangers of bringing bugs inside. That's why I'm going to keep the flowering plant separate from the grow room. I plan on cleaning, fogging, and sterilizing everything in the grow room before I start to veg the clones. This will be the only time I'll be doing the indoor/outdoor thing. This was done out of necessity.

Thoughts? Probably get swamped with people telling me how stupid I am LOL



 

OldMedUser

Well-Known Member
As long as you don't toss her in the grow room you'll be fine. Just take care to watch you don't transfer any bugs from her to the new plants but you have to watch for that just going into the grow room after being outside anyways.

I did one like that but I just left it out all summer as the days are long enough here to keep it in veg. Had a nice load of mites and thrips that I had to get rid of so kept her in the shop in the window until I got 3 full treatments in then put her in the grow room by herself to flower. Never saw a bug one her for the rest of her life. She was a good size too. I'd topped the side branches and the tops so was a 3' ball that you couldn't see through.

NLMum01.JPG
 

Angus Hung

Well-Known Member
Im doing sort of the same thing starting every thing out side then moving in when the weather turns.
I plan on waiting till week 2 or 3 of bloom when i bring them in. i will give a good prune and spray with bug killer.
then load the room up with thripe killers and mite killers and some preventers.
this is my first try at out door indoor and hope it works out as i love using the free sun for for my veg light.
 
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