Will this DWC/RDWC work?

Hi guys wonder if I could get a little bit of help, am pretty much a noob, did a few grows 20 odd years ago and since coming out of retirement have done a few reasonably successful grows in the last year.

Have dabbled with a dutch bucket system and NFT (the former worked better for me). But I am now wanting to try a DWC system as I really like the idea of giving the roots more space to spread out.

I am using the reservoir from a GT NFT 100 which will hold around 150 litres of water ( not sure in gallons) and I have fashioned a lid out of 18mm structural plywood wrapped in mylar. The lid is just bigger than metre square.

I have attached a pic of the lid so far. I am planning to top feed via a water pump till the roots hit the water below.

I am also planning on recirculating the water with either 1 or 2 1500ltr water pumps . Basically I aim to pull the water from one end of the res run it in one or 2 pipes across the top of lid and back into the reservoir at the other end.

Couple questions I have. Firstly does the system actually look viable? If so, do you think one 1500ltr per hr pump recirculating water would be sufficient or would it work better with 2? Also will recirculating the water be enough to sufficiently oxygenate the water or would an airpump and airstones also be needed?

Any other suggestions or input would be greatly appreciated.

Are you planing to grow anything bigger than seedlings in that?
You'll get lots and lots of root tangle, and the mylar will reflect the light to the underside of the leaves which may cause hot spots.

Hugo Phurst said:

Are you planing to grow anything bigger than seedlings in that?
You'll get lots and lots of root tangle, and the mylar will reflect the light to the underside of the leaves which may cause hot spots.

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Yes I was planning on a full grow to harvest but with only a very short veg time , maybe 2 weeks or so with no topping. Do you think would be a problem if roots merge? The res is fairly big, 150 litres or so.

I also could block up some holes and grow less plants...

Any input on whether you think recirculation/oxygenation will be sufficient with what I proposed?

Thanks

Also forgot to add, have pretty good temp control in the space I want to put this, I currently have 16 plants in veg in the space, pretty big around 5 weeks veg.....and temps are stable at around 23.5c with lights on....I checked the res temp the other day and I think was around 19c....It is the same res i intend to use with the above lid.

Well if you separated the roots every day, might be ok.
If you're only vegging for a week, you might as well go 12/12 from seed.
You'll need some sort of filter for your pumps to keep the roots out.

bodyya said:

Any input on whether you think recirculation/oxygenation will be sufficient with what I proposed?

Click to expand...

- Don't know, it's hard to have too much O2 in the water. I use air-pumps to oxygenate the water, it looks like it's at a hard boil.

In my honest opinion....your setup is good for starting (get rid of the mylar covering) but get some 5gal buckets with net pot lids.

Hugo Phurst said:

Well if you separated the roots every day, might be ok.
If you're only vegging for a week, you might as well go 12/12 from seed.
You'll need some sort of filter for your pumps to keep the roots out.

- Don't know, it's hard to have too much O2 in the water. I use air-pumps to oxygenate the water, it looks like it's at a hard boil.

In my honest opinion....your setup is good for starting (get rid of the mylar covering) but get some 5gal buckets with net pot lids.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the input buddy. I hadn't thought of protecting the water pumps from the roots!
I really want to keep it to single reservoir with multiple plants, as that way all water is contained and no issue with potential leaks etc that would be present if I made a multi bucket recirc system and I don't want to fork out what they charge for ready made multi bucket systems.

I also don't have the time to maintain multiple single res/bucket system.

thanks again

p.s I really only used the mlyar wrap to stop any moisture getting to the wood, as the lid is made of structural plywood.

You really think the mylar could cause serious problems? My room temps are pretty low and stable. not much heat coming from my lights as I'm using LEDs

bodyya said:

You really think the mylar could cause serious problems? My room temps are pretty low and stable. not much heat coming from my lights as I'm using LEDs

Click to expand...

Probably not then.

Decided to go somewhere in between with circulation. I just found a decent quality 2500litre per hr pump knocking around from when I used to keep marine fish, so gonna use that on it's own for circulation. Think that should provide enough flow for 150litre reservoir.

I will put a Y connector on the return end and set it a couple inches above the water level to create a bit of surface agitation in 2 places which should help with oxygenation. Also thinking of adding add an 8 way air pump with 8 stones.

Waiting for some clones to root in aero cloner and will give it a whirl.