Easy D.i.y. Hydro Dwc Kit

Discussion in 'Hydroponics 101' started by krondikebar, May 18, 2007.

  1. krondikebar

    krondikebar In A Cloud Of Kush Smoke

    D.I.Y. DWC
    Materials needed.

    1. Black 3.5 gallon bucket. There are 2 kinds of lids for these, regular lids on the left, and special pre-made lids on the right. I recommend using the ones with the pre-made net pots, the are very nice to use.
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    2. In this step you will need three things. An air pump, there is a vast selection of these on the market. They come from 1-8 ports or more. I use a 4 port air pump. You will also need an air stone, One similar to this one will work fine. Finally, you will need some tubing to connect the previous two items together. A WISE SUGGESTION, use black hose or tubing, or any hose that will not allow light to shine through. IMO it helps keep your buckets cleaner.
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    snickelfritz likes this.
  2. krondikebar

    krondikebar In A Cloud Of Kush Smoke

    3. If using pre-made net pot lids, skip this step.


    If using regular lids, you must select desired size net pots, and cut the holes in the lid manually. This is why I recommend the other lids….


    [​IMG]


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    4. Now you are ready to drill/make your holes, and put in your tubing.. I drill mine towards the top, just under the rim. I don’t recommend using the lid for your holes…..


    [​IMG]


     
  3. krondikebar

    krondikebar In A Cloud Of Kush Smoke

    5. Now you should have everything done. Last thing is, fill the bucket with 3 gallons of water, plug everything in, and you should have bubbles.


    [​IMG]


    Here are some pictures of plants I grew using this method.


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  4. sltackle22

    sltackle22 Germinating

    should the water be touching the roots from the start, or should they grow into the water, btw thanx for this
     
  5. krondikebar

    krondikebar In A Cloud Of Kush Smoke

    well about a half inch at the bottom of the net pot should be submerged, after the roots get long enough they just chill in the water
     
  6. dgreg

    dgreg BlueBerry

    nice setup bro cant wait to see the grow :punk:
     
  7. Cannagirl

    Cannagirl Preheat to 420

    I like I like. I am absolutely in love with DWC. I just have one suggestion......starting with larger buckets means less ph fluctuation throughout the grow. Less water changes and lots of room for roots. I like having at least 7-8 gallons per plant. Right now I have 2 plants in an 18 gallon that should suit them to the end (I plan to grow them large).


    I always love picture guides so thanks for this and the more people who switch the better! No offense soil gurus, I have mucho respect for you because I suck at dirt!
     
  8. HappyHappyHighGuy

    HappyHappyHighGuy dreamer and misfit

    Canna...


    How do you empty your res if it has plants in the lid?
     
  9. Cannagirl

    Cannagirl Preheat to 420

    I can lift the lid high enough for my siphon to get to the bottom. I empty the water by way of a fish tank siphon that hooks up to my sink. I have used it for fish tanks for years, it's awesome. You can't really get a good siphon going with buckets on the floor because it is too low to the ground. So unless you have a siphon that hooks to the sink (it can empty and fill it up both way, no lugging buckets, can find them at fish stores) or have some other way of emptying a large amount of water you should stick with smaller buckets. I just figure if i'm going to put so much time ino all this, then I should do it right. I have very little PH fluc. because it it takes longer for the unused salt ect to build up. It's less work for me because I don't have to change it as often. It also will support the plants for a full cycle and I never ever have to worry about root space being a problem. It uses a lot of nutes and if you are making a lot of errors it can get costly. I pretty much have it down by now though, so I don't use any more nutes than the plants need. It's also better for only having 1-2 plants, many more wouldn't be very manageable.Also, you would have to think about extra aereation for the larger amount of water. I don't use bubblers. IMO they are not adequate for large amounts of water though I agree they are great for smaller buckets. I use a spinning motor that moves the water a ton, you can hear the splashing a room away.My way is not for everyone. I don't really follow any rules but my own. I have had setbacks but they weren't really attributed to my set-up, more like bad luck, rare problems that don't usually happen (electrocution), ectI have also had my DWC as an aquaponics system for the past several weeks while my plants rooted. Pythium kept getting them because I had to keep the temps high for cloning. Anyways the aquaponics worked, they have great roots, and I switched back to normal hydroponics a few days ago. All is good now, temps are back down, plants growing nicely.Wow, I don't know how that turned out so long. I'm smoking something really good right now. What was the question again? Oh yeah, lids.I did it this way right off. Never tried dirt, never tried any other hydro system so i'm completely clueless to them. I suppose I probly read a version of this on Overgrow way back and thats what worked the first time. See this plant? It's not even "in" the lid. It's leaning over the side. I had some metal bendy wire stuff that anchored it to the side. The lid came completely off so I could scrub the sides every once in a while. This was only 27 days flowering. By the end I had a couple small ropes holding up some of the larger colas.

    flowerday27.jpg

    /monthly_2006_05/flowerday27.jpg.ddfbff0fbe3d564bf03882fe8c5c4bf7.jpg
     
  10. krondikebar

    krondikebar In A Cloud Of Kush Smoke

    CANNAGIRL - I like to use the 3.5 gallon buckets for a few reasons. 1. The less water you have, the less nutrients you need for that water. 2. Its really easy to move, clean, and I just like it alot. I was able to grow 6' tall plants in these 3.5 gallon buckets and the roots still had LOTS of room to grow. Once every 2 weeks, i clean the buckets out, and fill them with new RO water and new nutrient solution. I have run previous set ups with larger reservoirs and all I have found is that it costs me more in water and nutes.


    HHG - Well, I use the pre-made bucket lids, it really makes it easy as pie. You can just lift the lid off, plant, roots and all, and then set it in an empty bucket. Then you can dump out the water, clean out the inside of the bucket, then put the plant right back in as soon as you've made it right again...


    Everyone - I have done about 6 grows using this method, and I LOVE IT. I have grown HUGE plants, I have grown small plants, Ive rooted clones in it, and started seeds in it. I especially got some FAT ASS NUGS from it, and I wouldnt have it any other way....


    Thanks for checking it out, I threw it together yesterday in about 30 minutes. I will answer any more questions about my set up. Krondikebar
     
  11. krondikebar

    krondikebar In A Cloud Of Kush Smoke

    I am also going to make a guide exactly like this one for a home-made carbon scrubber.....its gonna take me a minute cause I already have one built and to do the guide proper I would need all new supplies.
     
  12. Shine Down

    Shine Down plays in cabinets........

    where'd you get the buckets, i only find 1 and 5 gallons, and i cant find the links i had for the store that carried the pot-lids, where did you get those, and i am hella interested in the carbon scrubber..... i need something real soon to control this one..... it is strong already
     
  13. krondikebar

    krondikebar In A Cloud Of Kush Smoke

    well shine, I got the buckets at the hydro store....you could use 5 gallon buckets all the same, the only thing is, you would need more water and nutes to fill them up....


    IMO, 3.5 gallons is the perfect size, its not too much, and definetly not too little.


    Ill try to get on the scrubber guide very soon. I could teach you how to build it without pictures, it would just be harder to understand.
     
  14. Shine Down

    Shine Down plays in cabinets........

    it's cool, no rush or anything, the one gallons are too small, and the 5 gallons are too tall....


    for my application atleast....
     
  15. krondikebar

    krondikebar In A Cloud Of Kush Smoke

    ill try to help you find them if i can. what part of the country are you in?
     
  16. Shine Down

    Shine Down plays in cabinets........

    ft worth, tx
     
  17. krondikebar

    krondikebar In A Cloud Of Kush Smoke

    im looking
     
  18. krondikebar

    krondikebar In A Cloud Of Kush Smoke

    well shine, i called that hydro store, and they said they could order them for you.
     
  19. Shine Down

    Shine Down plays in cabinets........

    hmmm, how much to they run, with the net lids....?
     
  20. krondikebar

    krondikebar In A Cloud Of Kush Smoke

    the buckets are like $4-5, and the lids are about $2-3.


    how many are you lookin into?


    I cant wait to show you what im gonna do once I get my clones goin....
     

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