considering modding my dwc for better o2

Shroominnm

Well-Known Member
I currently have a standard DWC system with six buckets in a grow tent and i have heard that DWC can have adverse affects as the medium is water and lacks o2 as compared to other designs .

i came up with an idea that would be inexpensive as a modification and am wondering if anyone has tried something similar.

the main purpose of this idea is to get rid of noisy air pumps and allow more o2 to get to the roots.

i can change to larger media baskets or make my own that reach just above the water.

any ideas or advice is greatly appreciated. and sorry for the potato image. i only have ms pain to work with. View attachment 3844894

I do this type of thing with a 50 gallon Rubbermaid tub.

I have 2 plants in it, with roots submerged in water underneath. I use airpumps, but I also have have a submersible pump in the results that pulls water l, pushes it through a water chiller, and then back to the 50 gallon Rubbermaid container through a pvc t that sprays cold water at the top of the root base. I have about 15 holes in this pvc rail so it not only sprays the roots, but disperses water evenly all through the tub
This pvc rail is right up against the lid of the bin and the water falls at least a foot to the bottom. I have very good luck with this.
 

NapalmZen

Well-Known Member
I do this type of thing with a 50 gallon Rubbermaid tub.

I have 2 plants in it, with roots submerged in water underneath. I use airpumps, but I also have have a submersible pump in the results that pulls water l, pushes it through a water chiller, and then back to the 50 gallon Rubbermaid container through a pvc t that sprays cold water at the top of the root base. I have about 15 holes in this pvc rail so it not only sprays the roots, but disperses water evenly all through the tub
This pvc rail is right up against the lid of the bin and the water falls at least a foot to the bottom. I have very good luck with this.
Can you possibly post pics on your build? I'm already considering a bigger tent so I can SCROG and plan on a recirculating system with a rez.

If you don't have time or feel uncomfortable sharing, I still thank you for sharing what you have.
 

Budley Doright

Well-Known Member
I do this type of thing with a 50 gallon Rubbermaid tub.

I have 2 plants in it, with roots submerged in water underneath. I use airpumps, but I also have have a submersible pump in the results that pulls water l, pushes it through a water chiller, and then back to the 50 gallon Rubbermaid container through a pvc t that sprays cold water at the top of the root base. I have about 15 holes in this pvc rail so it not only sprays the roots, but disperses water evenly all through the tub
This pvc rail is right up against the lid of the bin and the water falls at least a foot to the bottom. I have very good luck with this.
Like a livewell in a boat, great ideal :).
 

Shroominnm

Well-Known Member
Can you possibly post pics on your build? I'm already considering a bigger tent so I can SCROG and plan on a recirculating system with a rez.

If you don't have time or feel uncomfortable sharing, I still thank you for sharing what you have.
Absolutely! I'll get some pics up soon as I get home give me about an hour . It's super easy to build, and very cost effective.
 

Shroominnm

Well-Known Member
Forgot pictures yesterday! Please understand I am working with very limited space to take pictures lol

Wow sorry for the duplicates they didn't act like they were uploading then bam 10 of em.
 

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NapalmZen

Well-Known Member
I was just giving you shit. thank you tons for posting pics.

I just realized that I have a small motorcycle oil radiator that is brand new. the fittings could easily fit a garden hose.

If I ran my coolant (nutes solution) through that, all I would need is a pair of 110v large pc style fan mounted to it and it would produce more than enough cooling. I had a similar setup for when I used to make moonshine. I still have the fans.

4 or 6 6.5 gallon fermentation buckets cut for 6" drop in baskets, and tubing running the inner circumference with holes to spray the lid and roots.

I want to give the roots plenty of room and I want to be able to move everything around and be able to add or isolate buckets on the fly to prevent losing a whole batch to rot or contamination.

The 55 gallon Rubbermaid tote external res will pull the whole setup together.


Thanks a bunch shroominnm
 

Shroominnm

Well-Known Member
I was just giving you shit. thank you tons for posting pics.

I just realized that I have a small motorcycle oil radiator that is brand new. the fittings could easily fit a garden hose.

If I ran my coolant (nutes solution) through that, all I would need is a pair of 110v large pc style fan mounted to it and it would produce more than enough cooling. I had a similar setup for when I used to make moonshine. I still have the fans.

4 or 6 6.5 gallon fermentation buckets cut for 6" drop in baskets, and tubing running the inner circumference with holes to spray the lid and roots.

I want to give the roots plenty of room and I want to be able to move everything around and be able to add or isolate buckets on the fly to prevent losing a whole batch to rot or contamination.

The 55 gallon Rubbermaid tote external res will pull the whole setup together.


Thanks a bunch shroominnm
Glad I could help visually! .

As far as you worrying about root rot...I got that one time. It inspired me to buy my chiller.
After I spent the 3 or 400$ I have NEVER worried about or seen any signs of root rot again.
If I can suggest one thing.. buy a chiller.
I have the little power steering radiator hooked in as you said , I used to use this to chill multiple reservoirs, but now I just thought it may help cool the exhaust from my chiller.
Idk if it helps, but I don't think it hurts! It worked very well for chilling another reservoir with different nutrient solution. The res was insulated but it would generally stay within 2 or 3 degrees of the primary resevoir..
Do your self a favor and eliminate the root rot worry!
 

NapalmZen

Well-Known Member
Glad I could help visually! .

As far as you worrying about root rot...I got that one time. It inspired me to buy my chiller.
After I spent the 3 or 400$ I have NEVER worried about or seen any signs of root rot again.
If I can suggest one thing.. buy a chiller.
I have the little power steering radiator hooked in as you said , I used to use this to chill multiple reservoirs, but now I just thought it may help cool the exhaust from my chiller.
Idk if it helps, but I don't think it hurts! It worked very well for chilling another reservoir with different nutrient solution. The res was insulated but it would generally stay within 2 or 3 degrees of the primary resevoir..
Do your self a favor and eliminate the root rot worry!
What chiller do you use?
 

Shroominnm

Well-Known Member
What chiller do you use?

Just a 1/4 horse active aqua.. works great for me. I've heard some people talk bad about them but I've got nothing but good things to say..

This is my other setup that I'm using several of for a perpetual cycle.. I just run the air hose a couple inches into the water and let it bubble. Seems to do okay



Sent from my SM-N920V using Rollitup mobile app
 

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NapalmZen

Well-Known Member
Just a 1/4 horse active aqua.. works great for me. I've heard some people talk bad about them but I've got nothing but good things to say..
This is my other setup that I'm using several of for a perpetual cycle.. I just run the air hose a couple inches into the water and let it bubble. Seems to do okay
Sent from my SM-N920V using Rollitup mobile app
damn that's hot.

does the 4 hole Rubbermaid have issues with light or root interference when plants get to a size of 3' or when training?

i have the same one in my amazon shopping cart.
 

Shroominnm

Well-Known Member
damn that's hot.

does the 4 hole Rubbermaid have issues with light or root interference when plants get to a size of 3' or when training?

i have the same one in my amazon shopping cart.
This is my first time running big plants in it but they shouldn't reach 3 foot.
They are clones pulled from the cloner when nice roots were formed, and put straight into 12/12 this first time. I might veg for a bit next cycle, that was the plan initially. But those little ones are about a week into flower.
I painted the lid black.. no light leaks through. I couldn't pass the totes up, they were on sale at lowes for 7.99$, So I bought two. They've worked great so far and I already had one that I use as a cloner. No issues, except water leaks through the lid with the high pressure sprayers in the cloner if the sprayers aren't pointed correctly.

Roots do grow together, but I don't plan on moving them at all so I'm okay with that.. they also do that in my 40 gallon res but I've always just let them do their thing
 
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Budley Doright

Well-Known Member
Totes work great but height can be an issue. I typically only veg for 21 days from seed and less from clone, my plants typically push 4-5' and some strains more, I use stacked totes and trays for ebb and flow type setups. I had many issues running sprayers and went back to my original setup. IMG_0861.JPG These are cuttings that were moved into the trays 6 days prior and here are the roots IMG_1655.JPG
 

NapalmZen

Well-Known Member
so many ideas...

my problem is i live in ca and am planning on growing the state legal of 6 plants. i wanted to grow 2 auto/fem in a 2'X4' tent and 4 large fems in a 5'x5'.i want the biggest yields i can from the larger system as in 4-5 month SCROG or trellis grows and the autos will be for FOG 2-3 month cycles.

this means as i understand, that clones are off the table unless i use cuttings from the bigger system and transplant into the smaller, but i can grow a wider variety of strains if i do 6 seed grows.

i just want my big beautiful plants. come late January, ill have the build complete. ill do a thorough build thread.
 

Budley Doright

Well-Known Member
Yes there are lots of ways to grow and mine is far from perfect as my plants are stuck together with no way to move individual plants which would be nice. My next setup is going to be DTW I think, with individual pots.
 
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