5 gallon DWC built in 15 minutes, for less than $15 dollars. W/Pics

nice stuff snutter. i'm a fan of your setup and threads man. i have a jacked up back so i find 5 gal. buckets perfect lol. the looped air hose instead of stones is a sick idea. do you use this in your big totes too?

i really like this idea, im new to hydro so this is perfect to start out and learn before i step it up.
thanks snutter

donkey.420 said:

nice stuff snutter. i'm a fan of your setup and threads man. i have a jacked up back so i find 5 gal. buckets perfect lol. the looped air hose instead of stones is a sick idea. do you use this in your big totes too?

Click to expand...

Hello donkey 420. yep, I do the same thing in my big totes as well...

I'd like to point out something I read above. Whoever said it is right, you absolutely must wrap you containers if they are not already light proof. algae can form very quickly. I did mention this earlier, but I should have said that it's an absolute must. I wasn't wrapping mine because I don't seem to have a problem until 2 or 3 weeks, and by then I've moved the plants to another tote. then I just rinse out the 5 gal one... But eventually I do get algae, and it does suck. I'm going to stop being lazy and just wrap up the damn things. heheheh.

take it easy everyone!!! I hope all of your grows are kicking ass..

-S

PS
the death of that little seedling up above made me very sad...I'm still wondering what caused that... I don't think it was algae, but the suggestion to wrap the container was sound! still thinking about it.........

Concord Dawn said:

man snut, awesome buds, great grows, i think the cheap diy stuff works just fine, subscribed to both of your threads, great stuff!! getting ready to try again after a big failure, not sure what really happened any ideas what would cause a plant to do this in less than 22 hours? i know there are many variables, but any input would be helpful. heres a couple pics, thanks man and +rep for you. Blade

oh yeah, really dig the holes in the tube deal instead of stones!! gonna make my 10 gal tote work that way with 2 pumps and 2 "air loops" when i start again, LoL.

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God I wish I knew what to tell you here brother grower!!! What a very sad sad site...

My first question will be, is this a drip system? It looks to me like your seedling was in rock wool. If drip system, then the rock wool should have been plenty moist.

If not a drip system, how were you keeping the rock wool wet/moist? I can't tell from the pics, but it looks like it dried up...

So weird... Do me a favor, list out all the specs of your set up.. Let's figure this out together bro!!!

PM me if you want to so that I know you got this message...

-S

Nice thread Snut, you may have just converted me. Got a few ?s if you don't mind...

1). where is the water level when full?
2). Does the plant roots sit right in the water?(How far down into the water will they typically get?)
3). How low should the water get before adding more?
4). You don't use a water pump to pump the water up against the lid, just relying on the air bubbles?

thanx man, just trying to get the idea.

seasmoke said:

Nice thread Snut, you may have just converted me. Got a few ?s if you don't mind...

1). where is the water level when full?
2). Does the plant roots sit right in the water?(How far down into the water will they typically get?)
3). How low should the water get before adding more?
4). You don't use a water pump to pump the water up against the lid, just relying on the air bubbles?

thanx man, just trying to get the idea.

Click to expand...

I have the same questions as well...

closetfarmer said:

I have the same questions as well...

Click to expand...

this is from snut's other grow journal:

Here's my specs:

Strain: White Rhino.
Medium: Hydroton Rocks.
Growing style: DWC!
Methods: 1 LST, 1 SOG or SCROG, 1 Super Cropping, and 1 untouched plant (Veg'd from clone, no techniques used).
Nutes: General Hydroponics Flora Micro and Flora Bloom using Lucas Formula.
Additives: Super Thrive during veg, Epsom Salt (magnesium sulfate) during Flower.
pH: 5.3 to 5.6 never above 5.8 or below 5.3
ppm: 800 to 1200 general range.
DWC reservoir size: 18 gallons filled to 12 with nutrient solution.
Feeding schedule: Fresh nutes after 12 gallons of fresh water has been added.
Lights: 3 - 60W full spectrum for clones; 2 - 400W Metal Halide for veg; 4 - 400W HPS in flower room.
Light Schedule: Clones - 24hr/day; Veg - 24hr/day; Flower - 12/12
Temps: 75 degrees lights on; 60 degrees lights off.
humidity: sitting perfectly in the normal range right around 50% to 60%
Size of grow rooms: Veg/clone room - 8' x 8' x 8'; Flower room - 7' x 8' x 15' (840 cubic ft. of space).
How long Veg'd: 5 weeks.
Expected harvest: Who the hell knows? I'm going to give up any attempts at guessing this for now until I learn my crop a little better.


with that said, these are my answers to the other questions:
you can make a water level tube outside the tub with a 2 -1/2" 90 degree pvc barb fittings and some 1/2" clear tubing that will read the same water level as in the tub by putting the 1st fitting in the side at the bottom and the 2nd 1 at the top well above the water level going back into the tub then running the clear tube between them, seal with silicone for no leaks. then mark the tube at the 11 gal level, then fill with 12 gals of water for a test run for leaks and mark the 12 gal level.

when the plants consume 1 gal of water, down to the 11 gal mark, add your top off gal to refill. just cut a small 3 sided "flap" in the lid for adding new water/nutes so you don't have to remove it to top off. have the same size extra tub to set the whole grow on for a complete water change as the roots will be fine out of the water for just a short time. if you have a 10 gal tub, go with just 7 gals of water.

the air loop that snut uses is pretty trick, it bubbles and mist the bottom of the net pots to water the plants just using 1/4" tubing with 3 small 1/16" hole spaced evenly around it and no air stones. once the plants roots are big enough, they will just hang and grow in the water. the air pump runs 24/7 even when the roots reach the water to keep everything oxygenated, very important. so the wat dosen't just lay stagnant and no algae will form and keep nutes well mixed.

hope this help and snut doesn't mind, LoL

Concord Dawn said:

this is from snut's other grow journal:

Here's my specs:

Strain: White Rhino.
Medium: Hydroton Rocks.
Growing style: DWC!
Methods: 1 LST, 1 SOG or SCROG, 1 Super Cropping, and 1 untouched plant (Veg'd from clone, no techniques used).
Nutes: General Hydroponics Flora Micro and Flora Bloom using Lucas Formula.
Additives: Super Thrive during veg, Epsom Salt (magnesium sulfate) during Flower.
pH: 5.3 to 5.6 never above 5.8 or below 5.3
ppm: 800 to 1200 general range.
DWC reservoir size: 18 gallons filled to 12 with nutrient solution.
Feeding schedule: Fresh nutes after 12 gallons of fresh water has been added.
Lights: 3 - 60W full spectrum for clones; 2 - 400W Metal Halide for veg; 4 - 400W HPS in flower room.
Light Schedule: Clones - 24hr/day; Veg - 24hr/day; Flower - 12/12
Temps: 75 degrees lights on; 60 degrees lights off.
humidity: sitting perfectly in the normal range right around 50% to 60%
Size of grow rooms: Veg/clone room - 8' x 8' x 8'; Flower room - 7' x 8' x 15' (840 cubic ft. of space).
How long Veg'd: 5 weeks.
Expected harvest: Who the hell knows? I'm going to give up any attempts at guessing this for now until I learn my crop a little better.


with that said, these are my answers to the other questions:
you can make a water level tube outside the tub with a 2 -1/2" 90 degree pvc barb fittings and some 1/2" clear tubing that will read the same water level as in the tub by putting the 1st fitting in the side at the bottom and the 2nd 1 at the top well above the water level going back into the tub then running the clear tube between them, seal with silicone for no leaks. then mark the tube at the 11 gal level, then fill with 12 gals of water for a test run for leaks and mark the 12 gal level.

when the plants consume 1 gal of water, down to the 11 gal mark, add your top off gal to refill. just cut a small 3 sided "flap" in the lid for adding new water/nutes so you don't have to remove it to top off. have the same size extra tub to set the whole grow on for a complete water change as the roots will be fine out of the water for just a short time. if you have a 10 gal tub, go with just 7 gals of water.

the air loop that snut uses is pretty trick, it bubbles and mist the bottom of the net pots to water the plants just using 1/4" tubing with 3 small 1/16" hole spaced evenly around it and no air stones. once the plants roots are big enough, they will just hang and grow in the water. the air pump runs 24/7 even when the roots reach the water to keep everything oxygenated, very important. so the wat dosen't just lay stagnant and no algae will form and keep nutes well mixed.

hope this help and snut doesn't mind, LoL

Click to expand...

I don't mind at all Concord Dawn. I couldn't have said it better myself. Listen to Concord Dawn, he knows what he's talking about!!!

Thanks brother!!!

-S

thanks man, just tryin to help, LoL