Building my own DWC

Vonkins said:

How do you easily remove twenty gal of water cause 160lbs of water is awfully heavy. And while your removing water what do you do with the plants

Click to expand...

Thats why I use individual 5 gallon sport coolers. You just put your plants in a empty bucket when changing the res dont worry unless you take half a day to change your reservoirs the plant and roots wont be effected they will actually enjoy the air they are getting ... if you are super paranoid you can mist your roots with PH water .. If you decide to go the cooler route you can get a drill pump or some sort of fitting to screw into the plug.. Thats why we say get a IGLOO cooler because the plugs are threaded and you can unscrew the drain.

Vonkins said:

How do you easily remove twenty gal of water cause 160lbs of water is awfully heavy. And while your removing water what do you do with the plants

Click to expand...

i always have my tubs on a table i have big drainholes which empty the whole tote in seconds but i dont use bought tubs i build mine from wood and geomembrane sheets with good plumbing stuff, big flexible hose for draining never ever leaks and the tub is very sturdy geomembrane sheets are black intended for huge outdoor ponds under sunlight guaranteed 3 years so i guess in my indoor lightproof tray i grow old before they ever break oh and for the pump size you can get small cheap ones no need for pump power in this system, one pump timer and gravity

zem said:

i always have my tubs on a table i have big drainholes which empty the whole tote in seconds but i dont use bought tubs i build mine from wood and geomembrane sheets with good plumbing stuff, big flexible hose for draining never ever leaks and the tub is very sturdy geomembrane sheets are black intended for huge outdoor ponds under sunlight guaranteed 3 years so i guess in my indoor lightproof tray i grow old before they ever break oh and for the pump size you can get small cheap ones no need for pump power in this system, one pump timer and gravity

Click to expand...

I know everything about liner ... HDPE , PVC , LLDPE , XR- 5 , RPP , etc... How did you weld the liner ?? or did you just do a drop in liner ??? What mil thickness???

Sounds like you should look at getting some buckets igloo coolers like BeaverHuntr & I. A simple bilge pump found at Wally World or any boating store hooked up to a small 12V battery can pump out 60GAL real quick! Nice investment if you do not have an extra pair of hands to help you. I use buckets to mix my solution then lift the insulation board off the cooler bucket and place the entire plant into an empty bucket near the light as to not stress the plant too much. I then take the cooler into the bathroom and give it a good cleaning no soap I just use a wash cloth and tap water. I then place it back in the tent and pour solution into the cooler then place plant back into cooler. The insulation board & net cup make it easy to access the nutrient solution I just lift and check set back down etc.

Air is important you need redundancy meaning have 2 pumps always going so assuming you have 2 air outlets per pump have one hose going into one reservoir the other hose into another reservoir and the same for the other plant that way in the event one pump fails your still pumping air into the reservoir and you should notice it within 24 hours. I check my plants daily just part of maintenance. Replace air stones after each harvest, use black air tubing, moisture in the air line will cause algae to grow and you do not want that.

I would use 4" net cups with rapid rooter plugs to germinate and start your ladies in. Cut the holes in the insulated board using the bottom of the net cup, use lids to keep light off net cup during grow this prevents light leaks and light hitting your reservoir through the net cup & hydrotron rocks.

BeaverHuntr said:

I know everything about liner ... HDPE , PVC , LLDPE , XR- 5 , RPP , etc... How did you weld the liner ?? or did you just do a drop in liner ??? What mil thickness???

Click to expand...

no welding at all, it's just a sheet that i shape into a wooden tray and i screw the edges with L shaped aluminium bars on which i put the lid. i don't know what thickness, i only know it's very durable since it is intended for big and deep ponds. it's like very strong nylon very hard to tear with hands