DWC how high do you want the water level

chronicals77 said:

I know, I just like to add info to old threads in the case a new grower stumbles upon this through a Google search. Seems to be one of the top questions new DWC growers ask. I never needed to ask that question because I bought buckets that came with instructions. I know a lot of people buy baskets and buckets and build thier own.

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This is exactly how I found it. I just mixed 3 gallons in my rez, roots are about 9 inches below the net pot. Reading this, I may mix one more gallon to get the soup level up to just below the net pot.

Also, in case anyone cares, my solution to the chiller issue is large ice bombs. I have my single DWC bucket (stealth grow) sitting in a 14 gallon tote and I fill it with about 3 gallons of water. I fill gallon milk jugs with water and freeze them. I don't use my freezer much ever, so I rotate out 4 1-gallon jugs and a few Gatorade bottles to keep the temps under control. 2 full gallons of ice will keep my temps in check for about 8 hours, then I'll rotate them out again. The only time I had an issue I was out of town, ice wasn't changed for about 48 hours. But usually I don't have to rotate my ice bombs out but in the morning, when I get home from work and before bed

PurpHues said:

This is exactly how I found it. I just mixed 3 gallons in my rez, roots are about 9 inches below the net pot. Reading this, I may mix one more gallon to get the soup level up to just below the net pot.

Also, in case anyone cares, my solution to the chiller issue is large ice bombs. I have my single DWC bucket (stealth grow) sitting in a 14 gallon tote and I fill it with about 3 gallons of water. I fill gallon milk jugs with water and freeze them. I don't use my freezer much ever, so I rotate out 4 1-gallon jugs and a few Gatorade bottles to keep the temps under control. 2 full gallons of ice will keep my temps in check for about 8 hours, then I'll rotate them out again. The only time I had an issue I was out of town, ice wasn't changed for about 48 hours. But usually I don't have to rotate my ice bombs out but in the morning, when I get home from work and before bed

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Just use Hydroguard and res temps really wont even matter. Just cover the bucket(s) with white/black polyfilm or Mylar. The Hydroguard will stop rootrot from happening and helps plants absorb nutrients better.

chronicals77 said:

Just use Hydroguard and res temps really wont even matter. Just cover the bucket(s) with white/black polyfilm or Mylar. The Hydroguard will stop rootrot from happening and helps plants absorb nutrients better.

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There is definitely a point-of-no-return though. I had about 3-4 weeks of 80 F rez temps. Root growth was INSANE. But, plants got nutrient burn pretty bad, lost some root mass, then boom. Unstoppable systemic rotting. I think the hydroguard bacillus is great at 'heading off' root rot and other baddies by eating the organics first, but when there's that much plant matter at those temps, I think pyth still wins.

Yesdog said:

There is definitely a point-of-no-return though. I had about 3-4 weeks of 80 F rez temps. Root growth was INSANE. But, plants got nutrient burn pretty bad, lost some root mass, then boom. Unstoppable systemic rotting. I think the hydroguard bacillus is great at 'heading off' root rot and other baddies by eating the organics first, but when there's that much plant matter at those temps, I think pyth still wins.

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I have seen Hydroguard cure severe root rot within 3 days and the plant came back brand new. If you get root rot you must use Hydroguard, wait for new roots, remove rotten roots that have no new roots growing out from them, and get the temps down. Within 2 weeks youll never even know it happened. The key however is not getting root rot in the first place. If Hydroguard is used and res temps are kept below 78f root rot will not happen. My res temps stay between 68f-72f but I still use HG so I dont have to worry. I would never run a sterile res(even though some do) because I whole heartedly believe plants need benneficials for maximum potential. They help the plant recover faster, absorb nutrients faster and more sufficiently. The quality I get, the yields I get, the speed it happens, and the health of the plants prove my theories. I average 1.5lbs every 60-67 days from one plant. I know I wouldnt be pulling this without hydroguard. Is it totally responsible? No! But it DOES play a sufficient role in my production. Hydroguard will cure existing root rot if done correctly, and fast! If using it to cure rot you can use extra so it doesnt take as long for the bennies to colonize the rootzone. As long as you keep your ambient temp around 74f, your humidity at 50%, good air circulation, and cover your buckets with black/white growroom polyfilm(white side up) your res temps should never get above the mid 70's max. I use a 1000w light in a 4x4 tent and my temps are easily kept at optimal. I can touch my polyfilm and bucket anytime of the day and it will be cold to the touch, not cool, COLD! My air pump for my stone is outside my tent and I run a 1.5" hose from my AC to my air pump so my pump is always sucking in ice cold air as well. Always clean your filter on your air pump once a month as well because if you dont it WILL clog with dust and your oxygen will be decreased dramatically. It takes a little care and maintenance to grow hydro but its well worth the yield, quality, and speed at which it all happens. People can say what they want but hydro dominates soil growing in every aspect.

As a newbie to DWC I can say I had a lot of questions answered and doubts reassured. The biggest question on my mind was concerning seedlings starting in DWC. My understanding is that the young roots are kept moist by the hydroton until it reaches the bottom of the net pot, which will be submerged in water. As long as the bottom couple of inches or so are submerged then the seedling will be fine, correct?

Pankace said:

As a newbie to DWC I can say I had a lot of questions answered and doubts reassured. The biggest question on my mind was concerning seedlings starting in DWC. My understanding is that the young roots are kept moist by the hydroton until it reaches the bottom of the net pot, which will be submerged in water. As long as the bottom couple of inches or so are submerged then the seedling will be fine, correct?

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Even if the net pot is a few inches above the water level, it should be fine. If you're running airstones, the vapor directly above the water in the basin is almost like aeroponics- or atleast enough to keep the roots from drying out. I've had plants survive for 2 weeks with roots dangling below the pot, but above the water level

Pankace said:

As long as the bottom couple of inches or so are submerged then the seedling will be fine, correct?

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you don't want that much of the netpot underwater. set your water level right at the bottom of the netpot so the bubbles will break up into the hydroton. i also used to topfeed as well until the roots start to emerge from the netpot. once they hit the water, they take off like a bat out of hell.

rkymtnman said:

you don't want that much of the netpot underwater. set your water level right at the bottom of the netpot so the bubbles will break up into the hydroton. i also used to topfeed as well until the roots start to emerge from the netpot. once they hit the water, they take off like a bat out of hell.

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yes, touchdown week was pretty exciting

Yesdog said:

yes, touchdown week was pretty exciting

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yeah, they go from barely a noticeable growth to holy shit, they are growing inches a day

rkymtnman said:

yeah, they go from barely a noticeable growth to holy shit, they are growing inches a day

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hehe, i made some modifications to my last failed grow "env control" stuff I did. One of the new additions is a webcam set up to do time lapse it'll be amazing to see touchdown when it happens.

that would be cool. hope you start a journal. would be neat to see the time lapse. or you tube would be even better.

i've got a 6 outlet DiG manifold like that for my auto feed hempys. works killer in a res outside the room.

Yesdog said:

hehe, i made some modifications to my last failed grow "env control" stuff I did. One of the new additions is a webcam set up to do time lapse it'll be amazing to see touchdown when it happens.

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yea definitely going to get a journal going soon here. just put the seedlings in the tent today. I had a journal for my first attempt in my sig. Second try will be much better i think.

chronicals77 said:

I know, I just like to add info to old threads in the case a new grower stumbles upon this through a Google search. Seems to be one of the top questions new DWC growers ask. I never needed to ask that question because I bought buckets that came with instructions. I know a lot of people buy baskets and buckets and build thier own.

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Hey man! Reading this in 2019 and I gotta say your previous post is saving me a lot of time. Thanks!!! I'm a first time grower, I'm in a grow tent and I have a couple questions maybe you peeps could help me out with.

1. I'm skipping the germination process and getting 2 clones from my friend. Each to be transplanted into 2 buckets inside my tent. I've seen a couple videos of people transplanting the clone without any sort of support, like rock wool. It just seems to me that the clone is too fragile to not have support. Would you say it is completely necessary or just rather place it in the middle of the hydroton?

2. After research, I found some posts suggesting the in line fan should be turning on every 3 minutes and stay on for a minute and repeat the cicle, all of this to have an optimal humidity and more. My timer only has option to turn on and off every 15 minutes. Do you guys use this technique? Maybe it overkill and i shouldn't worry about it, but i want to know from experience.

Here's a picture of my setup. (I have already installed fans, hygrometer and humidifier but i installed them after the picture was taken)

Any tips or suggestions are welcome.

Cheers!

reeferjules said:

Hey man! Reading this in 2019 and I gotta say your previous post is saving me a lot of time. Thanks!!! I'm a first time grower, I'm in a grow tent and I have a couple questions maybe you peeps could help me out with.

1. I'm skipping the germination process and getting 2 clones from my friend. Each to be transplanted into 2 buckets inside my tent. I've seen a couple videos of people transplanting the clone without any sort of support, like rock wool. It just seems to me that the clone is too fragile to not have support. Would you say it is completely necessary or just rather place it in the middle of the hydroton?

2. After research, I found some posts suggesting the in line fan should be turning on every 3 minutes and stay on for a minute and repeat the cicle, all of this to have an optimal humidity and more. My timer only has option to turn on and off every 15 minutes. Do you guys use this technique? Maybe it overkill and i shouldn't worry about it, but i want to know from experience.

Here's a picture of my setup. (I have already installed fans, hygrometer and humidifier but i installed them after the picture was taken)View attachment 4385659

Any tips or suggestions are welcome.

Cheers!

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I clone in an aerocloner so I'm always putting clone and roots into netpots. If u mean just cutting and sticking into the medium I've never done that. Don't think it would work but who knows.

See if your friend can get them rooted for you or stick them in rapid rooters. I guess it all depends on your medium. Coco could work sticking a clone in. But dwc medium you want little water retention which is bad for clones.

You can exhaust 24/7 so I wouldn't worry about 15 on/off being overkill.

firsttimeARE said:

I clone in an aerocloner so I'm always putting clone and roots into netpots. If u mean just cutting and sticking into the medium I've never done that. Don't think it would work but who knows.

See if your friend can get them rooted for you or stick them in rapid rooters. I guess it all depends on your medium. Coco could work sticking a clone in. But dwc medium you want little water retention which is bad for clones.

You can exhaust 24/7 so I wouldn't worry about 15 on/off being overkill.

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firsttimeARE said:

I clone in an aerocloner so I'm always putting clone and roots into netpots. If u mean just cutting and sticking into the medium I've never done that. Don't think it would work but who knows.

See if your friend can get them rooted for you or stick them in rapid rooters. I guess it all depends on your medium. Coco could work sticking a clone in. But dwc medium you want little water retention which is bad for clones.

You can exhaust 24/7 so I wouldn't worry about 15 on/off being overkill.

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Thank you so much! Yeah i basically want to know if I should just stick the clone straight into the net pots with hydroton, sounds like a yes so I will!

I do have another question regarding the cleaning process. I plant to clean on a weekly basis, as suggested, but I'd like to know how you guys deal with the plant while it's off the DWC bucket. Can I put the plant in another bucket (non DWC) with un treated water and without the air stone? Just for the duration of the cleaning process of the DWC bucket. Or maybe a regular bucket with treated water and no air stone?

I'm just a bit confused about this and I'd love to have some tips or suggestions from experienced people.

Thanks in advance

I'm saying no I wouldn't put the clone without roots into hydroton.

I grow in netpot lids so I take the lid off and stick it on an empty bucket. Empty the contents of the bucket and refill and add nutrients and then pH and then put the lid back on and be done.

The roots can be exposed to the air for the time it takes to clean a bucket.

reeferjules said:

Thank you so much! Yeah i basically want to know if I should just stick the clone straight into the net pots with hydroton, sounds like a yes so I will!

I do have another question regarding the cleaning process. I plant to clean on a weekly basis, as suggested, but I'd like to know how you guys deal with the plant while it's off the DWC bucket. Can I put the plant in another bucket (non DWC) with un treated water and without the air stone? Just for the duration of the cleaning process of the DWC bucket. Or maybe a regular bucket with treated water and no air stone?

I'm just a bit confused about this and I'd love to have some tips or suggestions from experienced people.

Thanks in advance

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While I clean my buckets and change my nutes I put my plants into other buckets and pour flush over the hydroton and leave them to flush until I'm finished and then I dump the flush water and rinse with clean RO water then set my plants back into the DWC buckets and new nutrients and done. Also you can root in hydroton using a DWC cloner but I would not put unrooted cuttings straight into a DWC bucket system under intense lighting.

chronicals77 said:

I know, I just like to add info to old threads in the case a new grower stumbles upon this through a Google search. Seems to be one of the top questions new DWC growers ask. I never needed to ask that question because I bought buckets that came with instructions. I know a lot of people buy baskets and buckets and build thier own.

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Definitely stumbled upon this from a Google search. ... I appreciate you doing that!

Hugo Phurst said:

I keep the water level an inch or two below the bottom of the net pot, lots of root mass is in the water.

View attachment 2596804

A plastic bottle full of ice can chill you water, and you'll need a root treatment like pondzime or piranha

Good luck

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Isnt that root rot? My roots are white

Krakore said:

Isnt that root rot? My roots are white

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Dude, that pic is over 7 years old. Not rot, some sort of stain....