New setup - move to DWC?

Justin Freidman

Well-Known Member
Hey Guys,

We're building a new room next week for a new setup. In the past I have been using flood and drain with hydroton with great results.

For the new setup is it worth moving to DWC? Would I see any benefits in yield? Does DWC have any other advantages over flood and drain?

Thanks,
J.
 
I really like RDWC too. I ran it for several years, started having root rot issues I couldn't fix and switched to soilless. Now I'm in the process of switching back.

You will get amazing results in RDWC if you keep your roots clean of pathogens. I haven't worked with ebb and flow but I suspect DWC is a bit more difficult in that regard, just meaning that certain things need to be done to prevent root issues. Specifically bleaching everything in between grows and using a root inoculant. I've had bad results with various powders which may have been due to other poor cultural practices. I'm using a liquid inoculant called Hydroguard ATM and roots are very clean. I'm currently running a chilled and a non-chilled area. Both are doing great and believe it or not the water without chiller get's over 80F during the day. Without the Hydroguard that wouldn't work at all though. Main advantage of the chiller at this point is increased oxygen levels. I'll eventually have all my cultures running at 65F.

As far as yield, I suspect grams per square foot has similar potential. One advantage is being able to use fewer plants with large root balls. 3 week veg can result in plants during bloom taking up well over a 2x2' footprint. I haven't tried but suspect with a 4 week veg a single plant could fill a 4x4.

Because of the large plant size SCROG becomes more appropriate, which could be considered a disadvantage. I imagine SOG is a bit easier to trim.

Day two with my new setup. The insulating material is called reflectix, easy to work with... folds up like a Chinese takeout box.

myRDWC.jpg
 

Airwalker16

Well-Known Member
I really like RDWC too. I ran it for several years, started having root rot issues I couldn't fix and switched to soilless. Now I'm in the process of switching back.

You will get amazing results in RDWC if you keep your roots clean of pathogens. I haven't worked with ebb and flow but I suspect DWC is a bit more difficult in that regard, just meaning that certain things need to be done to prevent root issues. Specifically bleaching everything in between grows and using a root inoculant. I've had bad results with various powders which may have been due to other poor cultural practices. I'm using a liquid inoculant called Hydroguard ATM and roots are very clean. I'm currently running a chilled and a non-chilled area. Both are doing great and believe it or not the water without chiller get's over 80F during the day. Without the Hydroguard that wouldn't work at all though. Main advantage of the chiller at this point is increased oxygen levels. I'll eventually have all my cultures running at 65F.

As far as yield, I suspect grams per square foot has similar potential. One advantage is being able to use fewer plants with large root balls. 3 week veg can result in plants during bloom taking up well over a 2x2' footprint. I haven't tried but suspect with a 4 week veg a single plant could fill a 4x4.

Because of the large plant size SCROG becomes more appropriate, which could be considered a disadvantage. I imagine SOG is a bit easier to trim.

Day two with my new setup. The insulating material is called reflectix, easy to work with... folds up like a Chinese takeout box.

View attachment 4055407
That's a simple fix. Use a chiller next time and you'll never get root rot ever.
 

zypheruk

Well-Known Member
@Airwalker16 it's a strange thing last time I ran a couple of bubble buckets without a chiller, gave me a trouble free grow with bright white roots etc. Nutrients used then where Ionic Hydro Grow, Ionic Hydro Bloom. Using a large Koi air pump producing lots of bubble and surface movement.
This run I'm using the chiller (18c), Cana Aqua Vega, Ph starts at 5.6 and rises to 6.2 over the course of a week. I have tried using Pythoff and that didn't help. So now I'm running with some pool shock and will see how that works out. Room and everything in it is spotless.
Can't seem to get hydroguard here in the UK, very little choice really. Glad I have some seedlings running in coco using the same feed but with perfect growth.
 
I ran DWC for several years and never had anything more than minor issues. Then one day some particular strain of bacteria or fungi made it's way into my solution and it was hell after that. It's just a matter of the right microbe that is bad for roots and can thrive at low temps getting in the rez. Even bleaching alone may not fix the problem if every microbe/spore isn't killed. I have my fingers crossed that extreme sanitation between grows and a good bennie product will prevent the issue from happening again.

If what you're doing works keep doing it. Hopefully you'll never have to deal with it, but if you do maybe you will remember this post and have a solution.
 
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