Should this put me off?

I found this article and am now thinking I'm making the wrong choice for my first grow?

http://www.hydroponicist.com/pages/p44-dwc-bubbler.htm

I'm using 4 x 8 gallon tubs holding 6 plants each...

Am I in out of my depth? (no pun intended)

What's the problem?

"is high maintenance and not very easy to manage."
"If the pump is allowed to be off for any length of time, the roots will suffer from being waterlogged and starved of oxygen"
Any length of time?
"the CF and pH of this water is in a state of constant flux and therefore in need of constant attention"
"plants can deplete 5 litres of water in a single day "
"Maintenance of this system also presents a headache because in order to change the water and check the pH and CF, you have to physically remove the lid and the plant from the growing chamber"
"If you were to maintain several of these buckets in one grow room, then you could be looking at a full-time maintenance job"


Is it really that bad?
I already have a full time job and a family. How long do you spend on each plant everyday and does any plant drink that much water?

no...wut type of hydro are you trying? i'm doing a dwc its my 2nd grow and its way easier then dirt.
the only probs are keeping your ph right, other than that its ez

LightFusion said:

.... dwc ... its way easier then dirt.
.....

Click to expand...

I agree.

get two tubs and keep one on standby. when you need to clean your res, just mix up a new batch of solution in the extra tub, and swap the plants over. I have 4 plants in 11 gallons.

keep light out of the res.

check your ph weekly/biweekly. I check weekly.

they can drink a lot depending on a lot of variables. larger plants, flowering plants, etc. check levels when you check ph. I refill with distilled when I have it. spring/well water when I don't. if I'm lasy I'll use tap water left out for a day. I'm not very consistent.

I'll spend about 5 minutes a day tending my garden. an hour on cleaning day.

try not to be too high when tending your garden. you tend to make mistakes when high. not always, but you get the idea.


this is the easiest hydro setup I've seen yet. it's damn near idiot-proof. these plants will take a lot of abuse too. I'm not careful at all.