4x8 hydroponic system

What do you all think is the most efficient hydroponic system for a 4x8 grow tent. 2 1000w hps/mh. I kinda wanna do something like a ucrdwc but I dont feel like spending 300 dollars on bulkhead fittings. I also want ease of use, no over crowding not a lot of maintenance.

Thoughts?

Help me nail this setup
 

go go kid

Well-Known Member
DWC units would be a great way to go, just be prepared to lift the DWC pot lids off to change the bucket out with new nute solution or work out some sort of drainage system to empty them ready for the new solution.
im going to experiment with a kratky method of res pots, pasive hydro, lik DWC but without the airstone
 
DWC units would be a great way to go, just be prepared to lift the DWC pot lids off to change the bucket out with new nute solution or work out some sort of drainage system to empty them ready for the new solution.
im going to experiment with a kratky method of res pots, pasive hydro, lik DWC but without the airstone
Yeah I'm Probably looking for something more. 'Automated' than single bubble buckets. That sounds like a nightmare to deal with hehe.

I forgot to mention I'd really like to avoid soil. I think it's really messy and it has bugs in it that I dont want in my grow room.
 

Offmymeds

Well-Known Member
What do you all think is the most efficient hydroponic system for a 4x8 grow tent. 2 1000w hps/mh. I kinda wanna do something like a ucrdwc but I dont feel like spending 300 dollars on bulkhead fittings. I also want ease of use, no over crowding not a lot of maintenance.

Thoughts?

Help me nail this setup
I made a large cloner or LPA that allowed me to end the draining & refilling of huge reservoirs. My mistake was reusing the DWC reservoirs as the oversize cloner & only creating six sites. IMO a 4 X 4 site needs at least nine & probably 16 for a SOG (which I've never tried so take that for what it's worth). My other mistake was not calculating the proper nute reservoir size. Count on 1/3 gallon/plant/day. I was adding every 3rd day which worked well with my sterile environment.

I think I'll be switching to an LPA in (9) 5-galllon buckets maybe with flexible tubing if cheap enough or PVC if not. I like the bucket & flex tubing idea for the flexibility of putting the buckets at different heights with 3-inch foam blocks if I'm mixing grows or being able to reach the plants in the back for defoliation & inspection.

My last grow was a mix of White Widow, California Orange, Blue Dream, & Green Crack. The Green Crack & Cal Orange went into coco & were propped between my LPA buckets. That was fun but more difficult.

BTW, I found 3/4 threaded bulkheads 4 for $14 on Amazon.
 
I made a large cloner or LPA that allowed me to end the draining & refilling of huge reservoirs. My mistake was reusing the DWC reservoirs as the oversize cloner & only creating six sites. IMO a 4 X 4 site needs at least nine & probably 16 for a SOG (which I've never tried so take that for what it's worth). My other mistake was not calculating the proper nute reservoir size. Count on 1/3 gallon/plant/day. I was adding every 3rd day which worked well with my sterile environment.

I think I'll be switching to an LPA in (9) 5-galllon buckets maybe with flexible tubing if cheap enough or PVC if not. I like the bucket & flex tubing idea for the flexibility of putting the buckets at different heights with 3-inch foam blocks if I'm mixing grows or being able to reach the plants in the back for defoliation & inspection.

My last grow was a mix of White Widow, California Orange, Blue Dream, & Green Crack. The Green Crack & Cal Orange went into coco & were propped between my LPA buckets. That was fun but more difficult.

BTW, I found 3/4 threaded bulkheads 4 for $14 on Amazon.
So youd recommend 18 buckets in a 4x8 that seems like a lot of buckets. Especially if you're wanting to trim and defoliate in there. I was considering just growing 4 6 or 8. Theres too many options and I don't wanna buy twice lol
 

Offmymeds

Well-Known Member
So youd recommend 18 buckets in a 4x8 that seems like a lot of buckets. Especially if you're wanting to trim and defoliate in there. I was considering just growing 4 6 or 8. Theres too many options and I don't wanna buy twice lol
Oh no. I have a 4X8 but I use half of it for the reservoir/ portable room AC/moving space. I simply wish I had considered SOG when making my LPA. At 4X4 it's hard enough to defoliate & inspect the plants in the back.
 
I decided to go with an under current dwc style system. Just trying to find decent sized buckets. Biggest I've found is 5gal square.
 
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Offmymeds

Well-Known Member
Interesting. I gotta check that out.

I just checked it out. I could do it a lot cheaper but it's so neat and convenient it would be foolish not to go with this. It appears I could craft a lid\fitting to make it into an LPA as well.
 
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Dabhead710

Well-Known Member
So did you buy your stuff for rdwc then already as if your dead set on rdwc check out current culture however I just got rid of my rdwc and I went with the bucket company and I love it I have a 4.5x4.5ft veg and 8x4 bloom 12 sites in each 1.2gal for veg and 3gal bloom I still run recirculating with gs-1 stones on a timer However they are about to release lids and I will pretty much turn it to a lpa setup but it will water from the top like a rainfall as the lids has net pots and dozens of lil holes and I will run it like that but no sprayers needed and they are gna love it great thing about the bucket company as u can grow any style you want Coco ,soil ,Dwc,aero u name it and u can all do it with minimal change if any other than water times and media .. And I cut 80% of my water and nutes out of the system and pry 1/3rd of my electricity as I don't run noisy ass air pumps anymore and love it and the h20 pumps I do use are dc so don't use shit for power and they have speed controllers too and perfect for my setup and I am sooo glad I got rid of my rdwc before I had a flood in my finished basement and it was just a matter of time before it happened and 45 to 150gal depending on the setup would be a waiting pool in my basement so I got rid of it and now I can have the same automation as I had w rdwc and even more faster growth once I get the lids and netpots it's gna go down ...And compared to other grow companies they have great pricing and a great company and has killer products....
IMG_20200905_081405.jpgIMG_20200904_092429.jpgIMG_20200903_182652.jpgIMG_20200825_214349.jpg
 
Hey man, i did buy all the stuff for my uc rdwc build.

I found the 8 and 13 gallon buckets in eastern Canada for a decent price and ordered 7 of them, 6 sites and a res. I plan on upping to 8 buckets if things go well with 6 and i feel like i have enough room

I bought a hanna industries ph/ec/temp meter
550 gal pump
ac infinity fans

My tent has a flood tray in it that should hold about 100 gal of water or more which is double my system so i dont foresee any flooding issues in my basement although the fear is always in the back of my mind. worst case scenario i get to put new carpet in lol.

Ill get some pics up eventually in a new thread, i also ordered some ethos banana hammock
 
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