Keys to driving rdwc like a racecar

bdt1981

Well-Known Member
Ok so im still fresh into my first rdwc setup. 2 harvests down then killed some 2week old plants then wasted a full batch of clones. Lessons learned pounds harvested money made... All fun. I love it. Im now back in the drivers seat after having my life dlash before my eyes.
How?
User error of course. See you can know exactly what to do and have all the gear to do it but if you arent 100% thorough you will probably have problems that can and will take your crop. I thought i knew it all, which i kind of did but my dumb ass going to work with my mind elsewhere cost the hell out of me. I left my return pumps unplugged 4 days after doing a 50% changeout.
There is no coming back from 76-78f water temps. Trashed them right away. My heart dropped when i noticed i couldnt hear any water moving. Should have looked into my bluelab saying a consistent 63f. Duh it wasnt circulating. Roots didnt look extremely bad but they were toast. Soft just pulled away. Devastated to the maxx.
Along the way this first year i learned some key things that will make a sucessful run. I want to list them here. Even if it can help save 1 grow its worth it. Plus i dont have shit to do rn. Lol.
1) if your system isnt brandnew bleach the hell out of it for a good day. Drain and rince at least 2 more times vacuuming or wiping out any debris that is left behind. Wipe out real good once you think the bleach is gone. If u reuse your hose be certian it isnt clogged or have anything in it. Little pieces of root all add up to problems. If you reuse net pots be certian there are no stray roots on the net. I had someone esle do it at first and stressed the importance of it being clean. I still ended up washing them.
2) So your system is clean and you have clones on the way. Very important in how well they respond to the system is going to depend on the size and color of your starting root. You want BIG FUCKING ROOTS to start. That will easily wrap around the bottom of net pot half way. Fat thick bush of root. They will respond in one or 2 days with extra big root. I have done both ways and putting them in the systems early did nothing for time. Slowed it if anything. If they just have small roots they still have to grow big and best to do it on your machine. The ones before this run was like that smaller than i wanted and i got sick of waiting and trashed them. This current run they werent as big as the roots of the ones i killed and it was like they took off but not until the roots are there.
3) Probably going to get some push back on this one but 1/2 strength nutrient. Start at about 80 young roots cant handle it. They will turn tan and slow to a crawl. I hear people talk about these high ass ppm. I honestly dont believe it. Must not has as much DO or the people sayin this shit are wanna be's. They dont really run a rdwc grow. I promise their shit not growing faster than mine at half strength. Never over 550-500ppm. Unnecessary. The ppm rises that means to much nute. You want it to crawl down if its moving. Going up is bad.
I wont get into the equipment to run the system. But do yourself and do 1 or 2 laps around your grow before you leave it alone. Any shit unplugged you will catch doing the walk thru. Nutrient 65-72 is safe i believe. 74 getting dangerous 76-79 is death. Keep enviroment pimp always.

* Fuck what you heard 14days is not long enough on clone machine to kill it in a rdwc. Im talking roots coming out the net pot over the first night. It took 25 days on machine til i had thick enough root. That little fine root will get murked by some full strength nutes for sure. I may have left some stuff out and ill add to it as i grow. Getting bored right now. Pix of my little ones coming soon!
 

Opie1971

Well-Known Member
I’m gonna try hydro of some type here as soon as the weather starts cooling off, maybe.
I’m only gonna have 3 or 4 large plants in stages. So I’ve got a lot to learn for sure.
I’ll be watching your thread.
 

bdt1981

Well-Known Member
Hydro is kind of a vague word these days. Rdwc, dwc, aero,aqua ebb n flow nft ect. Some are similar but some are so different like recu or dtw.
 

fragileassassin

Well-Known Member
Peroxide works well to clean too. Ill never put bleach anywhere near the inside of my system.
I use 34% when I have it, but dumping a few brown bottles of 3% in there works just as well.
Let it run for a day or two and everything settles to the bottoms of your buckets for easy clean up.
I rarely even have to wipe anything down inside the system.

"There is no coming back from 76-78f water temps."
100% do not agree at all. This is just not true. Ive saved some pretty bad plants that most would have just thrown in the trash.
 

bdt1981

Well-Known Member
Peroxide works well to clean too. Ill never put bleach anywhere near the inside of my system.
I use 34% when I have it, but dumping a few brown bottles of 3% in there works just as well.
Let it run for a day or two and everything settles to the bottoms of your buckets for easy clean up.
I rarely even have to wipe anything down inside the system.

"There is no coming back from 76-78f water temps."
100% do not agree at all. This is just not true. Ive saved some pretty bad plants that most would have just thrown in the trash.
If u use uc roots then its pretty close to bleach. Anyone ever tried to switch roots for sodimum hypochlorite? 2.50gallon.
 

bdt1981

Well-Known Member
Peroxide works well to clean too. Ill never put bleach anywhere near the inside of my system.
I use 34% when I have it, but dumping a few brown bottles of 3% in there works just as well.
Let it run for a day or two and everything settles to the bottoms of your buckets for easy clean up.
I rarely even have to wipe anything down inside the system.

"There is no coming back from 76-78f water temps."
100% do not agree at all. This is just not true. Ive saved some pretty bad plants that most would have just thrown in the trash.
H2o2 is to expensive. The bleach does take lots of rinsing. I drain fill with bleach water like 4 gal per system. Runn day and let water drain thru drain out fill bout 2 more times and drain. Took shop vac to last lil stuff in bottom of buckets. I dontbhave great pix but here are few. Look at rhat glue fan. Cant wait to fill a system of it
 

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H2o2 is to expensive. The bleach does take lots of rinsing. I drain fill with bleach water like 4 gal per system. Runn day and let water drain thru drain out fill bout 2 more times and drain. Took shop vac to last lil stuff in bottom of buckets. I dontbhave great pix but here are few. Look at rhat glue fan. Cant wait to fill a system of it
I Want to see this in full flower!
 

fragileassassin

Well-Known Member
H2o2 is to expensive. The bleach does take lots of rinsing. I drain fill with bleach water like 4 gal per system. Runn day and let water drain thru drain out fill bout 2 more times and drain. Took shop vac to last lil stuff in bottom of buckets. I dontbhave great pix but here are few. Look at rhat glue fan. Cant wait to fill a system of it
I can get a gallon of 34% for $30 local and it lasts a year. Im cool spending a few bucks per cleaning.
 

fragileassassin

Well-Known Member
I have 5 gallon of it. So u think it really works good enough to clean the system? Bleach sucks hate the suds it makes
Its all ive used to clean my systems for a couple years now. I even drop all my airstones into a site and run them while circulating the peroxide solution and they come out clean too.
I dump in something in the area of 50-100ml of 34% per 10 gallons and let it run for 2-3 days then flush with clean water, drain that then fill for use.
If I dont have the 34% I just got grab 3-4 of the $1 32oz bottles at walmart for my 35 gallon veg system or 6 for the 60 gal flower system

All the buildup and gunk in the system settling into the bottom of the sites and make for easy cleanup with the shopvac.
I use 90% iso to clean tools and surfaces. I only use bleach on the floor, i dont like the residue it can leave.
 

cannabineer

Ursus marijanus
Ok so im still fresh into my first rdwc setup. 2 harvests down then killed some 2week old plants then wasted a full batch of clones. Lessons learned pounds harvested money made... All fun. I love it. Im now back in the drivers seat after having my life dlash before my eyes.
How?
User error of course. See you can know exactly what to do and have all the gear to do it but if you arent 100% thorough you will probably have problems that can and will take your crop. I thought i knew it all, which i kind of did but my dumb ass going to work with my mind elsewhere cost the hell out of me. I left my return pumps unplugged 4 days after doing a 50% changeout.
There is no coming back from 76-78f water temps. Trashed them right away. My heart dropped when i noticed i couldnt hear any water moving. Should have looked into my bluelab saying a consistent 63f. Duh it wasnt circulating. Roots didnt look extremely bad but they were toast. Soft just pulled away. Devastated to the maxx.
Along the way this first year i learned some key things that will make a sucessful run. I want to list them here. Even if it can help save 1 grow its worth it. Plus i dont have shit to do rn. Lol.
1) if your system isnt brandnew bleach the hell out of it for a good day. Drain and rince at least 2 more times vacuuming or wiping out any debris that is left behind. Wipe out real good once you think the bleach is gone. If u reuse your hose be certian it isnt clogged or have anything in it. Little pieces of root all add up to problems. If you reuse net pots be certian there are no stray roots on the net. I had someone esle do it at first and stressed the importance of it being clean. I still ended up washing them.
2) So your system is clean and you have clones on the way. Very important in how well they respond to the system is going to depend on the size and color of your starting root. You want BIG FUCKING ROOTS to start. That will easily wrap around the bottom of net pot half way. Fat thick bush of root. They will respond in one or 2 days with extra big root. I have done both ways and putting them in the systems early did nothing for time. Slowed it if anything. If they just have small roots they still have to grow big and best to do it on your machine. The ones before this run was like that smaller than i wanted and i got sick of waiting and trashed them. This current run they werent as big as the roots of the ones i killed and it was like they took off but not until the roots are there.
3) Probably going to get some push back on this one but 1/2 strength nutrient. Start at about 80 young roots cant handle it. They will turn tan and slow to a crawl. I hear people talk about these high ass ppm. I honestly dont believe it. Must not has as much DO or the people sayin this shit are wanna be's. They dont really run a rdwc grow. I promise their shit not growing faster than mine at half strength. Never over 550-500ppm. Unnecessary. The ppm rises that means to much nute. You want it to crawl down if its moving. Going up is bad.
I wont get into the equipment to run the system. But do yourself and do 1 or 2 laps around your grow before you leave it alone. Any shit unplugged you will catch doing the walk thru. Nutrient 65-72 is safe i believe. 74 getting dangerous 76-79 is death. Keep enviroment pimp always.

* Fuck what you heard 14days is not long enough on clone machine to kill it in a rdwc. Im talking roots coming out the net pot over the first night. It took 25 days on machine til i had thick enough root. That little fine root will get murked by some full strength nutes for sure. I may have left some stuff out and ill add to it as i grow. Getting bored right now. Pix of my little ones coming soon!
I’m wondering if this was a simple case of drowning. Without recirculation, the plant will suck the oxygen out of the nutrient in short order.

Unless you were running an air stone per plant. That would kill my hypothesis.
 

bdt1981

Well-Known Member
Its all ive used to clean my systems for a couple years now. I even drop all my airstones into a site and run them while circulating the peroxide solution and they come out clean too.
I dump in something in the area of 50-100ml of 34% per 10 gallons and let it run for 2-3 days then flush with clean water, drain that then fill for use.
If I dont have the 34% I just got grab 3-4 of the $1 32oz bottles at walmart for my 35 gallon veg system or 6 for the 60 gal flower system

All the buildup and gunk in the system settling into the bottom of the sites and make for easy cleanup with the shopvac.
I use 90% iso to clean tools and surfaces. I only use bleach on the floor, i dont like the residue it can leave.
Exactly it works but its a pain in my back. Lol. I use alcohol for tools but ill check that out because i have 5gal.
 

bdt1981

Well-Known Member
I’m wondering if this was a simple case of drowning. Without recirculation, the plant will suck the oxygen out of the nutrient in short order.

Unless you were running an air stone per plant. That would kill my hypothesis.
I have an airstone per bucket . It was the temp and no circulation so the warm air the air pump heats the water. They were toast. Stupid i should have noticed my temp being extra low and chiller not running a lot. Heart dropped out of my chest when i realized i couldnt hear the circulation pump. They were really taking off super fast
 
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