Running 600 watt with 5 plants dwc
- Thread starter Rello365
- Start date
Johiem
Well-Known Member
For simplicity, I would stay away from recirculation. That requires pipes, fittings, seals, at least one pump... and I'm sure I'm missing things. For just starting out, standard DWC needs a bit more grower interaction, mainly cleaning their bins. I scrub mine with every solution change. Had 0 problems, till I followed some bad advice. Also, bringing them inside(from the garage) to wash their bins gives me ample time for inspection.
GBAUTO
Well-Known Member
I really don't like to use buckets.
I've had too many issues with roots filling the bucket and not having a sufficient volume of solution in the bucket as a result.
If you choose dwc, I'd suggest a 12 gal tote as a minimum-larger makes for a more stable system.
For a 5x5, you will need at least 600 watts of top-tier diodes or 1kw of hid.
Both generate heat so ventilation needs to be on point.
I've had too many issues with roots filling the bucket and not having a sufficient volume of solution in the bucket as a result.
If you choose dwc, I'd suggest a 12 gal tote as a minimum-larger makes for a more stable system.
For a 5x5, you will need at least 600 watts of top-tier diodes or 1kw of hid.
Both generate heat so ventilation needs to be on point.
70's natureboy
Well-Known Member
How hot do you think it will get? Is your room in a concrete basement?
fragileassassin
Well-Known Member
5 individual sites would suck to maintain.
Even with a rdwc where I can change water without messing with the plants
fragileassassin
Well-Known Member
Rdwc would make it 5 (or whatever number) connected. Instead of individual.
It was an argument for rdwc.
Yes its a bit more equipment and setup but the pros are worth it imo.
If you want to start with separate sites, run 4 or 6 plants total in 2 or 3 27 gallon totes. 2 each tote. Add some kind of drain to the lowest point possible on each tote. Use the biggest netpots you can fit 2 of on your lid. 2 of the wide lip 5 gallon bucket style netpots fit on most of the 27gal sized totes and offer the most support from a netpot.
I have found the 27 gal totes to be the easiest to deal with. Itll give you around 20 gallons of water volume which makes everything easier. Water temps, ph, and just overall stability over a 5 gallon bucket size.
You want to put at least 20 liters per MINUTE of air into each box.
I run 27 gal totes for side projects and this is what I've found to be the easiest way to dwc. No chiller needed in 75F room with bennies.
Johiem
Well-Known Member
That would all depend on your wanted level of interaction. I maintain between a 4 and 6 site DWC, and while scrubbing the tubs is tedious I enjoy it. I get to observe, inspect and make minor adjustments. This is from someone that can watch his girls for hours.
fragileassassin
Well-Known Member
You'll get tired of all that work eventually and start looking for ways to make things easier
I just found this thread by searching '27gal tote' lol. Right now I'm currently running 5gal buckets and they are a pain in the ass to maintain on a day to day basis. The PH fluctuates too much to keep up with. So I went out to home depot today and bought 4 27 gal totes, going to run 2 of them in my 4x4 tent, 2 plants per tote. This should make it MUCH easier for me to deal with. And thanks fragile for that idea! I can use my net pot lids for the totes instead of getting different net pots. That should add some stability to the lid/plants too I would imagine
So running a rdwc I never have to clean the totes by hand I can just drain right and one more question I keep getting different answers for a 4x4 tent is 600 good or 1000 watts and also cant I just buy a light that dim from 600 up to 1000watt
Yea some people go the entire grow without cleaning the totes or buckets. I have a 600 in a 4x4 tent and so far it's doing alright, if I had to do it over though I might as well go with a 1000 watt light since I have a exhaust fan big enough to help keep temps in check. My house is also a split level, so with my tent being downstairs I'm sure that helps me too. Might as well go with a 1000 IMO, like you said you can always dim it down a bit.
GBAUTO
Well-Known Member
On my 4-tote system, I can only remove approx. 65% of the system volume during a drain/fill. The only way I could do a complete dump would be by breaking out the big shop vac.
Needless to say, I just do a dump/fill every 10-14 days and the girls are quite happy.
Light needs are dependent on how much intensity you need.
A 1000 watt hps will generate a little over 1050ppfd averaged over the 1.5 m2 in a 4x4
That a lot of light and needs some experience to deal with it.
A fixture that's able to produce 1125 umole ppf will give you an average ppfd of 750 when used in a 4x4.
Last edited: