Switching from coco to Wilma... Help

timmehvl

timmehvl

Well-Known Member
Hey everyone

I have a few grows done and finished I grow in 100 percent coco smart pots 600w 1mx1mx2m tent also have a small veg with a 300w mehizi

I want to go to a full water system Dwc Wilma nft flood and drain but mainly Wilma :)

I live in a rental so every 3 months I have to shut down for a day

So my questions are

How the hell do I do 60+ltr water changes every 2 weeks how do I drain that shit Im happy with switching knowledge wise but those water changes sound like no fun

Any tips would be great

Thanks
 
Zombie brains

Zombie brains

Active Member
Think the new Wilma system comes with an opening that reveals your pump so you can attach a drain hose and pump the water away.
I grow in rdwc buckets and honestly I never change the water just use silver bullets every four to six weeks and I've never had any root rot.
I don't even change the res when I switch to flower nutes just top up the tank with flower nutes and find it helps as it keeps a bit of n in there for an extra few days
 
timmehvl

timmehvl

Well-Known Member
Zombie brains said:
Think the new Wilma system comes with an opening that reveals your pump so you can attach a drain hose and pump the water away.
I grow in rdwc buckets and honestly I never change the water just use silver bullets every four to six weeks and I've never had any root rot.
I don't even change the res when I switch to flower nutes just top up the tank with flower nutes and find it helps as it keeps a bit of n in there for an extra few days
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OK awesome thank you

I have a chiller as well that should help abit?
 
Zombie brains

Zombie brains

Active Member
timmehvl said:
OK awesome thank you

I have a chiller as well that should help abit?
Click to expand...
I need to get one before this summer as had to switch my hydro to soil in the summer as it was so hot in my loft. To be honest I'm just being lazy about it as I'm a fridge engineer for a living so knocking one up from scratch would only take me a couple of hours
 
ChiefRunningPhist

ChiefRunningPhist

Well-Known Member
Southern Ag (D747)... Just add that to your water and you'll be good, same as hydroguard only 2000x more concentrated. It protects from root rot, my water is at 80f and I don't use a chiller, only D747 and I've had no issues. I barely change out water as well, when I do I use a 5 gal bucket and cheap 50 gal/min pump ($4) and hose (5/16 pvc hose 3$), it takes a few min but I don't do it often.

Chillers are beneficial but if you don't have the money just make sure to get some hydroguard or Southern Ag fungicide ($12/16oz, 15ml treats 1000ft2) or equivalent to protect the roots.
 
timmehvl

timmehvl

Well-Known Member
Ok awesome I do have a chiller so that's no problem looks like I'll be changing over I wonder if I'll regret it lol

If anyone else has tips please let me know
 
rob333

rob333

Well-Known Member
timmehvl said:
Hey everyone

I have a few grows done and finished I grow in 100 percent coco smart pots 600w 1mx1mx2m tent also have a small veg with a 300w mehizi

I want to go to a full water system Dwc Wilma nft flood and drain but mainly Wilma :)

I live in a rental so every 3 months I have to shut down for a day

So my questions are

How the hell do I do 60+ltr water changes every 2 weeks how do I drain that shit Im happy with switching knowledge wise but those water changes sound like no fun

Any tips would be great

Thanks
Click to expand...
i only drain 3 times thru out a hole grow topping up each time with nutes and fresh water
 
ChiefRunningPhist

ChiefRunningPhist

Well-Known Member
@southernguy99 There's a guy that swears by only keeping an 1" or 2" of water in the bucket, he says the airstones act more like a misting device spreading nutes around, he claims that after several years testing done side by side that the best growth was from top feed (away from stalk a bit) and airstone/mist in bucket with only 2" of water, if your looking for new techniques to try, I'd give it a shot, check out this thread...

https://www.rollitup.org/t/input-needed-from-a-experienced-rdwc-uc-grower.980960/page-3#post-14632614
 
timmehvl

timmehvl

Well-Known Member
ChiefRunningPhist said:
@southernguy99 There's a guy that swears by only keeping an 1" or 2" of water in the bucket, he says the airstones act more like a misting device spreading nutes around, he claims that after several years testing done side by side that the best growth was from top feed (away from stalk a bit) and airstone/mist in bucket with only 2" of water, if your looking for new techniques to try, I'd give it a shot, check out this thread...

https://www.rollitup.org/t/input-needed-from-a-experienced-rdwc-uc-grower.980960/page-3#post-14632614
Click to expand...

That looks sketchy lol low water like that would fluctuate alot? I wouldn't use a air stone I'd go a humidifier mister what do u think about that
 
ChiefRunningPhist

ChiefRunningPhist

Well-Known Member
timmehvl said:
That looks sketchy lol low water like that would fluctuate alot? I wouldn't use a air stone I'd go a humidifier mister what do u think about that
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Because I haven't done either (haven't done any low water level style) I can't really say one way or the other, but if you look at his posts the way he has it designed keeps a minimum of 2" in the bucket without a top off control bucket, just a 100gal res.

I see what your getting at and I honestly don't know. He did mention the finer the mist the better so you might be right, but I just thought low water levels was an interesting technique to try out (via using an airstone or mister). If it wasn't what you were wanting you could always just add more water and go with tried and true RDWC pretty easily.
 
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ChiefRunningPhist

ChiefRunningPhist

Well-Known Member
This is the principle of his design, he keeps the drain 2in above the floor of the bucket.

He uses a 100 gal res so there's minimal fluxtuations in nutrient ratios and pH even though there's only 2in in each bucket at a given time.
1212180429c.jpg

If you wanted to quit the low level stye, you'd only have to lower the stands under your buckets to about 4in or so, to change your max bucket water level to just below your net pot. You'll have to figure out what that booster seat height will be for you in your design. Finally, It would still circulate from the top feed lines and you'd be getting plenty of air from your air stones.

Every system will have its differences but if you can see how the water level is adjusted and always topped off with out a control box/float switch in this design (as well as 24/7 gentle top feed over roots, away from stalk), then you can tweak it to your preferences. 1in Bulk-heads and Flexi-hose (what he uses) would allow you to move your buckets around easily.

@southernguy99 is this pretty much the principle of what you're talking about?
 
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Zombie brains

Zombie brains

Active Member
ChiefRunningPhist said:
This is the principle of his design, he keeps the drain 2in above the floor of the bucket.

He uses a 100 gal res so there's minimal fluxtuations in nutrient ratios and pH even though there's only 2in in each bucket at a given time.
View attachment 4247873

If you wanted to quit the low level stye, you'd only have to lower the stands under your buckets to about 4in or so, to change your max bucket water level to just below your net pot. You'll have to figure out what that booster seat height will be for you in your design. Finally, It would still circulate from the top feed lines and you'd be getting plenty of air from your air stones.

Every system will have its differences but if you can see how the water level is adjusted and always topped off with out a control box/float switch in this design (as well as 24/7 gentle top feed over roots, away from stalk), then you can tweak it to your preferences. 1in Bulk-heads and Flexi-hose (what he uses) would allow you to move your buckets around easily.

@southernguy99 is this pretty much the principle of what you're talking about?
Click to expand...
Pretty similar to what I do but instead of raising the height of your grow buckets I use a 1m x 1m x 25cm underbed storage container as my res.
As for pH fluctuation, I've only ever had that problem with canna nutes. Currently using Dutch pro and once I've set the pH at the start I hardly ever adjust as the nutes seem to do the job for me
 
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