Custom RDWC - Autofem Nightqueen & LSD-25

NVGrower

Well-Known Member
Wow, it sure has been a long time coming putting all of this together in the past three months while growing in a standalone DWC bucket system. It was a bag seed grow that ended up herming out near the end. Now it's time to grow some solid genetics.

Here is a link to the RDWC setup https://www.rollitup.org/t/new-rdwc-diy.901732/

In the top left is night queen the top right is night queen the bottom right is night queen and the bottom left is the LSD-25. I bought these from Herbies.

I started out the last grow under a ladder in the garage. And moved to a 3 x 4 x 5' tent. Upgraded from two 80 watt CFL's to a 250 W HPS to a 400 W / 1000 W dimmable cooled hood which is the light I'm using in this grow journal.

I did not have a chiller in my last grow so I've modified a water cooler to be a chiller instead of paying thousands of dollars for a good one. Here is a link to the thread https://www.rollitup.org/t/diy-gravity-water-chiller.900301/

I'll be growing in a RDWC I built and i'll be growing in a hydroton media using Rockwool cubes & blocks.

I soaked the rockwool in reverse osmosis water for 12 hours and then used pH up-and-down to get it at a steady 5.6 pH before I placed the seeds in the rock wall plugs and put them in the cubes.

I do not currently have any water in the system the sealants are still curing on the outside of the buckets I did not use any sealants on the insides of the buckets some of the grommet areas were leaking a little and I ended using 100% waterproof Dex clear latex caulk and rubber blue plumbers tape to fix a few leaks on the pipe connections where the inline pump is.

Currently the temperature is 82°F in the tent and under the glass cups the temperature is now at 74°F and rising I am using a 400 W HPS light currently in will be raising that 2000 W with the dimmer when the plants form her first good leafs. I keep the A/C unit at 70 F.

I have the hydoton soaking in pH water and I am monitoring pH level to make sure that it is between 5.5 and 5.7 before I add it to the netted pots that the rock wool and seeds will leave out the rest of their lives.

I am using a 5 x 5 x 7 tent in my garage and I have completely insulated the garage which cost me a few hundred dollars I am using a double Y for all of the heat exhaust along with a 6 inch in-line fan directly mounted to the air cooled food which exits outside through a vent that was already in the wall, there are absolutely no heat leaks. I have a 4in inline fan also attached to the double y which then connects to a reducer that fits to a 6in duct which attaches to the hoods heat exit.

Also for the this grow I purchased an 18,000 BTU Honeywell air conditioner, dehumidifier, fan and heater portable unit for around $600 on Amazon.

The netted pots I am using are 6 inches and have big rims on them along with the resivors I'm using which are 7.5 gallons. I will only fill each up with about 5 to 6 gallons of water. So including the main reservoir in the back the system will hold between 25 and 30 gallons.

The main reservoir has a 1000 gallon per hour in-line pum. The joints into being used in the system are 1/2 inch. I plan on trimming the roots one third of the bottom when the plants get bigger to avoid any clogging.

I also have a 256 gallon per hour pump pumping water into a 5 gallon jug that stands on the water cooler which I am using as a chiller. It takes about a minute to drain the whole 5 gallon jug back into the main reservoir with gravity in using half-inch lines. The jug never gets more than 2 gallons steady in it.

Every single reservoir has a 12 inch air stone or comparable bubbler or air diffuser in it attached to a least 40 gallons per hour air pump each.

When setting up the ducting for the air exhaust for the heat I had to use reducers from a six-inch duct line to a four-inch double y.

I bought the galvanized in-line fan clamps on Amazon which are also 6 inches the whole system is silent and doesn't make any noise. I stuffed the inlet area with carbon filter pads I use for a air filter inside the house.

The tent also has a reservoir in the bottom of the tent in case the system leaks. None of the electrical touches the floor. I am using 4000 W to run the whole system and A/C or two 20 amp circuits.

I'll be using Foxfarm for hydroponics as my neutrients and using general hydroponics pH up and down.

Please comment and feel free to ask questions and follow along!

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NVGrower

Well-Known Member
Between leaks, figuring out how to get everything recirculating with three pumps and making sure nothing over flow has been tricky.

But today the girls showed from sprouting just days ago.

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