dwc vs soil?

is the yield any different and how hard is dwc compard to soil?

It's a bucket of water, its about as easy as things get.

how often do you have to change nutes in dwc?

DWC cost more to setup, requires more maintenance but beats soil any day in my book... with dwc u can easily monitor exactly what is going on at any given moment if you have the proper tools and alot of times its easier to fix vs. soil if something were to go wrong.

im thinking of using 5gal buckets and changing the water myself

BigJon626 said:

how often do you have to change nutes in dwc?

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Depends on the feeding schedule of the nutes your using, with the ones i use (Foxfarms) it requires 6 rez changes in a 13 week period, but during those times you will still need to monitor your water and get your ppms where they need to be by adding nutes and/or fresh water to your rez.

Depends how you wish to grow. My dwc requires 20% of the attention and maintenance that my soil or coco needed. I spend 10 minutes once a week emptying and refilliing the tub, other than that I dpnt look at it until the following week.

Costs about 20-30 quid to build a dwc tub, due to quantities you buy perlite and sand and soil at, soil probably costs the same, then you have to repurchase, water is free for me, I pay a monthly rate amd get as much as I can use

It's not as easy as "a bucket of water" so don't be fooled. I can be complicated if you start having algae and water temp problems. Soil is easier BY FAR.
But DWC is faster and produces more so there are pros and cons to each.

How do you change the water? I mean, what do you put the plant on? Or do you just have another bucket/ pail/ etc ready and throw it in there?

what ive seen is you usually have another bucket and switch em out. i want to have a 5gal bucket system(each plant in a bucket) with no resovor. if youve seen the "i harvest every week" video on youtube something like that

I have a spare duplicate tub they just sit in while filling up. If i'm organised i have an airstone water and feed already in the tub so i simply pull out the empty one, lift the lid with plants onto the full one and pop that back in.

And for me DWC really is as simple as a bucket of water. I don't mess about with continually monitering ph and ppm, don't even know what my ppm is or should be, used the meter twice and chucked it in the back of the drawer. Growing is as complicated as you want to make it for yourself, other than if you live in an oven or a freezer.

I have soil and dwc. Dwc by far the bigger producer. More temperamental if things are off as there is no buffer. Ph can be an issue, check it everyday. I use Botanicare products, change once a week and just top up system with ro water between changes as required. I had a bucket of Halloween candy and one I got dog food in. Just used those, wrapped in foil duct tape to stop light, hydro shop cut hole in lid for me for mesh pot. On the side bear bottom drilled a hole put in 10 cent grommet and little 90degree fitting with hose on the end. To drain I twist hose to down position and then refill.

I use canna nutes, it states on the back "due to the special composition of these nutrient it is not neccessary to alter the ph level after initial setting" Marketing or whatnot (it's small text so pretty bad marketing haha) it certainly seems to work for me I chose DWC for weekly maintenence instead of daily.

i think im gunna try a 6 pot system and some soil also. 6 5gal buckets 8in net pot tops with an air line to each one connected to an airstone and a pump. sound ok?

tip top toker said:

I have a spare duplicate tub they just sit in while filling up. If i'm organised i have an airstone water and feed already in the tub so i simply pull out the empty one, lift the lid with plants onto the full one and pop that back in.

And for me DWC really is as simple as a bucket of water. I don't mess about with continually monitering ph and ppm, don't even know what my ppm is or should be, used the meter twice and chucked it in the back of the drawer. Growing is as complicated as you want to make it for yourself, other than if you live in an oven or a freezer.

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I agree! I have only grown mothers in a top drip before (just started my first dwc) but they always turn out fine! the only thing I use my ppm meter for now is to make sure my r/o filter is working 100% and thats not that often! I tested the ph 5 times over the 6 months i kept that first hydro mother and only had to add ph down when I changed the solution. So once you learn the right solution if you change your solution often enough I don't see the need for them! I have talked to so many different people and they all run their ppms way different! The owner of the local hydro shop runs his ppm at 400 all the way through flowering and grows beautiful plants while a buddy has his at 1100-1300ppm. I am using the same solution I use for vegging my mother for my dwc grow, so I still haven't pulled out the meter! I pretty much follow the directions on the bottle as to how much to give her! has worked great for a LONG time now!

The most efficient DWC growers have a spigot attached to the buckets so that the plants never actually have to be removed from their spot or incur damage. You can drain the bucket through the spigot and refill it the same way or a hole on the top of the bucket.
Plants are usually held in net pots in hydroton in a hole cut in the lid.

Beansly said:

The most efficient DWC growers have a spigot attached to the buckets so that the plants never actually have to be removed from their spot or incur damage. You can drain the bucket through the spigot and refill it the same way or a hole on the top of the bucket.
Plants are usually held in net pots in hydroton in a hole cut in the lid.

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Yeah, my whole pulling the tote in and out, it works, but i'd kill for the place to get something like that going. Ideallys i'd like a real setup, the type with a main reservoir and then the pots are all hooked up with hose. Means you can use smaller buckets for more varieties of plants, without having them drinking them dry every day. I've once tried a plant in a 10L tub, must have held about 5L of water by the time the roots were done, that neede re-filling every 3 days or so. But for now, i just make do as i do as there's plenty of time yet for bigger better things

dunno, if i use good soil (darkbrown or black, fluffy soil with good drainage and rich of nutrients and of the right ph)

i get big healthy plants and big buds, no muss no fuss and need only transplant and sparingly fert (if that(usually i just add some fishtank water every other week, maybe add some 20 20 20 if the plant has been in the same container long time, but just sparingly))

the best soil here is around 20-30$ for 50 liters, plus ive reused it a couple of times with similar results.

now, ive never messed with hydro, i get enough spillage with just watering plants lol.
so i cant comment on that, just say that, if you have problems with soil, then its the quality of your soil thats at fault or too much ferting or something wrong with your water (too high ph or something)

get the best soil and be particular about it and you should have no problems and a good harvest.