how much does an autoflower drink in a week?

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CanaRay

Member
building my first DWC and planning to try autos

5 gallon bubble bucket, 6' net pot probably only fill it an inch below the net, so 3 gallons of water/nutes solution when filling it up?

I wanted to know for example once the water is filled, how much does the average ball park figure plant drink say once a day or even after a week? how much has the water gone down? depleted. by after 1 or 2 weeks will the bucket be empty?


thanks for helping a newb out :)
 
Alienwidow

Alienwidow

Well-Known Member
Pretty vague question dont ya think? Ill answer it for ya though. When its a sprout itll drink almost nothing. That rez will just not seem to move until its around a month. Then if you run 1ks itll start drinking almost a gallon a day in full bloom. Guys on here have reported autos going up to 26oz per plant in dwc.
 
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CanaRay

Member
thanks sorry I'll be using PlatinumLED P600 equivalent to 800hps, Advanced Nutrients formulas, in 6 x 5 gallon dwc buckets.

the reason I ask is because I know these buckets will need at least (if I am not filling them up to full 5 gallons) so for 6 buckets Ill be preparing 18+ gallons of RO water every change. but I know I will be topping off during the week before a full change. So I am going to prepare more than 18+ gallons in my res and using that same solution for topping off. I dont know how big the res will be yet (im thinking 40 gallon res) cause I dont know how much plants drink during the week and how much I should have in my res.

I hope this kinda make sense, I hope im going about the right way? thanks
 
Evil-Mobo

Evil-Mobo

Well-Known Member
If you're going to go with that many buckets you should really consider having an RDWC setup with a main reservoir it will make your life a lot easier.........
 
Evil-Mobo

Evil-Mobo

Well-Known Member
Your show boss just a suggestion. I just switched away from bubble buckets and was only running three. Lugging around R/O gets old quick lol......waiting for it to fill too takes forever and huge waste of water.

Good luck though, what are you using the root spa buckets?
 
Alienwidow

Alienwidow

Well-Known Member
CanaRay said:
thanks sorry I'll be using PlatinumLED P600 equivalent to 800hps, Advanced Nutrients formulas, in 6 x 5 gallon dwc buckets.

the reason I ask is because I know these buckets will need at least (if I am not filling them up to full 5 gallons) so for 6 buckets Ill be preparing 18+ gallons of RO water every change. but I know I will be topping off during the week before a full change. So I am going to prepare more than 18+ gallons in my res and using that same solution for topping off. I dont know how big the res will be yet (im thinking 40 gallon res) cause I dont know how much plants drink during the week and how much I should have in my res.

I hope this kinda make sense, I hope im going about the right way? thanks
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If your using fives and the plants get large id say youll be using around a half gallon a day per plant with multiple plants per light. And yes, you will need to water every day without missing a single day when the roots fill the buckets and you run out of water room in there. What i would do in your situation is get a blue food grade plastic 55 gallon drum and cut the top out.(15 bucks on craigslist) Fill it with a hose and adjust the rez to a little lower than what you want it. Then take out five gallon buckets worth and bring it up for the bigger autos and leave it lower for the runts...
 
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CanaRay

Member
no just your standard 5gal bucket and I bought the 6'' lids separate. I'm only in the building phase which is going slow ($ issues, so I have a few more months before everything is up and running.

thanks so much guys, ^^^ the 55 gallon res gives me an idea, and the amount of plants drink up in hydro (maybe I should of posted this there lol)

If I know how much roughly a plant drinks before I do full changes gives me an idea how much water solution I'll need to prepare and have on hand... still more research to be done thanks guy
 
Evil-Mobo

Evil-Mobo

Well-Known Member
CanaRay said:
no just your standard 5gal bucket and I bought the 6'' lids separate. I'm only in the building phase which is going slow ($ issues, so I have a few more months before everything is up and running.

thanks so much guys, ^^^ the 55 gallon res gives me an idea, and the amount of plants drink up in hydro (maybe I should of posted this there lol)

If I know how much roughly a plant drinks before I do full changes gives me an idea how much water solution I'll need to prepare and have on hand... still more research to be done thanks guy
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I started mine full with 3.5 gallons in each. I started to lower the water level a little as roots busted through the net pot to encourage root growth and prevent mold at the bottom of the net cup.
 
Alienwidow

Alienwidow

Well-Known Member
CanaRay said:
no just your standard 5gal bucket and I bought the 6'' lids separate. I'm only in the building phase which is going slow ($ issues, so I have a few more months before everything is up and running.

thanks so much guys, ^^^ the 55 gallon res gives me an idea, and the amount of plants drink up in hydro (maybe I should of posted this there lol)

If I know how much roughly a plant drinks before I do full changes gives me an idea how much water solution I'll need to prepare and have on hand... still more research to be done thanks guy
Click to expand...
Well if its a few more months then fuckit. If you have the light an one bucket set up, and one air setup. Do one. Then itll buy you the other crap and youll learn. Or only fuck up one. Tempting right?!
 
C

CanaRay

Member
I think auto are as good as photos, some even better. I'll eventually grow photos but for now, autos are awesome..

Evil-Mobo, by any chance do you live in a rental apartment? My rent is fixed cause electricity and hydro are included. by any chance do you know though if all this increase water now that I will be using will raise suspicion from my landlord....will they know..
for me first things first is safety...
 
Evil-Mobo

Evil-Mobo

Well-Known Member
No apartment here man sorry.

I will say if you're concerned about high water useage hydro is not the way to go with buckets.

Use a soil less medium or organic soil instead.

You should look into building a SIP, will be easier and cheaper to run. Especially with auto's......
 
Alienwidow

Alienwidow

Well-Known Member
CanaRay said:
I think auto are as good as photos, some even better. I'll eventually grow photos but for now, autos are awesome..

Evil-Mobo, by any chance do you live in a rental apartment? My rent is fixed cause electricity and hydro are included. by any chance do you know though if all this increase water now that I will be using will raise suspicion from my landlord....will they know..
for me first things first is safety...
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In a six site setup its only an extra few gallons a day. And when you rez dump and change its like having an extra bath. Some families probably use twice as much water as you with a couple kids. Dont sweat it.
 
U

upnsmoke13

Well-Known Member
Evil-Mobo said:
No apartment here man sorry.

I will say if you're concerned about high water useage hydro is not the way to go with buckets.

Use a soil less medium or organic soil instead.

You should look into building a SIP, will be easier and cheaper to run. Especially with auto's......
Click to expand...
SIP - what is this?
 
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