Long Time Soil Guy Tryng DWC and Have a Few Questions

Im gonna try DWC for a few plants thrgh an entire grow. I have a few questions:

1. I dont really understand nute use in DWC....how long do I let the plants stay in the nute solution for? Hours, days weeks?

2. Do i run the nutes at full strength according to the manufacturer or should I ease the plants and go 1/2 strength?

1) Do a reservoir change every 7 days. Replenish with water every day ( top off)
2) Start at 1/4 strength for seedlings. Then work your way up.

Things I would focus on would be PPM, PH , Light proof reservoir , keep water temps 62-68 degrees to avoid root rot.

BeaverHuntr said:

1) Do a reservoir change every 7 days. Replenish with water every day ( top off)
2) Start at 1/4 strength for seedlings. Then work your way up.

Things I would focus on would be PPM, PH , Light proof reservoir , keep water temps 62-68 degrees to avoid root rot.

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Thanks, I have a res. thats good to go, pumps, hoses and all that....
Ive worked out the very basics from using/building small DWC cloners. I get a little lost when it comes to going through a full growth cycle.

Do I leave nutes in the res. at all times? So, for instance add nutes to the res, top off water daily, change res. completely every week and then use nutes again continually through the grow? Or do I need to alternate between straight water and nutes ?

Thanks for the help man

ink the world said:

Thanks, I have a res. thats good to go, pumps, hoses and all that....
Ive worked out the very basics from using/building small DWC cloners. I get a little lost when it comes to going through a full growth cycle.

Do I leave nutes in the res. at all times? So, for instance add nutes to the res, top off water daily, change res. completely every week and then use nutes again continually through the grow? Or do I need to alternate between straight water and nutes ?

Thanks for the help man

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Yeah you are going to use the nutes the entire grow until flush at least. Start 1/4 strength in seedling then work your way up. You using R/O water? If so you will need to add Cal/mag. Remember 5.8 PH is perfect for Hydro. What you can do is set your PPM at 5.5 and let it rise up to 6.0 over the week so it can absorb the most amount of nutrients. Also if you can maintain a cool res you will avoid having to use beneficial bacteria. If you end up getting slimey roots or early indications or root rot you can refer to Heisenbergs thread the dude covers everything and is willing to help anyone. I have yet to have to use bennies but if I did he would be the dude to talk to.

I cant stress hwo important PPM and pH are going to be in a DWC compared to soil. I do both and love them both for different reasons. But PPM and pH will kill you every time if you dont watch them every day. I keep notebooks on all my DWC grows with daily and weekly notes.

jesus of Cannabis said:

I cant stress hwo important PPM and pH are going to be in a DWC compared to soil. I do both and love them both for different reasons. But PPM and pH will kill you every time if you dont watch them every day. I keep notebooks on all my DWC grows with daily and weekly notes.

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very true... The good thing about hydro/DWC is when you mess up or have a problem its a lot easier to fix in hydro versus soil ..Reccomend a good PH, PPM, Temp pen or one thats a combo and does all three.

An extra water container on top of your res. attached with a float valve helps with the daily work that needs to be done. Maintains water level and pH pretty well. I put a weak nute solution in it. Week one of flower and my 6 plants go through about a gallon of water a day. The bucket allows me to go 5 days without adding water manually.

Pop in, check the pH and I'm normally good to go.

And yes, Heisenbergs thread is a must read if you run into root problems.

I just do a change of rez water once, when going from 18/6 to 12/12. I use tap water and a silica supplement to keep my rez at a constant 5.5 ph. In the summer if I find my rez is getting too warm (and summer is upon us) I take a small igloo cooler and drill holes in the sides to run my hoses through. on real hot days I put ice an water in the cooler and voila, cool rez. If you keep your rez at 55 to 70 degrees you wont have to change it out, and your plants will love you. I shoot for a temp of 65. If you do this it will save you much grief. while I use the Lucas formula + koolbloom, I also use a silica admix. It not only stabilizes the nute solution's ph., it will keep you plant thriving through any minor temp issues. I'm just a 400w grower.I have a perpetual tote set up with 2 totes, one month apart, always in flower. and one tote with plants always in veg. Im working the method that works best, and easiest for me. Bevrhunter an jc of cannabis both know their shit. If you have any questions just pm somebody, and the'll fill you in on how there doing their dwc. My style my not work for you, I can only tell you how I do mine.

Thats a great tip, Im using a 5 gal absopure bottle for an aux tank. a 5 gal bucket would be easier. Reps

Thanks so much fellas, after using soil for 20+ years going DWC is kind of out of my comfort zone....i appreciate all the help

+rep to all

i found DWC to be a lot easier then my soiless mix i used for a couple years lot less maintence i just hope u have a good draining system cuze large plants in bit buckets suck to work with when cleaning hte resivour. but i just fead a lil over half the recomend dosage once a week and would add water to keep top offed daily then you need to run a salt flush like Clear X or something every other resivour overall it was easy and the nugs got way thicker =D botanicare cns 17 hydro line up works good if u havent chosen ur hydro nuets yet

The only question you'll have in 3 months is "why did I wait so long to go DWC ?"

ink the world said:

Thanks so much fellas, after using soil for 20+ years going DWC is kind of out of my comfort zone....i appreciate all the help

+rep to all

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if i were you i would check this guys page out and mimic his grow, ill post the link..he did a scrog and filled his tub up with rockwool cubes and cellmax cubes, ended up pulling a pound under a 400w hps with like 2months of veg..>>>>> http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=12653&page=1&pp=15

You will be a bubble head for life once you get this system down. The growth is amazing! I use recirculating dwc in a Med grow and i'm very impressed. Growth is so fast you can almost watch it.

Enjoy- You will be a Bubble Head forever