RDWC Setup Tutorial

So it's been requested that I put up a tutorial on how I setup my RDWC system. I run a 4 site 1 control RDWC. Everything is connected in a circuit starting at the control, making its way around the system and ultimately back into the control. This is going to be a slightly abridged version as I am currently in the middle of flower, but I think you'll have enough info to replicate the process should you choose to do so.

PARTS LIST

• (5) Five gallon buckets (preferably black)
• (1) Mag Drive 250GPH water pump
• (1) Air pump (preferably dual-diaphragm)
• (10) 2" Uniseals
• (12 feet) Air tubing for airstones
• (4) 6" air stone discs
• (4) 6" gro-pro net pots
• (4) 2" PVC 90 degree elbows
• (1) 10 foot 2" PVC pipe
• (1) 2" to 3/4" PVC Tee
• (2) 3/4" Threaded barb (water return line connectors)
• (1) Can PVC cement
• (1) 3" Hole Saw
• Sand paper
• If your mag drive pump doesn't come with inlet and outlet barbed hose attachments you'll also need (2) 3/4 threaded barbs for the pump

STEP 1

These steps will not be pictured as my system is already up and running, but I'll guide you through the process so it's easy to understand.

First you are going to take your 5 gallon buckets and drill two 3" holes in them. The holes will be at opposing sides of the bucket. Leave yourself about 3/4" from the bottom inside of the bucket to the edge of your hole. Once all the buckets have two holes it's time to grab the sand paper and clean those holes up. If there are any burrs or groves created by the hole saw, sand them down, any imperfection in the hole will inevitably lead to water leaks. Insert a Uniseal into each hole.

STEP 2

Time to cut the PVC. Place your buckets in your grow room and position them so that they have adequate space for the plants to bush out. As the buckets will be connected in a circuit, you will measure the length of PVC needed to connect from one bucket to the next, make sure you account for the 2" that needs to be on the inside of the bucket, and cut accordingly. Every PVC end that will be inserted into a bucket should be cut at a 45 degree angle so it will slide into the bucket easily.

The circuit you will create will be rectangular in shape. Remember the (4) PVC elbows and (1) 2" to 3/4" PVC Tee? The elbows will be located at the four corners of your circuit. The PVC tee will be located opposite the control bucket at the far end of the circuit. Here's what it looks like.

View attachment 2962438

Now you can't see it but the way the two buckets in the front are connected is the same way the two buckets in the back are connected, circuit remember.

STEP 3

Putting it all together. As you can see in the previous picture, you will have had to make a few PVC cuts. If you didn't quite understand all the cuts you have to make in order to put that parts list together, here are some more pictures!

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Start at your control, work your way around the circuit.

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Here's an overhead view of the control, get the rectangular PVC pipe circuit I'm talking about.

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Here we see the front row of buckets connected to each other.

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The circuit continues with the PVC elbow leading to the PVC Tee in the middle of the two rows.

View attachment 2962451

Here is the PVC tee I was talking about, you want it to be in the middle of one end of the circuit, that tube you see is connected to the water pump which is then connected back to the control.

View attachment 2962452

The tube connects from the PVC tee to the pump and back to the control.

View attachment 2962453

Threaded barb to connect return water line.

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View from the control bucket back to the PVC tee. Note the return water line.

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Air pump

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Air line running to air disk in bottom of bucket.



Water pump

And there you have it, that's the whole system! Here's what it looks like when it's up and running.



If anyone has any questions please feel free to ask away. I know the details regarding the cuts you need to make for the PVC are kinda vague but you've got the pics to go by so just take your time, measure it out and you'll be good to go!

Hell Ya DSA!!! thanks a bunch man. i'm going through the list little by little with my hardware store page open in another window. I really appreciate you taking the time to write all this out for me. I'll post a journal when I get it up and running for sure. Gonna start with a 4 site setup under a 1000w and get everything dialed in. then step up and use half the room (3000w).

Stay frosty buddy!

Is it just me or are some of pics not viewable?

Awesome for putting this up - just wanted to confirm that you're feeding/returning the whole system from rez -> buckets -> rez all via the PVC pipe work and don't use any top feeding yeah?

yea, I can't see the pictures either. only the last 2.

Huh weird lemme try it again. They won't be in order but you'll get the drift.

And yes, everything I put into the system goes into the res and is circulated through the buckets and then returned to the res via the inline water pump.

Awesome thanx for that. Really nice looking setup - same as mine except I didn't use PVC (3/4" instead) -> which I may want to change as I initially was going to do a more standard RDWC instead of the undercurrent, but ran shot in finding some parts and space limitations.

No chiller on my setup as my water temps never get past 67-68 degrees F. It would be easy to connect one to the system though.

Greetings,

I'm new to this site and RDWC, I am very interested in building one. My first question is How many 5 gallon buckets is needed to support a 100 gallon epicenter?
Also, where would I find more reading material on RDWC.

Respectfully,
Cincy101

Hey
So I built a similar system to this, the diffence being i have 8 buckets plus the control and each bucket is connected with a 3/4" hose and straight barb. The return line is 1/2". The problem is the last 2 buckets in each row of 4 drain water quicker than they fill, leaving me with a very low water level in those buckets. Ive added a petcock inline with the return to reduce the flow, but the levels are still uneven Is my only option to change the plumbing size?
On a seperate note, I have a 1/4 hp chiller that requires between 600-800gph flow rate. I have a 700 gph pump. If I use this setup
Return line --> pump --> chiller --> control
Would the pressure of the pump still cause the last buckets to drain too quickly?
Sorry for the long question but ive been pulling my hair out lol. Any input would be appreciated

How much water is in each bucket? Does the water come up into the net pot with the hydroton rock?

can I use 10 feet of the flexible 2 inch pvc or is hard better just have the flexible on hand... thanks in advance stay happy

tiktak1297 said:

Hey
So I built a similar system to this, the diffence being i have 8 buckets plus the control and each bucket is connected with a 3/4" hose and straight barb. The return line is 1/2". The problem is the last 2 buckets in each row of 4 drain water quicker than they fill, leaving me with a very low water level in those buckets. Ive added a petcock inline with the return to reduce the flow, but the levels are still uneven Is my only option to change the plumbing size?
On a seperate note, I have a 1/4 hp chiller that requires between 600-800gph flow rate. I have a 700 gph pump. If I use this setup
Return line --> pump --> chiller --> control
Would the pressure of the pump still cause the last buckets to drain too quickly?
Sorry for the long question but ive been pulling my hair out lol. Any input would be appreciated

Click to expand...

Nope, ur in the same boat as me.... tried to do it easy...

The drains just aint big enough for the flow... Move up to the 2" pipes, you wont regret it.

They can be cleaned when needed, and the flow rate is lower than max drain rate.

In the interim.... Go buy a few 1" patio stones. Use them to elevate your res 2" and your first 2 buckets after the res by 1" and that should buy you some depth equality....

Bottom line, you need bigger lines.