success with small DWC (top feed)

I'm trying to piece together my first hydroponic setup
iv already got a soil grow going atm under 600w hps .
i'v gone for something small and cheap to experiment with.

I'm not even sure if this setup will work and im kind of mid process ,waiting on some clay balls and a wick pot and hydro nutes to complete it.
has anyone els out there had success with a small DWC setup that's similar ?
and what can I do to improve my own setup.

I've got a 2L tin with two sand stones(air stones) mounted in the bottom and a small pump that'll feed water to the top of the pot with a rough looking home made ring feeder =P .
I'll be sitting another tin on top with the bottom cut out to mount the pot in witch will leave the pot 4 inches above the water

I have little moms in 1L DWC cups. Works fine - can fit a whole lot in a little cabinet under 2 CFLs. I'm not sure a metal container is the best choice though.

hmmm is that due to holding heat?

do you have pics of your setup?

matama said:

hmmm is that due to holding heat?

Click to expand...

I'd imagine it would start to rust eventually since the solution that's going to be in it is acidic.

matama said:

do you have pics of your setup?

Click to expand...

I used to post a lot of pictures on here but not anymore unless the local laws change. But, I use:



Foil tape to light-proof (I actually use a circle of poly film on top of the lid as well so that the opening I cut isn't in contact with the tape or adhesive). Have a little EcoPlus air pump. Drill a hole in the lid near the edge for the air line and use an elbow fitting so I can easily disconnect it. And cut a rough hole in the lid for:

Cuttings are rooted in and stay in the same container. I keep them pruned down in size as needed and just start new cuttings as needed to replace any that get too big or before moving a cutting into a tent for veg/flowering.

For maintenance, I lift the lids off along with the plants and simply dump the old solution out for my outdoor plants. I mix enough nutrients for all the containers in a single large bucket and fill them back up with a measuring pitcher. It's fast and easy.

I might post a picture or two tomorrow without the plants if you are actually interested.

rusting ,theres something I didn't even take in to account.
I dnt really plan to do more than one grow with this setup though,so heres hopping it lasts that long.
just tryna wrap my head around the basics with this setup. if all goes well ill probly go to a bigger scale and get rid of the soil......maybe

yea pics would be appreciated, although I have a pretty good idea of your setup.
How long do you veg for? what was your yield?

You might as well switch to a pop bottle or something. Milk jug? Something I've learned is that if you have any doubts before a grow, you should take care of them before you start. Just a word of advice man but nifty little setup ahha I like

matama said:

rusting ,theres something I didn't even take in to account.
I dnt really plan to do more than one grow with this setup though,so heres hopping it lasts that long.
just tryna wrap my head around the basics with this setup. if all goes well ill probly go to a bigger scale and get rid of the soil......maybe

yea pics would be appreciated, although I have a pretty good idea of your setup.
How long do you veg for? what was your yield?

Click to expand...

Well I only keep clones and root cuttings in the little containers inside a little cabinet for stealth. I transfer the well-rooted small clones to 3.5 gallon DWC buckets in my closet tent under 300w MH for veg, to 450w MH during stretch, to 600w HPS for full flowering, and use a screen aka SCROG (mainly because I like to grow different strains simultaneously and the screen lets me control height of plants better) - I just do 3 plants at a time at most. Not too sure on yield as I just downgraded my setup from a larger tent and from growing in 5 gallon buckets.

Not sure if the pics are working. Site is acting wonky right now - will update it later if they aren't showing.

Cabinet has two levels for 8-10 containers total, and third top level for the air pump and electrical strip. Haven't poly-filmed the inside yet but will eventually just to prevent any water damage.

Here's a root view that shows where the air line runs in and airstone:

A top view:

And a view of the lower level:

These are cuttings (and one seedling that I pulled from the tent).

Very nice tidy setup bro, glad to see something that resembles the scale of my setup that works, wonder how I'll get on in later stages of flower in my one, I'm guessing it's gonna need a lot of attention,

You might check out some PC stealth grows. I know I've seen more than one done with DWC/SWC. I just use the cabinet to keep clones alive with minimal upkeep; it's also just convenient to root cuttings in the same containers and space. Really curious how it works out for you - should start a journal.

Wonder if anyone has tried a hydro-mini-SOG in containers this size?

Yea I'll have a browse, I'm pretty interested on the outcome myself, wen I work out how ill start a journal, as long as my clones root and I get of to a start n see a little progress , could be setting myself up for an embarrassing fail , the plants in soil are my first indoor grow, Never cloned and And certainly never dealt with hydro.....

matama said:

Yea I'll have a browse, I'm pretty interested on the outcome myself, wen I work out how ill start a journal, as long as my clones root and I get of to a start n see a little progress , could be setting myself up for an embarrassing fail , the plants in soil are my first indoor grow, Never cloned and And certainly never dealt with hydro.....

Click to expand...

I'm thinking your container will eventually fill with roots to the point of being a problem. But at the same time, you could probably get away with root pruning as needed since they don't necessarily need a huge root mass in DWC.

Yea that's the first problem that came to my mind also, guess we wll see how it unfolds