What do I need for dwc?

What exactly do i need for dwc?
-bucket
-air stone/stones
-air pump
-expanded clay pellets
-net pot
-ph and ppm meter
-nutrients and ph up and down
-thermometer
Do I need anything else?
Like maybe a heater or is that not necessary as long as the water stays between 62-68 degrees F.
Thanks for feedback!

air pump

some people use beneficial microbes in dwc, but it seems like most run sterile, so you'll need either hydrogen peroxide, or buy a package of pool shock at wallyworld and use that to keep your bucket sterile

High Apollo11

You got all the basics down and it's unlikely you'll need a heater as a chiller is usually what's needed.

Depending on how big of plants you want to grow a tub may work better for you than a pail. A 5 gal pail only gives you about 4 gals of nute space and with a big plant sucking up a gal/day the pH and ppm can jump around a lot which stresses the plant and you.

I've been using the RubberMaid tubs for 15 years and even one big plant in ScroG can fill it up with roots tho roots don't really displace much water so roots aren't the issue. With almost 10gal of water in the shorter tubs and near 13 in the taller ones you can go 3 days between top-ups instead of daily topping up and testing of pH and ppm tho I use pH Perfect nutes so don't bother with checking pH. I also use RO water only for even less worries about things. I've done whole DWC grows without changing nutes at all but you need to be able to read your plants for that to work well.

It's a great way to grow and you'll never have dirt under your fingernails again!

A lobotomy lol

As you can see from the picture above, unless you only grow one plant per tote, the roots will hammock. My plants easily grow to 2.5 x 2.5+, meaning that's too small to grow to harvest without giving up a lot of potential. Better to grow one in that tote. .

Also, how do you remove them without seriously shocking the plants? Like if one gets root rot or some other unforeseen issue that requires pulling. If you cut it at the base, the roots will die amongst all the other roots. That could be a serious problem

I'm dealing with separating 3 clones in a similar single tote set up. I should have separated/removed them earlier, but their donor took several weeks longer to finish in the main tent.

So, I tried to be careful cutting them apart, BUT, one died, of the other 2, one is far stronger than the other

Also F & D is much easier to monitor and maintain

The only thing that stops me from going hydro is needing a chiller. Your list is a good start but you'll find you need more. Good luck.

Also I do have a Dwc single bucket grow, it's doing great so for, it was just an experiential venture, and the first thing I learned was how hard it is to keep pH in range. @Yesdog helped me with a sulfuric acid pH down, and it works so good fucking unbelievable. And he gave me advice on how to condition my water

Bareback said:

The only thing that stops me from going hydro is needing a chiller. Your list is a good start but you'll find you need more. Good luck.

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You dont need a chiller. I grew hydro for years without a chiller and never lost a plant to root rot etc.

Shugglet said:

You dont need a chiller. I grew hydro for years without a chiller and never lost a plant to root rot etc.

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It's really hot here, and my room is not inside the house. I've got a Dwc single bucket, it's great but im scared to do a whole grow with out a chiller. My temps in the bucket, at lights on is 72/76 . What kind of temps are you comfortable with.