Just another DIY Aeroponics Hydroponics DWC (Deep Water Culture) Tutorial ALL IN ONE!

Well, it's been about a year since I started this project (not my first, but my first serious attempt at volume,) and you guys all had such awesome info for me, I just want to give a little of it back, hopefully with a little value added!

For starters, lets go over my main flower room system. I run 10-11 plants in each unit (11 seems to fit best with the size I've chosen,) but with smaller net pots, you could fit more. Just prune to fit! I only veg for a week, shooting for 1 oz. plants. This is due, in my case, to a pretty severe height restriction.

When new babies go into the flower room, they go into a 14 gal. "totes" container. I set the sprayers to be at a level that is just above 5 gallons of water. Makes for easy calculations. (20l) When the girls are about 3 weeks in flower, I switch the container out for an 18 gallon tote to give the roots a bit more room to fall. These containers have to be, obviously, interchangeable with the lids, or you'll have a bigger pain than you need.

So, parts-wise, I use the container, a few feet of 1/2" PVC pipe, elbows, tees, endcaps, sprayers, a submersible pump, and the mesh pots of your choice.

Here are a few pics:
http://s1110.photobucket.com/albums/h459/weedinthere/Tutorial/?albumview=slideshow

And a few shots (which, Mr. DEA man, I probably just downloaded!) of the units in action:
http://s1110.photobucket.com/albums/h459/weedinthere/tutorial2/

I run 2 weeks propagation, 1 week veg, and 6-8 weeks in flower. Yield is 1oz per plant, or 10-11 per container.

More later. Simple so far... any questions?

Be sure to clean out the burrs when you cut your PVC pipe pieces.
Here are the measurements I use for the cutting of the PVC:
1 x 1 1/2"
2 x 7"
2 x 3 1/4"
4 x 5 1/4"

Quick picture break:



Strain: Island Sweet Skunk

Propagation:
I've tried lots of systems (well, bubble clone, ez clone and rockwool) and here's what works without fail for me:

Medium:
Rapid Rooters (More recently I'm using Root Riot - both equally good.)
Nutrients:
Clonex
Jump Start
from Advanced Nutrients
(I had pretty good luck with just PH'd water -
5.8-6.5, but some were yellowing too far to
recover, so I added this stuff 2ml/L to a daily
foliar spray and I'm getting 100%)
Root zone temp: 71-72 degrees

Process: I don't prep my mother. I know I should, and have read lots of good ideas, but I clone so often (perpetual harvest is my mantra) that it's just not practical. I just try to keep her healthy, and she keeps giving me plenty of clone material.

I use a new razor blade (just to be sure - did tests against dirty blades and scissors with equal results) and cut the clone at a nice angle between 4 and 5 nodes from the tip. I trim the fan leaves and try to leave 2 little sprout groups plus 2 trimmed fan leaves. All this VERY quickly, then I drop the clone into the 72 degree PH 6 <150ppm water to soak for 10 minutes or so. This makes it nice and turgid, and I never get any wilting.

While they soak, I drop my rooting media (which I poked out with my 1/8" poker) in the water, get them good and soaked, then give about 2 brisk spins in the pillowcase centrifuge. This gives them just the right consistency. Moist, but not wet.

That's it. A quick dip (about 1/2") in Clonex, and into the humidity dome. Keep the dome closed for 2 days, then open the vents. I spray daily with the 2ml/L Jumpstart water. Less than 2 weeks and I've got roots.

More later...

Timer:

I have a timer turning on the pumps for 5 seconds every 20 minutes. This gives them a good spray and lets them kinda dry out a little. I've been extending the off-time, and expect to end up at a much longer off-time. The way it looks to me is the more closer they get to drying out between sprays, the faster they grow.


Nutrients:

I try to use Advanced Nutrients pretty exclusively. I have had nothing but success, and my friends who buy their stuff at the LGS (Advanced isn't available much around here) are all jealous of my output. It's not scientific, but I'm not messing with it. (I had great results with Juicy Roots for propagation, but ran out and Clonex works as well for me, if you're wondering why the divergence above.)


So, I start em out at 4-500ppm for a week or two in veg using the 2-part SensiGrow, under T-5 lights (24h) about 2 inches from the top of the plants. When they have plenty of roots at least a few inches long, I move them into the flower room.

They start out with 6-700ppm SensiBloom (A&B) and after 2 weeks, I start to add Big Bud. (I'm kind of letting them stretch just a little... I am trying to sort of veg a little more in the flowering room, if you follow.)

Buds start to show up in earnest at around 3 weeks, and I start turning up the nutes until they're running 12-1400 total by week 6. For weeks 5 and 6, I add Overdrive (Ad.Nut., of course) to the mix.

By week 7, the pistils have started to turn orange, so I drop the nutes and start flushing with Clearex. (its cheap. I should be using Final Phase.)

I watch the trichomes, and when I think about half of them have ripened (turning amber) I cut the bitches down!

Next, my magic 3-day cure.

From a High Times video I saw.. This is a great way to cure fast.

Alternate from open-air to closed-jar
(times are approximate)

1. Open air - 24 hrs
2. In jar - 8 hrs
3. Open air - 16 hrs
4. In bag - 6 hrs
5. Open air - 12 hrs
Continue as necessary.

Just one addendum to that: I do my dry/curing in a power drying cabinet. This is just a fan-ventilated box. I used a couple of kitchen cabinets that I had laying around. One has strings back and forth for hanging branches for the first day, and one with screen shelves for subsequent drying sessions.