# Deep Water Culture



## trentcannon (Feb 23, 2007)

I'm tossing around this idea in my head that uses the Deep Water Culture system...It consists of two 2 by 4 foot tupperware contaners, bubble stones with two air pumps and a 400 watt hps with mh conversion for veg. There will be six plants total; three in each container. The tupperware is black to prevent alge growth, and there will be an opening in each lid with a cover over it so i can check my levels and add water as needed. I'm going to be using B.C. GROW and BLOOM and I'm pretty sure I know how I'm going to run lighting times.

I have a basic understanding of how hydroponics works, I've read my FAQs and all I'm looking for is some basic input on how close I should have my plants.. I plan on doing some pruning to encourage more shoots. I just need to know what a good strain to use for deep water would be and how close I could allow certain plants. Height is not an issue although i dont want anything bigger than around three feet, and shorter is fine.. I'm looking for a potent, pretty, not too stinky, decent yeilding plant that can put up with a little bit of my newbie bull sh**..

I'm curious about strains but any extra advise would help..

thanks!


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## dankciti (Feb 23, 2007)

early mist early flowerer short....

lowrider short early fglwerr

indica strains are ideal.

make sure the topis secure or reinforce it the plants get big n heavy, then th enet cups fall thru the top into the res. so make sure theyre tight and solid.


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## trentcannon (Feb 23, 2007)

sweet.. thanks, any idea what I could use as a root net??


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## dankciti (Feb 23, 2007)

net cups 1dollaqr at ure hydro store with i dunno some hydroton and rapid rooters or rockwool (rockwool 3inch cubes are easier to put in hydroton)


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## trentcannon (Feb 23, 2007)

don't have a hydro store around here..

and its not really worth the shipping cost to order...

i'll proably just have to make some..


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## hashishly (Feb 27, 2007)

hello..im lookin to start growin hydro..with the same set up i belive.. 22 gal tubberware tubs.but im really confused about nutrients to use and stuff like that...ive never grown on my own let alone hydro its been all dirt for me..but im very interested in learing about DWC if you could be of any help i would greatly appreciate it
hashisly


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## trentcannon (Feb 27, 2007)

well, I'm guessing you have a basic understanding of how hydroponics works...and more importantly how DWC works.. If not you can google it and do a little homework..IMO its the easiest hydro system to get started with..not necessarily the easiest to maintain..but its a good door to the world of hydroponics..

As far as nutes go there are alot of posts on this page about what to use... I'm using B.C. GROW and BLOOM with some AWESOME BLOSSOM and a few other lil bud enhancers... all you need to do is make sure your nutes are made for hydroponics. All of your feeding instructions are on the bottle and with DWC its important to UNDER feed your plants slightly because the plants will use up the water faster than the nutes..so if I were you I would just add plain water to your tub until you change your soulution...

How often you change your soulution depends on how many plants you have..the more plants = the more often you have to change nutes. But its a good idea to do a complete clean every two to three weeks... I've heard of some 5 gal bucket DWC guys going whole plant cycles without a clean..but I wouldn't suggest it..Clean with hot water ONLY, keep those babys away from chemicals!! . 

Another thing is just making sure you have no light penetration to your resivoir..this can promote alge growth...keep your solutionin the dark and keep the temp and PH in check.. 

before you know it you'll have some lil tikes you swear look just like you . Then you'll smoke them...Then you'll love it.. and THEN you'll do it all again..welcome to cannabis!


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## th3bigbad (Feb 27, 2007)

1 thing ive learned from bubblers is the water temp is waaaay important. to warm and you get root rot to cool and your plants dont grow for crap lol


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## rhenderson (Feb 27, 2007)

Im one of those ppl who go the whole plant cycle without cleaning my dwc buckets. Never had a problem with algae though and the plants do get monstrous in size but anyways im also just starting a new setup. I got 2 34 gallon plastic totes and im putting 6 4" net pots in each. Mainly im gonna do a like halfway sog. Really only a big sog i guess u can say. also i reinforced the lid with pvc


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## FilthyFletch (Feb 28, 2007)

If your in the US and have paypal I have extra 3" net pots I can spare to sell.! buck each plus actual shipping cost should only be few bucks for priority mail.If interested let me know.And we can set up something.Also have few 1000 watt mh bulbs with less then 200 hours on them for $35 each.


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## hashishly (Feb 28, 2007)

Well thanks..all that helped a lot...ive been around a couple soil grows so i get the main idea ya know..but im not a soil type a person but im all about the water lol. so i figured i would give it a try..but its been a lot to learn i will say that...right now i have a sodapop growin and turned other one into mom..for my DWC im using two 22 gal tubs with prolly 6 net pots maybe less..not sure yet..the nutes i was told i already have so and along with airstone,air pump,,u get the picture..
however i do have a question about the silica stone and rockwool cubes are those good to use? ive heard a couple didfferent answer about them, someone also mention hydroton??
hashisly


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## trentcannon (Feb 28, 2007)

IMO rockwool is about the best grow medium you can get.. you can even germinate your seeds in it and never have to transplant.. its worth the extra buck in my book.


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## (-)_(-) (Feb 28, 2007)

how often do u have 2 refill u'r reservoir w/ deep water culture??? i no how it works but basically how do u operate DWC??


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## ropascope (Feb 28, 2007)

What strength pumps are you using? I've got some babies who are about ready to be transplanted into a five gallon bucket and am thinking a pump designed for a 100 gallon tank should be sufficient. What do you guys think?


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## th3bigbad (Feb 28, 2007)

ok i thought this might be of some help to yall. i used a bubbler for my last grow and might can help out. 

hydroton is a pain,,, if you dont have to use it dont. it spills out of the pots everytime you have to move anything.

rockwool works very good in bubblers. they hold enough water for babies but not too much for grown plants. its cheap and really easy to work with. just make sure to soak it in Phed water first or you be fighting you PH for a few days.

the more air pumps/stones the better. i used 1 small pump for 1 tub and a larger pump for a different tub and twice as many air stones. the tub with the larger pump amd more air stones out grew my other tub hands down.

i had 4 20somthing gallon tubs, but found that checking the PPMs and Ph wasa pain to i now use 2 50 gallon tubs. that cut my work in 1/2. ill put some pics up of both.

water temp in a bubbler is key. im not 100% sure that water temp isnt more important than grow room temp. as little as 10 degrees up or down and your plants are in trouble. 

dont use air stones. air curtains cost alil bit more, but never clog up. i havent used the nutes your talking about, but i have used gereral hydroponic's 3 part. and it did clog my air stones up pretty bad with a week or 2.

i never drained my res. i have a flowering res that i keep at 13ooPPM, and a veg res i keep at 800PPM. i just move the plants for 1 tub to the other when i start flowering.

i think the bubbler setup is by far the easiest and most hands free setup. i could go at least a week or 2 without checking my PPMs or Ph cuz the tubs i use are so big. they dont have the Ph swings and PPM drops like a smaller tub would. i still check mine daily, but if there ever was a reason i couldnt, they should still be ok.

these pics are
1-my old 20ish gallon tubs
2-same but with a fresh crop in them
3-my newer 50 gallon tub.
hope this helps, and if there is anything i can help out with let me know.


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## TERRORTRON74 (Jul 16, 2008)

When settin up my setup, do i wash away all the dirt from the roots or just put the pot in the hole, n the roots will grow to the water level ?

Also, should the roots be complety in the nute solution, or should the roots be part in the air and part in the nute solution ?


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## cassino420 (Nov 18, 2008)

Cant wait to see the outcome.


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## flashyy1 (Feb 8, 2009)

hi , can u help me.
i have an ikon oxy pot. hydor air pump (sbmersable)
makes a bit off a noise .
kids sleeping below.
any tips on noise reuduction.
also iam about 12" 5-6 weeks veg. what cf should i be at and how often should i be increasing it?
thanks
is it ok to change pot say every 10 - 14 days.
keep check ph and cf every 3 days.

s


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## maxmax7777 (Jun 3, 2009)

Your quote is quite the piece of work.... so I'm guessing the shooting should start with you as your unable to spell even simple words like herd.....it's called nature dude......."All stupid people should be shot in the head. Thin the heard people its called nature" -adam corolla......


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## Ole Budheavy (Mar 4, 2010)

maxmax7777 said:


> Your quote is quite the piece of work.... so I'm guessing the shooting should start with you as your unable to spell even simple words like herd.....it's called nature dude......."All stupid people should be shot in the head. Thin the heard people its called nature" -adam corolla......



Yeah....and your grammar sucks bro. "_as *your* unable to spell_" 

If you really want to call people out on spelling, then maybe you should realize that "your" should be you're.


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## BoomerBloomer57 (Mar 4, 2010)

IGLOO!

No heat or light issues. Easy drain and fill. That's a three plant grow. One girl per cooler. 10 ft long by 3 ft wide grow area. 2 1k watt lights on movers. 

8 hole cooler is for the babies under a 600 watt light in separate room inside same shed.

54 bucks on the cooler. Remove the lid and save it. 8x4 1 1/2 or 2 inch insulated styrofoam at Lowes. 12 bucks. Reflective tape 2 bucks.

my name is boomerb,,
shaking and baking this fine sunny am,,,,


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## cyberlion74 (Aug 1, 2010)

Yeah... and it's not bro, it's Bro. Bro. This is awesome. 
If you want to empty your tub, just use a shop vac.


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## nailz92002 (Aug 1, 2010)

cyberlion74 said:


> Yeah... and it's not bro, it's Bro. Bro. This is awesome.
> If you want to empty your tub, just use a shop vac.



I use one of these to drain out my nutrient solution res. It was inexpensive, and works just like a normal shop vac. Only complaint is the hose is a tad bit to short. Otherwise its a inexpensive alternative to a shop vac.

http://www.homedepot.com/Tools-Hardware-Wet-Dry-Vacuums/h_d1/N-5yc1vZ1xr5Zb8pi/R-202017218/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053#reviews

Peace and positive energy to you


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## GrowJeezy (Jul 14, 2012)

Genius! I can't believe I haven't read about anyone using Igloo coolers before.


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