# Recirculating Deep Water Culture



## vermicide (Oct 31, 2008)

Can anyone link me a diagram to a recirculating deep water culture set up, I cant seem to find one.

Or even give me a run down on how they would work

Thanks


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## GuLaMaStEr (Oct 31, 2008)

depends on how you want to do it... ill assume you want a system that has different containers (dwc's) for each plant...well you would need a resevoir with two pumps one that pumps water out of the resevoir into the first plants dwc which is connected to the next one and so on (dont know how many you want) and then you need the second pump that pushes water out of the last plants dwc back into the resevoir. you will also need airstones and air pumps...hope that helps


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## GuLaMaStEr (Oct 31, 2008)

if you have alot of separate dwc's you may want to add a pump in a couple other buckets keeping the flow the same. btw u can buy sufficient pumps for a setup like this for 10 bucks.


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## vermicide (Oct 31, 2008)

GuLaMaStEr said:


> depends on how you want to do it... ill assume you want a system that has different containers (dwc's) for each plant...well you would need a resevoir with two pumps one that pumps water out of the resevoir into the first plants dwc which is connected to the next one and so on (dont know how many you want) and then you need the second pump that pushes water out of the last plants dwc back into the resevoir. you will also need airstones and air pumps...hope that helps


 
Yea thanks man that actually seems pretty easy, I am running a DWC set up right now with 2 5 gallon buckets, a small set up yes but i am just growing some potential mothers i can keep vegged and can clone.

I hear a recirculated setup doesent require as much pH adjusting and was easier to maintain, so that is why I am considering it. 

Thanks again, and anyone else with input on this setup would be greatly appreciated!


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## GuLaMaStEr (Nov 1, 2008)

yes it will cut down on ph adjusting and nute mixing, just make sure the resevoir is of the same height and on the same level of ground as the other buckets. you could even have two...or three resevoirs lol if your really lazy


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## fitzyno1 (Nov 1, 2008)

Having a recirculating DWC with a separate rez is very good, not only does it keep the pH stable, you can control all pods from that rez.

I have 8 x 5 gallon pods and 1 x 90L rez. Air stone in each pod and an air curtain in the rez.

Every fortnight when i'm changing out the nutrients. I switch off the recirculating pump, and i use a spare pump and long garden hose to pump the old solution from my rez/pods into the toilet. I clean out the rez. I also clean out my bath and fill it with tap water, bring it down to ph5.8, add some H2O2. I then put the spare pump in the bath and pump that water from the bath into the rez. I'd fill the rez until the water is 1" above the bottom of the net pots. In half an hour i'd pump the water back out of the system and into the toilet. I'd fill the bath up again with just tap water. I'd shut off the inline valves that go from the rez to the pods and fill the rez up with the tap water. When the rez is full i add my nutrients ( for 90L of water) and pH it. I switch on the recirculating pump and pump the solution from the rez into the pods. When the rez is empty, i switch the recirculating pump off, i fill the rez with water again, add nutrients and pH it again, switch the recirulating pump back on until the nutes are flush with the bottom of the net pots. I'd fill the rez up to the same level as the pods, add the rest of the nutes, ph it and add H2O2. I open the inline valves and switch on the recirculating pump. Put the blackout lid back on the rez. In a couple of hours i'd check the pH and adjust it, if needs be. 

You could add a 3 way hose valve to the recirculating pump to pump old nutes out and refill the rez by hand with a bucket. But using the spare pump, there are no drips or spills, and keeps everything clean and tidy.

You only need one recirculating pump, to pump the nutes to the pods, gravity takes care of the rest by pushed the recirculating nutes back to the rez through the pipes at the bottom of your pods.


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## fitzyno1 (Nov 1, 2008)

This is the system i have, but i only use 8 pods instead of the 12.
12 pod Hydroponic gardening Recirculating bubbler on eBay, also Hydroponics, Plants Seeds Bulbs, Garden Plants, Home Garden (end time 28-Nov-08 09:06:01 GMT)

Edited
My pods are black, i also have them covered with aluminum foil tape, to be sure no light get near my nutes.


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## vermicide (Nov 1, 2008)

fitzyno1 said:


> Having a recirculating DWC with a separate rez is very good, not only does it keep the pH stable, you can control all pods from that rez.
> 
> I have 8 x 5 gallon pods and 1 x 90L rez. Air stone in each pod and an air curtain in the rez.
> 
> ...


 
Awsome! Sounds like a great setup and you gave me a great understanding of how it works, everything I wanted to know and some. Much appreciated.


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## Inspectah (Nov 1, 2008)

you only really only need 1 pump, to bring the water from your reservoir to your plants


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## vermicide (Nov 1, 2008)

Inspectah said:


> you only really only need 1 pump, to bring the water from your reservoir to your plants


 
Ok yea so you just have the pump, pump from the reservoir to the first bucket, and then gravity will have it make its way all the way back to the reservoir right? Also how big does the reservoir need to be in relevance to the buckets, I'm using 5 gallon buckets, would another 5 gallon bucket serve well 
as a reservoir?


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## fitzyno1 (Nov 1, 2008)

Yep, no bother.


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## fitzyno1 (Nov 1, 2008)

If i were to make a change to this setup (which i will), i'd use an inline nute pump instead of a submersible pump. A pump running 24/7 in nute solution raises the nute temperature. I do have mine running every 15 minutes on 15 minutes off, and is working fine, but i'd like it to run 24/7.


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## vermicide (Nov 2, 2008)

So a 5 gallon bucket can be used as a reservoir for plants in 5 gallon buckets ? stil confused about that >.<


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## GuLaMaStEr (Nov 2, 2008)

yup the resevoir can be any size you want its just the water level will have to be the same as you want it in your plants buckets


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## vermicide (Nov 2, 2008)

GuLaMaStEr said:


> yup the resevoir can be any size you want its just the water level will have to be the same as you want it in your plants buckets


Wow thats awsome thanks!


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## shibbywilsk (Apr 6, 2009)

The best recirculating system to build i think is by using PVC pipes and a 5 gallon bucket. You build a snake type shape with the pvc pipes and make it like a staircase vertically. Then you have a 90 dgre pipe where your water pump hose end is ( the top part of the pcv staircase ) this is where the water goes into the system. You cap the bottom and drill holes in the cap and the bottom or Top of the 5 gallon bucket is ( the top is better cause it airates the sulution better) where the cap is you attach the PCV snake to the bucket... your solution tank can be adjusted as necessary and water pump depending on size of system. This system runs off gravity the water is held in your tank and the pump, pumps it to the top of the pvc snake and gravity takes over.... I also built damns at each level of the system to adjust the water level in the tube. You use small pots with hydroton (clay pellets) and allow the water level in the tube to reach the bottom of the net pot. I also use a air pump and have the tubing snaking inside of the system, and poke small holes in the hose right under the pot to provide direct oxygen to the plants ( or your c02 system) the air tube must be glued at the bottom of the pipe under the water level so it also airates the sulution as it recirculates.


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## shibbywilsk (May 8, 2009)

Heres a diagram


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## GreenThumbSucker (Oct 3, 2010)

vermicide said:


> So a 5 gallon bucket can be used as a reservoir for plants in 5 gallon buckets ? stil confused about that >.<


I wouldnt consider a five gallon bucket to be a 'reservoir.' It is just too small to be anything other than a portal for adding ferts and adjusting PH.

Last night we took the five gallon bucket 'reservoir' off of my friends 8 bucket system because it was just too small to do anything but facilitate adding chemicals. We removed it from the system and extended the hoses out to a 30 gallon tote outside the room. This adds about 20-25 more gallons of solution to the system. Before, he was having to add top off water every day. Now he should only have to add water about every two or three days. There is a pump in this reservoir connected to a half inch poly hose that runs all the way into the room to the furthest plant, where it connects to a nipple. The solution gravity flows back through the system to the reservoir. 

Make sure you use 3/4 inch hoses and connectors. 1/2 inch hose is too small for the solution to flow back quick enough.


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## redi jedi (Oct 3, 2010)

lol...why do people that dont have a clue think they can offer advice? Bro go on youtube and check out "undercurrent RDWC" its about the most simple system design I've seen.

The only draw back to the undercurrent design is that you'll need a top feed if you planning on starting from seed or trying to root clones. This is because there are no airstones in the plant containers, just the res.


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## JordanTheGreat (Feb 23, 2011)

redi jedi said:


> lol...why do people that dont have a clue think they can offer advice? Bro go on youtube and check out "undercurrent RDWC" its about the most simple system design I've seen.
> 
> The only draw back to the undercurrent design is that you'll need a top feed if you planning on starting from seed or trying to root clones. This is because there are no airstones in the plant containers, just the res.


everything here is wrong...
there is a stone in every eight or thirteen gallon plant site, and a HUGE diffuser in the control bucket...and you could just raise the water level for seedlings or clones


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