Deep Water Culture

[SKOOBYDOOBIE]

im thinking of doing the same deep water culture method my self ...
my question is how many times do you gotta change the water and the nuts once a week 2 times a month ?????????

 

[skunkushybrid]

Personally... I don't. Now that may have a few growers on here surprised. I use my instinct to tell me when to just give them plain water to dilute any nutes that may have built up.

I also use high quality nutes. Also, high quality shit to back those nutes up. Voodoo juice, sensizym, barricade, piranha etc... to help the plants battle against any pathogens that may have built up.

Ok. i may be losing a little on yield due to the plants not being able to devote as much time to growing.

I had an accident the other day. On my large dwc grow, our 3 best plants were crushed by a falling light with built in ballast. Know what I did? Sellotape and string.

 

[skunkushybrid]

To answer your second question, you feed them when they need it. The level of the water should be about an inch below the bottoms of the pots during veg', and about 2-3" during flower. At least, that's what I do.

 

[ViRedd]

On the feeding ...

Add back plain water until you've reached the point that you've added back the amount you originally put in there. Then, mix up a new batch with the proper nute ratio, pour out the old water and pour in the new mix.

Skunk ...

I knew a guy, who as an experiment, used a five-gallon DWC bucket to grow one plant under a 1000 watt HPS in his large walk-in closet just to see how much of a yield he could get. He let it grow into a monster of a plant, to where he almost couldn't walk into the closet anymore. He yielded over two pounds of quality, finished bud. Not too bad I'd say for growing in a paint bucket. *lol*

Vi

 

[skunkushybrid]

Tell me about it. After 2 weeks flower the pistils on my dwc's are almost meeting up the stems. They love this environment, and I'm constantly amazed at how quickly they grow. Everything is more, thicker stems, more leaf, more pistils...

This is by far the best system I have used. Next time I'm growing less plants in bigger containers, individually too to make it easier to empty them out. These guys have only got 6 litres each to grow in. Probably a good job as they are sativa and I've got a max height of 5'.

 

[FreePhx]

heh - a single Sativa in 10 gallon DWC with 400hps

2 weeks since sign of flowering, and its growing 1-2 inches a day. The growth during streatch phase is insane! started flowering at 18 inches tall, and 22 days later she is 47 inches tall. I am expecting another week of streatch - which means another foot possibly. She will have trippled in size or a lil more...

 

[SKOOBYDOOBIE]

i am so doin this DWC STUFFF.......

 

[jimbo_jim]

Skunkushybrid - did u ever make that setup with loads of paint buckets, a reservoir and a stop cock. Sounded really cool n wanted to c pics if u had..

 

[skunkushybrid]

Skunkushybrid - did u ever make that setup with loads of paint buckets, a reservoir and a stop cock. Sounded really cool n wanted to c pics if u had..

No. Too complicated for me at the moment. I like dwc too much at the moment to attempt anything else.

 

[stickstones]

Skunk, you're my hero! Making that setup without leaving the house cracks me up...a TRUE stoner!

BTW, what's the bubble disk? Is it just a circular piece of plastic with holes in it or does it have some mechanics that make it expensive? How much was it?

 

[skunkushybrid]

2.50 per disk. that's british pounds. So about $5.

I'll update this thread soon, at the 5 week flower mark in a few days. The buds are meeting up the stem already and despite the small pot space I know I'm going to get at least 2oz per plant.

I also have a much larger dwc grow on with the flower date finishing just one day after the smaller one, these guys should yield at least 3oz per plant. It's like being a little kid and waiting for x-mas.

 

[stickstones]

Is there a short answer to the question "what's the difference between aeroponics, hydroponics and deep water culture?"

 

[o'rly]

what soil is that you are using in the background pots in your first pics?

 

[entropic]

Hydroponics: General term for soil-less growing
Aeroponics: Super-fine mist of water supplies nutes to plant
DWC: Air-stones oxygenate the water and allows the roots to grow in the water without dying, oxygen bubbles popping on the surface also spray the plant with nutrients.
Food and Drain or Ebb and Flow: A tray of growing medium is flooded every so often and then drains.

 

[stickstones]

thanks entropic...I'm researching one of these systems on a small scale and trying to figure out which one is best for me.

 

[entropic]

Easiest to set up is bubbleponics, here's a link to a bubbleponics system made out of a 5-gallon bucket, this one has some nice features ones a lot of people build don't.

Lets Build a Bubble Bucket *Step by Step* - Grasscity.com Forums

Basically you need a two-port air pump, some air line, some airstones or bubble rings or curtains, a 5-gallon bucket with a lid, a net pot, some lava rocks or hydroton, some rockwool, pH pen (you can get away with pH test strips but it's not the best option), a Total Dissolved Solids meter (a vital tool for good control of any hydroponics system), and a good knife.

 

[ILoveUMaryJane]

Skunk, it's good to see you doing the DWC thing - i'm just getting the stuff together myself - will post a how-to when my new camera arrives. Using eBay, Lild, B&Q, and the local aquarium shop, I got everything I need for under £100, when those fucking bud-box things are going on the net for £150 and that's just the housing!

 

[skunkushybrid]

I have a proper crop on too, well two, both almost 5 weeks into flower. It's under a thread called My DWC Grow.

I'll never look back.

 

[jimbo_jim]

how are the air pumps for DWC. Was thinkin about the DWC but only remember those pumps being used in my old fish tank and they were noisey so not so good for stealth???

 

[skunkushybrid]

how are the air pumps for DWC. Was thinkin about the DWC but only remember those pumps being used in my old fish tank and they were noisey so not so good for stealth???

So long as they are cushioned and not resting on a cupboard turning it into a bass bin you should be able to cut down the noise considerably.