35 gallon rubbermaid DWC setup issues

I built my own DWC and its not working at all, ive got a few problems figured out forsure but id like some input and advice, it never hurts.

1. This rubbermaid is not light tight and im getting light inside the res.

2. I have no means of controlling temps.

3. Still using fluorescent lighting

these are what i think is causing the mold problem that killed two of my plants, i still have one purple kush plant in soil and its got about 2 weeks left of flowering and is doing great.

here is how my DWC is set up

35 gallon rubbermaid filled to the 30 gallon mark

the lid has 6 six inch net pots filled with hydroton clay pebbles

ive got 2 12" airstones powered by activeaqua air pump 7.8L per min

fox farm grow big, big bloom, and tiger bloom, also using canna rhizotonic

I keep the pH at 5.8-6.0



I can post pictures of anything you want to see. Any ideas on light proofing the rubbermaid, or i was thinking about an insulated cooler or some black 5 gallon bucket from the Anything Grows Hydro. Maybe considering setting up bubble or aero ponic system. any advice would help thanks

Paint your Rubbermaid with black paint or tape it up with aluminum tape make that sucker light proof.
Go buy 12 oz water bottles freeze them and use them to maintain 68 degree reservoir temps. Get yourself some something to check the temps of your reservoir.
Light and high reservoir temps = root rot!
Other than that you should be good florescent dont produce a lot of heat so you should be okay.
Get yourself a good PPM & PH meter.

Wrap a thick blanket around the res to block out lights and insulate it against heat.

How is your water temperature holding? 30 gallons of water takes a substantial amount of energy to raise/lower the temperature.

BeaverHuntr said:

Paint your Rubbermaid with black paint or tape it up with aluminum tape make that sucker light proof.
Go buy 12 oz water bottles freeze them and use them to maintain 68 degree reservoir temps. Get yourself some something to check the temps of your reservoir.
Light and high reservoir temps = root rot!
Other than that you should be good florescent dont produce a lot of heat so you should be okay.
Get yourself a good PPM & PH meter.

Click to expand...

...good info here

I used duct insulation on my 5 gallon buckets to light proof them and insulate them, works pretty damn good. also try running beneficial bacteria, that would clear up any root rot, brown slime, or other root disseases you may encounter, it will also allow you to run warmer res temps, in case keeping your res temps in check proves to be a problem. I run my res between 70-75f with no issues.

flourescent lighting can work great if you LST, or scrog.

FeFiFoFUM said:

I used duct insulation on my 5 gallon buckets to light proof them and insulate them, works pretty damn good. also try running beneficial bacteria, that would clear up any root rot, brown slime, or other root disseases you may encounter, it will also allow you to run warmer res temps, in case keeping your res temps in check proves to be a problem. I run my res between 70-75f with no issues.

flourescent lighting can work great if you LST, or scrog.

Click to expand...

Sorry, LST & SCROG??

TBEAR said:

Sorry, LST & SCROG??

Click to expand...

I wouldnt worry about that now

LST - Low Stress Training

SCROG - Screen of Green

So im going to post pictures of the setup right now.

The changes ive made are as follows

I got a second rubbermaid res and painted it inside and out and im going to slide my unpainted res into it to block all light and help insulate it,

Also put reflective material on the lid with reflective tape.

Im measuring the temp very closely and putting frozen water bottles into it an hour before the lights come on, trying to find a way to maintain the 30 gallon res.

Im not growing anything in this setup just yet, trying to get it setup perfect.

but i have a AK-47 plant growing in soil in the last two weeks of flowering ( pics coming up)

I know its hard to tell but where the tape is on the res, is where the res overlaps another rubbermaid for light and insulation. I measured the height of ever four gallons i put in, and i filled it to the 32 gallon mark, at that mark the net pots are 1/4 in the water.

input on the AK?

Im considering upgrading lights to high watt CFLs like a few 200w ones, not 200w equiv, 850w incandancant equiv. biggest CFLs i can find. I just feel a 1000 watt HPS is alot of hassle to get set up in a closet and ventalation and all that mess. any input?

Ventilation! Now you've effectively delt with your light issue in the res, you need to vent! I know this sucks. It's noisy, and you need to buy or build stuff.
Without some serious ventilation, our dwc units can make really happy mold (and subsequently sad herbsman)

what sort of ventalation are we talking about, ive got a fan ( not shown) but it's about 6 inch blade and it's always on, i managed to grow that ak on this one fan, but thats soil so its different..

Tonight I started to build a little dwc for clones and seedlings, with 2 inch pots in a 2 gallon res rubbermaid. Pics tomorrow.

man I'm going to igloo coolers soon, no light issues, no temp issues if done right

BeaverHuntr said:

Paint your Rubbermaid with black paint or tape it up with aluminum tape make that sucker light proof.
Go buy 12 oz water bottles freeze them and use them to maintain 68 degree reservoir temps. Get yourself some something to check the temps of your reservoir.
Light and high reservoir temps = root rot!
Other than that you should be good florescent dont produce a lot of heat so you should be okay.
Get yourself a good PPM & PH meter.

Click to expand...

Thats exactly what I did with my totes, coat of black and a top coat of white, the trouble with that is paint doesn't stick real well to the plastic and I've already got bare spots where the tote got rubbed on something or another. Like I said I'm going to coolers, makes damn good sense

FeFiFoFUM said:

I used duct insulation on my 5 gallon buckets to light proof them and insulate them, works pretty damn good. also try running beneficial bacteria, that would clear up any root rot, brown slime, or other root disseases you may encounter, it will also allow you to run warmer res temps, in case keeping your res temps in check proves to be a problem. I run my res between 70-75f with no issues.

flourescent lighting can work great if you LST, or scrog.

Click to expand...

The plants ability to process oxygen is diminished at 70 degrees. You would see better results at 62-65 degrees. Good old hydrogen peroxide will keep your roots healthy.

Dbkick, I would throw two more airstones into that res. You are going to grow six plants, if you want them to thrive, more aeration and keep that res temp low.

I'm no pro, so take it for what it's worth, but I don't pay attention to light proofing for shit. I don't let HIDs bath my res, but I definitely don't light proof it.. my drain tubes in my veg cab are even clear. The water moves around enough, algae doesn't grow. I have a pond outside my house. As long as the pump is on and it's moving in the summer with the sunlight, no algae grows.

I'm not saying you shouldn't light proof. I'm sure it definitley helps things from growing in your res. My saving grace is I'm sure my temps.. They're low. My res is around 62-66F. Nothing grows. I've never had a problem.

So light proof yes. But in my experience, I think anyway... that res temp is much more important. I have amazing growth. 68F might be ideal, but who even came up with that? how about 65F and nothing bad can grow... but what the fuck do I know.. I've got a glass of red and a bowl of green.. now that's some fuckin' Christmas Spirit!

Cold and bubbly is the way my man. Norcaltransplant pretty much said it, so lower those temps. Shoot for 60*F.

60.. wow.. I've always heard 68 as the number thrown around.

What's the root shock low? How low is too low? I put a heater in my cab cause it was going to 52F at night air temp, and the res was dropping to 58F at night.. up to 62F in the day for the res. With the heater keeping the air temp around 64F at night the res stays around 62F at night and up to 66F in the day.

Should I just turn off my heat? I thought I would be slowing down growth with temps that low.

Shafto said:

60.. wow.. I've always heard 68 as the number thrown around.

What's the root shock low? How low is too low? I put a heater in my cab cause it was going to 52F at night air temp, and the res was dropping to 58F at night.. up to 62F in the day for the res. With the heater keeping the air temp around 64F at night the res stays around 62F at night and up to 66F in the day.

Should I just turn off my heat? I thought I would be slowing down growth with temps that low.

Click to expand...

Here is a recent Q and A regarding DWC.

http://urbangardenmagazine.com/2010/11/qa-water-culture/

From the article...

Q: What is the ideal water temperature for DWC systems?

A: We’ve observed that no matter the ambient air temperature, plant roots tend to do best at 62–68°F (17–20°C). Above 72°F (21°C) the solutions dissolved oxygen (DO) holding potential quickly diminishes and below 60°F (16°C) plants tend to slow their metabolism in response to what is perceived as changing seasons. This said, growers could aid in fruit/flower ripening by reducing water temps toward the end of the reproductive cycle. Being able to dial in each zone of the plant (Leaf/Root) specifically often leads to an amplification of plant productivity.