DWC/Bubble/Drip all the same?

Pardon my ignorance but, wouldnt a DWC/Bubble/Drip system, at some point, become the same system? From what ive gathered, in a bubble/drip system, the roots eventually become emersed in the water below. Wouldnt that be a DWC system? Is this assumption total crap or is there some merit to it? If it is wrong, what am I missing?

erbalis said:

Pardon my ignorance but, wouldnt a DWC/Bubble/Drip system, at some point, become the same system? From what ive gathered, in a bubble/drip system, the roots eventually become emersed in the water below. Wouldnt that be a DWC system? Is this assumption total crap or is there some merit to it? If it is wrong, what am I missing?

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as far as i know you are correct a true drip system never emerses the roots in the water so if what yer lookin at does than its a hybrid system... a bubble is a dwc and i hate that ppl have adopted bubble to discribe a dwc

tusseltussel said:

as far as i know you are correct a true drip system never emerses the roots in the water so if what yer lookin at does than its a hybrid system... a bubble is a dwc and i hate that ppl have adopted bubble to discribe a dwc

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Ok. That is what I figured. That being said, Bubbleponics by Stealthhydro is a hybrid system. It incorporates a feeding tube and a reservoir that the roots eventually become emersed in~ Unless Im missing something, but from the photos i have seen, I dont see how it is possible for that not to happen.

What is the advantage/disadvantage to this type of setup? Why not just setup a true DWC or true Drip?

Erbalis,


DWC has a container with an air stone in it driven by an air pump to agitate the solution inside the reservoir. This system splashes the solution up into the roots while they are growing, and then eventually they end up hanging into the solution.

Bubbleponics is a hybrid system indeed. It uses a full DWC system like I just described, but then also incorporates a submersible pump that has an attached irrigation drip hub. This hub has feeder tubes attached to it that then go directly into the rockwool. This feeds the plant the solution directly to the root system even before a DWC system could get the solution to the roots via submersion or "splashing."

Top feed and drip are not my specialty at all to be honest. I know that with drip line systems it is not a constant process, they are done in timed increments to prevent the plant from "drowning." I don't want to say more because I don't know that much about them.

aeroponics is another option which uses air as the medium and then sprayers that spray the solution at the root system at certain increments.



Roseman is going to be the man to talk to about all of this and I am sure he will find this thread soon.

Hope I helped a bit brother

Great answer, Tumsculli!

In DWC, you can not very easily start a seed in it, most growers start with clones or sprouts in a DWC (Depp Water Culture) In DWC, the roots dangle in the water, oxygenated with air stones fed by an air pump.

The word Bubleponics can be a slang term for a DWC, relating to the air stones making bubbles.

A true Bubbleponics, as the word is trademarked and registered, is a DWC with under water feeder tubes and a submersive water pump. The advantages are you can easily start a seed in it, and it is watered and fed and supplied extra oxygen through the feeder tubes. makes a tremedous differnece the first two or 3 weeks, until the roots hit the deep water, then the feeder tubes are worthless and get in the way.

some DRIP systems are just a DWC, roots dangle in the water and also the feeder tubes DRIP the water onto the root base from above. I have seen DRIP systems that the roots were not in the water, but they are few, very few.

Roseman said:

Great answer, Tumsculli!

In DWC, you can not very easily start a seed in it, most growers start with clones or sprouts in a DWC (Depp Water Culture) In DWC, the roots dangle in the water, oxygenated with air stones fed by an air pump.

The word Bubleponics can be a slang term for a DWC, relating to the air stones making bubbles.

A true Bubbleponics, as the word is trademarked and registered, is a DWC with under water feeder tubes and a submersive water pump. The advantages are you can easily start a seed in it, and it is watered and fed and supplied extra oxygen through the feeder tubes. makes a tremedous differnece the first two or 3 weeks, until the roots hit the deep water, then the feeder tubes are worthless and get in the way.

some DRIP systems are just a DWC, roots dangle in the water and also the feeder tubes DRIP the water onto the root base from above. I have seen DRIP systems that the roots were not in the water, but they are few, very few.

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Thanks to both of you. This is what I wanted to know. One more question. Would it be a worth it or a waste of time to remove the submersible pump and feeding tubes once the roots are submersed in the water?

You should definitely remove the pump and tubing when the roots are in the water. First of all, without the pump your res will stay a couple degrees cooler. Also, the pump can harbor nasty stuff like dead roots, mold, or build of nutrient salts. If you leave it in it will cause a huge list of problems unless if you're gonna clean it regularly. Basically, there is no reason to leave in the pump after the roots are in the water.

erbalis said:

Thanks to both of you. This is what I wanted to know. One more question. Would it be a worth it or a waste of time to remove the submersible pump and feeding tubes once the roots are submersed in the water?

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AFter the first 3 weeks are over, the roots are well extablished in the deep water and the pump is not necesary or beneficial. matter a fact, the water pump can harbor dead debris int he filter and screw the pH up, real bad, unless removed and cleaned. And if you remove and clean it, it is pointless to put it back, unless you want to use it to drain the tank.

A BubbleHead on this site made pics of a DWC right beside a true Bubleponics started the same day, and after two weeks, he had 2 or 3 inch sprouts in the DWC and 6 to 8 inch tall plants in the Bubbleponics .

The difference is the first two to three weeks of rapid growth.


ten days



12 days


15 days



17 days





20 days

Those first 3 weeks is when the feeding tubes really make a difference.

Roseman said:

AFter the first 3 weeks are over, the roots are well extablished in the deep water and not necesary or beneficial. matter a fact, the water pump can harbor dead debris int he filter and screw the pH up, real bad, unless removed and cleaned. And if you remove and clean it, it is pointless to put it back, unless you want to use it to drain the tank.

A BubbleHead on this site made pics of a DWC right beside a true Bubleponics started the same day, and after two weeks, he had 2 or 3 inch sprouts in the DWC and 6 to 8 inch tall plants in the Bubbleponics .

The difference is the first two to three weeks of rapid growth.


ten days



12 days


15 days



17 days





20 days

Those first 3 weeks is when the feeding tubes really make a difference.

Click to expand...

Responses and advice are much appreciated

Go to the dwc grower's club thread and ask them why they don't wake up and start using feeder tubes. Also note that comparison grows are against dwc done wrong. I can make your rockwool exactly as wet or dry as you want it with no pumps or feeder tubes. Don't take anyone's word for it - try them both yourself.

Illegal Smile said:

Go to the dwc grower's club thread and ask them why they don't wake up and start using feeder tubes. Also note that comparison grows are against dwc done wrong. I can make your rockwool exactly as wet or dry as you want it with no pumps or feeder tubes. Don't take anyone's word for it - try them both yourself.

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Water temps are a primary limiting factor for me half the year, and pumps are more mess then I want to deal with.

control the height of water == control the height of splash == control the moisture level of a medium

vh13 said:

Water temps are a primary limiting factor for me half the year, and pumps are more mess then I want to deal with.

control the height of water == control the height of splash == control the moisture level of a medium

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Bingo! Except there is another factor, the level of bubble action. One small airstone will never produce the environment in that space you want but yet that is what "comparisons" are done with. I start with a robust pump and 3 or 4 12 inch airstones. I set the water level 1-2 inches below the bottoms of the netpots. That produces an airspace where the netposts are that is full of mist, almost aeroponic. If too wet, lower the water, too dry raise it.

Good points on controlling height of agitation. I only neglected to mention it because I think of the bubbles as a constant in my life.