DWC vs Organic soil

Hi guys. I've been growing for over twenty years, but never using DWC. So this is a totally nube question, but....

Are the yields using DWC greater than organic soil? If this is the case, is the solution easily kept clean using liquid oxygen, or similar? I fancy trying a bubble system for my Christmas crop, but can't risk a cock-up.

Many thanks,

Happy growing.

instead of putting all your eggs in one basket, do soil and dwc and see which works best for you. dwc can develop serious problems very quickly compared to soil but they can also be fixed very quickly too.

pH is most important in hydro followed by healthy roots.

Cheers.

Hmmm, that's what I was worried about. I can grow organically in soil with a blindfold on, but I think this may be tricky to start with. I've also only bought a cheap ph pen, so had better upgrade this, as it seems key. I've bought the general hydroponics feeds, as was planning on a 80 litre (ish) tope/container for 50 litres of solution.

buy a small waterpump, some tubing and elbows and go for it. make a waterfall in that tote instead of airstones/airpump.

in a container that size, you'll have a monster plant. the rootball will be nearly the size of that container and your yield will also be huge.

you will definitely have some issues which is why i would do both for your first few grows.

and using RO water would also be a good idea. would eliminate one variable as a potential problem source

Northernpop said:

Hi guys. I've been growing for over twenty years, but never using DWC. So this is a totally nube question, but....

Are the yields using DWC greater than organic soil? If this is the case, is the solution easily kept clean using liquid oxygen, or similar? I fancy trying a bubble system for my Christmas crop, but can't risk a cock-up.

Many thanks,

Happy growing.

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It's tricky doing DWC without a chiller. You gotta keep those temps low to avoid root problems.

Check into Lucas formula for dwc nutrition. It's more of a method than a particular product and helps prevent n burn

Delztronics said:

It's tricky doing DWC without a chiller. You gotta keep those temps low to avoid root problems.

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agreed.

but for the first grow or 2, using hydroguard or great white will work. if you decide to go all in, then invest in a chiller for sure.

rkymtnman said:

agreed.

but for the first grow or 2, using hydroguard or great white will work. if you decide to go all in, then invest in a chiller for sure.

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^Exactly what I did before I bought a chiller. I would highly recommend a chiller though.

Northernpop said:

Cheers.

Hmmm, that's what I was worried about. I can grow organically in soil with a blindfold on, but I think this may be tricky to start with. I've also only bought a cheap ph pen, so had better upgrade this, as it seems key. I've bought the general hydroponics feeds, as was planning on a 80 litre (ish) tope/container for 50 litres of solution.

Click to expand...

If you use GH Flora Trio + CaliMagic, you never have to check your pH.

Kretzlord said:

Check into Lucas formula for dwc nutrition. It's more of a method than a particular product and helps prevent n burn

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i never could get higher than 5/10 without burning. i'm at high elevation though.
but yes, Lucas is great for beginners and experts alike. and you dont' need to use the Grow bottle.

Painting black buckets white helps keep em a few degrees F cooler. The black absorbs the heat. White helps reflect it away. Your plants will get huge fast! You need some type of support frame for your plants. I use a scrog net w/pvc frame hung from cieling. My first dwc grow I learned this the hard way with branches snapping left and right. Vertical buds off horizontal branches. Lol it was more weed than I knew what to do with!

Kid Kannabi5 said:

Painting black buckets white helps keep em a few degrees F cooler. The black absorbs the heat. White helps reflect it away. Your plants will get huge fast! You need some type of support frame for your plants. I use a scrog net w/pvc frame hung from cieling. My first dwc grow I learned this the hard way with branches snapping left and right. Vertical buds off horizontal branches. Lol it was more weed than I knew what to do with!

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Trying dwc for the first time, and dam, I want problems like that. I only sell to my wife, but she is a heavyweight smoker!
Hanging the scrog from the ceiling, how would I do res change?

primobozo said:

Trying dwc for the first time, and dam, I want problems like that. I only sell to my wife, but she is a heavyweight smoker!
Hanging the scrog from the ceiling, how would I do res change?

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I elevated my setup. Don't know how high your cielings are, but I had 6 dwc buckets. I went to home depot and bought 6×5 gallon buckets w/lids. I used the h.d. buckets with the lids on as pedestals for the dwc buckets. I did this so I could easily move around beneath the canopy. Also them being off the floor it made it easy to siphon old solution out of buckets with gravity. If you have a central reservoir it is rdwc. Recirculating deep water culture. Mine had no res except the boiling bucket of nutes they live in. I like that system just because I can treat the plants more as individuals rather than a whole. Being I had a couple strains growing side by side. They need different things. It is a lot to maintain but the growth using these systems is unparalleled. I just made a 4'×8' pvc frame, and stretched my mono filament netting over the top, and fastened with zip-ties. I hung it with the ratcheting light hang straps. (So i could adjust height as they grow) Only the net. You can build legs on the net frame also if you prefer. You just need something to support them. If you don't you'll regret it. My buddy took tomato cages turned them upside down and fixed one to the lid of each dwc bucket. Worked pretty well also.

Great I have 9 foot ceilings, so I'm going to try this. I have 6 dwc 5 gallon buckets, not RDWC, and couldn't figure out how to scrog them. Being my first time in dwc setup, I still want to be able to see my roots, is that easily done somehow with this setup?

primobozo said:

Great I have 9 foot ceilings, so I'm going to try this. I have 6 dwc 5 gallon buckets, not RDWC, and couldn't figure out how to scrog them. Being my first time in dwc setup, I still want to be able to see my roots, is that easily done somehow with this setup?

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Yes, you can just crawl under your canopy and crack open the lid about 3 or 4 inches. Enough to inspect your root system. (May need a flashlight/torch later on after the canopy gets thick) you want the temperature of your nutrient solution at 65 degrees F. Dont let them go above 70F. They need a ton of oxygen. That is the hardest part. I hope your lights are cooled and you have a standup a.c. unit at the very least. (Root rot is the biggest problem people fight with this system) At about wk 3 you can cut the spindly growth beneath canopy that isn't receiving enough or any light. That way your plants can put all their energy and nutrients into your colas above canopy, getting the best of the best. If you have a bushy strain, you may need to remove some upper fan leaves if they start shading your flower sites. You may already be aware of these things. I'm just blabbing.

Very helpful, so far I've made more mistakes than progress.

primobozo said:

Very helpful, so far I've made more mistakes than progress.

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Don't give up!

Definitely not, I'm a lose not a quitter, I lose everything I have, lighters, pens,glasses without moving off the couch.