Pobo's first hydroponic adventure - DWC!

First off, greets to everyone at RIU! None of this would be possible without the awesome community of growers here.

Ok, now let's get to it!

This is my first indoor, hydroponic grow. I've chosen DWC due to it's simple yet effective nature. Tips, comments, concerns and criticism is welcome.

Now the facts about my setup so far:

- Closet grow (34" wide, 3' deep, 3' tall [about 32" of actual plant grow space]).
- DWC in 4 x 5 gallon buckets with 3 net pots each for a total of 12 sites.
- Rockwool and Hydroton, per usual.
- 2 x 7.8 Liters Per Minutes air pumps (2 valves each).
- One 6" air stone per bucket.
- Currently 7 x 26W CFLs. There will be more soon.

Things that still need to be done:
- Get some beans or clones (suggestions welcome - consider the size constraints).
- Setup ventilation fans
- Get good organic nutes - possibly foxfarms
- Make the closet more stealth. Looking for help here. I need to muffle the noise of the air pumps and also seal it off to prevent air and odor leaks.
I was thinking about using poly plastic to coat the closet doors then put egg crate foam over that. Then just cut out squares for the intake and exhaust fans once I get those. See pics for closet door style.

I think that's it. Questions, and comments welcome.

Pics are the closet transformation and bucket construction. I layed poly on the floor, taped up mylar, and relocated an outlet to the back of the closet. The bucket construction is pretty self explanatory.



PS. Seed and/or clone donations are welcome!

Looks like this will be a nice little setup man subscribed
You are going to have to cover those louvered doors with something, you don't want any light getting in there during the dark period

tom__420 said:

Looks like this will be a nice little setup man subscribed
You are going to have to cover those louvered doors with something, you don't want any light getting in there during the dark period

Click to expand...

Yeah, I think I'm going to tape some panda paper up then put noise dampening foam over that (on the inside of the doors). Or maybe some rigid insulation with mylar on it.

If you are planning for bubbles to water your seedlings (per the link below) you will need more bubble action that what that will give you. The other thing I wonder is how, when plants get some size, you will move those buckets around to change the water.

Illegal Smile said:

If you are planning for bubbles to water your seedlings (per the link below) you will need more bubble action that what that will give you. The other thing I wonder is how, when plants get some size, you will move those buckets around to change the water.

Click to expand...

I'm doing a test run right now with some random house plants and a pepper seed (that will hopefully germinate.) I have the water level about 1/4" above the bottom of the net pot. There's a layer of hydroton then the rockwoll cubes so they're getting moist but not soaked. I think this will allow me to grow straight from seed.
As far as changing the water, I have an extra bucket so I can just temporarily swap out the top of each bucket and refill with water and nutes. I'm sure that the root balls will get intertwined so the plants will always stay with the same bucket.

Every thing looks good but i would agree, more bubbles. i run a similar setup but just one big net pot per bucket. and i have 4 air pumps . 2 per bucket with 3 5 inch air stones per bucket. works awesome. i swap out the tops for emptying and refilling also. even though i have a drain plug, i like to scrub the bucket every time i do a res change. check it out... i'll be watchin your progress

https://www.rollitup.org/dwc-bubbleponics/282015-my-first-grow-dwc.html

Your on your way Pobo! That is a lot of sites though but, if your willing to put some work in go for it. My two separate reservoir's take me some time to slide out, check ph and replace water everyday.

I like the Tetra whisper air pumps

http://www.petco.com/product/14931/Tetra-Whisper-Air-Pumps.aspx?cm_mmc=CSEMGooglebase-_-Fish-_-Tetra-_-997579&mr:trackingCode=D0711416-8381-DE11-B7F3-0019B9C043EB&mr:referralID=NA

wow I'm glad I looked up the link these are dirt cheap right now! Just ordered two.

Good luck man with your grow!

yarddog35 said:

Your on your way Pobo! That is a lot of sites though but, if your willing to put some work in go for it. My two separate reservoir's take me some time to slide out, check ph and replace water everyday.

I like the Tetra whisper air pumps http://www.petco.com/product/14931/Tetra-Whisper-Air-Pumps.aspx?cm_mmc=CSEMGooglebase-_-Fish-_-Tetra-_-997579&mr:trackingCode=D0711416-8381-DE11-B7F3-0019B9C043EB&mr:referralID=NA

wow I'm glad I looked up the link these are dirt cheap right now! Just ordered two.

Good luck man with your grow!

Click to expand...

Those pumps aren't that cheap, you can get better pumps at wal-mart for cheaper and you don't have to pay shipping. If you are going to order pumps order one of these: http://homeharvest.com/hydroponicpumpsaeration.htm

The eco plus air pumps at the top
They are great and have a 1 year warranty
They put out much more air than the ones you linked, and are around the same price
Much much better built and are adjustable

tom__420 said:

Those pumps aren't that cheap, you can get better pumps at wal-mart for cheaper and you don't have to pay shipping. If you are going to order pumps order one of these: http://homeharvest.com/hydroponicpumpsaeration.htm

The eco plus air pumps at the top
They are great and have a 1 year warranty
They put out much more air than the ones you linked, and are around the same price
Much much better built and are adjustable

Click to expand...

Better air pump at Wal Mart? I shopped Wal Mart and there is no better pump there.

Petco has free shipping on orders $50 or more so that was not an issue...

Sorry just had to defend my post a little

Those pumps you linked seem great as they come with a one year warranty. The bigger ones have a lot of outs though. Do you just plug the outs you don't need to use?