RDWC plans, any advice? Plus a few questions.

newgrower14 said:

Thanks for all the advice everyone, and especially you, blackforest! I promise I'll start a grow journal when I get everything planned out.

Also thank you legallyflying for the tip on the DIY water chiller. I am on the lookout for the parts for it. Is it pretty much trial and error as far as using a timer to run it in order to keep the water in the right temperature range?

I've been doing some more thinking and planning, and I'm pretty set on doing the 5 bucket w/ control + rez and I'll do the float valve from the rez to control bucket the way blackforest describes. I'm leaning towards trying an autoflower strain (I've heard good things about Dutch Passions' Think Different seeds) and going from there. Then as long as the system works I'll only have to really worry about nutes and the grow environment, as far as I know. Still unsure on what to do as far as lights go, there's so many options and opinions that I'm having a hard time narrowing it down. Just need to hammer out the best way to use my space. I'll have an 8x10 area that I could split into multiple smaller rooms if need be, which was the original plan. Kind of moving back to the drawing board.

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You're welcome.
Also make sure you use black air lines, and black buckets. Also a good idea to wrap them up in insulation to help keep all light out. Drill the hole into the bucket for the air line just big enough for the line itself, or be a nerd like me and get some grommets for the air lines so they are super light tight!

The more time I spend on this forum the more I keep changing what I want to do! I know I have to draw the line somewhere, just want to make things easier for future me.

I won't go into as much detail as I originally did, but I'm now looking at doing a 5 plant RDWC system, 5gal buckets with a control, float valve going from control to res. I'll try to purpose a dehumidifier to control water temps. I think I'm going to do a 5x5x7 grow room, 1000w MH for veg, 1000w HPS for flowering, and I really like everything I've seen from people who've used DP's Think Different autoflower seeds. I'm partial to the MH/HPS combo since I can get a kit and have everything I need and I'll just have to change the bulb when it comes to flowering. I'll run lights 20/4 the whole time.

I feel like once I get the system working and do a little more research on nutes I'll feel pretty comfortable for the first grow. Not expecting a big yield the first time, but I think it'll be worth it for the experience alone. I'm SOOOO ready to start setting it all up, but as far as a first grow, does this plan seem sound? Obviously I'll incorporate all the advice you guys have given me, and once I have everything set up I'll post pictures and make sure I'm not missing anything big.

I'm well aware I'm most likely getting in over my head, but thank you all for the support and advice.

I can't wait to get a grow journal going in the next couple weeks, I love everything I've seen from this community so far.