Setting up new System Oxygenation/setup questions

aleksandr2010

aleksandr2010

Active Member
So let me describe my system I'm building:
In a 5x5 grow tent 600W MH/HPS, 6 buckets with 1 plant each, set up in two rows of 3....connected by 1 hose to each other and then by two hoses to a resevoir on one end.

I have a smaller, 6 inch growing medium which will be rockwool and a 185 GPH waterpump that has a 6-way splitter with hoses to give top-feeding to all 6 plants. An 8 way air pump with several airstones will keep the water oxygenated throughout the system. Roots that are long will go down past the growing medium, into the bucket and into water that is sitting. Sort of a top-feed with DWC setup. Two questions:

1) Do I need to have a water pump that moves the water between all 6 buckets and the resevoir to create water movement or is standing water kept oxygenated fine?
2) How high does the water have to sit in the buckets below the growing medium? Is it okay if there's a space of dryness before they sink into the deep water? Would the bubbling of the water from below due to the airstone compensate for this "dry" space?

Thanks all!
 
You need water movement to prevent water going stagnant. Air & Water movement, temps will rise in the water if you do nothing about it so circulating it will allow you to cool it a lot of people use frozen plastic bottles. Yes the air bubbling below makes the nutrients splash up & roots reach down for it. I start my girls in 1" rockwool & then put hydrotron rocks in a net cup they love it and never have any issues.
 
Any suggestions for a specific water-pump that can be attached along one of the hose-lines to generate that movement in a low-noise, on-10 seconds off-5 minutes way?
 
lol ok...two very contrasting opinions so far. Anyone with 1st hand expirience doing either circulating or non-circulating system of this type with seperate buckets on the same altitude as a resevoir?
 
aleksandr2010 said:
lol ok...two very contrasting opinions so far. Anyone with 1st hand expirience doing either circulating or non-circulating system of this type with seperate buckets on the same altitude as a resevoir?
Click to expand...

I have a setup very similar to yours, Im running two 400w hps in a 4x4 tent with 6 buckets in two rows of three.
I run with a 4in airstone in each bucket being powered by a 1450gph airpump with a 6 way splitter, and it works perfect.
All you want the water moving for is to add oxygen to it and mix up the nutes a little, so you only need the air pump.

if you top feed in addition to letting the roots sit in water there is a chance you could have overwatering issues, also let the water sit about three -four inches below your netcup.

edit, I didnt go to wallmart for the airline, I went to lowes. I think the line from the pump to the splitter is 1/4 or 1/2 in.

as far as noise from the pump goes its kinda tough to deal with. A good air pump is gonna be noisy IME what I did was went to walmart got some airline to go from the pump to the splitter ( bout 20 ft) and set the airpump in the attic with my exhaust fan. and even after 20ft and a 6 way splitter my ressys look like pots of water boiling over.
 
Thanks for that, that's very helpful. Since your system is in fact VERY similar to what I'm building, i'm wondering how you change your water? With 6 buckets almost full of water + resevoir...thats a lot of water. I'm between just having a valve to cut-off flow to the resevoir and change just that resevoir once a week....orrr set up a pump system where i can drain all my buckets fully in the changing process.
 
No offense to anyone, but I hate how growing is an opinion on this forum.

There is opinion, then there are facts with references to provide backup.
 
PurpleRhinoceros said:
No offense to anyone, but I hate how growing is an opinion on this forum.

There is opinion, then there are facts with references to provide backup.
Click to expand...

I wasnt giving opinion I was stating what I used. Instead of being a dick, try not being an ass and just answer some questions.

aleksandr2010 said:
Thanks for that, that's very helpful. Since your system is in fact VERY similar to what I'm building, i'm wondering how you change your water? With 6 buckets almost full of water + resevoir...thats a lot of water. I'm between just having a valve to cut-off flow to the resevoir and change just that resevoir once a week....orrr set up a pump system where i can drain all my buckets fully in the changing process.
Click to expand...

I dont have a seperate res, I dont do a recirculating deep water culture. Just a dwc, My 5 gallon buckets have 3 gallons of water each, when its time to change out the ressys I just pick em up and do my thing, Not that hard. If youre gonna do a dwc I suggest you read up on heisenbergs Beneficial bacteria thread, its really usefull.

I dont run a RWDC because I grow diff strains, and diff strains eat diffrent.

Good luck
 
1) Do I need to have a water pump that moves the water between all 6 buckets and the resevoir to create water movement or is standing water kept oxygenated fine?

I'm pretty sure the dude wanted to know if re-circulating DWC was a requirement or if DWC was possible. I'm not sure. Weedler from what i read acually said that air moving through water counts as water movement, but w/e.

Dude fifo, i didn't even know your post was on this thread, I was actually just talking to OP. in reference to his post about there being two different opinions to his question. There are no two different opinions to question one. It's yes or no. It's whether Deep Water Culture works or if you have to have it re-circulating too.
So sorry to fifo, but you sounded like a dick, when i wasn't even talking to you.
 
hi there canna freind answer to ur questions
1) Do I need to have a water pump that moves the water between all 6 buckets and the resevoir to create water movement or is standing water kept oxygenated fine?
standing water is fine if u have a air pump that is powerfull to keep it oxygenated but i would stick a small water pump in the rez and feed the first bucket so water is movin around the system



2) How high does the water have to sit in the buckets below the growing medium? Is it okay if there's a space of dryness before they sink into the deep water? Would the bubbling of the water from below due to the airstone compensate for this "dry" space?

1inch to about half inch is gud and yes airstone will compensate i like a little space between my net pot and water which i gradualy increase when there is load ov roots in the water hope this helps my friend..........

https://www.rollitup.org/dwc-bubbleponics/374828-diagram-too-help-people-understand.html
 
I misread your post you can have airstones in each bucket and not need to recirculate. Air stones are a must and keep roots happy and healthy. Make sure they are 1-2" below the bottom of the cups the bubbles will do the rest.
 
aleksandr2010 said:
Thanks for that, that's very helpful. Since your system is in fact VERY similar to what I'm building, i'm wondering how you change your water? With 6 buckets almost full of water + resevoir...thats a lot of water. I'm between just having a valve to cut-off flow to the resevoir and change just that resevoir once a week....orrr set up a pump system where i can drain all my buckets fully in the changing process.
Click to expand...

PurpleRhinoceros said:
1) Do I need to have a water pump that moves the water between all 6 buckets and the resevoir to create water movement or is standing water kept oxygenated fine?

I'm pretty sure the dude wanted to know if re-circulating DWC was a requirement or if DWC was possible. I'm not sure. Weedler from what i read acually said that air moving through water counts as water movement, but w/e.

Dude fifo, i didn't even know your post was on this thread, I was actually just talking to OP. in reference to his post about there being two different opinions to his question. There are no two different opinions to question one. It's yes or no. It's whether Deep Water Culture works or if you have to have it re-circulating too.
So sorry to fifo, but you sounded like a dick, when i wasn't even talking to you.
Click to expand...

I guess man, but to me thats not the point. you obviously know the answer to that question. so instead of wasting time, why not just clarify to the best of your ability?

Instead, you choose the other way and waste time and space complaining on someone elses thread, when this guy is in need of someone with some experience to point him in the right direction. It's just kinda assinine is all.
 
yeah all, calm down about the "opinion" thing. I know there's only one correct answer, and I *was* just looking for the answer from a person with first hand expirience. If one of the first two posters sounded like they had first hand expirience I wouldnt have used the word opinion.

Aaaanyways....I think I got the answers for the oxygenation and space issues. FefiFofum; I don't think I will do my change-outs the way you do though. I do not want to be disturbing every bucket individually on every change out; I have one buddy who does that. It seems to cause stress on the plants and is too much of pain in the ass when they get big. I think I am going to have isolating valves and a large pump that can be attached and pumps water back to the resevoir during change outs.
 
aleksandr2010 said:
yeah all, calm down about the "opinion" thing. I know there's only one correct answer, and I *was* just looking for the answer from a person with first hand expirience. If one of the first two posters sounded like they had first hand expirience I wouldnt have used the word opinion.

Aaaanyways....I think I got the answers for the oxygenation and space issues. FefiFofum; I don't think I will do my change-outs the way you do though. I do not want to be disturbing every bucket individually on every change out; I have one buddy who does that. It seems to cause stress on the plants and is too much of pain in the ass when they get big. I think I am going to have isolating valves and a large pump that can be attached and pumps water back to the resevoir during change outs.
Click to expand...

that ssounds like how I was gonna do it before I ran outta money lol, its really not that big of a pain tho if you dont mind a little work, as far as stressing it doesnt in my opinion stress them, I take the net cups which also fit perfectly on the bucket out and then sit them in empty buckets, while I change out the nutes in my ressys, makes it really easy besides lifting 5 gal buckets that have 3 gal of water in them, and walking them over to where they get dumped.and Ive heard that the roots love that time they get to dangle in the air.

good luck with your grow man !
 
FeFiFoFUM said:
that ssounds like how I was gonna do it before I ran outta money lol, its really not that big of a pain tho if you dont mind a little work, as far as stressing it doesnt in my opinion stress them, I take the net cups which also fit perfectly on the bucket out and then sit them in empty buckets, while I change out the nutes in my ressys, makes it really easy besides lifting 5 gal buckets that have 3 gal of water in them, and walking them over to where they get dumped.and Ive heard that the roots love that time they get to dangle in the air.

good luck with your grow man !
Click to expand...

Thanks, I plan on putting up a grow journal on the main forums when it gets going, but that wont be until after a major vacation I have planned which is in January. I dont want to start something now and have to leave town during harvest time.
 
aleksandr2010 said:
Thanks, I plan on putting up a grow journal on the main forums when it gets going, but that wont be until after a major vacation I have planned which is in January. I dont want to start something now and have to leave town during harvest time.
Click to expand...

Good plan.

This is my first time Growing in a DWC, I think once you get the hang of it this can be one of the easiest ways to grow
But it does offer its own challenges.
 
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