Thinking about switching to hydro

I have been growing in soil for a little bit now and am thinking about switching to hydro. Would this cut down on some of the maintenance time ie watering? I have a 5x5 tent and 1000 watt hps light that I use. I like to make shit myself so I am interested in a DIY system but most of the stuff I found online are dead threads. Any and all help is greatly appropriated as I like to do as much research as possible before I start something. Would this even be worth doing? or would I be better off staying with soil?

If you did a DWC you only need to change nutrients every 7 days. Be just topping off the water daily and oh adjust. So it can be less work

Well it is a love affair so I don't know that what ever you do you would not spend less time in the grow rooms, just time spent doing other things there. Since you state you like DIY and research, I would suggest reading this thread https://www.rollitup.org/t/harvest-a-pound-every-three-weeks.116859/ It is super long but lots of good info and design plans. With this system if I change my veg and flower reservoirs I can skip out of town for a week without issue. I use 10 Gallon res for veg and 25 gallon res for flower in this system.

Whatever you decide to do Good Luck and Enjoy!

Just try one dwc bucket next to your soil grow and you will never use soil again. I put a couple plants in Pro Mix just for nostalgia and man were they ever slow (comparatively).

rolljoeroll said:

I have been growing in soil for a little bit now and am thinking about switching to hydro. Would this cut down on some of the maintenance time ie watering? I have a 5x5 tent and 1000 watt hps light that I use. I like to make shit myself so I am interested in a DIY system but most of the stuff I found online are dead threads. Any and all help is greatly appropriated as I like to do as much research as possible before I start something. Would this even be worth doing? or would I be better off staying with soil?

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Personally, I find dwc easier than soil. No heavy lifting, no hand-watering, and if done correctly, can be as close to maintenance free as soil. However, there's a ton more setup and learning with dwc. You also have to have much more understanding of what your plants are doing, because if a problem arises, it will effect the plants much more quickly. My system holds up to 70 gallons, though I'm usually around 50 gallons. More water in a DWC provides stability. I only change my res a couple times during a grow. Another advantage of more water.

There are downsides to DWC. You're dealing with a lot of water, and there will be occasional spills. This can be disastorous inside a house! You also have pumps to deal with, which adds to up front costs, heat in the grow room, electricity costs, and potential for failure. Water temps have to be kept down, otherwise roots go to hell, and keeping the water balanced becomes paramount. One of the larger challenges is being able to fill and drain the water, because water gets way too heavy with an RDWC. But there are also lots of benefits to DWC. One of the greatest benefits is faster growth during veg. I see up to 3 to 4 inches growth a day with dwc!

Check out my RDWC Grow Room thread below. There's lots of good info in there and plenty of pics. I also try and provide good tips throughout. I start off with buckets, but switch to totes 20 or 30 pages in.

Good luck!

rolljoeroll said:

I have been growing in soil for a little bit now and am thinking about switching to hydro. Would this cut down on some of the maintenance time ie watering? I have a 5x5 tent and 1000 watt hps light that I use. I like to make shit myself so I am interested in a DIY system but most of the stuff I found online are dead threads. Any and all help is greatly appropriated as I like to do as much research as possible before I start something. Would this even be worth doing? or would I be better off staying with soil?

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Heavy lifting is carrying the water imo, that's exactly why I'm in soil after a decade of hydro, but to each his own and I used to enjoy Hydro, but now I have different goals (and not schlepping heavy buckets of water around is one of the main ones), it's more of a personal/ situational choice, somebody said try one bucket and I think that's a great suggestion
-good luck

Beachwalker said:

Heavy lifting is carrying the water imo, that's exactly why I'm in soil after a decade of hydro, but to each his own and I used to enjoy Hydro, but now I have different goals (and not schlepping heavy buckets of water around is one of the main ones), it's more of a personal/ situational choice, somebody said try one bucket and I think that's a great suggestion
-good luck

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I don't lift anything.

It's not too difficult tapping into a wetwall to bring water straight to the dwc, and a drain pipe is even easier. But, some plumbing experience is going to be needed. Or at least the ability to learn more complex skills.

So now I need a plumber or learn Plumbing skills to put in a water line and drain?

Well Op did say he likes to do things himself so thats project number one I guess ?

Or op can schlepp buckets, or stay in soil. ..again it's a preference, & in some cases it's a physical limitation

Beachwalker said:

So now I need a plumber or learn Plumbing skills to put in a water line and drain?

Well Op did say he likes to do things himself so thats project number one I guess ?

Or op can schlepp buckets, or stay in soil. ..again it's a preference, & in some cases it's a physical limitation

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That DIY shit's a bitch sometimes LOL! Seriously though, if you don't know how to glue some PVC together, you're not going to get to the "R" in "RDWC", and then its a big pain in the ass. DWC buckets are a good place to test the waters, so to speak, but quickly points out how much easier a central res would be.

I do enjoy growing and that is why I do it by less maintenance I meant if I went out of town for a couple of days they would be fine. It is a labor of love but I would like to be able to leave for a couple days without my girls drying out.

Just a thought, you might look into Hempy buckets/Dutch buckets.

1212ham said:

Just a thought, you might look into Hempy buckets/Dutch buckets.

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Been checking out hempy buckets recently on a thread here, I think I like it! I think I used to do something kind of like it called passive Hydroponics a long time ago which worked very well

I've been reading up on them, sounds like it's easier than soil!

A "little" reading for you. The second post from the bottom is interesting.
https://www.rollitup.org/t/world-of-hempy.546006/page-459.

BTW, Jacks and Mega Crop nutes are very popular, I use Mega.

An inexpensive first time hydro setup is a waterfarm... Here's a riu thread that makes it look easy... It also shows the only proper way to fill a scrog screen... It's not just about growing a plant through a screen...
https://www.rollitup.org/t/pineapple-express-g13-labs-seed-to-harvest.344359/
Under 100 days from seed to harvest....

rolljoeroll said:

I do enjoy growing and that is why I do it by less maintenance I meant if I went out of town for a couple of days they would be fine. It is a labor of love but I would like to be able to leave for a couple days without my girls drying out.

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There are times during the grow when I could confidently leave for a few days, and other times where I have to stay on top of things each day. Veg, with it's explosive growth, needs constant attention. But when stretch has stopped in flower, I can leave things alone for a bit. They drink a lot of water around this time, which there is plenty of with a dwc especially with a large reservoir. A simple float valve and a second source of water, like another res or water pipe, can help with that as well.

There’s lots of options. Set up a reservoir and use buckets or totes as a grow site. Changing water and checking your solution is much easier. Also, use bulkhead fittings when building your setup. Don’t use the shitty grommet type fittings. Your plants will be much bigger than your soil plants, so plan for that if you plan on growing both side by side

Imo soil or soilless mix was easier if you had a good mix. Just wasn’t as impressive.

Hydro can be as complicated as you want to make it. It can go south real fast also. I love hydro and prefer it now but I am settled on hempy buckets. Just way simple and impressive. Use a good nutrient and make sure your ec and ph is where your plants like it and you are golden.

Don't listen to these OP. Go ebb and flow. Basically as KISS as you can get

rolljoeroll said:

I have been growing in soil for a little bit now and am thinking about switching to hydro. Would this cut down on some of the maintenance time ie watering? I have a 5x5 tent and 1000 watt hps light that I use. I like to make shit myself so I am interested in a DIY system but most of the stuff I found online are dead threads. Any and all help is greatly appropriated as I like to do as much research as possible before I start something. Would this even be worth doing? or would I be better off staying with soil?

Click to expand...

Ive tried a lot of different hydro setups over the years and the easiest by far is Flood & Drain (ebb and flow). You can build a nice 4x4 setup for relatively cheap, and use a large enough reservoir that you aren't constantly filling it. As mentioned above, its about as simple of hydro as you can do. I currently use a 27 gal res and have went on the road for a week with no issues after filling it up with about 20-22 gal. Came back to about 6-8 gal left in the res (just enough to keep the tables flooding and the pumps from running dry). Thats what I consider simple. Never leaked, easy to make & maintain, minimal planting medium needed, one res to keep up on. Just keep it clean, ph, and monitor your ppm & buffers and you'll have huge success.

I start seeds/clones in lpa then transfer to F & D. I have to have lids on my totes due to mosquito problems