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questions of first time DWC grower

maner

maner

New member
Hi there, i have been researching in GWE site for like 2-3 months and im planning to start growing next week with hydroponic system. But before i start i have some questions:

1. I found "plant!t aeros 2" for a good price but im very confused because there is no water pump in it and i guess water is touching net pots, is it a good system or should i make DIY DWC system with water pump?
-cause in top fed dwc topic water transferred directly to the begining of the roots as i understood

2. if i make DIY DWC system what shoudl be the water level at the begining and for the rest of the grow? and should i transfer water by waterpump 24 hour a day inside of the net pots

3. does rapid rooter really important or rockwool do the same job?

4. should airpum work for 24 hours a day?

5. I coulndt find hydroguard or great white to prevent root rot, is it an essential supplement? is there a substitute product of it? what ingrediendts should i look for in other substitute products?

Thanks for your help, i will ask further questions and post news about my grow here.
 
1 yes you can use it, the Top Feed system helps with early seedling growth and after 3 weeks the pump is gratuitive, however not required you can just hand water past your media the first couple of weeks
2 roots need oxygen, at least 4 inches of head space around the roots. And 15mins every hour is more than enough if you use a water pump
3 yes exact same purpose, I personally prefer rapid rooters because peatmoss is renewable
4 yes 100% all the time air is needed especially since you aren’t using hydroguard
5 hydroguard uses a specially selected bacteria, that and water are the only ingredients. Keep your water heavyily oxygenated and cool below 70f to fend off root rot
 
Howdy maner, I have been growing in a 'Bubbleponics' style DWC systems (one is an actual Bubbleponics) for eight grows now. Here is my 'slant' on Your questions;
1. I am not familiar with the system that you mentioned, but all of the aero phonic systems that I have seen are all too small to support a full grown cannabis plant.
2. the roots need an air gap of 1 to 2 inches and I run the water pump 24/7 until the root ball is well established, then the water pump may be turned off.
3. I prefer the rockwool cubes over the rapid rooter because the peat moss tends to stay too wet and I have seen many examples, on this site, of stem rot because of the cubes staying too wet. The rockwool cubes can have the same problems in a top feed system, that is why I put the drip lines at the bottom of the rockwool cubes.
4. Yes, 24/7 for the entire grow.
5. I keep the root rot away by running the air pumps (a four outlet pump with four 4 inch x 2 inch stones in each reservoir) 24/7 and using ice bottles to keep the water temperature between 60° and 70° F.
I hope that this helps to answer Your questions.
 
DW2. Long time ago, and even to this day, I just put my seeds, straight in the soil.
But I tried the RapidRooters and the small Rockwool cubes, for several grows, and I had much better luck in the small rockwool, cubes than the RRooters, for the same reason ,you spoke of.
But I'm sure it was my fault,
Anyway, I don't no nothing about DWC, so I probably shouldn't have even posted, sorry about that, but I like rockwool.anyway.
Have a great Day, all.
 
D.A.A.S.69, It's always good to hear from You. Even though you're 'down and DIRTY' grower, Your insight and observations are helpful (at least to me). Thanks
 
1. Never used that system. Not sure.
2. At first you want an inch or 2 at most of an air gap. Once the roots are submerged into the water, then you can increase that to a 4-5” air gap.
Water transfer to the net pots should be on a recycle timer. A wet dry process is always best for Cannabis.
3. I always use rockwool. This will be fine.
4. Air pumps run 24/7
5. Hydro guard will protect against root rot. But if your water temps get too warm, nothing will prevent it. A water chiller is a great tool if you can afford it. Low water temps contain plenty of dissolved oxygen, so hydroguard will not be as nesessary if you can keep the water temps at 68F.
Here is a link to hydroguard on Amazon. Maybe you can have it shipped to your place if you can’t find it around your location.
https://www.amazon.com/Botanicare-HY...biL&ref=plSrch
 
1. Make the DIY DWC. I followed the tutorial from the site, it's pretty simple.

2. My water level stays just below the side indentation of the tub. I mix up nutrient water in a 5 gallon water cooler jug so 5 gallons is what I measure and fill with. I left my water pump running 24/7 to the net pots for the first two weeks. The roots had made it to my reservoir by that time so I pulled the top feed tube and the water pump.

3. I have no idea what I would have done without rapid rooters. You do need to adjust your hydroton balls and your water flow to keep them from getting saturated. I actually had one that started growing green slime algae because it stayed so moist. My solution was to position my water feed tube so it trickled over the hydroton balls and from there it wet the rapid footer instead of touching the tubing directly to the rapid footer.

4. Yes. Run your air pump 24/7. I have the same air pump and stones from the tutorial and have not turned them off since the grow started.

5. I will strongly recommend you find Hydroguard or purchase it online. Also, thanks to @DW2s advice, I also run ice bottles in my reservoir to help keep the water cool.

Good luck. Have fun.
 
Hey, firstly thank you for making your precious time on answering my noob questions.

2. do you prefer tuning it off after root ball has established?
3. you mean water pump's tubes by saying drip lines right? does it drip or is it a flowing?=) and should i leave the tube touching to the bottom of the rockwool?

peace
 
@maner,
Firstly, that's what we are here for, to learn and share the knowledge of growing.
2. I usually turn off the water pump if the lines or the pump get roots in them or clog up. Once the root ball is well established the water pump can be turned off.
3. Yes, I say 'drip lines', but the flow is continuous. I use a D.I.G. six outlet manifold (drip irrigation department at Home Depot, about $6) to distribute the flow evenly, it has valves to adjust the flow, but I just make all of the lines the same length to get an even flow. I place the line in the net pots (3.75 in. size) where it is relatively horizontal and at the bottom of the cube, just touching the bottom edge. It's not too critical as long as the flow contacts the bottom of the cube.
 
Hey guys, i nearly got all the stuff and equipments and will finally start growing in next few days,but before i start i got some questions

1- When germinating seeds some people on youtube put seeds into the water and wait for 1 day before putting them in paper towel. is paper towel enough? if its enough what kind of water should i use to make towels wet? because the water i use has 7.5 Ph (which i drink in my day life)

2- after seeds has germinated, im going to put them inside rapid rooters (which is their final growing place) but some gave them light while waiting them to pop out from rapid rooters some not according to my researchs, what should i do? and some said that i should wetten rapid rooters with 1/4 nutrients (general hydroponics flora nutrient trio) what way should i use? should i start the water pump right away or wait them to pop out of rapid rooters? (i will grow with 600w viparspectra LED light, should i turn it on 24-0 before they pop out)

3- Im going to use GH flora nutrient trio, is itt enough as nutrients if i dont face with any problems or do i need something more?

Thanks for your help. i will post photos and updates of my first grow when i start.
 
Get an extra cal mag, I’d get something for the finish too. (I’m using Ripen for the first time and I think it does the work) and maybe something for the beginning to get massive roots. (I use shogun katana roots) I run my top fed 24/7 but it’s only a small water pump so the water flow is not very big.
Try to find “silver bullet” to keep your reservoir clean.
I keep around 2” gap between the pots through the entire grow.

I germinate in paper towel and then putting them into the rapid rooters.
 
Hi maner

1. Germinating
use clean water - doesn't really the matter the pH (at this time)
seeds do not require light to germinate - warm and dark
I soak mine for 18-24 hours (hoping for the seed to swell up and split, some will show a little tail).
place it carefully into your rapid rooter, tail down (try not to break the tail)​

2. Lighting and top feed
until you see leaves - you really don't need light. When you see leaves then you start adding light (don't immediately turn your LED on them, they aren't read for it)

I don't use a top feed, but Serious has a tutorial
https://www.growweedeasy.com/high-yield-bubbleponics-technique​

3. Nutrients
yes, GH Flora trio is what will get you through the grow
and you will need CALMAG (I use GH CALiMAGic)

did you find anything for beneficial bacteria? (HydroGuard, SubCulture B)

​
 
maner, I pre soak the seeds in a pH solution of 5.0-5.5 pH with GH FloraShield (inoculant) in it for 6-8 hours. I then place the seeds on paper towels (in contact with, but not submerged in, water that has been pH'ed to 5.5. After the roots start to show (about 1/4 to 1/2 inch), I place them into rockwool cubes and set the cubes into the net pots. I use the feeding schedule that General Hydroponics recommends for my set up (RDWC). The water I use is just 'city' water and already has a good amount of minerals in it (our supply is from well water and surface reservoirs), so I do not add extra minerals to my feeding schedule. I use some of the supplements for flavor, aroma, and such.
 
hey first of all thanks for all your help.

1a. In here tap water has 6.6Ph according to my tests and its rich with cal and mag but dont know the exact levels. I may use spring water which i drink in my daily life but its Ph level is 7.5. You soak your seeds and take them directly to RR after they show their tails and dont use paper towel?

1b. There are so many spring water brands in here which has Ph levels between 6 to 8 also rich with cal and mag but i dont know which one to use, how should i decide? Do i need EC meter? should i wetten rapid rooters with some nutrients?

2. Ok until i see leaves i will leave them in dark but i dont have any different type of lights than LED what should i do?

i read that article so carefully but it doesnt give information about when to start water pump. When they are seedlings they are so fragile thats why i cant decide when to start water pump to supply at the bottom of rapid rooters.

3. i guess spring water brands are rich with cal and mag here so im not sure if i put calimagic there will be excess of cal and mag.

i found great white (which is substitute of hydro guard i guess) and GH sub culture but sub culture packaging is different than the one you said above i will attach the picture of it. And customs mostly dont let people to import nutrients thats why i dont want to risk my money by trying to order it from amazon.
 
should i buy one of them before i start and use them right away?
 

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use the Great White - full of Beneficial Bacterias and fungus


apparently SubCulture B is no longer available (In Canada, anyway - I was in my Hydro shop this morning :( )
 
1a.
yes, I soak then directly to RR (I don't use paper towel) but, many do. if you don't see a tail - you could be waiting 21 days for your seed to show

1b.
Eventually, yes, get an EC/TDS meter.
choosing water - whatever you drink will work
you will want to look into pH Up and pH down (you use a couple of drops to adjust the solution, then measure for pH)

2. Lights and seedlings
seedlings don't need huge bright lights. many people use CFLs to get them started (I use 4" long fluorescent lights for my seedlings). typically just a few days, until they are strong enough, or have enough roots

I was being over cautious by saying don't use the LED
you can use your LED light (check with ViparSpectra about light distances), you will want it a little higher, because they are seedlings, if they start stretching (getting too tall) they are trying to reach the light (then you move the light down a little)

3.Water and Calcium/Magnesium
water rich in Calcium and Magnesium is Ok, your plants actually need them. you may not need to use CAL/MAG supplement (but may want to keep a little bottle on hand, just in case)

I use ReverseOsmosis water (really clean, low ppm/ec, almost nothing in it other than water), I have to add CALiMAGic, because the water is so clean and doesn't have any



I can only think of alltatup (right now) that uses top feed. hopefully, I tagged her properly and she stops in to point us in the right direction :D
 
Hi maner ,

1 - I have the 4 bucket system with reservoir which does come with a water pump. Currently only 2 in use with res & waterpump.
Having 2 seperate buckets would, in my opinion, give you more freedom with 2 different strains.

You're probably looking at filling those buckets with about 8 to 10 L of water each.

2 - What I did was get the water at that level where about half the initial root would be in, with air bubbling.
After about I week I dropped the level a bit more, when roots were showing from the bottom of the net, water level just touching the net.
At the moment the roots of my 4 week plants are long enough to hang freely in the water below, nets are hanging dry now.

3 - I went from sprouted with the 'paper towel' method straight into the hydroton pebbles.
Tip from experience: make sure that first root is long enough (around 3 - 4 cm)

4 - Airpump always on.

5 - Using hydrogen peroxide (H2O2 at 12%) als alternative. Other alternatives I found a while ago would be things like Piranha, VooDoo Juice, Subculture B, and Rooters.
Havent tried using them yet though.

I use the GH Flora tri nutrients with extra CalMag and pH down/up.
I'd strongly advise getting a pH and EC or ppm meter to check the water.

good luck with you grow :)
 
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