DWC question

[Smoke204]

I have been reading up on DWC and it looks interesting and something I would like to try in foreseeable future. I've had decent harvests from potted grows but from what I understand a person could get an even larger yield from DWC. Given my current space I don't think anything more than one bucket would suffice until I can setup a bigger space, at the moment I'm using a 4x4 tent.

Question...

Can a person use regular tap water? My water quality is fairly decent and the PPM registers at 338 after calibration, the pH is about 5.9 during the warmer months and 7.45 during the cold, not exactly sure why that is but is easily remedied. Given my financial situation I doubt I'd be able to purchase a RO anytime soon. I live in the country and the municipal water supply is the next town over and is a fairly modern system.

 

[Cultivator]

yes you can use regular tap water. is your ppm on a 500 or 700 conversion? as 338 on a 500 conversion is quite high. It will work but because there are no buffers in dwc it is more sensitive to issues. Ive grown with hard water in dwc but too be honest you would be better off growing 4 plants in coco coir. You will have more protection against problems with the water and the plants will grow almost as fast as DWC. 4 plants will mean you have a back up in case of an error and you will max the space out providing you have a good light source, minimum 600w of light.

If you still want to go with dwc fill your net pots with coco coir and veg them up a week or 2 before placing into the res. keep nutes 3 inches away from the net pots. Doing it this way will give you a stronger start guaranteed. Plus you can see how the water affects the plant and if its struggling a little you can just stick with the coco and if it looks good you can drop it in the system.

 

[Rifleman]

Hey Smoke, I grow in 5 gal dwc buckets. Depending on the strain and it's size, you can put four in a 4x4 tent. It's a tight fit, but it'll work. Right now I have 4 girls in my big tent on their way to being too large for a 4x4, so do your research. The best tip I can give you is to either invest in some pH buffered nutrients, or a quality pH test pen and calibrate it often. Especially if you go with small buckets like mine.

 

[Cultivator]

yeah ph perfect line from Advanced Nutrients micro grow bloom is a great base nute for dwc. keep ph between 5.4-6.2 and it will be fine in that regards.

However the hard water could be an issue. It just depends what is in the water. If you dont try you wont know thats for sure. But again as i said in my previous post, start the seed or clone in coco instead of pebbles it makes a great difference. most people who fail at dwc fail in the early stages, this will guarantee a better success and you get a faster start.

 

[Smoke204]

@Cultivator, 500 or 700 conversion? I admit I have no idea what you mean there, but if it helps I have the HM Digital Meters - TDS METER; 0-9990 PPM. It was calibrated to 1000.

 

[Cultivator]

ok. the conversion is when its switched to ec. never mind lol. just give it a try, thats all you can do and if you have troubles you could always add half ro water.