Help me setup a 3 5gallon rdwc setup - i have just a few questions! thank you

[ohgravity110]

hello everyone.. i plan on growing 2 indica hybrid plants.. i am using 2 dwc 5 gallon buckets. i was thinking of adding a third 5 gallon bucket for the reservoir.. is this a good idea? will it be easy to setup and maintain. i heard that having a reservoir is better because you simply add the water and nutes to the res and it feeds both system. then you only have to change out the res every 10 days add the nutes on the schedule.. i plan on using GH flora series nutes.

can someone help me out by describing the setup and materials i would need. my other main question is this: by having 3 airstones connected to a pump, will that itself circulate the water through the pvc pipe i will install on the bottom of each bucket. i believe that the piping should be connected to all three buckets leveled to circulate the water not sure on this..i just dont know what will keep the water circulating to the res and plants. please help

 

[Kola320]

If all buckets are the same size the water level will be equal in all 3 as your plants drink. it's a nice way to not have to worry about your water levels, I don't know about 10 days in flower the girls can drink up to over a gallon a day. Simple though as you can run to the hardware store pick up some 3/8 black hose 10' is plenty in case you add on again. either bulk heads or water tight connectors to connect at the bottom of the buckets. You would need 4 of them then connect them together and check for leaks. Gravity keeps the water levels even as your plant drinks in its bucket the water from the rez will move into your other 2 buckets to make the water equal again still put an air stone in the rez so your oxygenating that water too. Hope that helps it does work I hook my system up like this when I'm gonna be away for a few days.

 

[thebudking]

In bloom I run 2 buckets, one for a Rez and one for the plant, connected by 3/4 hose and a second hose from the Rez bucket to drain. I start the week with 6 gallon mix. As the plant drinks I add base nutes plus cal mag to get back to the 6 gallons. It should work fine with 3 plants and one 5 gallon Rez bucket. I tried the rdwc and this is much simpler. With rdwc you need a pump to move water between the rez and the plant buckets. If you are running 5 or 6 buckets and a water chiller it works good but I wouldn't do 3.

 

[ohgravity110]

all i am using is 2 plants and one res. all i need is to sealtight the pvc pipe through each three buckets. and add three airpumps for each. my question is . will the air being pumped into the stones circulate the water through out the buckets? what tube are you speaking off that connects to the buckets only tube im thinking of is the one from the air pump to stone.

also to change out the buckets do i drain all the water from all three buckets and how much would i need to fill up all three buckets again until it needs to be changed. please help

 

[ohgravity110]

so i came to conclusion that i will stick with the 2 dwc buckets and maintain them individually with no res.. with only two plants its easier to change out water every 10 days for veg , also top feed until time to change . it wont be an issue because the buckets will be standing on other 5 gallon buckets for elevation and easy drainage. can anyone give me tips on ppm readings. ill buy a pen but i dont know what its for. as the plants drink water can i add 1 gallon with 1./4 strength nutes until time for full exchange. ?

 

[thebudking]

No, pumping air through air stone will not circulate the water. You need a pump to move the water from the rez to the plant buckets and back. RDWC is recirculating deep water culture. A ppm pen measures parts per million of particles in your water. If you start with reverse osmosis water your ppm should be as close to zero as you can get. I wouldn't want it more that 50. mix your nutes then measure it again. Veg week 1-2 500-600 ppm. Veg week 3-4 700-800. Bloom week 1-3 800-900 week 4-6 1100-1200 week 7-8 900. That is a starting point. Every strain is differant, every nutes recipe is differant. Some strains can handle 1500 ppm others will burn at 1000. You need to watch your plant and adjust as you go. You are better off to start low and work your way up.

 

[ohgravity110]

okay so the flora series hp nutes im going to buy comes with the schedule chart but most say its to much to go by so ill stay at 50% the whole way. also i will add Calmag but when and how much do i add.. should i just follow the schedule that comes with it i heard you dont always need to use it.

now when i place the nutes in the 5 gallon water and after the water is ph ed to the right amount i will then check the ppm and make sure its around those vicinities? if its low add more nutes if its high add water to bring it down? i will deff read more into ppm and nutes but adsking direct questions helps me much more thanks!

 

[thebudking]

That is correct. Add your base nutes last, that way you can add slowly to reach the numbers you are looking for. Try 1/2 strength to start.

 

[ohgravity110]

numbers you are looking for meaning ppms and ph right. okay .

now another thing is when the plants start to feed on the water and lets say a gallon goes down on a plant do i add regular water or a 1/4 measurement of the flora grow lets say ( flower cycle) and also 1/4 micro which is the base- or the same 1/2 dose as i do with all gallon of water?( you know what i mean?) i plan on changing the water out every 10 days and replacing it with new water and nutes 1/2 dose to each gallon i add. as well as the amount of calmag needed regularly. is this a good cycle to do also air hang the trees for a little in a empty bucket.

i heard good and bad things about h202 any opinions. is it god for keeping res clean. meaning the dwc bucket im not setting up rdwc

thank you so much for the help!! just waiting for my seeds

 

[thebudking]

Ok, there is a long answer and short answer....lol. You can top it off with just water and it will be fine. By the time 10 days come it probably won't have much nutes. You can add nutes but you have to watch the ppms, you don't want to burn the plants. That is the short answer. Now the long answer. You put in fresh water and nutes, we will say 5 gallons and 1000 ppms. After day one the plant drinks one gallon and nutes are 1000 ppms. the mix is perfect, it has drank and eaten equal amount. you can mix your 1/4 strength and be fine. Now say it drinks the one gallon and the ppms are 1200 The plant is drinking but not eating, now you add more nutes and you go over your target ppms and burn the plant. Same can happen with pH. To do it right, every time before you add water or nutrients you need to check ppm and pH then adjust what you add.

 

[thebudking]

Never used h2o2. It is supposed to work well. I don't think it is necessary unless you have root rot or some other infection in the roots.