The RDWC Club

[Stltoed]

As for potency, a plant grown better will have "better" flowers. Here are pictures of a plant in hydro, and a clone from that plant in soil.

For the record I grow in hydro. I've only grown in soil a couple times. But the confirmation of the soil plant is completely different. The hydro system always grows dense heavily foliated plants with huge root systems and crazy stalks. The soil plant is gaunt. The leaves are doing well, but the important growth inside is growing kind of slowly by comparison.

The first pic shows 2 plants in hydro a little younger than the clone now. Both doing pretty well. I couldn't tell you which plant the clone came from.

Now for the dirt... The plant is doing very well, but it's a lot more open. Not quite the growthgasm like the hydro. The stalk is thinner. I like a stalk thats huge. In my mind this promotes a strong vascular system. The phloem is much more robust. The last 3pics show the younger hydro plants as they a couple weeks ago. Take a look at the stalks. These plants were 54 days old in those pictures. You will notice the plants are crooked. That's due to the way im SCRoGing them. I'm pushing everything to one side. These are my latest, they are in the dark right now or id be a little more up to date. Hope this helps.

Again, growing in soil isnt exactly my super power. But I did have one in soil once that put out 9oz dry. It's pretty God Damn easy.

 

[DoItToIt96]

The negatives with DWC are: it's basically a conglomeration of multiple systems. Each pots needs to be addressed as a separate unit. Each gets its own nutrients, Ph, top water. If you have a lot of pots it can be a pain in the ass. But it's cheaper to build.

RDWCs pulses make it worth while.

Thank you for pointing that point out. This is really gonna be the deciding factor for me. I don't wanna mess with measuring two different reservoirs. I like the idea of having the water automated, maybe one day even the ph. (With more money)

Have you faced many problems with one homogenous reservoir when grow two or more different strains, or do you just stick to one?

 

[Stltoed]

Thank you for pointing that point out. This is really gonna be the deciding factor for me. I don't wanna mess with measuring two different reservoirs. I like the idea of having the water automated, maybe one day even the ph. (With more money)

Have you faced many problems with one homogenous reservoir when grow two or more different strains, or do you just stick to one?

I personally wouldn't mess with auto Ph. A range of Ph 5.5-6.2ish is a good place to run your water. The deal is different Ph numbers help make picking up some elements easier. For instance, Calcium absorption only really gets going at and above 6.2. Look up bioavailability of nutrients according to Ph in Google images and you should find 50 dozen grafts of what I'm talking about. This is valuable stuff. Another is... Learn the mobility and immobility if nutrients in plant. And immobile element deficiency will show in the new leaves. A mobile one will show in the leaves at the bottom. Look it up and study it THIS IS the easiest way to diagnose a deficiency, or toxicity for that matter I suppose you could move your Ph target around a bit. Honestly, i kinda like to do some things in my room Ph is one of them.

I HAVE had issues with different plants sharing a system. First there is the fact that indicas and sativas grow very differently. This is something you should be aware of no matter how you grow. A strain like Grinspoon is a leggy tall plant that would not only try the physical dimensions of your room, but also your lights. You aren't gonna get much light at the middle of your plant if you are catering to the top. Meanwhile a dyed-in-the -wool indica may only grow to 30 inches on height. So the light is more uniform as it contacts the various parts of a plant. I hope you understand the issues here. If you want to grow different kinds of plants just do you homework and find ones that grow alike. Decide if youre gonna SCRoG or not. I would recommend at least giving it a try. And don't give up on it, see it through.

Another way plants need to be similar in hydro is in appetite. My last grow I had Ayahuasca Purple and Pineapple Chunk in the same system. Ayahuasca would eat a hamburger if you gave it one. And i found PC to be completely different. It ended up with what I believe was Nitrogen toxicity. I didn't even feel like I was giving too much. It just turned super dark and stopped growing. I flushed a few times, used Clearex, Fulvic acid, but nothing would bring it back. Apparently there are hormones out there that I should have tried, abscisic acid and G3 might have helped. But I didn't have time. Most of what I grew ended up as oil. Thankfully I had a plant in soil, and it did very well.

Some stuff to think about. It's not hard. It's actually quite rewarding. You in the right place. There are some very smart farmers here. Ask your questions and learn all you can

 

[DoItToIt96]

As for potency, a plant grown better will have "better" flowers. Here are pictures of a plant in hydro, and a clone from that plant in soil.

Now for the dirt... The plant is doing very well, but it's a lot more open. Not quite the growthgasm like the hydro. The stalk is thinner. I like a stalk thats huge. In my mind this promotes a strong vascular system. The phloem is much more robust. The last 3pics show the younger hydro plants as they a couple weeks ago. Take a look at the stalks. These plants were 54 days old in those pictures. You will notice the plants are crooked. That's due to the way im SCRoGing them. I'm pushing everything to one side. These are my latest, they are in the dark right now or id be a little more up to date. Hope this helps.

It's insane how big those stalks have gotten. The quick growth is what first caught my interest about top fed dwc. Now I'm just trying to refine my process and make it a little less labor intensive.

 

[DoItToIt96]

I personally wouldn't mess with auto Ph. A range of Ph 5.5-6.2ish is a good place to run your water. Another is... Learn the mobility and immobility if nutrients in plant. And immobile element deficiency will show in the new leaves. A mobile one will show in the leaves at the bottom. Look it up and study it THIS IS the easiest way to diagnose a deficiency, or toxicity for that matter I suppose you could move your Ph target around a bit. Honestly, i kinda like to do some things in my room Ph is one of them.

I HAVE had issues with different plants sharing a system. First there is the fact that indicas and sativas grow very differently. This is something you should be aware of no matter how you grow.

Another way plants need to be similar in hydro is in appetite.

Some stuff to think about. It's not hard. It's actually quite rewarding. You in the right place. There are some very smart farmers here. Ask your questions and learn all you can

I am aware of letting the ph fluctuate, but don't know much about the mobility. Think that would be useful as it appears I have a calcium deficiency on some top fan leafs, but only directly under the light and slightly taller than the others. Will look into that.

I am thinking high CBD plant and high thc plant for the next grow, so I'll look for similar characteristics that perform well in scrog.

Thank you very much for your in-depth replies.

 

[Scrogdawg]

I like the idea of having the water automated, maybe one day even the ph. (With more money)

Have you faced many problems with one homogenous reservoir when grow two or more different strains, or do you just stick to one?

PH, like Stltoed mentioned, is something you'll want to control. PH is critical, and not that you'll have issues with it, but It's something you'll want to have hands on.

I've grown different strains before, in fact I'm doing 3 strains in one RDWC right now. The issues of doing multiple strains is not in the bucket, but above the bucket. In the bucket you're only limited to feeding at the maximum rate of the least hungriest strain. Not a big issue because the hungry strain wouldn't take a whole lot more anyway.

Different strains on the top side do have some with uneven canopy and light issues, but Stltoed covered that too.

I'll say it again. Build an RDWC, if its within your means and you have the space. RDWC blows DWC out of the water every time.

 

[Scrogdawg]

I am thinking high CBD plant and high thc plant for the next grow, so I'll look for similar characteristics that perform well in scrog.

This might be a good choice that fits your criteria.
.
Critical Kush – Purchase Critical Kush feminized cannabis seeds

 

[Stltoed]

It's insane how big those stalks have gotten. The quick growth is what first caught my interest about top fed dwc. Now I'm just trying to refine my process and make it a little less labor intensive.

They still have almost 60 days to go. Growing in hydro like this is different then other ways to grow. One thing about it is the foliar magnitude. I have probably pulled 50 or 60 leaves on these plants. Not that I wanted to, but out of necessity. Giant leaves cover small bud sites everywhere. The plant on the left has over 70 bud sites, the one to the right is only behind a little. I'm not here to grow leaves. Im here to rock some crazy ass bud. You can tuck the big leaves, but that shuts down the ventilation underneath if your in a SCRoG.

Now, you tell this to someone who grows in soil, some who is downright militant about anti defoliation. He will say pulling leaves is a sin against nature. But he has absolutely no idea what the fuck hes talking about regarding plants lile the ones i showed you. You will have roots like he's never seen, stalks on a 2 month old plant that would suit a plant twice the actual age. Finally, the profuse growth, which is what we are after, won't regularly happen in soil, if at all.

Build a RDWC. Use Rapid Start for you roots, humic/folic acid to allow for easier nutrient uptake, use Silica for tough leaves, higher resistance to bugs, and temp changes, crazy stalks, and a bunch more cool stuff. If you go with the gen hydro flora series, you won't be disappointed, and it's dirt cheap. Everyone has their favs. And they will tell you theirs is better. If you need pointers on the additive I mentioned above I would be happy to go through it. There is some stuff to know.

RDWC IS easy once you find your stride. There's a lot to learn... just mixing nutrients has its foibles. Mixed wrong and some simple won't work. I could go more than a week if i set my Ph low and let the system raise it on its own. If you did decide to automate Ph. you could let it go till all the nutrients are pulled from the mix. 2 weeks *maybe* in an emergency

The deal is theres a lot of different things going on, so a lot of room for error. You'll get it

 

[Scrogdawg]

If you go with GH flora series I can help there too. I've used it forever and have some real good nutrient recipes for every stage of growth. I'll gladly share them.

 

[Rider509]

DoItToIt96, once you go RDWC you'll never go back to any other grow method. It's not something to go into half-cocked, but the results are amazing when you have a solid understanding of how to pull it all together. The General Hydro Flora nutes are good stuff. You can have mine! LOL. I use Flying Skull dry nutes 'cuz it's dirt cheaper and it works. Just stay the hell away from the organic nutes like Fox Farms or you'll be hating life. Besides, the plants couldn't care less whether the NPK got pooped out of a bat's ass or concocted in a lab. They just want the right nutes in the right quantities at the right time for their growth stage.

 

[Stltoed]

I am aware of letting the ph fluctuate, but don't know much about the mobility. Think that would be useful as it appears I have a calcium deficiency on some top fan leafs, but only directly under the light and slightly taller than the others. Will look into that.

I am thinking high CBD plant and high thc plant for the next grow, so I'll look for similar characteristics that perform well in scrog.

Thank you very much for your in-depth replies.

The first shot is what I was talking about regarding Ph. and bioavailability. Not only can you use it to look at nutrient issues in your plant. You can use this info for situation like your Calcium issues. Keep your Ph up for a week a d your plant will recover faster.

The next pic is of a chart showing the mobility if base nutes, but also secondary and micro. Remember, Mobil nutrients are in the lower leaves. This is why you will see yellow leaves on a productive flowering plant. The nutrients are being sucked out to feed the flowers. Immobile nutrients make the stuff on top wonky.

Oh and a couple more pics of my stalks. One of them looks like a science experiment. they are in 6 inch pots. Kinda proud of that. But this is what RDWC does. I never have flimsy plants.

Knowledge is power. And investigating these plants will teach you a lot. Remember not everyone knows what the hell they are talking about. So if it sounds wierd read more. You lucked out. There's so.e bad mofos here

 

[Stltoed]

If you go with GH flora series I can help there too. I've used it forever and have some real good nutrient recipes for every stage of growth. I'll gladly share them.

I'd love to pick your brain on that SCROG. I love those nutes. Been around for decades. I would bet half of the people in this forum have at least tried it. It's the goods.

I tried a Botanicare base nute system, but it didn't last very long, i came running back to Flora. AND it's totally cheap!

 

[Stltoed]

DoItToIt96, once you go RDWC you'll never go back to any other grow method. It's not something to go into half-cocked, but the results are amazing when you have a solid understanding of how to pull it all together. The General Hydro Flora nutes are good stuff. You can have mine! LOL. I use Flying Skull dry nutes 'cuz it's dirt cheaper and it works. Just stay the hell away from the organic nutes like Fox Farms or you'll be hating life. Besides, the plants couldn't care less whether the NPK got pooped out of a bat's ass or concocted in a lab. They just want the right nutes in the right quantities at the right time for their growth stage.

I'm glad yo see this dude is doing hos homework. Rider is right... be prepared. This thread is set up for you. Ask questions. Get in the conversation. It's a great place to get the info.

Yeah man, unless you want frogs stay away from organics. There are some that will work, but thats,a conversation for another day.

Rider is so right about the NPK/POOP thing.

 

[Rider509]

Class is in session. This is an excellent primer on pH for hydroponics but it just scratches the surface. Not all pH modifiers are the same. Nitric, phosphoric and sulphuric acid all have their place but have to work in concert with your base water and nutrients. As rabbit holes go, the study of pH modifiers and their interaction with the nutrient solution is a good one to go down especially if you have highly alkaline water.

edit: derp! forgot the link: Perfecting the pH of Your Hydroponic Nutrient Solution

 

[Stltoed]

Class is in session. This is an excellent primer on pH for hydroponics but it just scratches the surface. Not all pH modifiers are the same. Nitric, phosphoric and sulphuric acid all have their place but have to work in concert with your base water and nutrients. As rabbit holes go, the study of pH modifiers and their interaction with the nutrient solution is a good one to go down especially if you have highly alkaline water.

edit: derp! forgot the link: Perfecting the pH of Your Hydroponic Nutrient Solution

Nice!

 

[Rider509]

I can get lost for hours rereading MaximumYield articles.

Tap Water and its Impact on Hydroponic Nutrients and Supplements

And here's one Stltoed was referencing earlier.
Why Your Plants Need More Silica

 

[DoItToIt96]

Holy shit guys, information overload. I like it. Definitely can't respond adequately on my breaks at work. Will take it all in by Thursday on my day off, if not sooner. Also I'll share some plans for my possible rdwc and my current grow. Thanks guys

 

[Stltoed]

Holy shit guys, information overload. I like it. Definitely can't respond adequately on my breaks at work. Will take it all in by Thursday on my day off, if not sooner. Also I'll share some plans for my possible rdwc and my current grow. Thanks guys

I'm glad you're into it. I'm kinda renowned for long posts. What sucks is when I finish 5 paragraphs and that is the last you hear. It is what it is.

Looking forward to seeing what you come up with. If you haven't heard of Under Current hydroponics look them up and take a good hard look at what's going on there. I modeled mine around theres (sorta) but I use hose instead of hard lines. There's a million ways to do it.

 

[b0rker]

Going to join in on the club.. One issue I'm running into in my DIY is 5gallon Buckets and Uniseals.. I have a three bucket setup.. O-O-O----[res] when I did a test with water.. 2 seals leaked.. I redrilled another bucket and it leaked too.. Is there a trick to doing this? I'm using 2 1/2 Holesaw with a 1 1/2" uniseal (PVC 1.5too)

I noticed when I put the hole saw back in the hole. the hole is larger than the saw.. =/ which is why it leaks.. Guessing the round bucket makes the hole not as nice as a square bucket.

I'm going to try using some 12gallon square totes next as these buckets are not worth the $$ if they can't make the cut.

 

[Stltoed]

Going to join in on the club.. One issue I'm running into in my DIY is 5gallon Buckets and Uniseals.. I have a three bucket setup.. O-O-O----[res] when I did a test with water.. 2 seals leaked.. I redrilled another bucket and it leaked too.. Is there a trick to doing this? I'm using 2 1/2 Holesaw with a 1 1/2" uniseal (PVC 1.5too)

I noticed when I put the hole saw back in the hole. the hole is larger than the saw.. =/ which is why it leaks.. Guessing the round bucket makes the hole not as nice as a square bucket.

I'm going to try using some 12gallon square totes next as these buckets are not worth the $$ if they can't make the cut.

So you're using bulkhead fittings? You can only go so big with a 5 gallon bucket. The radius of bucket is too tight to properly seal a large fitting. One problem is that the fitting needs to flatten the area to be sealed. When done correctly bulkhead fittings aren't very tight, If the fitting is at the bottom you are fighting the rigidity of the floor of the bucket. Another issue may be since you're cutting a radial surface its actually an ovoid shaped hole. This is a big time exaggeration but here goes... Imagine if you were cutting a 2 inch hole in a 3 inch tube. If you could flatten the tube you would see that it actually made an oval. I can't say if this is your problem, but something you may want to take into account.

There is also usually a hole size specification for each fitting, some are odd sizes. I had to buy mine special because they didn't have the correct diameter off the shelf. Also I only use Hayward fittings. They aren't cheap, but they are the goods

I use buckets with flat sides. I have had leaks, but it they are between my bulkhead and a 2inch barb fitting. The threads seal differently than regular PVC fittings in the garden. You can't use tape, you have to use a thread compound... anyway use square. You get more volume from the same footprint. This will lessen your need for nute changes marginally.

Hope this isn't a waste of your time.