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DWC For Dummies
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DWC For Dummies
So, I made an impulse purchase the other day without doing any research at all. I looked at reviews of the product but didn’t really look at the process. Anyways, I have a 4 bucket DWC setup arriving in a few days. I spent hours on YouTube last night trying to learn as much as possible. I feel like I have a pretty good grasp of things but I still have questions about a few things. Now that I’m writing this I can’t think of most of them. Lol. This is all new to me so let’s start with germination. I bought some small rock wool cubes to start with (never used these before) that will end up in clay pebbles. What’s your process with the cubes and keeping seedlings alive until they go in the net pots? My biggest worry here is drowning them…
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14 Replies
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All I know is there is *so* much you have to control with this style that to me it seemed really difficult compared to Organics. But it does look like a style that if you can master it you’re going to be an expert at all sort of plant stuff that I wouldn’t be doing organics. The knowledge required is just another level in a plants needs and deficiency diagnosis. You’re going to get good at that!
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Also from what I read rockwool has stupid drainage so you likely can’t over water it. Its just going to drain out.
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Your res temps need to be below 70 or your gonna be chasing PH and root rot. Most people do clones in these type of settings and just root them in collars. Alternatively can use 1.5inch rockwool for clone or a seedling but that comes with its own set of rules.
Honestly though what you just said sounds like: I just got a learners permit and an F1 car! How do I work this thing?
There’s just so many pitfalls with this style of growing that I think you’d be better off trying to return them and considering coco or some other angle. There’s good reasons why even advanced growers and commercial facilities across the board run coco or rockwool with salts. The former at least being relatively controllable with some wiggle rooms for inevitable f-ups.
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Temps won’t be an issue, at least for this first run. It’s definitely not going back either. Honestly I don’t think it sounds that complicated.
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It’s not hard. It’s really easy. All this talk about temps and root rot is real but it’s all FUD. You are going to be fine and grow some nice bud.
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Most people use clones in their DWC setups! But you can do seeds in a rapid rooter and net pot with clay balls!
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I don’t have access to clones right now so I will be starting from seed. I guess the plan will be to germinate in paper towels and stick it in the rock wool. Should I soak the rock wool in anything other than water?
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Rockwool has a neutral pH of 7. Roots in an inert media prefer a pH of 5.5-6. Soak the rockwool in a 5.5 pH solution for a few hours before use.
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If starting with seed, you’ll want to find your girl and start cloning her.
Net cups is the key. Roots grow down thru the net cup and into the dwc reservoir. Just like they do in the plug hole in the jiffy planter 10×20 tray. Using plug or cube, the clones roots come out sideways and mostly grow downwards. The trick is to get them early when the roots start down. Put them into a small net cup with some of the leca rocks for support. As more roots grow down, you can put it into the reservoir bucket lid when plant is tall enough. Lots of bubbles. Air pumps in well ventilated area. Not co2 filled lung rooms. His rescirculating is nice, so you can warm the main reservoir tank with aquarium heater. Temps get to low, plants can take up nutes. Ez to rap up buckets to keep warm. Watch out for black buckets and sun light.
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I’m so high
Should I re read that first
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Easy enough, thank you. On to reservoir changes. I’ve seen people changing their solution out every 3,5,7,10 days. Also some that only top them off, which seems problematic to me. I’m thinking every 7 days which will make it easier to keep with the feed schedule. Assuming pH doesn’t go crazy… How often are you guys changing yours? And what’s your process? I assume it gets harder as the plant gets bigger..
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All is “easy” to someone who has dedicated the time to learning and trail and error. If your dead set on running DWC then god speed. Just do your research and expect some challenges along the way. PH will be your biggest challenge. Southern ag fungicide is the same stuff as hydroguard just 1000x more concentrated and it works wonders to keep pathogens out and stabilize ph. Beyond that just be careful to avoid organics and even beneficial bacteria not meant for full on hydro it’ll make your life hell to clean. Ask me how I know. Beyond that guess you got a whole team here to help when you need it. 🤘
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This reply was modified 2 days, 18 hours ago by m1ghtym0u3e.
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This reply was modified 2 days, 18 hours ago by
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Yeah, I see his worry. But you’ll be fine. You my run into trouble but the growing. Keep on growing my wayward son 🎶 🎵 🎶 🎵
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My rooms were brutally long.I usually would change the reservoir when It got half empty, only because I was worried about salt build up. A bubbler for each bucket. Lots of bubbles.
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