DWC-1000w-in the works.

[QueBud]

Greetings from Quebec fellow stoners, :)

I've been growing for some time now but always was in dirt,even had a mix of 75% perlite and 25% promix in my pots and it worked wonders.

After reading about DWC on another forum i decided to take the plunge into the hydro world and give it a try.

So here i am with my first dwc grow in progress and i cant describe how much i am surprised by growth speed every day.

Some details on the setup:
The light is 1000w HPS.
I use a 4X4 table on wich i put a total of 10 buckets of gallons each,9 of them for growing the plants and 1 as a control bucket.
All the buckets are connected together using 3/4" tubing,wich makes it a breeze to empty and refill all the buckets using a utility pump.

Each bucket has its own 50w aquarium water heater to maintain constant water temp in the buckets and each bucket has its own air pump connected to two 6 inch air stones in the bottom.

The plants are growing in 6 inch netpots filled with hydroton clay pellets and the water level in the bukets are maintained at a level of 1 inch above the bottom of the netpots since day 1 and the plants love it. :)


The pics show the process up to now.
They are finishing week 2 of flowering and the buds are just begining to form.
They have been in the bubblers for a total of 5 weeks now and should be in for another 4-5 weeks before they are done and ready to taste. :D

Pic1 is the clones just put in the bublers and the pics after that are at 1 week interval each xcept for the last one wich is what they look like today.

I will try to post pics here as things develop if the board lets me. (been having probs with upload capacity in my gallery :( )

I expect to have pretty nice bud shots pretty soon :)

Let me know what you think,all comments welcome.

Peace

QB

[Torog]

Howdy QueBud,

Lordy ! I like your set-up and the plants are doing great !!

I have a couple of questions..is the duct I see,taking hot air out-or bringing fresh air in ?

Just how much heat does a 1kwatt light put out-is it alot ?

I have a 1kwatt mh..in your opinion..would it be ok for flowering too ?

I like the idea of a utility pump to change out the water..I'm wondering,how much did one cost ya,also ,how much are the aquarium heaters ?

I'm also curious,how much of a load does it all put on a circuit..can one run all of the various devices,on a 30 amp circuit ?

Have a good one...Torog

[Sensi Super Skunk]

Damn, VERY NICE set up. The best one I have seen so far on this site.

[QueBud]

Hi Torog,

In the pics you can see two ducts,the one dangling in the corner is not being used.(i had it running to the veg room but stop using it since,i just leav it there cuz its easier than pulling it out and tapind the hole afterwards... :D )

The other duct (the 1 making a loop) goes from the vented hood on the lamp to a 465 cfm squirrel cage fan wich sucks out the heat and changes the air in the room at the same time.

I have a passive intake from the outdoors in 1 of the walls.

1000w puts out alot of heat,my 465cfm does the job tho.
I have heard of people using 1000w MH and getting excellent results but if you ever get a chance,upgrade to 1000w hps instead; there's something about the light spectrum in those bulbs that just make them more performant and usefull to the plant than MH, even for veg.

My utility pump cost me 80$ canadian at canadian tire and it can pump 20 U.S./minute and it takes about 20 minutes total to empty the old nutes from the buckets and put the new ones in.
Airpumps and heaters are about 20$ cdn each at walmart.

My current setup is using a toal of about 1500w,that includes: 9X airpumps @ 3.5 watts + 9X aquarium heaters @ 50 watts + 1 light @ 1000 watts=1481 watts.
Add to that about 20 watts for my 465 cfm fan (dont know the actual specs) and you get a grand total of 1500 watts for my room,so yes, plenty of room to run off 30 amps and them some... :)
With 30 amps,one could safely run 2640 watts on 110 volts.

QB

[QueBud]

Damn, VERY NICE set up. The best one I have seen so far on this site.Thanks for your kind words Sensi,they are pleasant to read :D

QB

[QueBud]

Here's some pics from the boxes for the airpump,water heaters and utility pump.
QB

[QueBud]

Some more pics:

P.S. I'll try to post pics every day of the evolution of things,so stay tuned! :)
Many bud pics to come very soon :D

QB

[Sensi Super Skunk]

How much money did you invest into this system?

[QueBud]

The cost evolves around 50$ cdn per bucket + ferts but i could have done better by getting a powerhead instead of separate air pumps.... live and learn :)

Also keep in mind that the cost is only for the initial grow and then its paid for + interest. :D

QB

[Torog]

Some more pics:

P.S. I'll try to post pics every day of the evolution of things,so stay tuned! :)
Many bud pics to come very soon :D

QB
Howdy QueBud,

Thanx for your most excellent response...I have learned much,and you've eased my fears somewhat..I was worried that I would be overloading a 30 amp circuit..and my girlfriend has been afraid that I would set the house on fire. I've never used a 1kwatt light before and it makes me nervous,in terms of fire hazard and electrical overload..the ballast draws 9.2 amps and I was worried that the extra devices would overload the circuit. The light that I have,does not have a ducted hood and I'm wondering if I will be able to moderate the heat with an a/c and fan running ? If not-where in the heck can I git a ducted hood ?

Thanx again for your detailed response..it has helped alot in formulating my set-up. I only have room enough for 4-6 plants,so my set-up will be somewhat smaller than yours and intended to provide for my gal and I,needs. I have a bad back,double fusion,and and my gal suffers from depression(not caused by me !..lol),and I simply want to provide for our medical needs.

Have a good one...Torog :D

[QueBud]

the ballast draws 9.2 amps and I was worried that the extra devices would overload the circuit.
Are these devices on the same 30 amp circuit?
If so,you need to be carefull not to exceed the capacity of the breaker and never run steadily over 80% of the rated capacity of your breaker.

QB

[Torog]

Are these devices on the same 30 amp circuit?
If so,you need to be carefull not to exceed the capacity of the breaker and never run steadily over 80% of the rated capacity of your breaker.

QB
Howdy QueBud,

I was hoping to run them on the same circuit,but if possible,I'll try and spread the load out. Thanx for your advice..I hope to be up and running soon.

Have a good one...Torog

[QueBud]

Here is my ladies at day 14 since i switched the lights to 12/12,the buds are bearely starting to form.

QB

[Sensi Super Skunk]

Feminized seeds?

[QueBud]

Some closer shots at the forming flowers and below the canopy.(to give an idea of plant height)QB

[QueBud]

Feminized seeds?
No, clones. ;)

QB

[Bspectral]

QUEBUD------most all the pics u got here all look like males.....u should have female buds with white hairs all over them by now.......so kill them all quick..........this pic is 1 female plant--- n-lights ---27 days12/12 + 1 day 13/11

[QueBud]

QUEBUD------most all the pics u got here all look like males.....u should have female buds with white hairs all over them by now.......so kill them all quick..........this pic is 1 female plant--- n-lights ---27 days12/12 + 1 day 13/11
MUAHAHAHA!!! (gets back on chair after laughing his ass off)

Is this a joke? Kill'em all????? You crazy????

K,let me explain:

All breeds dont act totaly alike in the budding stage,the plants you see in the pics are all female clones made from the same mother; i can assure you that they are 100% female... lol (your funny)
Tell you what,stick around and watch them develop till the end and you might even learn a thing or two in the process,i know i learn something on a regular basis. :)
Like i said ill be posting pics regularly (i wanna try to do it daily)
so pull up a chair,you can start by looking at todays pics and tell me if you still think they are male. ;)

QB

[QueBud]

The girls are doing just fine and the buds are starting to form.
General height of the plants vary from 18 to 24 inches from the bucket top.
The vertical growth of the plant should slow down shortly and bud growth kick in to overdrive. :D (cant wait to taste em.)

QB

[QueBud]

Some pics from the buds in the making :)

QB

[QueBud]

The buttons are finaly out,the buds are starting to grow,from now on the bud pics should get more interesting. :D

QB

[Bspectral]

right on quebud u don't want good luck growing u want good growing grow on man

[QueBud]

The girls are busy doing there thing,the buds are growing visibly bigger by the day. :)
And the buds are hard as a rock already :)

QB

[QueBud]

Changed the nutes today and added some AWESOME BLOSSOM to the mix.
pics are from canopy and forming buds, hope you like'em.

QB

[QueBud]

Only 5 pics per post...what a shame :)

Some more eye candy:

QB

[Sensi Super Skunk]

Looking good!

[Bspectral]

Only 5 pics per post...what a shame :)

Some more eye candy:

QB
mmm theyr great...,,...u'v got trichomes starting to grow already so early into the 12/12.------mine 33 days

[lordsoth666]

Very nice looking Plants/Setup, but did you say you are useing water heaters? The Ideal temp for the water in a DWC is about 67 F or 19.5 C this is the optimal temp to achieve best Dissolved Oxyen in the water, Higher temps do not help you, they will end up hurting you. I have learned this through experience in my DWC.

L0rdsOth

[QueBud]

I'll keep a close eye on things,Lordsoth,but so far so good.
My water is kept @ 22 celsius (71.6f )

I am not worried about total disolved oxygen in the water cuz i have 3000cc/minute of air going to each bucket,plenty of air.
My concern was not to raise water temp too much cuz you can get pythium and then things get bad.

At 22 celsius everything is cool.

QB

[QueBud]

mmm theyr great...,,...u'v got trichomes starting to grow already so early into the 12/12.------mine 33 days
Fine looking plants you got there,what breed is that?

QB

[QueBud]

Well today,12 hours after adding a bloom booster to my nute change (awesome blossom)
the buds are really starting to take off and i can see the growth difference from day to day. :D

Of course,what would be a post without some pics :)
Here they are:


QB

[Bspectral]

Fine looking plants you got there,what breed is that?

QB
cinnamon brainwreck-----

[QueBud]

cinnamon brainwreck-----
looking realy nice :) good buzz ahead :D

QB

[QueBud]

Here's an update on what's going on in the garden :)

The girls are doin fine and buds are progressing well.

QB

[Bender]

VERY Nice..:D

[Bspectral]

Quebud,they are so healthy they couldn't be any more healthy- 5-6weeks on my best plant ever, look

[QueBud]

Some fine buds you gonna have there Bspectral. :)

Mine are at day 23 now and comin along.

Here's some pics from yesterday (day 22)

I'll be back in a few with todays fresh news and pics.

QB

[Bspectral]

oo la la Quebud,tres bien

[newgroweroldsmoker]

all look very good indeed....i feel anxious to start the buds forming in my ladies....i have another 46 days till harvest.....i am half way through:)

[QueBud]

Couldnt get around to take pics yesterday but i got some fresh ones from today.

The thc glands are already coming out and can be clearly seen on the pics,they look realy yummy... :D

Tomorrow i'm changing nutes and increasing food and bloom boosters,they should have a real nice week... :)

I expect to harvest around mid-march wich is in about 3 weeks from now.

Here's the ladies today:


QB

[QueBud]

Hi there,

Thursday night i changed the nutes and the girls are starting to show some decent budsize,still about 3 weeks to go before harvest.
Cant wait to get there.... :D

Some pics from this morning(saturday)

Comments anyone?

QB

[fhydro]

Hello,
your setup is very well studied. However i have some questions :

how do you manage the connections between the growing buckets and the control bucket ?
what is the way you change the ferts solution, how do you use the water pomp ?

I would like to recreate something like yours.

Thanks

[QueBud]

hello fhydro,
The connection between buckets is made quite simply actualy,
each bucket was drilled once on the side near the bottom (about 1 inch from bottom),
Then a 3/4 inch rubber grommet was inserted then a 3/4 inch barbed connector was inserted in the grommet and finaly the hose is connected to the barbed connector and the other end goes with the same setup but on the control bucket.

I know it sounds all chineese but ill try to get some pics of what i mean,your question made me realize that i dont have pics of the actual making of the setup.
Ill get some pics and be right back.

QB

[QueBud]

Here we go,
pic 1-the control bucket,the top part has 3 lines coming in and 1 line on the right side.

Other pics are from different angles and show the lines going to the buckets.
I couldnt take better pics because of the jungle above it but i will take better pics after harvest when nothing clogs the view.

QB

[QueBud]

It's been a while since last update so here we go:

The girls are really starting to smell yummy and the trichs are comin out in numbers. :)

The buds are about 1-1.5 inch in diameter and are growing very tight and solid.

Each time i touch the buds now,my fingers get sticky.. :D

Back soon with more bud pics,stay tunned! :D :D :D

QB

[phillykid420]

Lookin very nice, but stop touching the buds, touching and squeezing buds is hard to resist but it bruises them. If you wanna catch a whiff you can rub the stem or a leaf.

[QueBud]

Lookin very nice, but stop touching the buds, touching and squeezing buds is hard to resist but it bruises them. If you wanna catch a whiff you can rub the stem or a leaf.
Dont worry about the buds...lol :D

They are doin very fine thank you. :)

QB

[QueBud]

Some more bud pics,as we can see they are doing well. :)

QB

[Bspectral]

QueBud o man they seem to be filling in pretty perfectly for u. Looking great

[QueBud]

Tx Bspectral,

They are filling in very well and i wish i was 2-3 weeks in the future at harvest time.... lol

QB

[fhydro]

Thank you for the pics of the control bucket. I've got other questions anyway...
What is the way you use to fill and empty your buckets ? I want to be sure to understand well. Is there a kind of circulation between the buckets or only once a week, for instance ?
How do you adjust the ph of your nutes solution. Don't you have ph fluctuation because of the air stones?
Thanks

[QueBud]

High fhydro,
Since all the buckets are connected to the control bucket,all the emptying and filling happens thru the control bucket.
Once a week,when its time to change the nutes,you simply put a general utility pump in your control bucket and pump all the nutes out of the control bucket for disposal.(down the drain,in your garden,whatever)
Once the nutes have been pumped out you put your pump in your rez and you pump from the rez to the control bucket and all the buckets will fill at same time as the control bucket.
You stop pumping when you reach the desired level in your control bucket.(remember,all buckets will have same liquid level as the control bucket)
As a rez,i use a 45 gallon drum because i have to mix 160 litres every week for the nute change.
I dont use recirculation as i feel its only a waste of energy and my gilrs dont complain either...lol
I adjust ph when i fill the rez then add nutes and then i dont bother with it anymore since nutes are changed weekly.

QB

[QueBud]

The girls are really starting to frost up and give me some decent budshots for all of us to enjoy.... :D

The thc glands are coming out of everywhere,even on the leaf stems.
I managed to get a few good pics so here they are:

QB

[Bspectral]

beautiful pics QueBud

[fhydro]

OK, Que Bud, i've got it now.
Where did you find the stuff to connect your buckets? Could you check your ph in the bucket before changing the nutes to know if it goes up with added air? Hum, which strain ? I don't remember. Anyway, nice grow!!!
Fhydro

[QueBud]

Bspectral,

Thanks man :D


fyhdro,

All the parts to connect the buckets can be found at home depot or your local hardware store.
The parts are:

barbed connectors> plumbing section
black hose> plumbing section
rubber grommets> electricity section

As for checking ph of nutes going out,i suppose you can make your life more complicated if you wish but i prefer to keep it simple.
I dont bother with ph of out going nutes,its the ones going in i pay attention to... :D

And the strain is called "queen"

peace,

QB

[QueBud]

What can i say???? welcome to frosty land...lol

QB

[QueBud]

So here's some more:

QB

[QueBud]

Ans some more...lol
I hope its not too much.

QB

[QueBud]

I took some shots with the lights off and the flash really helps to see the bud size.

QB

[QueBud]

Here's the pics:

QB

[QueBud]

Here's some more shots with the lights off.

QB

[Torog]

Here's some more shots with the lights off.

QB
Howdy QueBud,

Yeeeehhhaawww !!! Ain't growing grand ? Excellent !

Have a good one ! :D

[QueBud]

tx torog,

I'm looking forward to see what the harvest is gonna be like. :D

QB

[canadabis420]

Hey whats up QB, I have no doubts, those are some nice nugs you got, looking ripe for the picking!

have a good one man, hope they all smoke as well as they look!

Canadabis

[Bspectral]

Here's some more shots with the lights off.

QB
are they ever getting big now and juicy-sticky perfect looking

[QueBud]

cana:they're not quite ripe yet but getting there :)
1-2 weeks at most and no doubt will the smoke be some kickass dank... :D
I've grown this strain many times in soil and never seen them perform like this. :)

Bspedtral:They are getting juicyer and stickyer by the day...lol
Gonna have to put some drip pans under them soon...lol

QB

[QueBud]

Here is all the pics i got from the end of flowering....Enjoy!!

QB

[QueBud]

more

QB

[QueBud]

more

QB

[anyhandle]

how do you handle the smell from that lot?

[QueBud]

Good ventilation...lol

QB

[QueBud]

more

QB

[QueBud]

and finaly....

QB

[Bspectral]

o yes they'r starting to show(bursting) the pistol change. BEAUTIFUL

[heavymoker]

where are the new pics?

[QueBud]

wich new pics?

QB

[eaglesvision]

Some nice shit bro, Hey I want that system, I won't be able for awhile
but when I can , Wanta take a trip? well keep it up, thanks for the shots
and the rest , Mahalos Eaglesvision

[QueBud]

You dont need me to take a trip to set you up,
all the info is available in these forums or you can checkout overgrow.com.

The system is called bubblers or DWC,either means the same.

You can build your own for dirt cheap,no need to spend big cash for this system.

QB

[fhydro]

Hello QB,
now harvest is done. Have you got pics? Have you gots pics also off the inside of the buckets, root system ? Should be awesome! Maybe the roots were inside the hose...
Good job ? Any idea of the yield ?
Fhydro

[radiotherapied]

Hey Hoi , what can a guy say,!! I posted my first inquirery yesterday so, tyvm.. I stumbled on an old friend Saturday but will hope to keep well.

[Krippysmoker]

Hey Que if your back around give me an email should you get a chance.
[email protected]

Thanks

[ifonlyiknew]

http://gallery.cannabis.com/index.php?cat=29190

[ifonlyiknew]

sighhh i love the pics haha cyaas