DWC Walkthrough

I have read every tidbit i could find on dwc on these forums and many others

and i still have questions

i'm starting my first hydro grow 2nd attempt at growing

i have two 29gal reservoirs (rubbermade totes)

and i have a few questions

1- i plan on germinating the seeds in rockwool in the net pots good idea or bad? alternative?

2- when should i start adding nutes, do you add them right away with hydro or do i still wait a couple of weeks

3- for 29 gallons how do i know how much should be nutrient solution, for example do I use the amount it says on the bottle for 29 gallons and just mix it in the res, or do i mix it in some water first ph balance and add, if it is the second choice do I add the same amount as i would in the first choice or do i only add the amount of nutes required for the amount of water im dumping in

4- with one resevoir is it possible to have multiple plants at various stages from germinating seed to budding plant ( in the case of autoflowering strains)

and my last question is if someone could take the first 2 weeks and point form the major things you need to do with a dwc besides watch the grass grow ;p

i dont really wanna fail again lol I've spent too much money on this as it is

bump

sigh... typed out a long answer for you and when I was done it said server too busy.

1 - Do you mean rockwool inside of hydroton inside of netpot? Ive been told to use Rapid Rooters instead of RW. You shouldnt put them into DWC until you see some roots coming out of your RW plug.

2 - I used 1/4 strength nutes for the first week and started slowly adding more nutes according to plant responses.

3 - You should get a PPM meter. I take the plants out of the water and add nutes then PH correct solution then return the roots. The PPM meter makes it easier to measure the amount of nutes in your solution. Always PH after you add nutes because nutes can change PH.

4 - Possible but not the best idea. Plants at different stages require different nutes and different strengths. Nute level for a budding plant is high and would fry a small young one. Dont really want to germinate in your DWC setup. Should use a dome or something to hold the rockwool plug until its big enough to show roots. Then introduce it into your system.

First two weeks... Hmm... biggest things for me were keeping a schedule and making sure the PH is right. Being lazy or forgetting about PH can damage and even kill plants. Hydro is much more needy than soil and neglecting your PH can cause you headaches. Also dont forget to change your res regularly. Hope I didnt forget anything. Goodluck!

thanks man, yeh i was planning on putting the seed in to germinate but i could make a germ box

Here is an example of what I used. A small grow dome for herb growing from Lowe's. Was like 99 cents. Soaked the rockwool in ph corrected water for 24 hours. Sprayed water in the bottom of the dome once a day to keep humidity high and kept them under some floros.

Then when they have roots poking out of the bottom of the rockwool put them in the DWC.

Sorry about the fuzzy pic.

Rapid Rooters are alot better than RW. The PH doesnt seem to drift around as much and you can get alot of salt buildup from RW.

Actually plain PH'd water until the first set of true leaves comes out and then you could start at 1/4 str nutes and maybe a touch of ST (it's what I do)

PPM meter is a good thing to have but not as critical as a PH meter. You can always copy a formula that is already being used, Lucas or Latewood's, or you can even just follow directions off the bottle but PH is touchy. Can start out looking like something else, Mg def, and by the time you find out your PH is 7.5 it's time to start over.

Unless dealing with known to be females you take a risk of problems if you get a hermie that needs to be removed. untangling roots to remove 1 plant without damaging another just doesnt make my top 10 things to do list.

First 2 weeks ...........
Dont try to rush things. keep all your ducks in a row and you will be rewarded in the end. Try to do things at the speed of light and your gonna have problems. Keep PH in the range, dont rush nutes onto babies and just watch and learn. The plants will show you if something is wrong, the key is to figure it out. If you do run into problems dont change mutiple things at once, if you do you might not ever know what you did to fix your problem and could create more.
Along with DWC reads you might take a peak at jus some basic growing stuff as you would find most answers to the questions that were asked. :jointsmile:

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First 2 weeks ...........
Dont try to rush things. keep all your ducks in a row and you will be rewarded in the end. Try to do things at the speed of light and your gonna have problems. Keep PH in the range, dont rush nutes onto babies and just watch and learn. The plants will show you if something is wrong, the key is to figure it out. If you do run into problems dont change mutiple things at once, if you do you might not ever know what you did to fix your problem and could create more.
Along with DWC reads you might take a peak at jus some basic growing stuff as you would find most answers to the questions that were asked. :jointsmile:[/QUOTE]

Now here's advice we can all take from time to time!