DWC vs Ebb and Flow

[snakeman]

Just wondering what everyone's thoughts are for a first time hydro grow. also a fairly small scale operation about 6 plants max

snakeman Reviewed by snakeman on 03-27-2008. DWC vs Ebb and Flow Just wondering what everyone's thoughts are for a first time hydro grow. also a fairly small scale operation about 6 plants max Rating: 5

[nimo_253]

you can't go wrong with either but I would prefer DWC. I've done both and I was able to pull more out of DWC than what I did with E&F.

[stinkyattic]

IMHO if you are running a very small number of plants, and intend to let them get to a decent size before flowering, or if you are growing from seed [unsexed], or running more than one strain, a DWC module for each plant is a really nice method. See treetops, xcrispi, the image reaper, and weedhound grows for ideas. Weedhound has a couple VERY in-depth logs that show the benefits AND drawbacks of the method and how to troubleshoot them.

Ebb-n-flow is effective if you have access to female clones and want to cram a bunch of smaller plants of the same strain into a smaller footprint.

[herbie the love bud]

IMHO if you are running a very small number of plants, and intend to let them get to a decent size before flowering, or if you are growing from seed [unsexed], or running more than one strain, a DWC module for each plant is a really nice method. See treetops, xcrispi, the image reaper, and weedhound grows for ideas. Weedhound has a couple VERY in-depth logs that show the benefits AND drawbacks of the method and how to troubleshoot them.

Ebb-n-flow is effective if you have access to female clones and want to cram a bunch of smaller plants of the same strain into a smaller footprint.

Stinky is right. I think ebb and flow is more common for sea of green situations. Otherwise DWC is great. I find it to be pretty easy. I haven't reached a gram per watt yet, but I'm close and on my way.

[Help_Needed]

One thing to keep in mind if there's any doubt about you being able to control temps in your grow room - Ebb-n-flow is MUCH more tolerant of non-optimal reservoir temperatures than DWC is.

[stinkyattic]

GREAT point H_N!
Temps are a stumbling block for lots of growers. The most tolerant of all is NFT, since the water is in constant motion though the system and tends to air-equilibrate very well. You don't see a lot of growers running it, but you DO see a decent number of COMMERCIAL growers using various types of NFT setups.

[herbie the love bud]

Interesting point about NFT and temperatures. I'm heading towards a HOT summer. What does NFT stand for?

[mushaboom]

nutrient film technique?

[snakeman]

thanks guys I've decided to run a few bubbler buckets, hope it works out