DWC Water Level?

[smileyface]

Hey guys, so I've been growing up until now, decided to switch to bubble buckets. Can't seem to find out much info on how high the water level should be. From my understanding, when adding a clone with relatively short roots to a 5 gallon bucket, the water level should be about an inch or 2 from the bottom of the basket so the roots are partially in the water and partially out.... is that correct?

What about when the root system has matured and they are resting at the bottom of the bucket. How high should the water level be then? About halfway up the bucket?

smileyface Reviewed by smileyface on 04-23-2011. DWC Water Level? Hey guys, so I've been growing up until now, decided to switch to bubble buckets. Can't seem to find out much info on how high the water level should be. From my understanding, when adding a clone with relatively short roots to a 5 gallon bucket, the water level should be about an inch or 2 from the bottom of the basket so the roots are partially in the water and partially out.... is that correct? What about when the root system has matured and they are resting at the bottom of the Rating: 5

[smileyface]

....I've been growing in soil up until now

[khyberkitsune]

With DWC, when you first transplant your clones, the water level should come about half an inch up the bottom of the net pot itself so water can wick up through the hydroton and get to the roots.

After the roots establish themselves in the system, keep the water level an inch or two below the bottom of the net pot and always keep pumping oxygen at all times.

[smileyface]

Cool, thanks so much Khyber that makes sense!

[khyberkitsune]

You're quite welcome!

[hydroponicsnutrients]

Use a floater that can properly support your plants hanging above your nutrient solution. You can either cut the floater in exact measurement of the reservoir that would float on the nutrient solution or you can cut the floater individually so that each floater supports each net pot.

[Breeder]

If 5 gallon bucket them 3 gallon watter. Next property... 10 gallons=6-8 gallons water.

[smileyface]

Thanks guys :-) I feel like such a noob but by floater, do you man floater valve that controls water level?

I just thought of another question! I hope you guys know the answer. I was checking out these net pots on a hydro shop website which are already in a lid that fits a standard 5 gallon bucket. There were a few different ones, a 6 inch net pot, 8 inch, and 10 inch, all fitting the same bucket size. I called the store but the guy didn't seem to know his ass from a hole in the ground. I mean, really what's the difference between the sizes? The roots are going to grow down into the bottom of the bucket and form a big mass under there anyway. Is there a point to having a bigger basket? Does it really make much of a difference?

[CanGroIt]

Bigger baskets would be for plants that are going to be larger in size. Like if you were going to veg longer than usual. Stability is the reason for the different size baskets. Example: if you were to veg a plant for 8 weeks in a six inch basket, your plant might over grow the basket creating an unstable base. Whereas you veg for 8 weeks in a ten inch basket, the plant would be stable. Less veg time - smaller basket. Longer veg time - bigger basket. Make sense?

CGI::::::

[smileyface]

Ohhh, that makes a lot more sense than what that guy told me, that a bigger net pot means a bigger root mass. Thank you for explaining. I'm going to be using the DWC for my moms so I guess 10 inch would be the best.

Ok, I just came across another dilemma. I plan on cheaping out and using the orange Home Depot buckets that are a quater of the price as the black ones. Aside from light getting through the orange plastic (I'm going to cover them to block light penetration) is there any reason I shouldn't use them? I read before that it's best to use buckets made from food grade plastic, and I doubt these are. Is it a really bad idea to use them anyway for DWC?

Thanks again, I really appreciate everyone's help with my noobness