I would strongly recommend a check valve on a dry portion of the air line between pump and stone. During power outages or if the pump dies it prevents back flow of water into the pump, which shorts out the pump and floods your floor It is a cheap safe guard. Worth the peace of mind. Love the videos!
I would also recommend the most simple thing to do have a water container placed above your culture and that way you have a risk free auto top off. You could get Tunze Nano or any other electrical. Those have multiple fail points over time when gravity and a flexible opaque tubing at the water level mark you decide won't ever fail. Gravity was here yesterday and will be tomorrow!
This video was great and definitely help. One question. How high should the water level be? Just barely touching the bottom of the cups? Slightly under? Want to make sure they get enough water without drowning them. Thanks
Really important issue...where is the best water level??? I read somewhere to keep the level even with the bottom of the seed cup. That gives the roots room for air.
Ive been a subscriber for a while but im coming all the way back to your first video to make sure I i don't miss any of your shared knowledge! Thank you for posting so much good info!
Hey - good question - you're right! The whole point of the air pump is to basically splash water on the growing media, and the roots to then take up that water. It works pretty well if you're using starter plugs or rockwool. You just want to make sure the water line is high enough so that the bubbles actually hit the bottom of the net pots!
Yo Shawn! I would make sure the water level is no more than an inch or two below the bottom of the net pots - if you're starting seed in the system, the closer the better. You want bubbles to pop and hit the bottom of the net pots -> moisturizing the growing media. The faster the roots hit the water after germination, the better.
Definitely a good idea! That's called aquaponics and is a really awesome setup. This vid is all about hydro and not aqua though, but you're right - you can add fish into the mix.
Thanks for the succinct primer. I'm currently working on making a greenhouse aeroponics system completely powered by solar energy and I found this to be informative and awesome. The plan is to build a system that will grow food all year and eventually even make it modular so that one can buy a simple starter setup and then add as needed to the desired output. That way the start up cost is low and one can slowly build on it when they have money to spend. Eventually, the cost to maintain should equalize (and hopefully overcome) with the amount of food one produces along with eating a better product that you can control without any terrible additives that may impact health in the long run. The idea is to also make it mobile so that if you move, it isn't so much of a hassle or if you rent or are in an apartment, you can still use the system to a smaller degree. Maybe even develop micro gardens. Any thoughts or suggestions on your experiences you could give would be appreciated.
This was a great video. Everything was presented professionally and no extra bs. Here are some hints that may seem obvious but they have been important... 1. There are lots of nutrients out there but whatever you use use very little. I had a tendency to overdo it since I thought the more i used the faster and bigger the plants would get. Very little nutrients will do the job. They can get fairly big using nothing but water. 2. Use large seed pots. As large as you can fit on the top of your reservoir. 3. Have a way to support the plants. They get big and heavy. Especially when it flowers. They take a long time to grow and there's nothing worse than a lost branch of bud in an instant. 4. I put a twenty dollar pump in the bottom of the reservoir that makes draining easy and fast. If it's easy to do something it gets done more often.
Hi. I'm new to hydro but been doing a lot of research so a few quick Qs to Epic and the hydro community: 1. Raft/no raft - Some DWC systems require a raft system. This one (which seems to be quite popular) does not. I'm assuming that by topping up the water, you achieve the same effect. Is there a significant difference between the 2 setups (raft / non-raft)? 2. Water top-up. Some sites say that by topping up the reservoir with nutrient mixed solution will damage the plants. The reasoning is that the plants draw up water from the reservoir faster then it draws the nutrients causing the reservoir solution to be more and more concentrated (since water is being taken out). By refilling with nutrient-mixed solution, won't this cause over-concentration of the solution? 3. Last - reservoir size. I've been trying to find out if I can do DWC with a shallow container with no luck. Few sites talk about the size of reservoir necessary. What I have found (online) is a general rule of 1 gallon of water /plant (I am planing lettuce). With the proper aeration and top-up of fluids, is depth of the reservoir an issue? I would love to set up multiple DWC on a shelf but it will require shallower containers although I can monitor consistently and keep topping up . Any responses/help would be much appreciated! M
Great nubie video for me! Question: would you add a nutrient mix as the water level drops or just water before the complete nute change? Also how do you determine the initial water level? Roots from my rapid rooters are still on the sides but not hanging below yet. Also I'm using a 3 1/2 gallon pale with 8 inch net pot that fits the cover. Thx in advance!!
+mycosic I would usually just do a reservoir refresh once a week depending on how much the plants drank / ate. For water level, I usually go about 1-3" below the bottom of the net pot. The airstone will bubble up bits of water and almost act as a wicking style system.
Cyber Savvy I like to keep it around 78 degrees, but the better your air flow is the higher it can go, as well as the amount of CO2 in the room (higher = plants can stand higher heat in my experience).
how do the roots get water and nutrients before they grow deep enough to reach the water? i have seen DWC systems that have a dual pump and a lift tube connected to a drip ring isn't that better? is it 100% necessary ? i like idea of having the drip ring on tope especially when the play is just put in
One of the best videos on here. Great job. My question is about lighting. If you're using fluorescent light, can you use a warm and cool light together or do you have to use the different lighting for blooming then growing?
Wow, thanks for the kind words! If I were you, I'd use both warm and cool for both phases, but I'd weight the lighting heavier towards cool during vegetative phase, and more towards warm during bloom phase. It gets more complex than this, but that should work as a basic approach!
Air lines don’t need to be black. There’s no water/nutrient solution in the air line and hence no problem with algae. The air pump should be positioned above the water line to avoid water back flowing…
A couple of tips. Make sure the roots make it out of the net pots easily. 1.Cut out as many of the little plastic pieces on the sides and bottom of the net pot as you can so the roots have no problems. 2. Keep your organic nutrients ( the only way to go. No miracle grow) as weak as possible or they will clog up everything. 3. Youll need a timer for the vegatation phase. Also i like to line the resavoir with a garbage bag so i can cleanup easy. Also black to keep light from getting to roots.
The schema is interesting, however, you don't mention if you have to keep a constant water level. Or if you set the plants in the net pots already with roots. I'm trying to test this hydroponic technique but kind of don't have that kind of knowledge. Thanks for your video.
Finally someone explained the whole thing as opposed to just skipping certain aspects mainly the water cycle change nobody likes to mention those not sure why thank you for explaining
When I made my first hydroponic setup I used some left over pieces of spongy Styrofoam type material (think pool noodles) and empty plastic 40 bottles instead of net cups. I cut the top off of the bottle, cut the foam to fit, then cut the foam so it looked like pac man. Then I pinched the plant stem in the foam right above the roots and wedged it in the bottle mouth. I still have those same first pots I started in, still growing 😂
Great video thanks a lot. imgur.com/a/JQp0A - Here are 5 of my tomato plants. I started them off in soil, under cheap led lamps. Things weren't going so well, and over time I got together all the parts you mentioned in the video, and last week things got serious haha. I replanted them from soil as carefully as i could into the net pots and added the grow medium for support. I have a 250WATT CFL above these now, and they have taken off, along with my power bill. The plants themselves we're all started from seeds found in tomatoes i bought from the store. I honestly don't care if they never fruit (determinate/indeterminate plants), but as titled on imgur, this is the difference from Monday - Thursday. Wow! Anyways, this seems to be taking off well, so thanks again for the info !
A great tute. I'm new to hydro but have long been an indoor grower. I've also kept aquariums and I'd like to point out some things. One, the Rubbermaid tubs are fine, but they do not move/transport well with water in them. I would suggest that you buy a small water pump from the pet store for each tub to pump water out into a 5gal water bottle. Avoid moving the tub lid and damaging the delicate roots by leaving the pump in the tub. Also, pH test kits are available at pet stores also.
+Mike O This is the simple perpetual setup that I have that never flowers and drains water and nutrition and relatively the same rate, so I can just fill back in and play with concentrations as needed.
Recommend Hygrozyme conconcentrate (x5 strength of normal hygrozyme so only need 0.5ml per Litre) which works with silver bullet roots as it is inert, not like other enzyme type products. Not taken plunge into dwc yet as still trying wilma dripper with 4 x 12L cloth pots full with hydroton (expanded clay pebbles). I guess as the plant gets biggers you can let the water level drop half way and it will all be okay? Guess the ladies get thirsty anyway at this point. Hydro definetly is so much easier and get masssive veg as compared to coco or soil and there is no worry about over watering. Just got to keep an eye on it like I have turned of the water pump for 24 hours and nearly killed of 1 plant.
Please see this verse it tells the 2 characteristic of what a saint is so its very important. Revelation 14:12 1599 Geneva Bible 12 [a]Here is the patience of Saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.
i built a dwc ..hydroton and everything...my clones leaves are dryin and i dont understand..the net pot is half in the water with rockwool pod just touching the water..then hydroton filled in around and over for lightleaks...im confused any ideas? i dont want to lose these baby plants
You guys know that dwc yellow bin on Amazon it's cheap but I got it for 10 dollars on sale just so I could test out dwc see if I like it, thank you for the crash course
Warning! Position your air pump so that it is above the water level in the reservoir or use a check valve. If you don't and your pump fails or you loose power the water could be siphoned into the pump. Use a GFI outlet whenever you have water near electricity, it could save your life.
I thought i would announce at his newest video and oldest video that kevin from epic gardening or xponics 😂 that he has inspired me to start my own gardening channel i will begin in 1 week
always place your air pump higher than your nutrient res. i lost power for a short time in a thunderstorm and with the pump being lower than the fluid level it worked as a siphon. made a mess and ruined the pump.
In addition to being less expensive and work intensive. Also, don't lock people in to Hydroton and net pots! There are tons of other alternatives with their own valuable benefits.
Gabe Kramer - Oh come on! You can get those net pots REALLY cheap on eBay (like $2 for 10) and they're reusable. So I really wouldn't worry about that.
Great info, add the seed growing from start to finish will complete this video. I am just starting in Washington but have run into a wall for information. People say they don't want more competition. I just want lower cost medication. So looking for a start to finish video. This is the seed watch it grow in your new system. I have birthed babies/ brought five patients back to life but gardening is so foreign to me. Read Ed Rosenthal's book excellent info but need some hands on experience to complete. This video doesn't show it all and the ADD makes it difficult to stay on task LOL.
There are two ways I wanted to do this. One is to build a wooden box with 3 layers similar to this set up where the water would flow from layer to layer. The 2nd is to grow like this tutorial but I was wondering if I could put fish in the water? What would be the proper way to have, say, guppies and still grow tomato and bell peppers? Would the plant roots cause a problem for the fish?
I like drilling a hole at the bottom of the reservoir and adding a grommet or bulkhead, attach a 90° elbow and then a see-through blue tube going up as a water level. That way you can know when to refill but also the blue filters out the spectrum that aids in algae growth. But the airline tubing is black, yeah.
Ok I have so many questions....This is the method that I am using indoors. I am planning to set it up inside of a closet is there a certain temperature the closet needs to be keep at ? I also was curious on how long should I run the light and the pump?
Nice guide. I started up a 4x8 grow tent as a brand new grower because why not. Lowe's has those blue 5 gallon buckets for like $5 including the lid. Hell, if I had any idea my midlife crisis was going to hit like this ahead of time, I'd have just bummed other people's leftover buckets over time for free. I use a 3" hole saw attachment on the lid for the net pot and a 1/4" bit to screw a hole near the top of the bucket itself for the air stone tube. I do spend a couple extra bucks on white primer / spray paint to add another layer and to reduce light absorption, but it probably isn't necessary. Got a 52W air pump I can attach 8 tubes to, so for all 8 buckets, *maybe* ~$100? Could probably shave that down to close to $80 / $10 a piece if I ditched the paint. Crazy seeing the pre-built hydro kits going for like $25 - $30 per reservoir. All my friends hate me when they see chile plants growing inside of it instead of MJ.
really bag way to teach " just pour a bit in when it drops? stop teaching go back to teaching abouyt removing dynamite in an over factory with the questionable safety record
Hey epic this is an old video but I hope you can reply to this. So when picking a reservoir going with a 20gallon tank I would have to fill that whole 20 ish gallons of water with nutrients? And then my next question is for a one plant grow would it be more efficient to go with a 5 or 10 gallon res
I don't think that regarding thing up nutes you said ,"just pop some more in" 😵 no and the water should be changed every week to avoid some unnecessary problems
I just thought of a good probably efficient way to cut holes without a somewhat expensive hole saw or whatever. If you have a drill and some metal drill bits, you can just draw your circle and then drill many holes really close to each other over that circle (kinda like certain products have pre-made) til you've gone all the way around and then you just carefully punch out the hole with a hammer or something!
Haha! Badass! I was honestly thinking "Omg how am I gonna make a perfect (for the most part) hole in my buckets/containers to set my Hydro baskets in! plzzzzzz don't tell me a hole saw is 100% required cause I don't have the money for that right now!" so I instantly thought of that method. Anyways, so you just drilled one hole in and then cut it with a good pair of scissors and it worked? Nice!
Hey I'm a total beginner. I do understand that the water needs to be changed about every month or so I would like to kno how to tell when the water is due for a changing?
Hi Kevin. I enjoyed your tutorial, so thank you very much. Just one thing i am still not clear about- where is the base of the net pot in relation to the nutrient solution? Do you allow the base to touch the solution?
Don't worry about getting an opaque tube because you really shouldn't have light inside of your dwc system at all roots and light do not go together well! And I highly recommend not getting the cheapest pump that they have specifically do to the reliability of the cheap ones and the output of air from the cheap ones you don't need a whole lot of air but you definitely don't want to go skimpy on the amount of air you pump into the nutrient solution because that will negatively affect your plants health and yield. Been growing with dwc and several other methods 4 over 15 years now, dwc is definitely one of my favorites and then my next favorite would be flood and drain. I'm not down in your video or you're advice this is actually a great tutorial very easy to understand, one of the better ones I've seen here on UA-cam. I gave you a thumbs-up and subscribed as well as shared it with a buddy of mine that is looking into starting so I wanted to give him something that was worth watching and this was it so thank you very much for saving me the hassle of explaining to him.
Hey I had a few questions I hope you can help. How would I go about changing the water every month? Do I simply need to refill whenever level drops or completely drain and refill every month if so how would I without damaging the roots? Also I’m looking to use this model to grow cannabis indoors what lighting/fan cycles/materials should I be using? Can I keep this in the open in my room or would an enclosed tent work better? Also what brands do you recommend on nutrients and how do I achieve proper PH levels? Sorry lots of a questions from a beginner I’m grateful if you can help tho!
I'd try to go once a week if possible. As far as ventilation and tents, here are some links for you from my site: www.epicgardening.com/grow-room-ventilation-101/
Would oxygen be a problem if it where only week? I have a regular garden and an aquaponics garden. I was wanting to create a dwc to house my garden plants for a week while I'm on vacation, so they'll stay watered., but I don't have an air pump. If I jsut fill it up, will the plants last for an week? Or would I have to link it to my aquaponics to get more oxygen rich water?
My lighting I think is my downfall it's in a 3x3x60 tent but is only a 45watt led. I made my switch yesterday and when I came home today my peppers had curled leaves and a few dropped. Mostly on the plant that was producing peppers so I removed all the flowers along with the peppers and filled the res leaving about a 2 inch gap for air also made sure the air pumps pumping good along with a ph of 6.4 so I've narrowed it down to Shock and lighting. My new light will be here tomorrow and is 300w led. Hopefully all will recover
Hmmm...probably a lighting issue. Consider checking out www.epicgardening.com/indoor-grow-lights and the entire lighting category, lots of good stuff on there. Good luck with the 300w!
So i bought, a 5 gallon DWC bucket from amazon and also purchased the general organics starter kit and started with a 6 inch cannabis plant, established healthy roots already, pH tested my water and added the recommended amount of "Thrive" and Ca Mag and Bio Root witch they all compliment each other and work hand in hand. So a close estimate of how much i was putting in, it showed to put 5ml for every gallon so I added 20ml total cause it wasn't completely 5 gallons and i figured wouldn't make much of a difference. And 5ml a gallon was recommended for all 3 of the nights i put in. So, the following day i noticed it was bubbling up through the net pot so i simply emptied a little out and then noticed my water was dirty and murky and smelled a bit. ( I'm aware nutrients don't smell the best) but it was a noticeable smell from a good way away. Anyways long story short, my plant ended up dying about a month after that. I changed water every 2 weeks, and added even less notes the second time. Did i shock the root system? What you think happened.
Jake Jay If your a beginner, and it kinda sounds like you are, you only really need to add R/O water, some Algae Extract, and a little bit of nutrients. Depending on how old your plants were, you should probably start with using 1/4 - 1/2 the recommended nutrient dose and build it up as needed (weekly) . . When dealing with Cannabis, I would highly recommend you change your water (Completely), Once every 7 days, adding fresh Nutrients, etc. . If you are using tap (City) water you should't have to add any Cal-Mag, it's meant to be used with R/O (Reverse Osmosis) water. What I think your biggest problem is, is that your using General Hydroponic Nutrients ?? If your growing Cannabis, I highly recommend Advanced Nutrients. They are the only company who's Nutrients are designed specifically for Cannabis. Hope that helps out a bit (a year later) . .
Hello! This is great information! Very simple and yet has a ton of necessary info for people like me who would like to start a hydroponic system. I have a question though about putting fish into the water instead of using commercially available hydroponic solution. Will it be as effective? OR is it possible to mix in both the fish and the solution into the water? Sorry, I don't know if my questions make any sense but I would greatly appreciate any reply. Thank you for your time.
They sell black air tubing I got some for my pump works great..yes lyca balls or hydration you will need to clean them well and then p.h them with Cal mag to 6.5 p.h
I would strongly recommend a check valve on a dry portion of the air line between pump and stone. During power outages or if the pump dies it prevents back flow of water into the pump, which shorts out the pump and floods your floor It is a cheap safe guard. Worth the peace of mind. Love the videos!
Another option is to raise the air pump above the maximum water line, that way the water can never flow into the air pump.
I would also recommend the most simple thing to do have a water container placed above your culture and that way you have a risk free auto top off.
You could get Tunze Nano or any other electrical. Those have multiple fail points over time when gravity and a flexible opaque tubing at the water level mark you decide won't ever fail. Gravity was here yesterday and will be tomorrow!
@@vigigamehacker123 slow down, speed racer
This video was great and definitely help. One question. How high should the water level be? Just barely touching the bottom of the cups? Slightly under? Want to make sure they get enough water without drowning them. Thanks
Really important issue...where is the best water level??? I read somewhere to keep the level even with the bottom of the seed cup. That gives the roots room for air.
Ive been a subscriber for a while but im coming all the way back to your first video to make sure I i don't miss any of your shared knowledge! Thank you for posting so much good info!
Hey - good question - you're right! The whole point of the air pump is to basically splash water on the growing media, and the roots to then take up that water. It works pretty well if you're using starter plugs or rockwool. You just want to make sure the water line is high enough so that the bubbles actually hit the bottom of the net pots!
Yo Shawn! I would make sure the water level is no more than an inch or two below the bottom of the net pots - if you're starting seed in the system, the closer the better. You want bubbles to pop and hit the bottom of the net pots -> moisturizing the growing media. The faster the roots hit the water after germination, the better.
Definitely a good idea! That's called aquaponics and is a really awesome setup. This vid is all about hydro and not aqua though, but you're right - you can add fish into the mix.
2024 still showing love. Thanks for the knowledge.
Thanks for the succinct primer. I'm currently working on making a greenhouse aeroponics system completely powered by solar energy and I found this to be informative and awesome. The plan is to build a system that will grow food all year and eventually even make it modular so that one can buy a simple starter setup and then add as needed to the desired output. That way the start up cost is low and one can slowly build on it when they have money to spend. Eventually, the cost to maintain should equalize (and hopefully overcome) with the amount of food one produces along with eating a better product that you can control without any terrible additives that may impact health in the long run. The idea is to also make it mobile so that if you move, it isn't so much of a hassle or if you rent or are in an apartment, you can still use the system to a smaller degree. Maybe even develop micro gardens. Any thoughts or suggestions on your experiences you could give would be appreciated.
This was the best freaking explanation of EVERYTHING! Made even more rad by it being a short, to the point video! Loved it! Thank you
This was a great video. Everything was presented professionally and no extra bs. Here are some hints that may seem obvious but they have been important...
1. There are lots of nutrients out there but whatever you use use very little. I had a tendency to overdo it since I thought the more i used the faster and bigger the plants would get. Very little nutrients will do the job. They can get fairly big using nothing but water.
2. Use large seed pots. As large as you can fit on the top of your reservoir.
3. Have a way to support the plants. They get big and heavy. Especially when it flowers. They take a long time to grow and there's nothing worse than a lost branch of bud in an instant.
4. I put a twenty dollar pump in the bottom of the reservoir that makes draining easy and fast. If it's easy to do something it gets done more often.
This was extremely basic and straightforward. Just what I needed to learn. This is a very beneficial video.
Hi. I'm new to hydro but been doing a lot of research so a few quick Qs to Epic and the hydro community:
1. Raft/no raft - Some DWC systems require a raft system. This one (which seems to be quite popular) does not. I'm assuming that by topping up the water, you achieve the same effect. Is there a significant difference between the 2 setups (raft / non-raft)?
2. Water top-up. Some sites say that by topping up the reservoir with nutrient mixed solution will damage the plants. The reasoning is that the plants draw up water from the reservoir faster then it draws the nutrients causing the reservoir solution to be more and more concentrated (since water is being taken out). By refilling with nutrient-mixed solution, won't this cause over-concentration of the solution?
3. Last - reservoir size. I've been trying to find out if I can do DWC with a shallow container with no luck. Few sites talk about the size of reservoir necessary. What I have found (online) is a general rule of 1 gallon of water /plant (I am planing lettuce). With the proper aeration and top-up of fluids, is depth of the reservoir an issue? I would love to set up multiple DWC on a shelf but it will require shallower containers although I can monitor consistently and keep topping up .
Any responses/help would be much appreciated!
M
scrolled all the way down because i was so curious about your first video on the channel. xPonics was a pretty cool name :D
Great nubie video for me! Question: would you add a nutrient mix as the water level drops or just water before the complete nute change? Also how do you determine the initial water level? Roots from my rapid rooters are still on the sides but not hanging below yet. Also I'm using a 3 1/2 gallon pale with 8 inch net pot that fits the cover. Thx in advance!!
+mycosic I would usually just do a reservoir refresh once a week depending on how much the plants drank / ate. For water level, I usually go about 1-3" below the bottom of the net pot. The airstone will bubble up bits of water and almost act as a wicking style system.
Hey, you're right about this, you can kratky w/o an air pump.
can you submerge the seed ? will it die?
@@DrWho2008t101 don't submerged in the water it will rot usually I germinate it on soil then transfer to hydroponic sponge
Cyber Savvy I like to keep it around 78 degrees, but the better your air flow is the higher it can go, as well as the amount of CO2 in the room (higher = plants can stand higher heat in my experience).
Epic Gardening should be no higher temp than 25
how do the roots get water and nutrients before they grow deep enough to reach the water? i have seen DWC systems that have a dual pump and a lift tube connected to a drip ring isn't that better? is it 100% necessary ?
i like idea of having the drip ring on tope especially when the play is just put in
One of the best videos on here. Great job. My question is about lighting. If you're using fluorescent light, can you use a warm and cool light together or do you have to use the different lighting for blooming then growing?
Wow, thanks for the kind words! If I were you, I'd use both warm and cool for both phases, but I'd weight the lighting heavier towards cool during vegetative phase, and more towards warm during bloom phase. It gets more complex than this, but that should work as a basic approach!
Air lines don’t need to be black. There’s no water/nutrient solution in the air line and hence no problem with algae. The air pump should be positioned above the water line to avoid water back flowing…
I try not to use rockwool - currently using coco coir as it's more sustainable.
A couple of tips. Make sure the roots make it out of the net pots easily.
1.Cut out as many of the little plastic pieces on the sides and bottom of the net pot as you can so the roots have no problems.
2. Keep your organic nutrients ( the only way to go. No miracle grow) as weak as possible or they will clog up everything.
3. Youll need a timer for the vegatation phase.
Also i like to line the resavoir with a garbage bag so i can cleanup easy. Also black to keep light from getting to roots.
Great video. Do you use grow lights and what do you want recommend? What temperature do you need your room to be?
Humm.. Never saw anything mentioned in B. A. Kratky's document about needing to use an air stone or air pump.
That's because it's not in there :) DWC != Kratky
The schema is interesting, however, you don't mention if you have to keep a constant water level. Or if you set the plants in the net pots already with roots. I'm trying to test this hydroponic technique but kind of don't have that kind of knowledge. Thanks for your video.
Finally someone explained the whole thing as opposed to just skipping certain aspects mainly the water cycle change nobody likes to mention those not sure why thank you for explaining
Super helpful video! Thank you for the time and effort you put into this
When I made my first hydroponic setup I used some left over pieces of spongy Styrofoam type material (think pool noodles) and empty plastic 40 bottles instead of net cups.
I cut the top off of the bottle, cut the foam to fit, then cut the foam so it looked like pac man. Then I pinched the plant stem in the foam right above the roots and wedged it in the bottle mouth.
I still have those same first pots I started in, still growing 😂
Thanks!
Do all vegetables need a root medium or can some hang directly in the nutrient solution with minimal or no Hydroton?
The clay pellets provide the plant support and stability. They are pretty necessary.
Can you provide a basic feed chart for beginners? I happen to have Flora DUO
Great breakdown, I was looking for something like this.
Time to subscribe
Happy Gardening
Marty Ware
Great video thanks a lot.
imgur.com/a/JQp0A - Here are 5 of my tomato plants. I started them off in soil, under cheap led lamps. Things weren't going so well, and over time I got together all the parts you mentioned in the video, and last week things got serious haha.
I replanted them from soil as carefully as i could into the net pots and added the grow medium for support.
I have a 250WATT CFL above these now, and they have taken off, along with my power bill. The plants themselves we're all started from seeds found in tomatoes i bought from the store. I honestly don't care if they never fruit (determinate/indeterminate plants), but as titled on imgur, this is the difference from Monday - Thursday. Wow!
Anyways, this seems to be taking off well, so thanks again for the info !
Ellis Gray 250watt CFL and you talking about your power bill taking off ?!? . . That has to be a joke, right !?
Haha they started doing so much better after u moved them!
E G I
A great tute. I'm new to hydro but have long been an indoor grower. I've also kept aquariums and I'd like to point out some things. One, the Rubbermaid tubs are fine, but they do not move/transport well with water in them. I would suggest that you buy a small water pump from the pet store for each tub to pump water out into a 5gal water bottle. Avoid moving the tub lid and damaging the delicate roots by leaving the pump in the tub. Also, pH test kits are available at pet stores also.
7yrs old and still the best way explanation of how hydro works...hello from 2021
You can do either one. Check out my videos on starting seeds for hydroponics if you want to learn more!
great vid! with all the different lingo and methods out there, its nice having a rather down to earth explanation like this.
Appreciate it dude!
Once a month w water/nute change!? More like once a week. Deff no more than 10 days. Idk where you came up with a month
+Mike O This is the simple perpetual setup that I have that never flowers and drains water and nutrition and relatively the same rate, so I can just fill back in and play with concentrations as needed.
i never have to actually change anything , i have to add…like a couple gallons every couple days so really it changes itself out every few days
Epic Gardening quick question what is Ppm???? and is the pump in This supposed to be going 24/7 or how does that work please and thank you
Epic Gardening I'll subscribe if you answer also any low odor autoflower ideas again thank you
oh shit get rejected
hello sir is the air pump 24hrs open?
Let me know how it goes for you Mark!
This video just answered all my DWC questions. Thanks for sharing.
So glad to hear. You're welcome!
Recommend Hygrozyme conconcentrate (x5 strength of normal hygrozyme so only need 0.5ml per Litre) which works with silver bullet roots as it is inert, not like other enzyme type products. Not taken plunge into dwc yet as still trying wilma dripper with 4 x 12L cloth pots full with hydroton (expanded clay pebbles). I guess as the plant gets biggers you can let the water level drop half way and it will all be okay? Guess the ladies get thirsty anyway at this point. Hydro definetly is so much easier and get masssive veg as compared to coco or soil and there is no worry about over watering. Just got to keep an eye on it like I have turned of the water pump for 24 hours and nearly killed of 1 plant.
Please see this verse it tells the 2 characteristic of what a saint is so its very important. Revelation 14:12 1599 Geneva Bible 12 [a]Here is the patience of Saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.
I don't have the water heated, nope!
Hey, what about the nutrient mix ? Are they to be used or not. Kindly revert. Thks a ton.
i built a dwc ..hydroton and everything...my clones leaves are dryin and i dont understand..the net pot is half in the water with rockwool pod just touching the water..then hydroton filled in around and over for lightleaks...im confused any ideas? i dont want to lose these baby plants
You guys know that dwc yellow bin on Amazon it's cheap but I got it for 10 dollars on sale just so I could test out dwc see if I like it, thank you for the crash course
Warning! Position your air pump so that it is above the water level in the reservoir or use a check valve. If you don't and your pump fails or you loose power the water could be siphoned into the pump. Use a GFI outlet whenever you have water near electricity, it could save your life.
You don't need any growing media. That's the whole idea behind DWC.
I thought i would announce at his newest video and oldest video that kevin from epic gardening or xponics 😂 that he has inspired me to start my own gardening channel i will begin in 1 week
always place your air pump higher than your nutrient res. i lost power for a short time in a thunderstorm and with the pump being lower than the fluid level it worked as a siphon. made a mess and ruined the pump.
should the net pots touch the water level, or should the bottom of the net pot be an inch or so higher up?
Could a fishtank be applyed to this method as iv been researching a lot but seems like roots need darkness, if thats the case my experiment might work
As far as I know you can't buy hydroton anymore - but I don't think it's organic.
I have 4 5 gallon pots and 1 5 gallon Reservoir do I account for all 5 pots or just the 4 pots with plants when adding nutrients?
Do you top feed for the first few weeks until the roots touch the DWC ?
I'd suggest transparent tubing as it can show if there's any issue in the tubing.
PH fluctuation alone will spin your head. And water needs to be changed a lot more frequently than monthly.
Wouldn't the Kratky Method version of hydroponics be more ideal for beginners?
In terms of less moving parts, sure. But I think both methods are pretty easy for beginners!
In addition to being less expensive and work intensive. Also, don't lock people in to Hydroton and net pots! There are tons of other alternatives with their own valuable benefits.
Gabe Kramer - Oh come on! You can get those net pots REALLY cheap on eBay (like $2 for 10) and they're reusable. So I really wouldn't worry about that.
you can start with kratky and then just add a air stone and then it's DWC.
Great info, add the seed growing from start to finish will complete this video. I am just starting in Washington but have run into a wall for information. People say they don't want more competition. I just want lower cost medication. So looking for a start to finish video. This is the seed watch it grow in your new system. I have birthed babies/ brought five patients back to life but gardening is so foreign to me. Read Ed Rosenthal's book excellent info but need some hands on experience to complete. This video doesn't show it all and the ADD makes it difficult to stay on task LOL.
Is there any hydroponic dwc professional systems you can direct me to You know like one that already has the hole on top already in and the pod
Hydroton is garbage.. really hate the stuff. it's like a open door for pests. use neoprene covers and rockwool. Cheaper less issues.
Interesting, never had any pest issues w/ hydroton! Your suggestion works well though.
Anytime!
There are two ways I wanted to do this. One is to build a wooden box with 3 layers similar to this set up where the water would flow from layer to layer. The 2nd is to grow like this tutorial but I was wondering if I could put fish in the water? What would be the proper way to have, say, guppies and still grow tomato and bell peppers? Would the plant roots cause a problem for the fish?
Thanks!
Do you need a traditional 6 inch duct with a carbon filter and dehumidifier with this type of grow?
Hey Marty - thanks! Subscribed to you as well - love the vids I've seen so far.
Kevin
I like drilling a hole at the bottom of the reservoir and adding a grommet or bulkhead, attach a 90° elbow and then a see-through blue tube going up as a water level. That way you can know when to refill but also the blue filters out the spectrum that aids in algae growth. But the airline tubing is black, yeah.
Can we top up with water? and change with new nutrients biweekly?
Ok I have so many questions....This is the method that I am using indoors. I am planning to set it up inside of a closet is there a certain temperature the closet needs to be keep at ? I also was curious on how long should I run the light and the pump?
Nice guide. I started up a 4x8 grow tent as a brand new grower because why not.
Lowe's has those blue 5 gallon buckets for like $5 including the lid. Hell, if I had any idea my midlife crisis was going to hit like this ahead of time, I'd have just bummed other people's leftover buckets over time for free.
I use a 3" hole saw attachment on the lid for the net pot and a 1/4" bit to screw a hole near the top of the bucket itself for the air stone tube. I do spend a couple extra bucks on white primer / spray paint to add another layer and to reduce light absorption, but it probably isn't necessary. Got a 52W air pump I can attach 8 tubes to, so for all 8 buckets, *maybe* ~$100? Could probably shave that down to close to $80 / $10 a piece if I ditched the paint. Crazy seeing the pre-built hydro kits going for like $25 - $30 per reservoir. All my friends hate me when they see chile plants growing inside of it instead of MJ.
Yeah, it's funny because no one ever thinks I'm growing food either haha
do the little plant need to be in the water until the roots get long enough or is it enough just to moisten the grow media with bubbles?
really bag way to teach " just pour a bit in when it drops?
stop teaching go back to teaching abouyt removing dynamite in an over factory with the questionable safety record
Hydroton = used carpet its free! Net pot = solo cups with many holes ..cheep !
I heard you should always buy two of the pumps from the beginning, because if one dies off, you need to replace them quickly…
Hi
Can i put plant apart after to 2 bucket roots its together in bucket can I splitt them?
Can anybody tell me how many pots would one air pump cover or do I have to have an airpump for each pot?
the tube is filled with air only, no need to have an opaque one, no algae should find its way in.
what is a good water level - how much of the net pot needs to be submerged in the water?
So can the net pots sit in the water? or does it have to be suspended from the surface of the water?
Thanks for the video Kevin. I was wondering if you have an idea whether this system works for growing Alfalfa?
Hey epic this is an old video but I hope you can reply to this. So when picking a reservoir going with a 20gallon tank I would have to fill that whole 20 ish gallons of water with nutrients? And then my next question is for a one plant grow would it be more efficient to go with a 5 or 10 gallon res
I don't think that regarding thing up nutes you said ,"just pop some more in" 😵 no and the water should be changed every week to avoid some unnecessary problems
I just thought of a good probably efficient way to cut holes without a somewhat expensive hole saw or whatever. If you have a drill and some metal drill bits, you can just draw your circle and then drill many holes really close to each other over that circle (kinda like certain products have pre-made) til you've gone all the way around and then you just carefully punch out the hole with a hammer or something!
Yup, that's actually how I did it the first time. Not a hammer, but scissors once you can get them in the hole.
Haha! Badass! I was honestly thinking "Omg how am I gonna make a perfect (for the most part) hole in my buckets/containers to set my Hydro baskets in! plzzzzzz don't tell me a hole saw is 100% required cause I don't have the money for that right now!" so I instantly thought of that method. Anyways, so you just drilled one hole in and then cut it with a good pair of scissors and it worked? Nice!
I'm incorporating the air pump into my coffee can setup...
Hey I'm a total beginner. I do understand that the water needs to be changed about every month or so I would like to kno how to tell when the water is due for a changing?
+dean jones You monitor your pH, ppm / ec, and water level and adjust accordingly!
Hi Kevin. I enjoyed your tutorial, so thank you very much. Just one thing i am still not clear about- where is the base of the net pot in relation to the nutrient solution? Do you allow the base to touch the solution?
Kevin,you failed to discuss the material the net pots sit in?Does it "FLOAT?s it "FIXED"?
Use something like coconut coir or hydroton (expanded clay pellets). It doesn't float - it's fixed in the net pots!
Don't worry about getting an opaque tube because you really shouldn't have light inside of your dwc system at all roots and light do not go together well! And I highly recommend not getting the cheapest pump that they have specifically do to the reliability of the cheap ones and the output of air from the cheap ones you don't need a whole lot of air but you definitely don't want to go skimpy on the amount of air you pump into the nutrient solution because that will negatively affect your plants health and yield. Been growing with dwc and several other methods 4 over 15 years now, dwc is definitely one of my favorites and then my next favorite would be flood and drain. I'm not down in your video or you're advice this is actually a great tutorial very easy to understand, one of the better ones I've seen here on UA-cam. I gave you a thumbs-up and subscribed as well as shared it with a buddy of mine that is looking into starting so I wanted to give him something that was worth watching and this was it so thank you very much for saving me the hassle of explaining to him.
True, but light on tubing in outside always makes me go with opaque tubing just in case. thanks for subscribing and sharing my friend!
Hey I had a few questions I hope you can help. How would I go about changing the water every month? Do I simply need to refill whenever level drops or completely drain and refill every month if so how would I without damaging the roots? Also I’m looking to use this model to grow cannabis indoors what lighting/fan cycles/materials should I be using? Can I keep this in the open in my room or would an enclosed tent work better? Also what brands do you recommend on nutrients and how do I achieve proper PH levels? Sorry lots of a questions from a beginner I’m grateful if you can help tho!
I'd try to go once a week if possible. As far as ventilation and tents, here are some links for you from my site: www.epicgardening.com/grow-room-ventilation-101/
For nutrients, I recommend General Hydroponics Flora Series :)
How do u protect urself from pythium/root rot...we tried dwc for 2 years and it was more trouble than it was worth.
Would oxygen be a problem if it where only week? I have a regular garden and an aquaponics garden. I was wanting to create a dwc to house my garden plants for a week while I'm on vacation, so they'll stay watered., but I don't have an air pump. If I jsut fill it up, will the plants last for an week? Or would I have to link it to my aquaponics to get more oxygen rich water?
Probably would be fine over aw eek or so, but I would still get a little air pump.
Great video! Why do you have to drain and replace the water every month if you are adding new oxygen and nutrients?
Simple easy can't go wrong
So you check the Ph after mixing Nuits Right, then water
My lighting I think is my downfall it's in a 3x3x60 tent but is only a 45watt led. I made my switch yesterday and when I came home today my peppers had curled leaves and a few dropped. Mostly on the plant that was producing peppers so I removed all the flowers along with the peppers and filled the res leaving about a 2 inch gap for air also made sure the air pumps pumping good along with a ph of 6.4 so I've narrowed it down to Shock and lighting. My new light will be here tomorrow and is 300w led. Hopefully all will recover
Hmmm...probably a lighting issue. Consider checking out www.epicgardening.com/indoor-grow-lights and the entire lighting category, lots of good stuff on there. Good luck with the 300w!
So i bought, a 5 gallon DWC bucket from amazon and also purchased the general organics starter kit and started with a 6 inch cannabis plant, established healthy roots already, pH tested my water and added the recommended amount of "Thrive" and Ca Mag and Bio Root witch they all compliment each other and work hand in hand. So a close estimate of how much i was putting in, it showed to put 5ml for every gallon so I added 20ml total cause it wasn't completely 5 gallons and i figured wouldn't make much of a difference. And 5ml a gallon was recommended for all 3 of the nights i put in. So, the following day i noticed it was bubbling up through the net pot so i simply emptied a little out and then noticed my water was dirty and murky and smelled a bit. ( I'm aware nutrients don't smell the best) but it was a noticeable smell from a good way away. Anyways long story short, my plant ended up dying about a month after that. I changed water every 2 weeks, and added even less notes the second time. Did i shock the root system? What you think happened.
Jake Jay If your a beginner, and it kinda sounds like you are, you only really need to add R/O water, some Algae Extract, and a little bit of nutrients. Depending on how old your plants were, you should probably start with using 1/4 - 1/2 the recommended nutrient dose and build it up as needed (weekly) . . When dealing with Cannabis, I would highly recommend you change your water (Completely), Once every 7 days, adding fresh Nutrients, etc. . If you are using tap (City) water you should't have to add any Cal-Mag, it's meant to be used with R/O (Reverse Osmosis) water. What I think your biggest problem is, is that your using General Hydroponic Nutrients ?? If your growing Cannabis, I highly recommend Advanced Nutrients. They are the only company who's Nutrients are designed specifically for Cannabis. Hope that helps out a bit (a year later) . .
how will i apply this with aquaponics? thanks
Can I use this same system with fish? and if so can I take out my fish filter?
Do it and take pictures!
I'd go with at least half an inch to an inch!
Hello! This is great information! Very simple and yet has a ton of necessary info for people like me who would like to start a hydroponic system. I have a question though about putting fish into the water instead of using commercially available hydroponic solution. Will it be as effective? OR is it possible to mix in both the fish and the solution into the water? Sorry, I don't know if my questions make any sense but I would greatly appreciate any reply. Thank you for your time.
They sell black air tubing I got some for my pump works great..yes lyca balls or hydration you will need to clean them well and then p.h them with Cal mag to 6.5 p.h