RDWC Build guide

[tokenroll]

@badbillybob reference waterpumps, just a thought, would a waterpump for central heating do a better job with more pressure etc. Plus it would be kept out of the water.

Toke...

[badbillybob]

to be honest I don't know.

But I don't think they are designed to work constantly/ continuously, and notice that they are dearer than pond pumps.

if you want a pump to use out of the water, im sure DC pond pumps can be used out of the water., And as an added bonus, they use less electric than HX series haileas

Edited July 1, 2018 by badbillybob

[Guest]

That is a frickin tree machine 

[badbillybob]

I hope so

[Bwm]

Nice to see what you’ve been up to @badbillybob, a good read, looks pretty impressive. 

[Nath90]

On 17/01/2018 at 7:00 PM, badbillybob said:

No problem, 

here is my latest build. its not finished, I will hve to wait for the credit card to stop smoking before I buy the tank connectors for this one.

This will use 2 inch tank connectors and return pipe, because I drilled the holes in the tubs before I got busted, and the pricks took away my tank conectors, all piping and fittings, but for some bizzare reason, left these  totes, despite taking all the others, including ones in my loft/shed etc. SO lets be thankful for police incompetence.

Totes are 60 litre jobs, and the net pots are flood and drain 20 litre bucket tops, as they are about 250mm wide and about 30mm deeper, with a wider brim on the net pot, which will hopefully stop the plants wobbling about when they get LARGE.

The extra depth will mean more drop from the spray bars, of which there is one sitting on top of the bottom left tote.

I'm really liking these totes, they are pretty thick plastic, with a hinged lid, for inspection but the down side is that the sides are too angled.

I was originally going to use them for a proper undercurrent system, but the pipes were leaking due to the side angle of the totes, and it was distorting them to the point that I didn't think they would last long before fracturing, so they will just be used for a top spray recirc system.

 

I use pretty much exclusively Ionic nutes, and I use no organic feeds at all (bloody nightmare they are).

These systems are great to run, produce great fuck off plants like this 

and I don't have to get rid of loads of muck or coco at the end of each grow, just sling it down the shitter and start over after a extensive wash with bleached water. 

cheers.

 

Any other RDWC love?

Just wondering how long was these in veg? Just snooping though some old posts...  

[badbillybob]

.

 

No idea, but I would guess about 7-8 weeks

I seem to remember this one below was about 6-7 weeks Ph pen for scale It just squeezed into a 1.2 square tent. I had to move it to the big tent to flower it.

 

Edited September 4, 2018 by badbillybob

[badbillybob]

Week 5 veg, just to show you it works

next run im linking in the other side of the room to this system, sharing a res. 

Only down side to this is the need to run same strain grows, or strains with very similar feeding requirements. 

[badbillybob]

right, its been a while, and I never mentioned anything about system maintenance, so today class, I shall be discussing - sex education er system maintenance.

 

 

I will begin at the end, the end of the grow that is. Once you have harvested all your buds, and trimmed them and they are drying, you are feeling pretty pleased aren't you? 

its time to do a clean out of the whole shebang before you can start your next adventure, unless of course you enjoy fighting root rots, pathogens, infections on your plants etc etc.

|First thing to do is the drain the reserviour, and once you have it as drained as the pesky little pump will go you will end up with something like this.

pretty manky eh. Your pump is the heart of your system and you will see I have removed the foam filter from it. You will also see that there is not a lot of root material on the sponge filter. That's because I rinse it out every week, as sponges and filters are like a primo 5 star hotel for pathogens to hang out in. SO first, rinse out the sponge, tap water with a drop of bleach will do and rinse it out a few times from the inside out, to push any small root hairs outward from the sponge. 

eave the pump connected and give it a good wash in bleachy water, to kill anything.

Next up are the totes, as with the res, you need to physically bale out the remaining water in them all.  Before you do tho, get your big bucket of hot bleachy water and a multi surface cloth and clean around the tote, from top to bottom, including the underside of the lids, which get manky, and bail it all out. While you are there use a cloth with bleachy water around the top of the bucket, and the spray bars to wipe off any residue or gunk. This is the first pass, you will also do this once more, when  the system is emptied , and has been refilled to about a 1/4 of the pot depth, or at least enough to cover the pump, and has been refilled with, can you guess? that's right bleachy water. 

Once the system is 1/4 filled, run the pump thru the spraybars etc for 24 hrs. A word of caution, don't put masses of bleach in there as it will bubble up like an accident in a car wash, ok. |Don't say I never warned you. 

Now part 2 of the bleachy clean of the top parts of the buckets, and underside of the lids to do again. I take the lids outside, wash them with bleachy and rinse off with the garden hose. these are now done. The lids are done, not the buckets. The totes have now been getting a solid clean in bleached water for 24 hrs, spray bars will be disinfected and the returns will be cleaner than they were at the start. The returns never get spotless, but we can only do what we can. 

Right, empty all the bleachy water out the system and refill straight from the tap, flush it through, and clean the insides of the totes with the cloth, all the high parts the water isn't reaching, then once its spotless, empty and bail out the totes again and its ready for action.  remember to re- clean the pump filter before you refill the system with fresh nutrients

 

Now the net pots. and stones. 

This is how I do it, I empty the stones from the pots, having removed any stray leaves etc from the top surface. The plant stem is still attached at this point and a gentle waggle back and forth will remove the loose ones, but don't go mental or you will end up with loads of root hairs in the pebbles, which you don't want, This will leave something like this. Nice  clean (ish)  hydroton. You will probably be stoned off the scissor hash at this point which may make the picture below look blurry. ahem.

 

Now to get rid of all that root mass. Don't hang about with this and leave it for days, cos it stinks, real bad.

Get a sharp Stanley or craft knife, and gently swipe it down the sides of the net pot outside and then you can skim off the roots from the bottom of the net pot too leaving reasonably clean net pots, like this

 

now you have removed the roots from the outside of the pot, you can just wiggle the stem and the rest should come out. DUmp this and don't bother trying to salvage the few bits of hydroton. Its not worth it, trust me.

Now you can clean the net pots in bleachy and rinse in tap water, and they are ready for re-use.

 

The clay pebbles need cleaned. I fill the bath with bleached water and let the hydroton soak overnight. This should kill any remaining pathogens. Then I rinse the stones all out with fresh tap water. THEN I RE-FILL THE BATH WITH CLEAN TAP WATER, RE-SET THE PH TO 5.5 AND LEAVE For 24 hrs fkin caps lock.

Once they have been left 24 hrs re-fill bath with mild grow nutes, about 0.4ec and ph it to 5.6, and once it has soaked in this for a day these can be drained and are ready to re-use.

Also remember and do this with the hydroton you will need to top up the buckets with. 

 

The airstones and pump. 

Don't forget about these either. I remove the airstones, scrub them with a toothbrush, a spare toothbrush, not the same one I do my teeth with ha ha and boil them for about 10 minutes in bleachy water, then rinse, then blow air thu them from the sir pump,  then boil in normal water, then dry. These are done.

The airlines also need cleaned, again in bleachy water, use a cloth and make sure they get a good clean as these can hold on to pathogen too. Then rinse. I usually cut the end off them so I have a fresh new end to re-attach with the airstones to. 

watch the boiling water, it can melt the adhesive used to connect the airline nozzle to the stone. I silicone mine back in place, and hopefully it should be ok for another run. They are at least 3 quid you know......

These small green  airstones are garbage, don't use them. The golf balls are fine and work well, as do the ones with the square ends and cylinder middle part, on the previous page. 

I also change out my airstones every 3 runs It helps efficiency and doesn't cost that much.

 

Cant think of anything else just now, but if you just treat it as if everything in the room is contaminated and needs cleaned, you wont go far wrong.

 

Cheers, seeya ron.

Edited December 2, 2018 by badbillybob

[badbillybob]

I don't have to tell you to wipe down the walls,  floor, outside of fans, shades, solid  ducting etc as well do I? 

 

no?

 

good.

 

Also don't forget to hook up the chiller at some point and put bleached water thru it, even if its just for 10 minutes, then rinse thru with clean.

If you forget to do this I wouldn't lose sleep over it, unless its been lying around for ages, with water, nutes mould, spores, pathogens etc in it.

 

You could probably get away with not doing half of this, and I know of some people e who just stick in new cuts and crack on, but it doesn't take long, and you have peace of mind knowing that its nothing system related when your next plants get some bizzare deficiency.

 

cant think of anything else, but as usual i'll be back if I do. 

 

Oh and to give you a laugh, I was doing this today, filling with water out the hose, which has a pressurised nozzle, and stuck the hose in the return pipe in the res, between the pump and the tank connector,  to save me holding on to it, next thing the hose breaks free and starts spraying water abso-fucking-lutely everywhere , while I tried to wrestle it to the ground, like some demented out of control python handler. 

Luckily the electrical stuff didn't get hit, but unluckily, I did, I got fukn drenched. 

 

Do hydro they said………..it'll be fun.....they said...…..

 

 

[badbillybob]

Ive had a few personal issues lately , and needed something to take my mind off them, …..so...…...Well after only one adventure in the system, ive taken it to bits.

Its time for an upgrade, so I have removed the res from its current location, and decided to go full rdwc for the whole room, . 

Ive moved the res into the room itself, but will leave the chiller outside, and will run all the totes from a single res. 

 

It will make things much easier for res changes, but if I get any root issues the whole lot could be fuct, that's the risk. 

It was either this or to do 2 reserviours with separate chillers (££££££), etc.

 

I did treat myself to a new pump or two tho, a hefty Hailea T8000, and its a beast. And a little maxijet 1000 for the chiller

My plan is to run the 4 pots on the left of the room off the 4000l/min pump, and the 5 pots on the right off the 8000l/min pump.

The 4000l/hr one worked fine, and with the addition of a airstone or two, it kept the roots nice and healthy, and the ph and ec within range easily.

I will see what the 8000 litre one does, and take it from there. 4000 litre one on top to give you an idea of the scale. the 8000 one is massive. 

So 3 pumps in the res, but the chiller can keep it cool, I hope.

I got as far as making up a new base from flooring and 3*2 and I covered it wilth roofing felt to waterproof it should it ever leak, not that its going to, I hope.

I also managed to get the returns in, and glued, so progress is swift.  I have been busy as fuck because I also moved the lights and the timber rails they are attached to ,and sorted out the scrog frames, again.

I will have the electrics to sort out, the intake ducting and the airpump etc to sort too before I get it going, so a few days work. I am also thinking about boxing in the returns, where the go from the totes to the res before I go falling over it, or worse, trip over/ stand on them and crack em.

The oscillating fans, humidifier, heater, air pump etc will all be run from within the room, so the old holes will need filled too. 

 

I should have done all this from the start, but its just stuff that needs fixed to make life easier for me in future.

 

I have the spray bars and feed lines to do tomorrow, and then I will leave it 24 hrs and test it with water. 

Here are some progress pics

 

Mon the water works.....

[badbillybob]

well we have finished the glueing, its ready for lift off. 

I am just waiting for an adapter/jointing piece between the muvva pumpa and the tubeing, to connect them up, then I will fill it and give it a circulation for 24 hrs, and see what falls off lol.

Here you go spray bars, ready for glueing

next up shows the whole jing bang, like I say ive just got to connect up the pumps. 

I also connected the chiller, which I was originally gonna put outside the room, but due to poor planning, it would just have meant another 2 hoses to trip over, so I have put it in the room between the res and the door of the room, (not pictured)  its piped up from a maxijet 1000 to the chiller, and a return hose to a y piece to distribute the water and add a little DO. as I cant use flooms this time- no room due to mega pump. 

and the rest of it. 

I just hope nothing leaks or gives way, there is near on 4000 litres of water in here

 

hindsight is a great thing. I should have put the spray bar feed pipework for the 5 tote system to the back of the totes, like it is on the 4 tote side - doh.

And I should also have put the res at the other end of the room to save me from having to lift me leg over the spray bar pipework every time I go in there.

 

I thought I would save that for re-design number 3, its never ending -if you don't plan it out properly.

I should also have bit the bullet and upgraded the 4 pot side pump to a 6-7000 litre one, but fugit, it will do for now. 

 

[Warren cox]

On 16/01/2018 at 3:40 PM, badbillybob said:

Hello, my fellow herb enthusiasts, I have decided to put up a short build guide for people considering RDWC.

Now I have pictured 2 of my previous system builds, but unfortunately, the pigs stole them so I'm a bit limited in showing actual photos of various parts of the build.

I have built quite a few of these over the years, each one has been a learning process, and not without disaster along the way, as u do.

The systems shown will fit in a 2.4 by 1.2 tent (the 4 pot one) or a 1.2 tent (the 2 pot one)

These are NOT undercurrent systems, they are simple recirculating systems, utilising 22mm spray bars for the delivery and 40mm returns to the res. 

 

I have located the res outside of the tent in both systems, because this helps keep the temperature of the nutrients cooler, and reduces the work for the chiller (i'll come to that later)

So the system works by the process of pumping nutrient around the system, through  the spray bars. This nutrient solution is highly oxygenated, with high levels of dissolved oxygen produced by the falling water disturbing the surface tension (which creates DO(dissolved oxygen).

 

Now I'm not saying that this system is perfect or cant be improved upon, because nothing is perfect is it, its all a compromise in some way or other, before you all start slagging it off and telling me how I should have done this or that or whatever. I'm not really interested, ok?  good.......... then we shall proceed

 

Lets start with a list of stuff you will need to complete this build (2 pot system) The pictures are meant as a guide only as some of the stuff I describe is what I would do differently if I was to do it again

 

3No. really useful boxes (2 for the plants , one for the res) either 64 or 84 litre jobs (the more nutrient you have the more stable the EC and Ph will remain). this is why I use big boxes

A hole cutter for 22mm and 40mm pipework.

A number of 40 mm  tank connectors (6 in this case), plus 40mm pipework, bends and tees to suit. I use solvent weld fittings, which do not leak if done properly, unlike the push fit ones. The solvent weld fittings are also cheaper woop woop. the down side is that if you ever want to move the system or dismantle it, you will need a hacksaw lol.

A number of 22mm pipework fittings including bends, tees and pipework. 

I am not stating how many of each you use because it will depend on how you lay it out. I'm sure you are capable of working this part out for yourselves

A water pump _ I would recommend a 4000l/hr one for this size system, the 4 pot system I used a 6000l/hr one, but should have gone bigger.

A reducer from the water pump outlet to the 22mm spray bar. These can be bought off ebay as silicone reducers , just pump in the sizes, e.g 22mm to 26mmm or whatever it is.

Stainless hose clamps to suit this reducer, both ends.

various drill bits, a drill, 

 

A chiller- will depend on the total capacity of your system, for a 2 pot system I reckon you would be ok with a 150l chiller, I used a 300l one on the 4 pot system

Maxijet 1000l/hr pump and hose to suit the chiller.

 

 

Right, now to the construction part. we will start with the returns. these are 40mm, which are a decent compromise, you can go bigger (but they are expensive) or smaller (more likely to block with roots etc)

So take your really useful boxes and lay them in the tent where you want them to go, this is how I did it

 

As you can see the totes are side by side with the return pipes at the front and back of each box. Its always a good idea to set things out to make sure there is enough room for like lids to fit on (ahem), and all the pipework to fit  etc. Now once you know where its all going measure out your pipes, notiing where each one goes. I lay them out on the floor the way they will go in the tent, makes life a little easier.

 

The return pipes are attached to the box via the 40mm tank connector, which is solvent welded to the pipe When you drill the hole for the tank connector/ bulkhead, you want to try and get it very close to the bottom of the box,, BUT make sure you still have room  to screw on the nut. When you get the tank connectors you will see a rubber washer type thing - this goes to the outside of the box ok?

A word on solvent cement- you can get high as fuck off it so use in a well ventilated area (that's the health and safety pish out the way) Also, when using solvent cement, this is what I do to prevent bailing water out of the tent/ leaks  . Saw cut the end of the pipe, then sand off the rough end where all the scrappy bits are, and a small chamfer on the end of the pipe. (Use 100 grit sandpaper or above) Make sure nothing is sticking out from the pipe, like rough edges etc

Put the solvent cement on the end of the pipe, AND on the inside of the fitting it is getting connected to. Now stick em together, you don't get long.

When I join them together I kinda push the pipe in and give it a 1/4 turn at the same time. wipe off the excess glue (don't put it back in the glue pot)  Leave this for 15 minutes and it will be solid.

So glue all the returns together, putting it in the box, measuring trimming etc as you go, to be sure it will all FIT properly. No point glueing it all together then finding out your 10mm out on a measurement has fucked half of it up is there.

The returns are at opposite sides of the really useful box to equalise the return flow, so that the roots stay in the centre of the box. If both returns were at the same side of the box, the roots WILL migrate there and clog the returns. 

In the picture above you will see just below the spray bar Tee, the return pipes go to a tee fitting and then back to the res. If I was to do it again I would have 2 returns to the res, just in case the one was to block with root (unlikely tho it may be).

 

The picture above also shows the spray bars, the 22mm pipe inside the box which delivers the nutrients to the tote.

Drill the holes for these as high up the sides of the box as possible, you want as much fall from the water as possible. This one is drilled just below the top lip. 

These are done in a similar fashion to the returns, but it is easier to drill the holes for the nutrient to spray from before you glue the lot together. I use a small drill bit for the holes, and for this system, if I remember I had something like 4 holes on each  long side and 2 on the short sides. I had these holes drilled in such a way to spray the water around the base of the net pot, about an inch or 2 away from the actual pot itself, but its not really critical where the holes go, as long as the water can splash on the surface, creating DO.  The spray bars go to a TEE which goes to a single pipe from the water pump. A word of advice  - the pump outlet has a reducer attached, and then it goes to the 22mm pipe. You will see that this pipe goes through the side of the res. there is a reason for this, which is - if somehow the pipe detaches from the reducer, it will not go flying out of the way allowing the fountain from the res to flood the room, as the side hole will keep the pipe in place.

See pic below. Again if I was doing this again I would have the pump closer to the tent side of the box.

 

this pic also shows the reserviour, outside the tent. You can see the single return at the bottom of the box. The red thing on top of the pump is the reducer Like a said, id do a double return next time, but you get the idea. If you look at the pic above, then this one, its like, inside the tent- outside the tent

Here is my 4 pot system in action with spraybars (the spray bars are a different design, but the principle is the same).

 

On the subject of dissolved oxygen, you can also add an airstone or 2 to this system. You don't really NEED to, but they help by creating yet more oxygen to the rootzone, like I did in the above system.

 

so that's the spray bars and returns done, you are nearly there. 

For the net pots you need to make some holes in the lids. I use 200mm net pots, and to make the hole I devised a cunning plan, baldrick would be proud of. here is how its done.

Mark the centre of the box lid, drill very small pilot hole, then get a piece of timber, and put a drywall screw through one end, so the tip of the screw ids protruding by about 3-5mm. then  measure out 95mm and put another screw through the same amount. Put one screw in the pilot hole you drilled, and then turn the wood through 360 degrees scoring a perfect circle into the plastic. Then you just keep on scoring round and round till you eventually go through the lid , or it gets so thin you can cut it with a Stanley.

 

Also when this is done insulate the boxes if possible, ive used Kingspan in the top pics, or even the silver reflective bubble wrap stuff for the lids is better than nothing, DO it.

 

chillers - you WILL need one

Chillers have a separate pump- a maxijet 1000l/hr job from the res to the chiller, and the warer will naturally return from the chiller to the res, , if you can try and get the return to make the water fall back to the res - more DO - you know it makes sense.

 

Pop in your net pot, fill with hydroton and grow big fuck of trees.

My first run in the 2 pot system produced 700grams from two (whisper it ) autos

 

Mission accomplished. If I think of anything else I will add it. 

 

Mon the water

 

 

 

Fantastic set up.. I've also built my own RDWC and can just about squeeze it in my 4x4 tent.. 

I'm a novice at growing weed and this is my first set up! Just need to buy seeds now but not sure of which strain to buy? Autos or photoperiod?

[Warren cox]

On 16/01/2018 at 3:40 PM, badbillybob said:

Hello, my fellow herb enthusiasts, I have decided to put up a short build guide for people considering RDWC.

Now I have pictured 2 of my previous system builds, but unfortunately, the pigs stole them so I'm a bit limited in showing actual photos of various parts of the build.

I have built quite a few of these over the years, each one has been a learning process, and not without disaster along the way, as u do.

The systems shown will fit in a 2.4 by 1.2 tent (the 4 pot one) or a 1.2 tent (the 2 pot one)

These are NOT undercurrent systems, they are simple recirculating systems, utilising 22mm spray bars for the delivery and 40mm returns to the res. 

 

I have located the res outside of the tent in both systems, because this helps keep the temperature of the nutrients cooler, and reduces the work for the chiller (i'll come to that later)

So the system works by the process of pumping nutrient around the system, through  the spray bars. This nutrient solution is highly oxygenated, with high levels of dissolved oxygen produced by the falling water disturbing the surface tension (which creates DO(dissolved oxygen).

 

Now I'm not saying that this system is perfect or cant be improved upon, because nothing is perfect is it, its all a compromise in some way or other, before you all start slagging it off and telling me how I should have done this or that or whatever. I'm not really interested, ok?  good.......... then we shall proceed

 

Lets start with a list of stuff you will need to complete this build (2 pot system) The pictures are meant as a guide only as some of the stuff I describe is what I would do differently if I was to do it again

 

3No. really useful boxes (2 for the plants , one for the res) either 64 or 84 litre jobs (the more nutrient you have the more stable the EC and Ph will remain). this is why I use big boxes

A hole cutter for 22mm and 40mm pipework.

A number of 40 mm  tank connectors (6 in this case), plus 40mm pipework, bends and tees to suit. I use solvent weld fittings, which do not leak if done properly, unlike the push fit ones. The solvent weld fittings are also cheaper woop woop. the down side is that if you ever want to move the system or dismantle it, you will need a hacksaw lol.

A number of 22mm pipework fittings including bends, tees and pipework. 

I am not stating how many of each you use because it will depend on how you lay it out. I'm sure you are capable of working this part out for yourselves

A water pump _ I would recommend a 4000l/hr one for this size system, the 4 pot system I used a 6000l/hr one, but should have gone bigger.

A reducer from the water pump outlet to the 22mm spray bar. These can be bought off ebay as silicone reducers , just pump in the sizes, e.g 22mm to 26mmm or whatever it is.

Stainless hose clamps to suit this reducer, both ends.

various drill bits, a drill, 

 

A chiller- will depend on the total capacity of your system, for a 2 pot system I reckon you would be ok with a 150l chiller, I used a 300l one on the 4 pot system

Maxijet 1000l/hr pump and hose to suit the chiller.

 

 

Right, now to the construction part. we will start with the returns. these are 40mm, which are a decent compromise, you can go bigger (but they are expensive) or smaller (more likely to block with roots etc)

So take your really useful boxes and lay them in the tent where you want them to go, this is how I did it

 

As you can see the totes are side by side with the return pipes at the front and back of each box. Its always a good idea to set things out to make sure there is enough room for like lids to fit on (ahem), and all the pipework to fit  etc. Now once you know where its all going measure out your pipes, notiing where each one goes. I lay them out on the floor the way they will go in the tent, makes life a little easier.

 

The return pipes are attached to the box via the 40mm tank connector, which is solvent welded to the pipe When you drill the hole for the tank connector/ bulkhead, you want to try and get it very close to the bottom of the box,, BUT make sure you still have room  to screw on the nut. When you get the tank connectors you will see a rubber washer type thing - this goes to the outside of the box ok?

A word on solvent cement- you can get high as fuck off it so use in a well ventilated area (that's the health and safety pish out the way) Also, when using solvent cement, this is what I do to prevent bailing water out of the tent/ leaks  . Saw cut the end of the pipe, then sand off the rough end where all the scrappy bits are, and a small chamfer on the end of the pipe. (Use 100 grit sandpaper or above) Make sure nothing is sticking out from the pipe, like rough edges etc

Put the solvent cement on the end of the pipe, AND on the inside of the fitting it is getting connected to. Now stick em together, you don't get long.

When I join them together I kinda push the pipe in and give it a 1/4 turn at the same time. wipe off the excess glue (don't put it back in the glue pot)  Leave this for 15 minutes and it will be solid.

So glue all the returns together, putting it in the box, measuring trimming etc as you go, to be sure it will all FIT properly. No point glueing it all together then finding out your 10mm out on a measurement has fucked half of it up is there.

The returns are at opposite sides of the really useful box to equalise the return flow, so that the roots stay in the centre of the box. If both returns were at the same side of the box, the roots WILL migrate there and clog the returns. 

In the picture above you will see just below the spray bar Tee, the return pipes go to a tee fitting and then back to the res. If I was to do it again I would have 2 returns to the res, just in case the one was to block with root (unlikely tho it may be).

 

The picture above also shows the spray bars, the 22mm pipe inside the box which delivers the nutrients to the tote.

Drill the holes for these as high up the sides of the box as possible, you want as much fall from the water as possible. This one is drilled just below the top lip. 

These are done in a similar fashion to the returns, but it is easier to drill the holes for the nutrient to spray from before you glue the lot together. I use a small drill bit for the holes, and for this system, if I remember I had something like 4 holes on each  long side and 2 on the short sides. I had these holes drilled in such a way to spray the water around the base of the net pot, about an inch or 2 away from the actual pot itself, but its not really critical where the holes go, as long as the water can splash on the surface, creating DO.  The spray bars go to a TEE which goes to a single pipe from the water pump. A word of advice  - the pump outlet has a reducer attached, and then it goes to the 22mm pipe. You will see that this pipe goes through the side of the res. there is a reason for this, which is - if somehow the pipe detaches from the reducer, it will not go flying out of the way allowing the fountain from the res to flood the room, as the side hole will keep the pipe in place.

See pic below. Again if I was doing this again I would have the pump closer to the tent side of the box.

 

this pic also shows the reserviour, outside the tent. You can see the single return at the bottom of the box. The red thing on top of the pump is the reducer Like a said, id do a double return next time, but you get the idea. If you look at the pic above, then this one, its like, inside the tent- outside the tent

Here is my 4 pot system in action with spraybars (the spray bars are a different design, but the principle is the same).

 

On the subject of dissolved oxygen, you can also add an airstone or 2 to this system. You don't really NEED to, but they help by creating yet more oxygen to the rootzone, like I did in the above system.

 

so that's the spray bars and returns done, you are nearly there. 

For the net pots you need to make some holes in the lids. I use 200mm net pots, and to make the hole I devised a cunning plan, baldrick would be proud of. here is how its done.

Mark the centre of the box lid, drill very small pilot hole, then get a piece of timber, and put a drywall screw through one end, so the tip of the screw ids protruding by about 3-5mm. then  measure out 95mm and put another screw through the same amount. Put one screw in the pilot hole you drilled, and then turn the wood through 360 degrees scoring a perfect circle into the plastic. Then you just keep on scoring round and round till you eventually go through the lid , or it gets so thin you can cut it with a Stanley.

 

Also when this is done insulate the boxes if possible, ive used Kingspan in the top pics, or even the silver reflective bubble wrap stuff for the lids is better than nothing, DO it.

 

chillers - you WILL need one

Chillers have a separate pump- a maxijet 1000l/hr job from the res to the chiller, and the warer will naturally return from the chiller to the res, , if you can try and get the return to make the water fall back to the res - more DO - you know it makes sense.

 

Pop in your net pot, fill with hydroton and grow big fuck of trees.

My first run in the 2 pot system produced 700grams from two (whisper it ) autos

 

Mission accomplished. If I think of anything else I will add it. 

 

Mon the water

 

 

 

 

[Warren cox]

Fantastic set up.. I've also built my own RDWC and can just about squeeze it in my 4x4 tent.. 

I'm a novice at growing weed and this is my first set up! Just need to buy seeds now but not sure of which strain to buy? Autos or photoperiod?

Edited January 17, 2019 by Warren cox