Wondering how Deep Water Culture or DWC system can be applied when growing marijuana? Perhaps you’ve heard that this system is not suitable for your marijuana plants. But in reality, this system can make a potential way of achieving an excellently-grown marijuana plant. And fortunately, this article will provide you more tips and useful information regarding the DIY DWC system.
With this manner of cultivation, you give your marijuana plants better entry to oxygen and nutrients, as well as the absolute space to cultivate the roots. This gives you the entire management of the feeding of your plants and shall guarantee more rapid vegetation and the formation of firmer side branches. Other advantages include minimal maintenance as well as peace of mind since you do not have to worry about the possibility of overwatering or under-watering.
How to Make DIY DWC System
Some may think that DIY DWC System could drown marijuana plants. But if you get a full grasp on this mechanism, you would know that this is not the actual scenario when you grow marijuana through DWC. This system is an effective way of guaranteeing that the plants get continuous entry to the water.
When making a DIY DWC system, you should first prepare the materials. Here are the things that you have to secure:
- 20L bucket with lid
- 4mm airline tubing
- 140mm net pot
- Elite 800 air pump
- 15mm Grommet
- 15mm Green food-grade tubing
- 4-inch round airstone
- Enlarging bit/hole cutting
- Drill
- 4mm drill bit
- 140mm hole cutter
- Hole saw
- Electric drill
Here is the step-by-step guide:
- Using the drill and hole saw, create one or many holes into the container’s lid. See to it that they have enough space because this will be the spot where you will position your marijuana plants. You should make holes that are a bit smaller compared to the pots. By doing so, you can prevent the pots from breaking down through the lid and shall offer reinforcement to the marijuana plants.
- Drill another hole in the corner of the container. Place the hole close to the top portion. See to it that this hole is sufficiently big to allow passage for the airline. Remember that placing the pipe straight to the lid can trigger some concerns when exhausting and furnishing the container.
- Place the air stones at the base of the pots or container and attach them to the air pump through the manifold or outlet. You should position the air pump on top of the reservoir or set up a non-return valve in the middle of the reservoir and pump. By doing so, you can prevent gravity’s drive from submerging the water into the air pump once it is turned off.
- Replenish the reservoir with a nutrient solution whose pH is adjusted and power on the air pump for 24 hours in a day. You might have to use an aquarium heater if you get a water temperature that is below 16 degrees Celsius. Consider keeping the temperature between the range of 18 to 22 degrees Celsius.
- Decide on the medium. It is necessary that you cautiously consider the type medium used in the DIY DWC system since young marijuana plants are likely to sizzle within hours. You may consider using Rockwool or day pebbles. Both can be effectively used in DWC. However, each of them has positive and negative traits.
- Clay pebbles are ideal for the DWC system however they cannot offer young marijuana plants with sufficient liquid to endure for more than several hours. If you decide to use clay pebbles, you should attach a timer and a drip system that can nourish the plants regularly. It is important to keep the developing roots moist until they arrive at the DWC reservoir.
- Rockwool is commonly simpler to use because of its capability to retain water. However, its major disadvantage originates from its intensely pregnable trait. It is inclined to becoming impregnated if squirted by the DWC reservoir or if the reservoir is excessively filled.
At first, while the marijuana plant is young, the Rockwool has to be in collision with the nutrient solution to wick the nutrients and provide water to the marijuana plant. While the marijuana plant gets mature, its root system prospers and the nutrient solution level can be lowered.
Tips in Doing DIY DWC System
If you are utilizing small-size net pots, it would be more effective if you maintain a distance between the DWC reservoir and the net pots. This distance will diminish the probabilities of soaking off and shall boost the rate of respiration of the roots.
Make sure that the pots or your container are lightproof. If they do not have this trait, you can consider covering them with a lightproof material, ideally a reflective or white as it can also help to keep them cool. Moreover, putting a drainage tap can help with the emptying of the system. Alternatively, you can use a water pump to drain the reservoir. Remember to pre-mix the solution to prevent shocking or injuring the roots. If necessary, top up the reservoir and replace the entire nutrient solution regularly. Bigger reservoirs would need minimal maintenance and are likely to give a more substantial pH level.
Lastly, keep an EC reading that is lower than the normal since marijuana plants will unceasingly feed. You might find it ironic as compared to other systems that run with a dry and wet cycle, but this is how you should do it with the DWC system.
Conclusion
By inculcating the mechanism of cultivating in DIY DWC system, we are hopeful that the above step-by-step guides have made the system more manageable. DWC needs several parameters to ensure organization – making it a perfect method to know how to deal with hydroponics.
Once you familiarize and execute these parameters, growing marijuana can suddenly become easier and you will get an understanding of why a lot of cultivators prefer growing through hydroponics. Give the DWC system a try and find your way to cultivating marijuana through this incredible hydroponic system.