Well I've finally settled on a dwc recirculated setup. I decided to go with this self made setup http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=26343. I was planning on going with a 20 bucket system.. I was pricing everything out and it seems my setup home made would be roughly $1k which if I bought a premade setup it would actually we cheaper... Now my question is did I fuck up the math? has anyone else used a similar setup and if so how much did it cost? this does not include lights grow media or anything just the bare bones dwc setup. any and all help is appreciated since the icmag admins have taken months to activate my account... assholes
I don't know about costs, but that is a lot of connections that can leak so be careful. I know someone who had a homemade recirculating setup like that and it leaked into the closet in the apartment below. I had a dwc setup myself a few years ago, but dealt with changing nutes in each bucket separately to avoid the possibility of leaks.
DWC is the way to go man...recirculating from the top also helps keep roots close to stem hydrated. I spent about $1600 on my setup...but I went for the high end stuff. Nice fans, nice 40gallon panda resevoirs (available from General Hydroponics), nice light with PLENTY of ventillation. My girls have grown 6" in one week from small clones. Ready to flower next week. Start out small on the nutrient solution and slowly increase until your plants tell you when to stop. DWC is not as forgiving as soil is. Happy growing!! "Smoke all you want...I'll grow more." -akfamman
