I currently grow in soil/coco mix but I have everything to start a DWC grow.
I haven’t started because changing the reservoir seems like a giant pain in the ass, especially when plants are large and flowering.
Also keeping the water at the right temperature requires additional hardware, it gets hot in the summer here so I’d need a chiller for the water as well.
THinking it through in my head I could fill a bucket with fresh nutrient solution, take the airstone out of the old bucket into the new one, take the plant roots and all and plop it in there, then take the old bucket and dump the water.
Only issue I could see with this plan is I could potentially damage the root system while transferring the plant.
I googled it and a website suggested a battery operated hand pump.
Between the hand pump, chiller, changing the res and having to monitor temps EC PPM etc.
soil is looking pretty good.
I only run DWC once but with great results, fast and no pests. I had a bucket with a lead and a net pot. I made holes in that lead and passed the airstones tubes through them, so I just fill another bucket with fresh water with nutes and then pick the lead with plant and airstones hanging and put it in the new one.
The airstones were tied to a wired net like you use in barbecues and were tangled with the roots, no harm at all while changing pots …
Because I ended with just a big plant and always had envy of those multiple jars filled with different strains I see posted here . I must say it was much easier and spent two cans of LITFA as only had to change water once a week and maybe check level. It was my second grow and wasn’t yet in OG so the result will tell you how easy it was to deal with …
I buy $3 blue lowes 5 gal buckets and a 4" net pot lid which are like $3.
GH dual diaphragm pump is a luxury pump but solid. Ive had mine for 9 years without a rebuild. Theyve gone crazy in price though. I checked recently. I paid $45 for mine. Up to $80 now
I bought all this when I was buying everything else, forgot about it until recently.
$30 for a bucket, ya, but I didn’t have to drill holes or go to the hardware store, so I’m gonna say it was worth it. Grubhub charging almost that much to deliver some tacos.
Yeah i dont understand the drilling holes bit and those holes to put a tube. My dad just bought a 4 site kit for $99. It has a grommet at the bottom and some tube that goes up the outside of the bucket from that grommet. Not sure the purpose of it.
Ive been doing dwc for 9 years and would never drill holes in the buckets
I guess people that make these kits play on the same fear I’m having of pickup the lid and dropping it or rootball getting damaged somehow in the process of transfer.
would made more sense for the bucket to be on risers of some kind and have the drain on the actual bottom of the bucket since some old water is still left at the bottom
its probably fine to just dump new water in. We’ll see if I use the drain tubing or if lifting the lid is better.
I could get submersible pumps and longer tubing and use it as a top feeding tube, but I guess I could just run that through the net pot too.
Not sure your physical limitations but a 5 gal bucket holds 3.5 gal tops. Thats like 30#
The roots arent going to get damaged. You lift the lid off and place on the new bucket. Then cart the buckets out and empty down a sink. I used my shower. Also used my shower to fill up buckets.
Ive lost so much arm muscle when I switched to RDWC. No more lugging buckets up and down stairs
I run dwc and use a bilge pump to drain the res. I don’t use buckets I use a tote. Makes life easier and at 8 gallons I can run 2 or 3 plants in each one and have to top up once a week before res change. It gets hot here as well but with the ac in the house and pumping 1000l/hr air into the 2 resivoirs the water stays about 74 deg done I keep my house at 76. Not including the lights or anything else my 2 tote 6 plant dwc cost me maybe $85 and the most expensive part was the air pump followed by the bilge pump at 29 bucks at Walmart. I would do rdwc but if one gets a root problem they all get it plus to many parts to fail or a drain get clogged and flood the room
. I must say it was much easier and spent two cans of LITFA as only had to change water once a week and maybe check level. It was my second grow and wasn’t yet in OG so the result will tell you how easy it was to deal with … 
