Deep Water Culture (DWC) Hydroponics System Tutorial 

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!

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!

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.

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

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.

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.

scrolled all the way down because i was so curious about your first video on the channel. xPonics was a pretty cool name :D

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.

7yrs old and still the best way explanation of how hydro works...hello from 2021

Hey, you're right about this, you can kratky w/o an air pump.

Thanks!

Great breakdown, I was looking for something like this. Time to subscribe Happy Gardening Marty Ware

This video just answered all my DWC questions. Thanks for sharing.

Anytime!

Super helpful video! Thank you for the time and effort you put into this

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

Hey Marty - thanks! Subscribed to you as well - love the vids I've seen so far. Kevin

great vid! with all the different lingo and methods out there, its nice having a rather down to earth explanation like this.

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.

You're right about this - good call, thanks for the addition :)

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).

This was extremely basic and straightforward. Just what I needed to learn. This is a very beneficial video.

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.

i find best results when i leave a few inches from bottom of net pots even before the roots start to come out the humidity in the bucket should be high enough for them to grow down and touch the water. try not to open to bucket lid often. I see a lot of people growing DWC with the water touching the bottom of net pots it works but not as good as leaving large amounts of exposed roots to the air. But for starting it off it doesn't hurt

thankyou, nice vid.

Excellent explanation,thank you so much!

Thank you soooooo much. You broke it down and explained it so well. Thank you

You obviously put a lot of work into that thank you.

Great tutorial very helpful and well done.

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

kevin,thank you,good info,very helpful

Awesome! I may convert from soil

my first video to watch from you...thanks

Awesome video, thanks. I'll be building mine today!

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

As always, great video. Thanks for all the effort. Please do video with this format explaining nutrient solution. :)

Very straight forward and simply explained. Thanks Bro I appreciate it.

Let me know how it goes for you Mark!

Fabulous. Great tutorial.👍

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.

Simple easy can't go wrong

thanks for the video

You can do either one. Check out my videos on starting seeds for hydroponics if you want to learn more!

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 😂

good simple tutorial, i will be sure to spread this with those who need to know

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

Great video, thank you!

Well done! I am a newbie but that helped a lot.

This is brilliant :) Thanks!

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?

Great video!

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.

Where it all began!!

The BEST SO FAR.... IN TERMS OF EXPLANATION AND ILLUSTRATIONS.... ✅✅✅

You're welcome!

Cool 2020 update lol still good vibes

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?

I'd go with at least half an inch to an inch!

Thank you Kevin!

Great video, thanx

Thanks EG.

On this day, a legend was born!

So this is your first video 🌻🌻🌻🌻

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

Wow your videos were pro videos from the start!

Great video! How important is it to change the water each month?

Thank you Eric. Gobless

Vermiculite works well in net pots with or without a rockwool cube starting seedlings. I fill my net pots and place them in a large bowl/container then fill vermiculite around the net pots and then water. wait a week or two and the tap root will be about 4 inch out of the bottom of the net pot ready to hang into the water. leave enough of a gap for the roots to take in air, from net pot to water level i like about 1"-3" depending on age of plant. VERY IMPORTANT your roots need air to breath

thanks, informative video

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.

starting to get into DWC, and many thanks for vid, do you have to have the water heated?

Great video, thanks! Is there an issue with the plastic tub/tote leaching chemicals like BPA into the water and into the plants?

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!!

Do you top feed for the first few weeks until the roots touch the DWC ?

Great video. Do you use grow lights and what do you want recommend? What temperature do you need your room to be?

Stephen from Nature is Always Right sent me here, Kevin...lol Enjoyed seeing you guys together and talkin' story.

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'd suggest transparent tubing as it can show if there's any issue in the tubing.

Great video. Thinking about making the switch from soil after 4 years growing.. is there a certain light cycle for this method?

Thanks for the video Kevin. I was wondering if you have an idea whether this system works for growing Alfalfa?

Lol 10 years later and still helpful ❤

Hi!! I wanted to ask you how far does water level need to be from my plants in the netted pots....and as they grow , how do I continue to lower as my grow cycle continues

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.

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.

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.

Great info

Hi Shawn , according to the kratky method it does not require a air pump, is this correct ? The same parts are the same.

Thanks! Do all vegetables need a root medium or can some hang directly in the nutrient solution with minimal or no Hydroton?

Nice video!

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?

Hi Can i put plant apart after to 2 bucket roots its together in bucket can I splitt them?

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

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?

So can the net pots sit in the water? or does it have to be suspended from the surface of the water?

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?

i'm waiting on my first system here, i bought an htc bubbleboy, should i stick with the 4 inch cylinder shaped air stone they sent? Or, should i get a disk shaped one? What about when the roots get long? should i leave the waterline at the bottom of the nets? or should i lower waterline accordingly?