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DWC vs ebb and flood

pengyou
11 years ago

I am reading as much about hydroponics as I can and am getting some conflicting information. It seems to me that the DWC allows the plant roots to sit in water all of the time, but I have read that if roots do this it will cause them to rot. Is that true, or what am I misunderstanding? The ebb and flood only allows them to be in water for a relatively short period each day, but the growing medium is supposed to absorb water for the plants to partake of...is that true?

Comments (3)

  • grizzman
    11 years ago

    With DWC you have to aerate the water otherwise the roots will die and decompose (or anaerobic bacteria may develop and eat them)So you are correct, but haven't yet discovered the aeration requirement of DWC.
    What you say about EnF is correct. Well I wouldn't say the medium absorbs water so much as holds onto it, but you've got the right idea.
    What are you wanting to grow?
    DWC is the most simple system. just plug in the air pump and you're off and running. EnF, while not overly difficult, does require a means to flood the system at regular intervals. normally a water pump and timer. Both will stand up well for a short amount of time without power, EnF being more dependent on media type than DWC.

  • ju1234
    11 years ago

    I am also just starting in HP. I have watched almost all the videos on HP that are available on line. I put together a fill and drain system taht is working fine.

    Here are some points as i understand, ENF Vs. DWC. In DWC, one important thing is, you don't immerse all of the roots. You keep the water level so the upper part of the roots are exposed to air. Since there is humidity in the chamber, they don't dry but are exposed to air constantly and are therefore taking up most of their air requirement from there. Second important thing is the air pump. The bigger the plant, bigger the air pump required to keep up the oxygenation. The literature also says that from time to time you have to add hydrogen peroxide to meet the oxygen demand. With fill and drain system, in between fill cycles, the roots get plenty of air since the medium used is extremely porous and drains all the water quickly. The Fill & drain system is much more forgiving compared to all other systems. Hope this helps.

  • homehydro
    11 years ago

    H2O2 does add dissolved oxygen to the water, but it dissipates quickly (a day or two). Using it to increase dissolved oxygen levels is only a last resort. H2O2 is more effective in disease control, but again because it dissipates quickly, is best only for small scale situations like most home growers (not in commercial situations). What is most effective in oxygenating the roots in water culture systems (DWC) is not skimping on the size of the air pump. That's the single, absolute, most effective cure for oxygenating the water in water culture systems.

    As far as the most forgiving type of system, well it depends a lot on how you built/constructed your system. But the most forgiving system in my opinion is a drip system. When you use the right growing media, and enough of it, as well as have a good root zone temps and space, a drip system can go many days without any noticeable effects from pump failure (for whatever reason). Sure a water culture system will have access to water when the air pump stops working, but the plants start suffocating right away.

    A flood and drain system may be very forgiving, provided you use a large amount of the right growing media to hold enough moisture (like in drip systems). But that's not typical when using a flood and drain system. Flood and drain systems generally use way less growing media, like two or three inch baskets that will dry out way quicker than a gallon or two sized bucket of growing media. In either case, a large factor depends on what type of growing media as for how long before it dries out. Bottom line the more growing media, the more forgiving the system will be.

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