Firstly how does it all work?

Assembly Instructions
Deep Water Culture System
Firstly how
does it
all work?
The IWS DWC is a highly developed deep water culture system. It works by submerging the plant’s root
in a highly oxygenated nutrient solution, this encourages rapid growth. The IWS DWC gives you total
control of how often the system drains and refills.
The system is controlled by a control unit. This contains 2 magnetic float switches which are positioned to
precisely control the fill level in each individual pot, this also prevents any over-filling. The top float switch is
positioned 25mm below the bottom of the plant basket, the optimum height for growth. The bottom float
enables the system to turn itself off when it has finished emptying. The control unit features a Grasslin
segmental timer which controls how often the system drains and refills.
The system comprises of 4 main parts;
1. The pots – made from light-proof recycled plastic, with the plant basket built into the removable lid.
2. The control unit – this controls how often the pots are emptied back to the main tank
3. The tank – this holds the nutrient solution for all your pots
4. The air pump – this supplies the oxygen to your pots via air stones placed in the bottom of each pot
Assembly Instructions
Deep Water Culture System
Lets start by checking you’ve got everything you need
You won’t need any tools but we recommend you have a
sharp knife or scissors and a cup of boiling water handy.
B
In the kit you will find;
• DWC control unit A
• Nutrient tank assembly (varies in size depending on system size)
• 18 Litre outer buckets C
• Basket lids D
• Observation caps E
• IWS sealing glands F
• IWS elbows G
• IWS tees (all systems except 6-pot) H
• Universal pipe I
A
B
E
The following items are needed, but
may be supplied separately to this kit;
• Air pump J
• Air manifold L
• Air lines K
• Air stones M
D
C
The quantity of certain parts in each kit will vary
depending on the size of the system purchased.
See the list below for the exact number of each
component in each system.
6 POT SYSTEM
12 POT SYSTEM
18 POT SYSTEM
24 POT SYSTEM
• 1 x 100ltr tank with pump
• 1 x control Unit
• 6 x outer pots
• 6 x basket lids
• 6 x observation caps
• 6 x sealing glands
• 6 x elbows
• 10 metres of pipe
• 1 x 220ltr tank with pump
• 1 x control Unit
• 12 x outer pots
• 12 x basket lids
• 12 x observation caps
• 12 x sealing glands
• 6 x elbows, 6 x tees
• 15 metres of pipe
• 1 x 350ltr tank with pump
• 1 x control Unit
• 18 x outer pots
• 18 x basket lids
• 18 x observation caps
• 18 x sealing glands
• 6 x elbows, 12 x tees
• 25 metres of pipe
• 1 x 350ltr tank with pump
• 1 x control Unit
• 24 x outer pots
• 24 x basket lids
• 24 x observation caps
• 24 x sealing glands
• 6 x elbows, 18 x tees
• 30 metres of pipe
IF YOU THINK THAT YOU ARE MISSING ANY PARTS PLEASE CONTACT YOUR RETAILER.
J
I
K
Universal Pipe
H
G
L
F
M
Tee connector
Elbow connector
Sealing gland
M
So lets make a start!
1) Find a suitable growing area. You’re going to need access to 2 electrical supplies, 1 for the control unit
and 1 for the air pump.
2) Position the nutrient tank. This needs to be placed at one end of the growing area.
Remember that you’re going to need access to the tank at all times.
3) Position the control unit. This needs to be placed next to the nutrient tank at the end of your growing area.
4) Connect the control unit to the nutrient tank. Locate the 2 pipes running from the nutrient tank marked fill and drain.
Match these to the corresponding outlets on the control unit. Warm up the ends of each pipe with your hot water and slide
onto the fittings.
5) Connect the nutrient pump to your control unit. Pull out the blue 3-pin connector from the top of the nutrient tank, connect
this to the side of the control unit. Check that the nutrient pump is still sat at the bottom of the nutrient tank.
6) Next lets prepare the pots for use. You will need 1 sealing gland per pot. Remove the back-nut and 1 washer from a gland.
Screw the threaded end through the hole in your outer pot from the outside. Refit the washer and nut from the inside and
tighten. You should now have a washer on the inside and one on the outside of your pot. Repeat this process with each of
your pots.
7) Position your pots in your growing area allowing room for each plant to grow. Imagine the final desired size of each
plant and make adjustments to suit. Remember that as well as leaving your plants enough room to grow, you need to be
able to access each pot periodically to check and maintain each plant.
8) Next we need to connect the pots to the control unit. The control unit has 6 outlets, you will find it works more effectively
when all outlets are used. On a 12 pot (for example) you would have 2 pots on each row. If using all 6 outlets on the control
unit you will use an elbow at the end of the row with a tee piece on the pot next to it. The arrangement in this case would
be; control unit – to a tee for pot 1 – to an elbow for pot 2. If the system is larger than a 12 pot, you would simply have more
tees in the row before the elbow at the end.
Take your elbow or tee and slide the smooth part through the hole in each gland, leaving the barbed surface exposed and
laying horizontally, facing back towards the control unit. Tighten the outer nut of the gland to ensure a watertight seal onto
the fitting.
Repeat this process with the straight connectors on the control unit. Slide the smooth part into the gland and tighten the nut
onto it.
9) You will now need to cut your feed pipe into suitable lengths, depending on the distance between your pots. We
recommend leaving yourself a little extra to make adjustments later on.
10) Warm up the end of each pipe length, slide onto the straight connector on the control unit. Warm the other end and slide
onto a pot fitting, working outwards till all your pots are connected to the control unit.
11) Place your inner pots in the outer baskets and then fill your inner pots with your chosen growing medium.
12) Fill the nutrient tank with water and add nutrients as required. Take care not to overfill your tank, make sure the
fill level is below the anti-siphon valve.
Assembly Instructions
Deep Water Culture System
13) Now we need to set up the timer on the control unit.
a. Set the current time. Rotate the face of the timer so that the small arrow points to the current time
b. Ensure the small switch on the timer’s face is set in the middle. This causes the timer to turn on/off based on the
segments rather than being on constantly (1) or off (0)
c. Set when you want the system to fill / empty. On a DWC control unit, segments pushed out, ie closer to the outside than
the centre, will cause the system to remain filled. When you want to pump back to the main tank, segments need to be
pushed in, ie towards the centre of the clock. Each segment represents 15 minutes.
We recommend 2 segments pushed in every 7.5 hours. Doing this will mean that every 7.5 hours the system will empty
for 30 minutes (2 segments) remixing the nutrient solution before the pots are refilled.
If you are using our air pump kit follow the instructions below.
(If using an aftermarket air pump please ask your retailer for advice.)
The system is almost ready to use, but we still need to prepare the air pump.
1) With your air pump you will find a short rubber tube, this fits onto the air outlet on the back of the pump. The 2 ends of
the tube are different internal diameters; the fit should be snug but not overly tight. Squeeze the metal clip on the
appropriate end of the tube and slide over the outlet. Release the pressure from the clip to secure.
2) Locate your metal air manifold. This fits into the open end of the rubber tube and is secured using the same style clip as
the other end.
3) Next we need to prepare the air stones and air lines. You will have been supplied with enough air lines for each pot.
There is a push fitting on each air stone, slide an air line onto this and place the air stone in the bottom of one of your pots.
Next, thread the air line through the provided hole near the top of the inside of the outer pot. Continue to thread the line
through the hole until it reaches the air pump manifold. This is also a push fitting and should slide on easily. Repeat this
with all your pots. At the end of this process you should have air stones at the bottom of each pot connected by air pipe to
your multi-outlet manifold.
The system is nearly ready for its first use. Plug the control unit and air pump into the mains. Check that the taps on the air
manifold are open by removing the air pipe from the tap and checking air-flow with your hand.
IMPORTANT NOTE:
Before you start using the system, you need to prime it for its first use. Initiate a feed to fill the system, once filled it can be
emptied back to the main tank. You will notice that around a quarter of the water from the tank has been used up filling the
voids in the system. Top up with water, add nutrients and your system will then be ready for planting.
If planting with an unestablished root mass, it may be necessary to top feed for the first few days in order to encourage
the root.
Check out our new video guides online
for more help and advice
Web: www.iwssystems.co.uk Email: [email protected]
Great stuff! Now you’re ready to get growing!