5gal DWC with 5gal RES

So I was talking to a friend the other day who said he read an article in high times about a 5 gallon DWC bucket system with an additional 5 gallon bucket connected to the 5 gallon grow chamber. Now at first I didn't see the need for the extra bucket but after he explained that I would never need to remove the plants from the grow chamber it makes sense. I grow using a horizontal trellis to separate the stems so they get proper light. When growing in a single bucket DWC system the plants have to be moved to add nutes and check ph bla bla bla. So with a second bucket that is connected to the grow chamber (via a pvc pipe and a couple gromets) you never have to do any moving of plants. Only need to refill the res bucket. It seems like a good idea but I don't know anyone who has actually used it. If you have seen this set up can you let me know how it works. thanks

Yeah its called RDWC (recirculating deep water culture) people use this method all the time. Some, like myself, even go as far as to have a third res raised set to a float valve on the secondary res thats connected to all the plants. This is called a top off res and does all your topping off for you.


Here is the system with fresh clones in it. You can see the bigger control res at the far end there. Above that is the top off res. (blue barrel is fermenting yeast/sugar for a little extra co2, nothing to do with the system really)



Control res. The line coming out and splitting off is the top feed line for the plants.



Inside the control res. Left to right,,, top feed line, chiller return line, chiller feed line, float valve connected to the top off res.



Black top off res feeding the control res via gravity + 1/2" line and float valve.



Chiller to keep the growing medium at optimal temperatures.





Heres a look at the system without the top off res.

like like like !

thanks whodat. that is some awesome shit. Do you mind if I ask how much that chiller costs. I live in a super hot part of the country.

260$ its a 1/10 HP chiller does great for me.... I know thats an expensive startup cost but maintaining proper water temperature in DWC is crucial for a successful grow.

Dang whodat i didnt know u got back into dwc man digging it!
Heres a pic of a rig i built.. The controller res at the front is my work res no plants go in it lol im curious to see this hightimes article now this new bucket rdwc thing seems to be catching on...

I just got the new high times so I could read about it and the new system seems cool. I asked the guys at my local hydro shop about this 2 bucket set up and they have not heard of anyone trying it yet. So I guess I will be the first in my area to try. High Times has a step by step with pics and instructions. It should not be too hard. I will be trying this in the next few weeks. Thanks for all of the help guys.

i see you keep your water chiller at 62’F, does it keep ur water at that too or is ur res temp a little higher?