Another noob setup post

This will be my second indoor grow, my last one was a single DWC and now I'm upgrading to a 2'x4' tent, I'll be growing a scrog, number of plants TBD.

My original plan was to start off with 1 Rubbermaid eventually transfer to 3 Rubbermaid bins once the scrog fills up, each one as their own DWC, since they will pretty much exactly fill up my floor space. Ive got a single hydroform 15lpm air pump, but that didn't seem like it would be sufficient. Now instead of buying a larger air pump I'm considering adding a res outside my tent and doing a low pressure aero system(spraying the roots, not a drip feed), with the water draining or pumping back into my res. This way I won't have to change bins as the roots get larger. All 3 bins would use the same nutes, im planning on foliar spraying if individual plants are showing deficiencys.

What would be a good pump for this set up? I'd like to keep my res cool without having to buy a water chiller. Should I buy two inline pumps, one for spraying my roots and another connected to my 3 bins to recirculate the nutrients?

Any advice is welcome
 

Airwalker16

Well-Known Member
Forget air pumps. Just use a normal water pump in your reservoir outside the area. Connect all the tubs together at the bottom with 2" ABS pipe and bulkheads, and use a PVC manifold to each tote for a waterfall inside.



Waterfalls are ALL you need to keep your water oxygenated.
 

HydroBum

Member
Hey T, follow what Airwalker suggested. I tried aero out of the gate and it was much more difficult than DWC. I had an issue with the sprinkler heads constantly getting clogged during water cycles. The other issue I had was when the root system got going and wrapped itself around the piping and around the sprinkler heads. Aero is supreme but it requires a lot more attention than DWC. As for water temps, its going to depend on your entire environment. I invested in a chiller probe made for aquarium cooling. Self contained unit and mounted it on my reservoir outside the tent, dropped my temps enough to justify the investment.
 

Renfro

Well-Known Member
Forget air pumps. Just use a normal water pump in your reservoir outside the area. Connect all the tubs together at the bottom with 2" ABS pipe and bulkheads, and use a PVC manifold to each tote for a waterfall inside.



Waterfalls are ALL you need to keep your water oxygenated.
That is the info you seek.
 

JSB99

Well-Known Member
Hey T, follow what Airwalker suggested. I tried aero out of the gate and it was much more difficult than DWC. I had an issue with the sprinkler heads constantly getting clogged during water cycles. The other issue I had was when the root system got going and wrapped itself around the piping and around the sprinkler heads. Aero is supreme but it requires a lot more attention than DWC. As for water temps, its going to depend on your entire environment. I invested in a chiller probe made for aquarium cooling. Self contained unit and mounted it on my reservoir outside the tent, dropped my temps enough to justify the investment.
Endless, frustrating clogs!!!
 

JSB99

Well-Known Member
This will be my second indoor grow, my last one was a single DWC and now I'm upgrading to a 2'x4' tent, I'll be growing a scrog, number of plants TBD.

My original plan was to start off with 1 Rubbermaid eventually transfer to 3 Rubbermaid bins once the scrog fills up, each one as their own DWC, since they will pretty much exactly fill up my floor space. Ive got a single hydroform 15lpm air pump, but that didn't seem like it would be sufficient. Now instead of buying a larger air pump I'm considering adding a res outside my tent and doing a low pressure aero system(spraying the roots, not a drip feed), with the water draining or pumping back into my res. This way I won't have to change bins as the roots get larger. All 3 bins would use the same nutes, im planning on foliar spraying if individual plants are showing deficiencys.

What would be a good pump for this set up? I'd like to keep my res cool without having to buy a water chiller. Should I buy two inline pumps, one for spraying my roots and another connected to my 3 bins to recirculate the nutrients?

Any advice is welcome
HDX totes are the best. They are super strong and durable. Not to mention that they are around the same price as other totes. The yellow lids allow some light to pass through, so you'll want to use something to prevent that. Even though it absorbs light and heats up, I just used black plastic on mine.


My setup (scroll down the page)
 

Airwalker16

Well-Known Member
HDX totes are the best. They are super strong and durable. Not to mention that they are around the same price as other totes. The yellow lids allow some light to pass through, so you'll want to use something to prevent that. Even though it absorbs light and heats up, I just used black plastic on mine.


My setup (scroll down the page)
Bruv....
He's in a 2X4 tent... ^_^

P.s. rustoleum makes a Plastic Bonding paint in Gloss and Matte Black. Just give those kids a quick rough grit sanding, and spray me with 2 coats. LIGHT TIGHT
 

JSB99

Well-Known Member
Bruv....
He's in a 2X4 tent... ^_^

P.s. rustoleum makes a Plastic Bonding paint in Gloss and Matte Black. Just give those kids a quick rough grit sanding, and spray me with 2 coats. LIGHT TIGHT
That'll fit in a 2x4 just fine...as long as he controller is outside the tent. Otherwise, there are smaller HDX totes that might work better.

I tried using plastic spray paint. I think the environment (light, heat, and humidity) caused some flaking to start, which is why I just went with poly, and some adhesive. Once the plants grow a bit, the black will not be an issue, as far as heating up.
 

fragileassassin

Well-Known Member
Yeah, cram 1 27 gallon in there with 4 smaller pots and youre good to go.
Connect it to another 17/27 on the outside for a control res and more water volume.
Would be perfect for scrog imo and less worrying about traveling roots between sites. If OP sees roots working their way into the control res, you could even some up with some kind of tool with a pvc cap or something to shove up the pipe to push the roots back into the res.
 

Airwalker16

Well-Known Member
That'll fit in a 2x4 just fine...as long as he controller is outside the tent. Otherwise, there are smaller HDX totes that might work better.

I tried using plastic spray paint. I think the environment (light, heat, and humidity) caused some flaking to start, which is why I just went with poly, and some adhesive. Once the plants grow a bit, the black will not be an issue, as far as heating up.
I bet you didn't sand your plastics surface before you painted now did you?
 

Airwalker16

Well-Known Member
Actually, I did, even though it says you don't have to. I bet Flex Seal would be durable as hell!
That's not a bad approach. Never used the stuff but I'm sure it'd be decent too. May be kind of difficult to get that much thinned out and across the whole lids surface with it's thick textured nature.
 

Airwalker16

Well-Known Member
What is your experience with the torch method?
I've literally never even heard of torching plastic to prep it for holding plastic bonding spray paint before. I don't know how you'd get a good smooth or at least good looking surface that way at all..
 
Top