dwc buckets

JoshTheMadTitan

Active Member
So I am in the process of changing from ebb and flow to dwc. Currently I am looking at the orange 5 gallon home depot buckets because they are only 3 bucks a pop. I have recently been told they are not light proof enough. Do you think some black spray paint would work or am I going to have to bight the bullet and buy them from the grow store for 15 each. I need 12 so it will add up quick.
 

JoshTheMadTitan

Active Member
The tape is less permanent however, over the life of these buckets a lot of water will get on them won't the tape just start coming off? Do you think the paint alone will be good enough?
 

unohu69

Well-Known Member
I was thinking about using ice & water shield. Im looking for the white grace, which is a little harder to find, and i prefer scraps off a job site.
nuthn down, nuthn a month. my kind of pricing.
I have a roll of foil tape, im just not sure how much its gonna take to wrap a whole bucket.
 

Bigz2277

Well-Known Member
So I am in the process of changing from ebb and flow to dwc. Currently I am looking at the orange 5 gallon home depot buckets because they are only 3 bucks a pop. I have recently been told they are not light proof enough. Do you think some black spray paint would work or am I going to have to bight the bullet and buy them from the grow store for 15 each. I need 12 so it will add up quick.
hey josh if your worried about the lightproof issue go with a cooler grow. there is a thread in the hydro setion that is "official dwc cooler club" Im going to try one my next grow
 

mike91sr

Well-Known Member
Check ou my journal, i have 2 taped buckets in a tote filled with water, doesnt fall off if you do a clean job. Paint would work too i assume, never done it.
 

Illegal Smile

Well-Known Member
I've started using coolers. Found a 7 gal Coleman that is perfect for me. $17 bucks each but they'll last forever and are very lightproof.
 

Justin00

Active Member
http://www.affordablebuckets.com/4gapasqqty24.html

18 for $55.80 in black, white, grey, or natural. or $3.10 each

only down side is they are only 4gal. but if your recirculating thats not a big deal anyways.

i also have some that i taped up with aluminum tape that seem to work fine, but the tape may be only $5-$7 a roll but it takes a fair bit to get one light proof. so if the HD ones are $3 + say $3 for tape = $6 so i think yours till better off with the ones i linked if you can deal with 4 gal.
 

Doer

Well-Known Member
Coolers, though, are bulky. Great insulation. The roots get tangled in the gear. They work OK.

Just went from a cooler to black buckets and Uniseals. Put 12 together in a snake line, a one more for pumps and water maintenance, testing, etc. A 1/2 water hose goes inside the 2" PVC 5 inch long connectors. That pumps water to the back of the line and draws water from the front, creating the circulation. Air stone and top drip for each. Just got it planted.

photo(5).jpgphoto(2).jpg
 

bomb hills

Well-Known Member
I have used the foil tape before and it worked ok. I think I had one roll and it covered 6 buckets. Tried spray paint once and the cheap paint that I had wouldn't stick to the buckets, maybe if I had sanded them they would have worked.
 

JoshTheMadTitan

Active Member
http://www.affordablebuckets.com/4gapasqqty24.html

18 for $55.80 in black, white, grey, or natural. or $3.10 each

only down side is they are only 4gal. but if your recirculating thats not a big deal anyways.

i also have some that i taped up with aluminum tape that seem to work fine, but the tape may be only $5-$7 a roll but it takes a fair bit to get one light proof. so if the HD ones are $3 + say $3 for tape = $6 so i think yours till better off with the ones i linked if you can deal with 4 gal.
If I could give you rep twice, I would. These look fuckin awesome, and just as cheap as the orange homedepot buckets. Granted, 1 gal less, but I think in a 3 month dwc grow it won't matter.

To all else, the coolers look great, but the problem here is budget and when you need to buy 12+ the diffrence of 4$ a piece and $20 is a big deal.
 

Bigz2277

Well-Known Member
If I could give you rep twice, I would. These look fuckin awesome, and just as cheap as the orange homedepot buckets. Granted, 1 gal less, but I think in a 3 month dwc grow it won't matter.

To all else, the coolers look great, but the problem here is budget and when you need to buy 12+ the diffrence of 4$ a piece and $20 is a big deal.
depends on how many plants you are comfortable with putting in one bucket. search for the dude flo grow. he does upwards of 8 plants in a single cooler with fucking amazing results.
 

JoshTheMadTitan

Active Member
I am interested in having each plant in its own bucket. The problem I have now is with my limited space, its hard to reach the back of my ebb and flow, so the back 4 plants get almost no attention )on another not it was a good case study with pruning vs no pruning lol( and this will allow me to pull out each individual plant and treat it accordingly.
 

Illegal Smile

Well-Known Member
I'm using 7 gal coolers for one plant each and I welcome the additional rootspace. They are pricey, but if you have any problem keeping res temps down, they are a lot cheaper than a chiller.
 

Dameon

Well-Known Member
I have done DWC a few times. Use a small or large ice chest. Like said above they are vey lightproof and can hold a chill longer than anything else. Hoep this helps. Crunch*
 
Top