Six Plant Rubbermaid DWC

Hello everyone, I currently have a 3ft X 2ft X 6in tray that I use for ebb and flow with a 14 gallon reservoir underneath it. I built the system with rubbermaid containers, and did not put much consideration into complete drainage. The fill/drain fittings are right in the middle, causing a small layer of water to remain for most of the day, every day. In the future i will place the fittings on one end of the tray, and have the other end slightly elevated, to force all water to drain to one side.

The fact of the matter is I would like to experiment with some different methods, as my current ebb and flow setup seems to be inefficient because the roots are either sitting in a layer of water or on dry plastic all day. I know I can change this with a coco-mat or something similar, however I would still like to try different techniques.

I have several 18 gallon rubbermaid containers that are almost completely opaque. They are roughly 24" X 16" X 17" (L x W x H), and fit six separate 3" net cups on top of them with adequate spacing.

What I want to know is: Would having 6 plants in an 18 gallon reservoir drain it too quickly and cause pH problems?

I do not have a pH meter and will have to use PH paper. I am hoping to only have to check/adjust pH once per day.

Additionally, is the EC/PPM testing absolutely necessary? If so, I will have to experiment with a different method.

The last question:

Is a 600GPH air pump sufficient for an 18 gallon DWC? I plan on building a PVC grid with the dimensions of the bottom of the reservoir, and drilling small holes at even intervals, then suspending one or more layers of fine screen above the PVC to evenly disperse/further break down the air bubbles.

I apologize for the long post, I am aware that thousands of questions about DWC have been posted, the only reason I am troubling you is to ask for experienced advice on my specific setup plan.

I greatly appreciate any help I receive.

If you only want your plant to be 3 to 4 foot by harvest then We put them in 10 gallon tubs. With 6 gallons water. Your air is way overkill but will work fine. I don't know about the screen, roots could get all tangled up in it. the pvc with little holes sound good. The real point is to just have the air to the water, it doen't matter where. It's a matter of topping up and changing water every 10 to 14 days. Right up to about 4 weeks into harvest is when we see the plants use the most water. Even then it takes about 2 weeks for us to top up 6 gallons and then change rez right on time. I think the bigger rez will only waste nutes. You need to keep the roots hanging down in water or they will dry out. Other than that please get a PH meter, they are well worth the money. We check ours every day but only have to adjust when we change rez mostly and when we top up alot. End of harvest and that's only 3 to 4 weeks.

You could maybe fit more of the ten gallon tubs with 6 plants each in a grow also. We have 6 ten gallon tubs with 6 plants each in a 4 x 5 x 8 foot room with a 1000 HPS. It's tight but 3 tubs come out and 3 go in every month. Sea of Green. I has taken a long time to get to this point. Alot of work.

Thank you for your reply LOC NAR,

I will invest in 10 gallon tubs, they are cheap enough.

Instead of the 600GPH pump I will go with 2 or 3 weaker ones for redundancy, in case one ever fails. (I do plan on being away for a couple days at a time here and there.)

I would like to purchase a pH meter, I just do not know how to go about getting the right one, from what I have been reading, many of them seem to break down very quickly. There is an EC/PPM/pH meter for 300$ with a very nice warranty on it... Perhaps I should invest in something nice like that?

We have used the Hanna combo meter like that and works very well.

But you can get milwakie ph meter for about 20 bucks and a TDS meter for about the same. We use them more than anything and are happy with them . the combo is just a backup. An expensive one at that.AquariumPlants.com Largest online sales / service site for the live aquarium plants & aquarium products community.

Here is a good place to get a ph meter. if you look around you can find a tds for not too much also. This meter has been used by my bro for 2 years and me for over a year. You will need calibration solution also so check what kind you need. I think 7.01 is what it is.

Thankyou, I will purchase the meters as soon as I can. Looks like the site says pH calibration 6.01 and 4.01.

Cool. Here is another site that has more info on it. You only need the 7.01 and it's one point calibration.

Milwaukee pH600 pH Tester, Meter, pH 600

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Originally Posted by LOC NAR on probation

Cool. Here is another site that has more info on it. You only need the 7.01 and it's one point calibration.

Milwaukee pH600 pH Tester, Meter, pH 600

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This is the only meter I use (for ph) cheap and effective

I will be investing in a pH meter soon then.

I purchased a 10 gallon rubbermaid today, as well as some pvc for air dispersion.

I built a rectangle out of PVC that outlines the bottom of the container on the inside, it has a total of 6 branches running the width of the container, and the two outside pieces run the length. I feel this should evenly disperse air as I will be drilling many holes in the PVC.

I will be buying the air pump tomorrow or the day after, I will keep you updated on progress.

Remember drill the holes as small as you can and not tooo many. It will be a testing kind of thing. You may want to try your pump first as it is alot of volume to push.

Also, the oxy in the water is made when the bubble pops at the surface of the water. Not when the bubble is just raising to the top. The little splash at the top is when the magic happens.

Yes, the drillbit I am using is... very small. I don't know what the measurement is, but it looks like about 1/4 of a millimeter... I am just afraid i will break it.

Here are pictures of the setup...

The red dots indicate holes drilled for air to escape, I tested it and the air is dispersed evenly across the whole reservoir.

What do you guys think?

I plan on having a reservoir of fresh water above the whole system somwhere, there will be a float valve installed in the top reservoir, and fresh water will flow into the container whenever it the water levels begin to drop. This should prevent me from having to top off the reservoir constantly...

Your control rez has to sit on the same level as your plant rez. So you don't have a overflow by accident. Here is a link. I bought the kit and some extra parts to put it together the way I wanted but it is the way no matter how big your system is. Or how many tubs are connected to it. Iwas going to setup 6 tubs then a 18 gallon control rez and 18 gallon top rez. It could feed my system for 2 weeks while I'm gone. I just need the PH dowser to keep that straight. SH Hydroponics, Inc. > Hydroponics Reservoirs

OH, forgot. That's a good setup. I like it. Lets get some plants in there. LOL

I ran some air through it today, and the bubbles are still pretty big, so i might seal up those holes and drill a hole for a 2" air stone underneath each pot. I bought 6 air stones today so I will probably do that, and ill leave the holes in the very middle that won't directly hit the roots.

.....I went a little overboard on the air pump and got this 1,000 GPH pump...
Sunleaves DuraPump Air - Worm's Way - Your one stop gardening site

I will upload pictures as soon as the whole thing is complete.

Overboard is always good to me. Better more than not enough.

The size of the bubbles will not hurt any roots. Air stones tend to get glogged up sometimes. The bigger bubbles could be better for splashing the bottom of your netpots a little better in the beginning..

It's not the size of the bubble, it's when it breaks the surface the oxy is put in the water. My bro just put the air tube in the rez with a wieght on it, no stone or nothing.

Alright, then I will use my PVC dispenser first, and if it happens to hurt the roots, I will replace it with 6 air stones... Either way, these plants are going to be breathing like there is no tomorrow.