1 giant tub of water for 3-4 ladies, is it ok? DWC Newbie needs help

So i want to give DWC a go.

I have a giant black plastic tub, it is normally meant for mixing cement with a shovel.

It is 42" x 30" and 12" deep.
Using a fish-tank volume calculator i get about 65 gallons capacity, this is not perfectly square (rounded ends) and i would not fill it to the brim, so maybe 60 gallons is about right.

My hypothetical idea is to put a thick slab (1-2") of polystyrene over the top of the tub, then maybe cover this with panda plastic, to be sure no light can leak through to the water. Cut holes for net baskets of hydroton and have 3 or 4 plants running in it.

This is all pretty hypothetical right now, which is why i am posting it.

I would be able to easily pipe an aquarium chiller by just feeding the two tubes through the polystyrene top, or maybe i can just toss in 6 or 7 frozen coke bottles with a bit of rock in them.

Is there any problem with my idea?
Any problems with the root mass from 3 plants growing together in 60 gallons of water?
I could segregate the roots from each other by using a few pieces of plastic with holes drilled through, though i guess some roots will grow straight through those holes, for the most part i can keep them separated if this is required.

I think of a system looking like this....build a 8 foot long x 3 foot table,plywood base add 2x6 on edge 3 sides than line the platform with panda film/wrap up and over the 2x6.
add 1/2" pvc feed pipes with sprinkler heads on 4" centers...3 rows full length.
than streach panda film over top of slab...cut holes for net pots.
place resevoir under end of table/slope your table 1/4" per foot
run your fountain pump 24/7
use 28 gallons of nute solution...ph the water and use 7oz. of Floranova Bloom per load.
run 2 1000w hps or 600w hps
expect 2oz dry per plant...put a screen on them babies too.

fandango said:

I think of a system looking like this....build a 8 foot long x 3 foot table,plywood base add 2x6 on edge 3 sides than line the platform with panda film/wrap up and over the 2x6.
add 1/2" pvc feed pipes with sprinkler heads on 4" centers...3 rows full length.
than streach panda film over top of slab...cut holes for net pots.
place resevoir under end of table/slope your table 1/4" per foot
run your fountain pump 24/7
use 28 gallons of nute solution...ph the water and use 7oz. of Floranova Bloom per load.
run 2 1000w hps or 600w hps
expect 2oz dry per plant...put a screen on them babies too.

Click to expand...

I am going to take a stab in the dark here and say that you must have been as stoned as hell when you wrote this, because either you are answering another thread, in the wrong thread.... or you simply did not read my post to begin with.

While i appreciate your input, it makes no sense at all for me and my circumstances and does not address or answer my question at all.

Sounds like a pretty good plan to me. Only thing really is all your plants will be getting the same nutes, so it prob helps if they are the same size/strain. It probably wouldn't even matter that much but I've never done it.

Also, there would be no air gap for the roots between the water and bottom of the styrofoam. I don't think it is necessary though. I guess you could get fancy with some styrofoam if you wanted to and carve some shit out.

Malevolence said:

Sounds like a pretty good plan to me. Only thing really is all your plants will be getting the same nutes, so it prob helps if they are the same size/strain. It probably wouldn't even matter that much but I've never done it.

Click to expand...

Yes i can do same strain/age, and i had not considered if this was an issue. Food for thought certainly, but as you say, probably doesn't matter too much.
Unless maybe one strain had an uncontrollable desire to take up 60G of root area (i have seen some root porn, but never 60G root porn).

Malevolence said:

Also, there would be no air gap for the roots between the water and bottom of the styrofoam. I don't think it is necessary though. I guess you could get fancy with some styrofoam if you wanted to and carve some shit out.

Click to expand...

I will get nice big net pots, probably 8" ones or 10" ones.
They will hang down quite low (compared to a 6" net cup).
So the bottom of the pots will go past the styrofoam, and hang in a bit of air just above the water level leaving an air gap.
Again you create food for thought for me, as i have no experience with DWC, i wasn't aware that an Air Gap was even something to consider, though my plans included one because this is how my DWC bucket is setup,

@Malevolence: If it were you doing this experiment/setup, would you bother to try and seperate the roots using some kind of drilled out barrier, or just let them all grow freely?

Anyone else got any input? Suggestions? Advise? Not that i doubt Malevolence, i just like to hear from the "crowd".

Just cut a piece of plywood to cover tray, and cut your holes for the net pots.. Thats what i do for my flood and drain., works great, i use the mortar mix trays from lowes

nick88 said:

Just cut a piece of plywood to cover tray, and cut your holes for the net pots.. That's what i do for my flood and drain., works great, i use the mortar mix trays from lowes

Click to expand...

I was clinging onto the idea of using Styrofoam, because it offers some degree of insulation. The problem with that idea has always been if it will be rigid enough, and i had overlooked the weight of the plants! DOH!

Nick88 has a great idea, cheap and easy and readily available.
I will probably combine the two and have Styrofoam 2" layer on top of tub, then plywood on top of that, covered in Panda plastic.

Can someone recommend a descent thickness for my plywood? I am not at all the "handyman" type, so i would end up buying something that is overly thick to overcompensate.

I am not in the US (sadly), and i have always dreamed of having a Dremel, but i never had a really good excuse to purchase one. Is there a Dremel attachment that will allow me to cut holes in plywood? If so i will be ordering a Dremel from Amazon ASAP!!

I use 1/2 plywood, and in the past have supported 6 big girls in 1 tray. Instead of styrofoam you can get a roll of thermo wrap. They have it at places like lowes. All it is , is several layers of mylar bonded together like shipping tape. I use to wrap my res and to cover the top of the plywood.
Just checked, the actual name for the stuff is Reflectix radiant barrier.

nick88 said:

I use 1/2 plywood, and in the past have supported 6 big girls in 1 tray. Instead of styrofoam you can get a roll of thermo wrap. They have it at places like lowes. All it is , is several layers of mylar bonded together like shipping tape. I use to wrap my res and to cover the top of the plywood.
Just checked, the actual name for the stuff is Reflectix radiant barrier.

Click to expand...

Cheers, 1/2" ply it is then.
Reflectix radiant barrier, good tip thanks.

I wouldn't try to build a separator for the roots or anything.

Again i am quite new at DWC, so please if i am wrong at all, chime in and let me know.

As i understand it with DWC you are meant to change the water and clean the bucket/tub once a [insert time period here], depending on your climate/inclination to do it. Weekly/Bi-Weekly/Monthly opinions vary, setups vary also.

Let us assume that i would do it weekly.

Getting 60 gallons of tap water in and out is quite doable with a pump and a garden hose.

But cleaning this huge tub, means i have to get all 3 ladies out, and into 3 temporary buckets.
This is where i feel root separation cold be vital, otherwise i would never be able to get any one plant/net-cup out of the setup without tearing roots apart in the process
Also what if one *god forbid* turns out not to be male, i want to be able to rip him out so i can take him out-da-back and ask him WTF he was doing lurking around my ladies!! I don't want him all root tied to them.

I am starting to think that, while it is/was a good idea, because i have it and it's not being used for anything, the problem is that even empty its quite heavy, as it's made of some seriously heavy ass Chinese plastic... and then moving it for instance to the bathroom where i could give it a really good clean and rinse and drain and rinse etc, this is going to be me struggling around the house with it, not impossible but also not ideal.

I just use 5 gallon buckets... takes all that away. My first setup was 5 net pots in a walmart tote. Didn't take long to get tired of that and switch to buckets.

use individual 5gl buckets or 10gl walmart totes....get extra and then you can simply take the lid off exchange the tote/bucket underneath to keep clean/changeout....that is unless you're trying to grow trees.

I've been running my first Dwc for a couple months now and just to fore warn you I tried multiple plants and strains on one single res tote and I had miserable outcome. The plants didn't like the same nutrients and changing out the res was a pain in the ass. I've since separated the plants into thier own 5 gallon res and my results have drastically changed. I can control the nutrients per each plant and will never run multiple out of a single res again unless I'm just rooting clones

I'm not sure cleaning the tub every changeout is necessary, or even cleaning mid grow. You should be able to complete a cycle without removing plants.

As for the dremel, that's not going to be the best tool for plywood. Buy a hole saw the same size as your net cups and you can make perfect holes.