cooling option

So I have to let everyone know ow because it's the best thing I ever did. I'm in the middle of the desert and keeping my 5 gallon bucket under 72 seemed near impossible...I was out to buy a 300$ chiller and I had an idea...I went to wall mart and bought a 48 quart ice chest and with minor rigging turned it into my new dwc bucket. It by far has been the best thing ever. .With 1-2 1 liter bottles a day my res stays a nice 62-65 degrees and even if I miss a bottle change maxes out at 67-68....best thing ever for small grows. Screw a chiller

And that's under my 400 watt mh with the tent closed

here is a pic

I would imagine having the extra capacity allows you to leave for a while even in late flower.

The water is very stable because the res is so big in comparison to the plant...I go 2 or 3 days right now and don't even have to adjust ph or ppms....won't be the same when it's big but 10 gallons over 3 gallons makes a big difference

Fantastic setup dude. I think people underestimate how these plants thrive at proper temperatures in dwc, and the ease of use and common sense in your design puts the cherry on top. Wouldn't be surprised to see a few of these pop up. Heres my design, similar concept, I have a rdwc single bucket system were I add 3 iced water bottles to the res side, cools it right down, I change it 2 times a day. Here she is. Who needs a $700 chiller?