Help! im building my first DWC system

I am currently working on building my first DWC hydro system. I am currently a soil grower but i am looking to upgrade to DWC. I am planning on using 18 gallon totes which on there lid has an available surface area of 17"x13" to cut holes to install my net pots. My big question here is how many plants could i grow with this size container. From where i cut my holes down to the bottom of the container is 14.5". I am currently thinking about putting 3, 3.5" net pots in per container. I am thinking about putting one in the top right, then moving down to the middle and placing one on the left side, and then the third one down from the middle back on the side so its basiclly as stagger(if that makes sense). I would greatly appreciate some input on this subject, am i gonna have enough room for all the roots on all three of these plants and if not what problems with occur? Thank you in advance for any much needed help sent my wat

3 to 4 plants per 18gal container.

make sure they clones or fem seeds

Ok thank you, that makes me feel alot better about the situation. I had read where people we doing one or maybe only 2 because they said the root systems would interfere with one another. And I was deffinatly wanting to atleast 3 per container.

Way I see it is people grow in 5 gal buckets. This is 3 times that space. Should be able to fit 3 times the plants.

Roots will tangle. Which is why I said make sure they are female by using feminized seeds or cloning off a known female.

Yeah that makes total sense to me I hadn't thought of it that way.

Keep in mind. If it's not recirculating your going to have to manage three buckets. I'm changing my DWC to a RDWC.

Yeah it seems to me that the single large resivore would be the better choice if your growing more than one plant.

managing individual buckets is a pita once you get around 6 or more sites.

the swings is worse. ph bucket and 12 hours later its all off.

my next setup is single plants in 27 gal totes. recirculating.

i betchu i wont have to touch the ph but every few days.

more water per plant less ph and feed swings.

Does anyone have a tutorial or some advice on how to do a reservoir change if i was using a single storage tote as the reservoir. I guess i just really dont know the whole process. i understand the basics of the Res change, just dont want to leave out doing anthing. I also want to correct myself from before, this will be a RDWC not a DWC.

Brock Logan said:

Does anyone have a tutorial or some advice on how to do a reservoir change if i was using a single storage tote as the reservoir. I guess i just really dont know the whole process. i understand the basics of the Res change, just dont want to leave out doing anthing. I also want to correct myself from before, this will be a RDWC not a DWC.

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People do it a few different ways, but I just use a small pump hooked up to a short hose and put it in the control bucket and pump it down the drain, then use the same pump to pump water back into the system from a large pre-mixed container. Takes about 5 min to drain 28 gal and 5 to fill it back up. Do it once a week.

do you do any type of cleaning on the inside of the reservoir, such as wiping it down once drained it?

Here is a link to my build

https://www.rollitup.org/t/new-rdwc-diy.901732/

Your in for a experience if you've never done DWC. If you scrog the plant you will have a hard time taking the top off to scrub the bucket.

To empty a bucket you can't take the top off. You take your 1/4 inch pump line that goes into your net pot and remove it from the net pot and put the line in a bucket. Use a wood block to get all the water out with the pump in the res. I then kill everything with hydrogen peroxide in the new water over three days 2 oz per 5 gallons. And then start a live environment with some benefic bacteria, make it yourself or buy HG.

I'm excited to use my new RDWC setup