Plant drinking a lot! Help

I'm really tring to come up with some ideas here. My plant is a drinker she drinks 1 1/2 to 2 gallons a dark cycle I can't even keep up and she's a full time job at this point. I'm in a 5 gallon with 10' pot. I'm at like 2-1/2 gallons when I fill it. The main roots are little rally like the size of a sharpy going down into a root ball at the base. I have been thinking about maybe an external res but never really had this problem before. I usually don't grow 4' wide plants. Thanks guys!

That's a good sign actually, not a problem. Healthy plants drink a lot of water. You can lower the temp in the room, that may help. But I'd just water more often.

Next crop, add some water crystals or some organic matter to hold more moisture for a longer period of time.

OrganekBudz, I'm kinda in the exact same boat as you right now. I'm growing in a 5 gallon bucket with a 10" net pot also.
i have to fill 3 liters of water right before lights out. I'm in to week 7 of flowering and its becoming a chore.
This is also my first grow though so I just assumed this was normal due to the buds swelling up.
i will definitely be changing my current setup for convenience in the future.

setup up a reservoir tank with a float valve in the bucket and that will keep things topped off

BurnRide said:

setup up a reservoir tank with a float valve in the bucket and that will keep things topped off

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I can't see a float valve working in a 5 gallon bucket considering the massive amounts of roots taking up all the space.

Plextor said:

I can't see a float valve working in a 5 gallon bucket considering the massive amounts of roots taking up all the space.

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Thats what I was thinking. that did get me thinking of just throwing another 5 gallon in and linking them at the bottom filling the res bucket to whatever level I want my planted bucket and it will at least double the capacity. what do tou guys think?

Yeah that would be cheap and easy to setup.

I use 5 gallon buckets and i put 5 gallons in them. Why are u not filling it? Its called dwc, meaning deep water where roots are submerged not half submerged.

superstoner1 said:

I use 5 gallon buckets and i put 5 gallons in them. Why are u not filling it? Its called dwc, meaning deep water where roots are submerged not half submerged.

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Everything I have been reading about DWC says to keep the water level an inch bellow the net pot.

Thats what i do. 5 gallon bucket and a 2" netpot makes for very easy and no mess changes.

superstoner1 said:

I use 5 gallon buckets and i put 5 gallons in them. Why are u not filling it? Its called dwc, meaning deep water where roots are submerged not half submerged.

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In all my reading and research says that u r supposed to leave a air gap between the bottom of net pot and water which would explain y he's not using the entire 5gals

I agree. An inch is all u need, thats why i use the 2" netpots. They allow u full use of the res and dont limit plant size.

superstoner1 said:

I agree. An inch is all u need, thats why i use the 2" netpots. They allow u full use of the res and dont limit plant size.

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That makes perfect sense! I've been using 6" net pots thinking that the 2" would limit the size of my plant. What kind of yields r u pulling with the 2"?

It really just depends on strain. Some run 2oz and some 5-6oz with 3 weeks veg. Ive had some that hit 6' and never worried about netpot size. Plus there is no media needed, just a collar. I can remove the lid with plant and change to a new bucket without spilling anything.

Plextor said:

Everything I have been reading about DWC says to keep the water level an inch bellow the net pot.

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Listen young grasshopper you want the water to wick up your roots and your medium. You want a lot of air to the roots. More water more air. Also I can't even fit 4 gallons in that thing my net pot takes up about a gallon. I'm running a 1000 gallon per hour pump to five pots so I don't worry too much but having everything under water completely is asking for root rot and a host of other issues. The less water the easier it is to oxegenate. The popping bubbles from your diffuser splash oxygen rich bubbles to the bottom of the net pot. I noticed also that if I keep the water levels lower in my DWC and you get these monster nute sucking roots that come down and meet at a nice hairy root ball.

Put about 4- 1 inch holes at the very bottom of your bucket,then put the bucket in a 22 gal or so tub from the dollar store.Fill that sucker all the way up to the bottom of your net pot and forget about it for almost a week.Works great.A 5 gal bucket alone sucks dick!You will only have about 2 1/2 gal in there,and its not enough.I went to walmart and bought 2 double outlet fish tank pumps.$10.76 a piece.I put 2 air stones in the 5 gal bucket and 2 stones in the res.Works great.You can even put a pump with a hoop to water the pot itself with a timer.Never looked back!

I reallly hope you have a cover for that res. Leaving open to light is a bad idea.

superstoner1 said:

I reallly hope you have a cover for that res. Leaving open to light is a bad idea.

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Yes,i have black plastic to cover.Learned my lesson with the last one.Green slime.

OrganekBudz said:

Listen young grasshopper you want the water to wick up your roots and your medium. You want a lot of air to the roots. More water more air. Also I can't even fit 4 gallons in that thing my net pot takes up about a gallon. I'm running a 1000 gallon per hour pump to five pots so I don't worry too much but having everything under water completely is asking for root rot and a host of other issues. The less water the easier it is to oxegenate. The popping bubbles from your diffuser splash oxygen rich bubbles to the bottom of the net pot. I noticed also that if I keep the water levels lower in my DWC and you get these monster nute sucking roots that come down and meet at a nice hairy root ball.

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Are you medicated out of your mind right now ?

I'm quite aware how it works and that's why I posted what I posted in the first place.
I'm also running ten inch net pots thats why I responded to the post about why you aren't using the whole 5 gallons.
Young GrassHopper ? Sheesh

Ya idk wats with the grasshopper stuff lol but any way listen i have the same setup as u, same netpots. They do take up about a gallon of space un your 5 gal buckets and u are SUPPOSED to keep water level just under it. But even with that i still fit about 3- 3 1/2 gal of solution in there and u can go over the netpot if u NEED 2 and consider how much it drinks in one day.
i doubt u will rot the roots or have problems if u fill to about 4 gal and go over the netpot a lil bit since u know it will drink it by the next day and hopefully limit the chore of adding water from every day to every other day.

As long as its drinking it and not just sitting in it u should be ok i would add more water at a time.

On a side note super stoner is a f`in genius a 2 in net cup would make a 5 gal res seem much bigger and eliminate this problem. I think it would save money 2 since our net lids cost me 6 a piece and 2 in cups are like 50 cents. I get the grey buckets at lowes u could just buy the lid with it and drill a 2 in hole and pop it right in. Ill say it again, fuckin brilliant. Only one question how sturdy are your plants in such a small cup, is it supported? Have your plants tipped at all or anything like that? U said u had a 6 foot lady in one of these like that?