1 Gallon dwc, first grow without soil

rkymtnman said:

it's a 12 qt container but i made the drain (blue sight tube) cut down to the 2 gal level. out the top of the drain and away she goes. never have to mess with pH or EC again. 1 feed a day to slight runoff.

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So essentially using a dwc bucket as a SIP or hempy bucket?
I just drilled a 1/4" hole a few inches from the bottom but I like the idea of repurposing some dwc buckets.

Billy the Mountain said:

So essentially using a dwc bucket as a SIP or hempy bucket?
I just drilled a 1/4" hole a few inches from the bottom but I like the idea of repurposing some dwc buckets.

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kinda. i run waterfarms like this too.




see the white line on the sight tube? cut it there. then top feed from my res and eventually it will come out of the blue tube right into my drain.

Those small jars are gonna punish you later.

I did 2 gal dwc. Made huge plants but the root zone was mobbing the buckets. I could only put .75 gal of water in in a full water change.

It worked though. Just had to be johnny on the spot with water levels. Worked the sheet outa me.


Gl and may the weed be with you.

Cx2H said:

Those small jars are gonna punish you later.

I did 2 gal dwc. Made huge plants but the root zone was mobbing the buckets. I could only put .75 gal of water in in a full water change.

It worked though. Just had to be johnny on the spot with water levels. Worked the sheet outa me.


Gl and may the weed be with you.

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Thanks for the info!!

So first check floor temp of tent. Is it on cement. If it’s 75 or higher don’t even bother your sips will out grow your tent so even though you think you have room you don’t lol.
The jacks can be cut 1/4 strength so you have 4 times that much. If you really want to try put a 2 gallon pail in the tote. Good luck.

Tent itself is between 78-82 degrees generally. Floor temp is 69-70. The tote is gonna go in the corner of the tent, and I have an intake opening for a fan in that corner. Why not cut a hole in my tote, and have a fan blowing 69-70 degree air into it across the reservoirs? Think that would keep th3m happy? I have 2 6"x12" intake vents open right now, I could close one off, and use a 3" 90* pvc bend on the other side of the tote to allow air to pass through, and still keep light out, with a piece of air filter in the opening.
My plan is to mainline the plants to 4 tops each, and strip everything else. Im not looking for yield, just trying something different. I understand there will be more work involved, but my sips robbed me of my labor, and now I need to use it somewhere else

GrassBurner said:

Tent itself is between 78-82 degrees generally. Floor temp is 69-70. The tote is gonna go in the corner of the tent, and I have an intake opening for a fan in that corner. Why not cut a hole in my tote, and have a fan blowing 69-70 degree air into it across the reservoirs? Think that would keep th3m happy? I have 2 6"x12" intake vents open right now, I could close one off, and use a 3" 90* pvc bend on the other side of the tote to allow air to pass through, and still keep light out, with a piece of air filter in the opening.
My plan is to mainline the plants to 4 tops each, and strip everything else. Im not looking for yield, just trying something different. I understand there will be more work involved, but my sips robbed me of my labor, and now I need to use it somewhere else

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lol I run rdwc with my sips. I try and grow taller before I net them so the bottom 2’ of my room stays shaded and colder. 64-66f. I also have my cold air in running their so your on the right track. If your able to keep the floor cool. Then why not just go with a 5 g pail? Takes up less room and more room for roots because roots grow really really fast.

There are a few different reasons. This is more of an experiment than a grow for me, I like to see how things work. The concept of growing without soil is interesting, but its not something I'm interested in scaling up, if that makes sense.
I would love to hang out in a grow for a few days, that utilizes a large rdwc system, I think it would be really cool to check it out and see how it all works. Lots of sweet technology and intelligence in creating a system that can mimic nature.
Height was one concern, I had a couple sips I made out of 5 gallon buckets, and the plants sat way off the ground. They were a lot taller than the sip containers, so an even canopy would be difficult with my light setup.
My grow is up in my loft, and I access the loft via an old aluminum ladder. I haul water in a 5 gallon jug for my sips, and I haul about 10 gallons up every other day already. The less I have to bring up that ladder, and shimmy around all my growing accessories, the less likely I am to fall to my death
I read a few journals and watched a couple videos, of people doing grows in small Mason jars. I assumed it was pretty common, guess I was wrong My train of thought was to get the biggest Mason jar I could, and that would help make up for my lack of experience. Then I found a sample pack of jacks, and it seemed like the right amount for my small reservoirs. I realize now I may be on a fools errand, but if it all crashes and burns, I'm not out much for the few materials and nutrients I picked up.
There is a natural spring near where I live, im gonna go grab a couple gallons and see what ppm it comes out at. My well water ppm seems way to high, and I'm worried it would cause even more issues.
I do appreciate you taking the time to share some insight and advice

This might work. I had a 2.5 gallon water jug laying around. Has a spiquet on the bottom already, would make reservoir swaps pretty simple. Fits pretty snug in the tote, so I won't lose space.

Wow you lug water up a ladder,you need a garden hose lol.

Should have seen me getting a king sized mattress and dresser up there

Alright, so here is the 10 Gallon Tote 2.0 Found some reflective insulation and lined the tote with it using spray adhesive. These 2.5 Gallon water jugs fit nice and snug, with just enough room for my ice packs Should have about 2 gallons of water in each reservoir now, without losing any overall foot print.

I wish you the best of luck but that setup seems problematic. You have a considerably smaller res volume in the same footprint using the jugs within the tote. The smaller the res, the harder it is to keep pH and EC in the sweet spot. Much harder. You'd likely use more water to make the constant adjustments necessary to keep things in range.

Not to mention you have double the work to manage two reservoirs

Thanks for the info and well wishes Gonna get this party started soon

How is the height of 2 gallon compared to net pot?Will you be able to set net pot right at water level?Get your self a drill pump so you can easily drain.Other wise youll need to put that lid on another tote then youll have a hard time stuffing the roots back in.

Another option. Ditch the jugs and use the entire tote as a res or ditch the jugs and add a mister. Or add gold fish an go aquaponics.

I'm gonna have the water level about an inch below the bottom of the net cups. I drilled a hole slightly larger than the air line, to act as an overflow, where the line goes into the jug. The tops of the jugs fit snug against the top of the tote. Ive got another tote for the top to rest on during res changes. I was wondering about getting the roots back in, cut a 4" hole in the tops of the jugs.
I've got a buddy with a huge aquaponics system, I don't want any part of that
Thanks for all the advice, I really appreciate it!

myke said:

How is the height of 2 gallon compared to net pot?Will you be able to set net pot right at water level?Get your self a drill pump so you can easily drain.Other wise youll need to put that lid on another tote then youll have a hard time stuffing the roots back in.

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Drill pump is an excellent idea

The air stones will also get all wrapped up in the roots. So you’ll want to disconnect somewhere so the stone and hose will all lift out as one.
a much better idea is to have 2 gallon pails with there own lids sitting in the tote. Would be much easier. Remember roots have to be in complete darkness. Absolutely no light can enter.