Best Damn Reservoir you can make,,,

How many people have heat and light issues in the rubbermaids/tupperware?

if you are having problems check this out,,,,

i use the Igloo 5 day coolers. wal-mart sells the 120qt for about $50.00.

next go to lowes and get the 1 1/2 to 2 inch styrofoam insulation sheet, reflector or white 4x8 sheet about $10.00.

get a roll of the aluminum duct tape, not the regular duct tape. regular won't hold up to the moisture.

Step one,,

Remove the screws from the hinges where they screw into the cooler. Unscrew the lid strap from the inside of the cooler. remove lid completely and put it in storage.


step 2

set the sheet of insulation down on a flat surface. place the cooler UPSIDE DOWN on the styrofoam and draw the outline with a pencil giving the new lid a 4 inch overlap all the way around the cooler. use a razor blade or sharp knife to make the cut.

do this step for all the coolers you are going to use wether it's one or more.

step 3

tape the new lid completely. top bottom and sides

step 4

NetPots.

I'm using 5.5 inch netpots. i can put up to eight netpots in the lid. you will need an access hole to drop an ice bottle or measure temp and nutes if you don't have a tri-meter. cloning i recommend no more than 7 plants in the cooler. when transferring to my flower room i only put two plants per cooler, no more, then i scrog em.

step 5

place the netpots upside down evenly spaced and towards the middle. using a razor knife, trace the outline of the net pot and cut at an inward angle, not straight down. you want the netpots to be snug and flush. make sure your cuts are within the coolers cavity, don't get close to the edges, you need the overlap.

thats it,,,,,

light proof, temps stay constant mid 60's for days on end. easy fill and flush with standard garden hose fitting. can't tip em over and puncture proof.


do the math. you buy the coolers once. when yer done growing. you'll still have a functional cooler for yer faverite adult bev's,,,,,,, mines newcastle and makers mark,,,,,, having one of each as i type this tripe,,,,, plus ripping on the one hitter,,,

harvest tomorrow so it'll all be good,,,,

Light and heat or excessive cold in the res is a problem i see a lot so i hope this helps.

res temps should be no lower than 65 f and no higher than 70 f. bam,

save some 1 liter plastic bottles with a cap. fill 3/4 of the way with water and freeze. when you see yer temp near 70 f, drop an ice bottle in and it should take it back down to 65 f.

i run 12-16 air stones using the dual diaphragm, 4 outlet pumps. so 3-4 pumps per cooler. elite 6 inch stones.


my name is boomerb and,,
bubbles, bubbles and bubbles,,
the name of my girls,,,,


ftp

nice tutorial .quick question does keep your temps good even in the summer time with high temps

goofygolfer said:

nice tutorial .quick question does keep your temps good even in the summer time with high temps

Click to expand...

I don't care how hot it gets. these keep the water between 65 f and 70 f for days.

all it takes is a liter bottle 3/4 full and frozen to drop the temps back down if they climb.

my tap runs out at 67 f. coolers hold that temp perfectly,,,,

c'mon, take the leap. get the Igloo,,
yer roots will thank you,,,,,

boomerb here,
booming bout them Igloos,,,,,,

ftp

p.s.
i have tried the rubbermaid totes and the results were,,,,

EPIC FAIL,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

BoomerBloomer57 said:

I don't care how hot it gets. these keep the water between 65 f and 70 f for days.

all it takes is a liter bottle 3/4 full and frozen to drop the temps back down if they climb.

my tap runs out at 67 f. coolers hold that temp perfectly,,,,

Click to expand...

Awesome! I'm building one for my next grow!

i was just lookin at the very large coolers at walmart the other night, mainly cause of all the temp issues i hear about people having... seems like very few people insulate their dwc... definitely looks like what im gonna end up using for my grow, although the initial price kinda is a jump from 5 gallon buckets@$2/piece

defcomexperiment said:

i was just lookin at the very large coolers at walmart the other night, mainly cause of all the temp issues i hear about people having... seems like very few people insulate their dwc... definitely looks like what im gonna end up using for my grow, although the initial price kinda is a jump from 5 gallon buckets@$2/piece

Click to expand...

yeah but look what that gets you,,,,

i'm cropping today,,,,,,,


1/5 done.

three plant scrog

1 plant per cooler,,,,,,

yea thats nice... question about the air pumps, would you recommend a minimum of 3-4 pumps per cooler, or could you get by with just 2? also, how loud are those pumps?

defcomexperiment said:

yea thats nice... question about the air pumps, would you recommend a minimum of 3-4 pumps per cooler, or could you get by with just 2? also, how loud are those pumps?

Click to expand...

4 if you can afford the $60 bucks each.
use em in the 120 qt coolers

you can get by on three

the 60 qt cooler has 2 pumps.

i buy all my equipment locally. i could rebuild anything that goes wonkers but why not just return it to the store and come home with a brand new unit?

the pumps run quiet. it's the air stones vibrating on the cooler that makes the noise. just use 2 rubber gaskets on each stone to keep it off the bottom,,,,,

whisper quiet,,,,,

hope that helps,,,

boomerb on a break,



ftp

guy's,,,,,,,

my set up is kind of pricey. i go out of my way to not scrimp on equipment.

the only "cheap" way to grow is to plant a bunch of seeds and walk away only to return months later and reap what you sow,,,, iffy at best.........

5 things and 5 things only go in my Igloo's

Tap Water
Air Stones
Veg nutes
Bloom nutes
ph down

to adjust ph up i use fresh water,,,,,,

no other additives whatsoever! No money spent on magic this and magic that,,,

my nutes cost me 30 dollars per 3lb of each. after a whole year of growing i still have a pound and a half of each.

i never have root issues. my water temps stay at 67 f for days on end.

Never any light issues using the method for the top,,,,

no heat, no light , no bugs, no root rot,,,,,

FuZZyBUDz said:

check out my signature, there r a few good thread about DWC, and a few great stories in the "show-off DWC thread"

Click to expand...

i have been checking em out, and posting ya stoner, lot's of good there,,,,,

had a couple more questions, particularly about your nutes... it is the one part that its hard to get unbiased or straight answers on here about... i do feel that if the plants needs can be met in a more economical fashion its probably a good thing, and if it can be made simple thats best... what kind of nutes do you use, and are you doing res changes or lucas formula? when im actually not out of town for work i will have plenty of time to hand water and do meticulous maintenance on the plants, but when its my girlfriend here she will have less time to dedicate to it... she would still be able to check on it twice daily, and top off levels and balance ph and etc, but im trying to keep it as simple as possible for her... ive got my eye on craigslist right now in my area for the cooler, found 1 for $40 brand new but dont feel like driving the 45 mins to go get it... walmart has em on rollback now @$59...

ive sorted out a 2ftx7ft closet, vented out attic 600w air cooled, and was thinking about flowering 4 plants in a longer scrog and maybe go verticle slightly with it on the sides, i work construction so im handy with building things, and i plan on the coolers being on wheels in case i need to roll it out of the closet, as the closet has wide doors... i understand you only do 2 per 120qt, would i expect to anticipate problems if i did 4 plants, that is quite a large volume of water? just wondering if you ever tried flowering 4-6 in a setup like that...

defcomexperiment said:

had a couple more questions, particularly about your nutes... it is the one part that its hard to get unbiased or straight answers on here about... i do feel that if the plants needs can be met in a more economical fashion its probably a good thing, and if it can be made simple thats best... what kind of nutes do you use, and are you doing res changes or lucas formula? when im actually not out of town for work i will have plenty of time to hand water and do meticulous maintenance on the plants, but when its my girlfriend here she will have less time to dedicate to it... she would still be able to check on it twice daily, and top off levels and balance ph and etc, but im trying to keep it as simple as possible for her... ive got my eye on craigslist right now in my area for the cooler, found 1 for $40 brand new but dont feel like driving the 45 mins to go get it... walmart has em on rollback now @$59...

ive sorted out a 2ftx7ft closet, vented out attic 600w air cooled, and was thinking about flowering 4 plants in a longer scrog and maybe go verticle slightly with it on the sides, i work construction so im handy with building things, and i plan on the coolers being on wheels in case i need to roll it out of the closet, as the closet has wide doors... i understand you only do 2 per 120qt, would i expect to anticipate problems if i did 4 plants, that is quite a large volume of water? just wondering if you ever tried flowering 4-6 in a setup like that...

Click to expand...

welcome pilgrim,,,,

I keep it real simple cause i'm old and have hit my head on more hard surfaces than Red could ever find,,,,

I use tap water, unfiltered. my numbers out of the tap are,

ph-5.9-6.0
ppms- 250 to 275
temps 69f


starting the clones at just tap water ppm's. I balance down with ph down. i balance up with fresh water. Going into flower i add veg nutes 20-10-20 GH up to 450-500 ppms. maintain the ph at 5.8. water temp between 65 and 70 f.

2 weeks later i will up it to 650 and keep it there til i harvest.


I flush every two weeks in veg

i do not flush during flower, only maitnain ph, ppms and water temp. Thats why i shout and scream about Igloo. They do the job.

4 plants is too many. do two per cooler and scrog it. you will blow yer mind on the results, trust me,,,,,,

get a tri-meter, spend the money and read the manual. Clean and recalculate every 30 days

go easy on the nutes, i mix one tablespoon and mix it in a mason jar until its mixed in. Then I add to the cooler a little a time to reach my numbers.

2nd pic is my clone/veg room. I have 6 clones in this cooler but would never attempt to flower 4 in one cooler.

I don't buy any $$$$$ additives to fight problems. I never had a root or reservoir problem yet and probably wont because only these 5 things go in the cooler,,,,

Tap Water
Air Stones
ph up
Veg nute
Flower nute

That's all that ever goes in my coolers,,,,,,,,,,,,
hope this helps,,,,,

my name is boomerb,
it's Igloo's or nutting,
for me


ftp

thanks for the info, definitely seems simple enough 2 plants it is then... if it aint broke dont fix it =-D


really though, thanks for the help, youve pretty much given me a straightforward guide, though ive spent about 3-4 months researching every soil/hydro/aero option there is, everything from grow mediums to nutes, pros/cons, etc...

defcomexperiment said:

thanks for the info, definitely seems simple enough 2 plants it is then... if it aint broke dont fix it =-D


really though, thanks for the help, youve pretty much given me a straightforward guide, though ive spent about 3-4 months researching every soil/hydro/aero option there is, everything from grow mediums to nutes, pros/cons, etc...

Click to expand...

glad it made sense to you, happy to help out,,,,

tri-meter, know your girls, less is more when feeding, just look at the health issues of the overweight crowd. constant water temp between 65f an 70f.

it'll pay off in BUDS

boomerb here again,
enjoying some newcastle,
and some fingerhash,
boomerb is fading,
fast,,,,,,



ftp

marine 150qt cooler is on sale at walmart for $80:

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Coleman-Marine-150-Quart-Cooler/9222616

was checking out the 50qt marine coolers, which looked kinda nifty for single plants... though they dont have a drain on them... the 50qt ones i seen were like $35 at dicks sporting goods... i think im gonna go pick up the 150qt here today...


hash bash in ann arbor is tomorrow... woot...

BoomerBloomer57 said:

welcome pilgrim,,,,

I keep it real simple cause i'm old and have hit my head on more hard surfaces than Red could ever find,,,,

I use tap water, unfiltered. my numbers out of the tap are,

ph-5.9-6.0
ppms- 250 to 275
temps 69f


starting the clones at just tap water ppm's. I balance down with ph down. i balance up with fresh water. Going into flower i add veg nutes 20-10-20 GH up to 450-500 ppms. maintain the ph at 5.8. water temp between 65 and 70 f.

2 weeks later i will up it to 650 and keep it there til i harvest.


I flush every two weeks in veg

i do not flush during flower, only maitnain ph, ppms and water temp. Thats why i shout and scream about Igloo. They do the job.

4 plants is too many. do two per cooler and scrog it. you will blow yer mind on the results, trust me,,,,,,

get a tri-meter, spend the money and read the manual. Clean and recalculate every 30 days

go easy on the nutes, i mix one tablespoon and mix it in a mason jar until its mixed in. Then I add to the cooler a little a time to reach my numbers.

2nd pic is my clone/veg room. I have 6 clones in this cooler but would never attempt to flower 4 in one cooler.

I don't buy any $$$$$ additives to fight problems. I never had a root or reservoir problem yet and probably wont because only these 5 things go in the cooler,,,,

Tap Water
Air Stones
ph up
Veg nute
Flower nute

That's all that ever goes in my coolers,,,,,,,,,,,,
hope this helps,,,,,

my name is boomerb,
it's Igloo's or nutting,
for me


ftp

Click to expand...

kiss = keep it simple stupid lol the best formula
quick question ? whaere do you buy your nutes and is that the price like $ 29

Good post and info even for a dirt farmer! I've been looking to go DWC and now it looks easy! Thanks!
1+rep

Good thread, I do it a little different though, I have been using igloo coolers with the flat tops and just drill holes to fit the net cups right in the cooler tops, right now I have two 48 quarts, they were under $20 each, the lids are hollow so as an experiment I filled one with great stuff foam in a can and the other I just left hollow, so far no real difference so I think the "great stuff" is not needed, my water is always about 65 degrees and I like the ease of which the lids just pop back on and make a real nice seal, 4 girls to a cooler.

So I am thinking my next set up will be 150qt igloo with either 2 - 400w in cool tubes with 2-4ft 4 bulb T5 HO for supplemental lighting. OR 1-600w air cooled hood with the 2-4ft T5. My question is how many plants would be ideal for 150qt igloo with this lighting set up??