Reservoir help
- Thread starter sd1779
- Start date
Thundercat
Well-Known Member
I ran the same cooler for 6+ years and it never leaked. I believe mine had a screw on cap on the drain, which never came off. Coolers aren't right for everyone. Just a great option I came across.
Same hereI use $10 18 gallon Rubbermaid totes. I've never had one burst.
This one was still in use 10 years after purchase.
See that’s what I’m petrified of lol I have a heavy duty tote in the basement for RO water and it’s bowing like hell. Just tired of carrying water.
Fredlash
Member
New member here thought I’d chime in. I second these trash cans. They don’t bow. The water heater drip pan is an EXCELLENT idea in your situation. I use 3 of these. Easy to clean and tough as nails. The only thing you can do to make it leak is over fill it. DONT EVER, EVER, even once make an exception to walk away while filling it. The time you do is the time the sound of the waterfall is going to remind you oh shit! I forgot the rez!! I am horrible at it. Experienced in self induced flooding . 
I think this is what I’m going to go with.
Thundercat
Well-Known Member
I got sick of carrying water to. That’s what led me to buying longer hoses and using my pumps to transfer water. My regular res pump worked great because I only had about 10-12 feet to move the water. I’ve also seen others buy separate pumps just for water transfer if they had longer distances.
I’m gonna need a bigger pump. It’s about a 9 foot rise and 30 feet away.
I knew someone who once forgot to turn off a tap and a downstairs restaurant needed $$$$$ to be fixed.
If you are going to do something not ground floor redundancy is your best plan.
Your reservoir needs an overflow pipe up top,
Your reservoir needs a massive floor pan with a drain pipe leading somewhere safe.
Make sure all connections you're worried about are above a pan with a drain pipe leading somewhere.
If you are going to do something not ground floor redundancy is your best plan.
Your reservoir needs an overflow pipe up top,
Your reservoir needs a massive floor pan with a drain pipe leading somewhere safe.
Make sure all connections you're worried about are above a pan with a drain pipe leading somewhere.
A e o n
Well-Known Member
Those brute cans work extremely well, I put them on castors, like my grow trays so everything moves. Also they are NSF certified plastic, which means something to me since I grow hydroponic vegetables as well.
As for overfilling ive done it countless times but now I use a kitchen timer, or was looking at this : https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07KNTNPP1/?coliid=IBQLY3IMA1R7V&colid=2P9B8UJLAGZOZ&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it
As for overfilling ive done it countless times but now I use a kitchen timer, or was looking at this : https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07KNTNPP1/?coliid=IBQLY3IMA1R7V&colid=2P9B8UJLAGZOZ&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it
My setup uses an RO unit to fill a 55 gallon cistern. To swap a res, I use a 330 GPH transfer pump to fill a Rubbermaid Brute trash can with 29 gals of RO water. As I drop in each nute, I pump in a little more water to mix the solution. Once the nutes are done, I switch the inlet hose from the cistern to the res and the outlet hose goes out the back door of the garage to a grassy area with trees. The res is 35 gals with 29 gals of nutes. The transfer pump does 5 gals a minute so it only takes 5-6 minutes to empty the res. Then I swap the hoses around - inlet in the trash can, outlet in the res and, in about 5 minutes, the res is ready.
Hoses and pumps - no question. The hoses are the "soft flex" 25' hoses and a 10' has the drain piece for the transfer pump. I was using a 25 gallon tote for nutes but the 32 gallon trash can allows me to refill the res and have about 4-5 gallons that I use over the course of the next week or two. I do res changes about every 10 days - 4 auto flowers in 29 gals of nutes just doesn't make sense to dump out nutes every week.
Water temp is at a steady 68° F - that's the optimal temp for oxygen uptake. After a res change, it take the chiller a couple of hours to drop the temp of the res so I use Hyrdoguard just to be safe.
My grow is in an unheated garage with no drain so I'm really careful with the pumps and also with water+electricity. I make sure to never touch the pump or a power cord while anything is running. The pump runs off a port in a smart switch so I control the pump from my iPhone. I never leave the garage when a pump is running.