One plant in an 18 gallon Rubbermaid

I found some good 18 gallon Rubbermaid nodes I want to use for my DWC. It seems like most people do two plants in a 18 gallon, but I'm curious, has anyone tried just one plant in a 18 gallon node?

How much longer did it take to fill up the area with roots? Was the yield much higher?

What bothers me about those totes is they are very thin and weak. If you fill it very full it bulges and most are not lightproof. A much better choice would be the 15gal or 27gal yellow and black tuff boxes. Walmart carries both sizes and Lowes and HD have the big ones. You can fill them and not worry.

Good point, I was looking at the roughneck totes in green... b/c the price is right and I've heard a couple people say green keeps algae out.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Rubbermaid-Roughneck-18-Gallon-Storage-Tote-in-Green-12-Pack-1859461/203661666?N=5yc1vZ1an

superstoner1 said:

A much better choice would be the 15gal or 27gal yellow and black tuff boxes. Walmart carries both sizes and Lowes and HD have the big ones. You can fill them and not worry.

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You're right though, these look heavy-duty as fuck and the price is right still...

http://www.homedepot.com/p/HDX-27-Gal-Strong-Box-Plastic-Storage-Tote-in-Black-and-Yellow-207585/202328879

I wonder how long it would take for one plant to fill up 27 gallons though? Do most people do two or three plants in each of these...?

seems like 27 gallons is over kill. There tons of people that grow big plants in 5 gallon buckets. I would think that at some point you are wasting nutes to fill the tote with water/nute solution.

then again what the fuck do I know

Well, I was addressing the original post of using the tote. And the 15gal is great for single plant or two plants while allowing for more balance in the res. I use 5gal buckets as side growers to my aero systems but if I was to do just dwc that is what I would use.

blztfgt said:

You're right though, these look heavy-duty as fuck and the price is right still...

http://www.homedepot.com/p/HDX-27-Gal-Strong-Box-Plastic-Storage-Tote-in-Black-and-Yellow-207585/202328879

I wonder how long it would take for one plant to fill up 27 gallons though? Do most people do two or three plants in each of these...?

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3week plant, it will never fill it up to create a problem

U dont have to worry about your root system filling the bucket, u wont get root lock with dwc. The only thing that should determine bucket size is how often u want to change water. My plants drink 5 gal. Of water in 2 days. I vegged for 4 weeks. I use a 5 gal bucket woth a 18 gal res. Use bulkhead to connect the two and just dont fill it all the way until you've dialed in what your plant drinks weekly.

superstoner1 said:

What bothers me about those totes is they are very thin and weak. If you fill it very full it bulges and most are not lightproof. A much better choice would be the 15gal or 27gal yellow and black tuff boxes. Walmart carries both sizes and Lowes and HD have the big ones. You can fill them and not worry.

Click to expand...

This man speaks the truth...

I messed around with those blue 18 gal rrubbermaids and when u fill em halfway up they bow out so u cant put the lid on.

banks dank said:

I messed around with those blue 18 gal rrubbermaids and when u fill em halfway up they bow out so u cant put the lid on.

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Thanks guys, this was really good to know in advance.

15 gallon brute trash cans. Sturdy lids that will hold any size net pot and plant. I just connect at base and add to external resi. @ 2+ gallons a day, she is much more stable with a big res.

I just found those 27 gallon yellow and black tuff boxes at CostCo for around $8.50 each, better deal than anywhere else.

blztfgt said:

I found some good 18 gallon Rubbermaid nodes I want to use for my DWC. It seems like most people do two plants in a 18 gallon, but I'm curious, has anyone tried just one plant in a 18 gallon node?

How much longer did it take to fill up the area with roots? Was the yield much higher?

Click to expand...

I started out using 13 gallon buckets and the roots filled it up 100% and clogged the 3" pipe. DWC is insane and the bigger the better when it comes to the res. Now they are using really large 35 gallon for one plant in their pro systems. I would personally run 4 plants in that 35 gallons just to make sure a runt doesnt ruin a run but yeah, 18 gallon is fine and by no means too large. I'd run 2-4 plants in it if I were you just to make sure you dont get a runt and guarantee your yield.