what size dwc

hi all. i want to venture over to the hydro side and try a dwc. ive never attempted hydro before only soil. i only grow two to four plants at a time. i usually average 2 0z a plant. which is fine because its just for me. my questions are should i go 3 1/2 gal or 5 gal buckets? and i use advance nutrients a n b bloom now. will i need to use alot more doing a dwc? i have r/o water if that helps. ill be under a 400 hps till i get my 600. thanks

sativa or indica? if you have a choice, i'd think doing indica in 3.5gal buckets would be easier. 5gal bucket will keep your chemistry more stable, but more waste when you flush. you can always start with 3.5 and upgrade to 5gal if you need the extra room. towards the end of maui wowie (full on sativa) grow, i was topping off 5gal buckets with 2-3 gallons of water every day! if you don't want to do that kind of work every day, consider another technique.

have you given thought to how you're going to water before the roots hit the water? maybe airlift topfeed if you have the air to spare?

before you go investing in and building out a hydro setup, consider aquaponics. it's not that different. a little more cost up front for setup and a little more space needed, but saves you time, effort, money, and lots of frustration down the road.

On my DWC side I use 80 liter rubbermaid-style totes with 6 or 8 grow spots cut out of the lid. 12 inch air stone/bar (expect to change it every crop) and an air pump. This setup drops about 10-15 liters per week (weekly top-ups and measures) and with the stability of a large volume of water, I can push deep into 3 weeks before I dump and refill. Plants are in 4 inch netpots with a rockwool cube on a layer of and filled around the edges with hydroton for stability. A tote with a stiff lid is more practical when the girls really back on the weight... flimsy lids tend to twist and bend; sometimes helpful, but mostly annoying.

A drain tap or submersible pump is key to speedy/dry dump and fill.

doubling the totes is great if you're worried about leaks.... inspect them often, look for pressure points, avoid picking one with tight square corners, look for totes with gentle curves/arcs... less stress on the corners and less prone to splitting at the corners.

i have both sativa and indica seeds. i cloned my pineapple chunk thats a indy. i have limited room. when you say topping off buckets at end. do you have to add ferts every time? a question i have is am i gonna need more ferts then i use now in soil. and for watering them before the roots are long enough. well how do you suggest? can i just pour water on them like soil?

go with the 5gal or bigger, nute cost to harvest weight is negligible. in dwc the res needs less nutes because the roots are constantly submerged in nutes. i never go above 600ppm in dwc. ph is crucial, just stick with 5.6-6.0 range.

kiddie pools work great for keeping your floor dry. you can also just use a larger pot tray under the bucket. a lot of times, small drips in a new system will seal themselves as leaking solution evaporates, leaving mineral deposits.

if you can get them, use uniseals instead of grommets. uniseals will work better on the curved walls of a bucket than grommets. shit, you can even use them to join two pipes without a fitting (although a fitting would be cheaper). a bulkhead fitting will work better for flat surfaces.

uniseals: