DWC Scrog Prep Help

Hi guys, been a long time lurker got a few soil and later coir harvests under my belt but I've decided to give my hand at hydro. Mostly for the speed advantages although I'm hoping in combination with my grow space changing to one suitable for a 400w hps/mh for bigger yields too.

Anyways I've been doing my reading and research and I've got a few questions to bounce off you guys. The pictures accompany this to avoid confusion.

Questions I have currently:
Do I need to paint this cooler I've chosen? It's supposed to be a five day cooler, but I know that white is a poor choice. I have spray paint that I would use to remedy this.

What do I use exactly to seal the insulation in the holes I made in the lid?

I was smoking on the job with the jigsaw and cut my 5" holes too big, went back and got 6" net pots, they dont sit entirely flush but considering I'll have to handwater until the roots reach the water will this matter?

I plan to drain using the one on the cooler, my grow space has a height of 6.5 feet, but the plants will be scrogged, any ideas on a not very space consuming way and cheap way to drain (probably only 3 times during plant cycles)?

At the same time I also have not made holes for water level indications and I do not have a hole for refilling water, will I be able to crack the lid and get the water in the whole grow?

Also I planned on using female seeds c99 this run, but I wasn't sure about how easy it will be for a first time scrog, does anyone have any better ideas? Looking for decent yields and medium to high potency.

Thanks in advance guys I'm sure I forgot something but it's this damn holy grail ha

If you can see light through the cooler then you need to paint the outside, or cover it in reflective material. Having it white and lightproof is preferable as any color will absorb heat raising water temperature.

I would opt for a recirculating system so you wouldn't have to ever lift the lid of the cooler, this will also allow you to top off the system without opening it... Besides, having the plants in there and attached to a screen will make opening it quite difficult if possible at all.

One other thing, I would start several seed in something else and let them develop until sex is shown then put two known females into the system. If you start with only two seed maybe they both end up being male and your back at square one, or one will be male and you only got one plant to run.
I would also re cut the holes to fit the pots properly, having it like the way it is is doable but it would bother me aesthetically.

I'll make sure to take the cooler when I turn the lights on and see if I see light. I'll probably spray paint it black for peace of mind anyways now.
Edit: missed the part where you said it'd raise the temp. The cooler says it blocks uv and it's lights on now so I'll see if light gets through.
I'm only vaguely familiar with RDWC, but since this lid issue is a rather important one I'll look into it. I've only come across the linked buckets. Would this still work with the storage bin style container?

And ya know funny thing is my step dad saw it in the back of my car with the net pots and he told me to go re cut them too haha. Jig saws not mine unfortunately so I'll either have to wait or find a sealant that allows me to use enough to make a 5in pot not fall through.


And I'm planning on using fem seeds, so far I've been lucky enough not to encounter herms

the cooler is fine, it will definitely block out enough - if not all light.
maybe you can give those 6'' net pots a good push and see if you can squeeze them down into the hole. if the very top of the net pot sticks out a little this is fine, but again make sure there is no light getting into the reservoir.

i use a 150-250 GPH water pump with some vinyl tubing to drain my res. put in the bottom of the res and pump it into 5gal containers to then dump. wish i had a drain in the floor though.

Thanks man, I just set up my new 4x4x6.5 tent, a little big for a 400w but if my yield is enough I'll spring for a 600w. I'm buying my pvc cement today so I can finish the scrog net, which measures a bit under 3 feet. I did some research and I'm going to make a Styrofoam insulation lid, to hold me over until I can visit home and use the jigsaw. As for drainage that's a nifty idea. I'm probably going to use a hose to siphon and just put the cooler on a pair of bricks and cut a hole low in a bucket. After I pickup some maxibloom, finish the net, and get my new shipment of seeds (got suckered for those freebies) I'll be up and ready to go.

I'll upload some pics of my new setup once it's going. I'm really hoping this scrog attempt can pull me 4oz. I attempted to create an even canopy on my soil c99 but I only really got 3 branches to the same height lol. Damn if she doesn't smell just as fruity as the pineapple express if not more.

No need for pipe cement if it is for putting together the scrog frame. The joints will will more than tight enough. Makes it easier to take apart or expand as needed.
The styrofoam insulation is a good cheap idea to downsize the holes. It also has the benefit of allowing you to add a little bit more nutes to the res.

I wish I'd read your post before lol. I ended up cementing it (I'd read a guide that told me to lol, but I thought it was sturdy too) and I still haven't purchased my insulation home depot was on some bullshit so I'm hitting up Lowe's tomorrow. I'm stringing my trellis and then I'll get you guys pics of the setup.

I dunno if double posting is against the rules if so I'm sorry. I've decided to go for hempy buckets on this next run. I want to invest some more in my cooler and it's an easy way to have good access to my plants. Got a whole bunch of seeds coming, most excited about more c99, sensi seeds skunk #1, and a g13 ww I'm going to mother for a mate.

These are the plants I'm working on/ finishing up all seem to be much happier now that my 400w light is concentrated and reflected. As opposed to my original open room setup (venting was easier) Anyways we have here a c99, biggest girl, an experiment with lst because she was crammed for light next to a monster holy grail I had vegging for 5 months. The results seem okay, but it's mostly my motivation to switch to scrog and reap the real rewards.

A clone of that holy grail plant resides next to it in the red folgers container, it was flowering with two tops originally so I cut one in an attempt to keep the line running. HGK was super frosty, edibles were top notch, if the clone roots I may SoG it in the future.

And the smallest is a WoS Afghan Kush I got as a freebie some time ago, popped it and I have it in my poorly designed veg area with trips into the tent during lights on. I plan to top it sometime next week and begin making it into a bonsai mother based on an interesting article I read.

Edit: having trouble getting these pics up hold on

Sorry for the weird angle they get turned when I scrub em. And for the triple post this app is killing me.