RDWC 4X4 tent

Hello everyone!
This is my first post in 5+ years and I'm happy to be back!
I am starting to prepare for a first time RDWC in my 4x4 tent using a new Spider Farmer SF-4000 Led growlight.
I have not purchased it yet but I think that's what I've decided on looking at quality vs price. Let me know if you have a better suggestion!
Here are some bulletpoint details of my grow to make it easy.
•4x4x7 vivosun tent
•5.3g black square pots
•15g rez bucket
•35 g RO storage bucket
•circulated using a 758gph Quiet One Lifegard Aquarium Pump
•Planning on using the full cultured solutions feeding regime (please get advise and feedback on that)
•likely some heavy training will be done. My last grow was a soil 4x4 SCROG (filled entire tent, I'll post pics in lower comments)
•1 5" vivosun airstone in each bucket
•powered by 1300 GPH EcoPlus HGC728457 Eco Air5 Commercial Air Pump
•1 1/2" PVC will connect all the buckets with bulkheads
• my water will be produced with a 150 GPD Koolermax AR-122 6-stage RO+DI Aquarium Reef Reverse Osmosis Water System
So far, I have only received my airpump/stones and bought my rez and RO storage containers.
I have set up some 4" PVC as a trap, and inserted a sink food screen within the trap to catch any fragments of hydroton right before the pump. Then during rez changes, i can open it up and clean it out.

Next, I am setting up my RO system mounted to the wall in the grow room, this will then tube to the 35g holding tank which will contain a float stopper to automatically refill anytime I use water since RO takes forever to make.

I'll keep adding updates as I continue to build and change things!

Here are some pics from my 4x4 soil scrog that finnished up last before this revamp

So today I got the PVC connections ready to go whenever my 1 1/2" bulkheads and 5.3g buckets arrive.
That might not be untill Tuesday though, but my R.O system will be here tomorrow and I can get that all hooked up to the float stopper

Got some temporary buckets hooked up to the PVC to run a water test, all the PVC held up great, and the threaded attachments with plumbers tape did great. But for some reason the seal on the bulkheads were leaky. Ill have to look into some silicon sealant maybe to add. I want them to be able to be taken apart so I don't want an adhesive.
The drill pump also sucks. I'm just going to pipe some hose to the drain that I can attach to my inline pump to make my life easier.
Speaking of which, for some reason when I fired up the pump today for the first time It started humming, but no water was moving at all.

ÒÒlegilizeitÒÒ said:

Here are some pics from my 4x4 soil scrog that finnished up last before this revamp
View attachment 4680994View attachment 4680995View attachment 4680996View attachment 4680997View attachment 4680998View attachment 4680999View attachment 4681000

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Those under-tubes had co2?

GrOwThMoNgeR said:

Those under-tubes had co2?

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No, they were actually for watering, they ran to a water pump in a 5 gallon bucket where I could mix nuts then pump it into the fabric pots. The scrog was so thick, and the screen was so close to the top of the pots, it was really hard to get under there.

I cringe when i see that big tote up high like that,Some of us old timers did the float valve thing long ago.I hope it works for ya.
I keep my rdwc systems simple now,keep a wet vac handy and move all electrical up off the floor.

myke said:

I cringe when i see that big tote up high like that,Some of us old timers did the float valve thing long ago.I hope it works for ya.
I keep my rdwc systems simple now,keep a wet vac handy and move all electrical up off the floor.

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I appreciate the input haha
The 30g up high is only clean water ro storage anyway, so pretty simple and not many places for the leaks.
The float valve is definitely my biggest concern, but it has amazing reviews so we will see. I will be watching closely for awhile.
Got my RO system up and running today, doing my first run through it as I speak.
I ran a line up into the kitchen for a clean drinking water facuet as well

Used some temporary buckets to test the system as I still wait for my buckets to arrive.
Everything worked good except the bulkheads were leaky, i just bought a second rubber gasket for each so there will be one on the inside and outside. Hopefully that will remedy the situation.
R.O working great, 30g tub is full, and the float has completly stopped the flow.
Tds is reading 0 as expected for the R.0
I also got my airpump up and running and tested my stones, they work great and this pump puts out more than ill need which is good. Only issue was isn't was a bit loud and rattled. I opened it up and it seemed the metal to metal areas around the piston and cylinder were loud when they touch, and there was no lubrication. So I sprayed some Dielectric grease on the metal to meatl connections and it worked great. Hopefully this doesn't cause unforseen issues in the future. As a backup, I do have a portable air tank that can be refilled and used temporarily in an emergency.

I'd also like to add how much I like these unions for my 1 1/2" PVC drains. It makes it extreamly easy to take apart the system anywhere i have them, and the pvc can spin freely from each other when I loosen the cuplink so I can adjust angles of elbows, and makes it a breeze to screw into my bulkheads. Also Its early, but I haven't seen one leak from them yet

Fine tuned my drain system to run from my pump, off a splitter to a hose that runs down the drain to avoid having to bucket the water to the drain whenever I changed my rez.
Also got my buckets in today, hydroton, and Rockwool cubes.
Almost ready to pop some seeds, just need to pick out my nutrients, and I'd really like to pony up the cash for the new LED before I start to avoid the power drain and heat of my 1000w hps.
These new gaskets I got for the bulkheads are fantastic, and fit like it was ment to be. The foam rubber compresses from over a 1/2" thick cone down to an 1/4" seal.

RDWC system is complete!
Took it apart and getting some deep cleaning in the grow room. Everything wiped down and new paint.
Walls will be patched with mortar and repainted as well, likely white.
Of course my house was built in the 1880s so the basement is not the prettiest.
Unfortantly my 4x4 tent was actually 2" too tall for the room when I got it! So I cut out the concrete around it, dug it out, and poured a new slab 2" lower haha a lot of effort for a small difference but it works now.

Nice man I like what you did there. Good job and I hope it works well. I wish I found those gaskets, my bulkheads kept leaking no matter what I did, so i just loaded everything with silicone. I also should have used PVC, I had issues with leaking and getting pipes that fit well over my 1 1/2 inch bulkheads. I also loaded them with silicone before clamps and it fixed the leaking.

I like your air pump too! I got a GH one but I don't think it will move nearly as much air as yours, I can't remember the specs of my water pump but it moves enough water, but it would be better if it moved more. My next build will be better. I use the SF-4000 and I really like it. I did modify it because I had heat issues but my tent is only 3x3.

Distortionist said:

Nice man I like what you did there. Good job and I hope it works well. I wish I found those gaskets, my bulkheads kept leaking no matter what I did, so i just loaded everything with silicone. I also should have used PVC, I had issues with leaking and getting pipes that fit well over my 1 1/2 inch bulkheads. I also loaded them with silicone before clamps and it fixed the leaking.

I like your air pump too! I got a GH one but I don't think it will move nearly as much air as yours, I can't remember the specs of my water pump but it moves enough water, but it would be better if it moved more. My next build will be better. I use the SF-4000 and I really like it. I did modify it because I had heat issues but my tent is only 3x3.

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Thanks! Im excited to get the system fully put together and running so I can pop some seeds.
I feel like regardless of how hot the light gets, it can only be substantially cooler than the hps hahah i always had issues keeping Temps under 80 with that

ÒÒlegilizeitÒÒ said:

Thanks! Im excited to get the system fully put together and running so I can pop some seeds.
I feel like regardless of how hot the light gets, it can only be substantially cooler than the hps hahah i always had issues keeping Temps under 80 with that

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Yes it will be cooler and your tent is bigger so I don't think you will have an issue. What I did was I raised the bricks and added a fan. It made a huge difference. The light also can be dimmed or brightened. It gets MUCH brighter if you crank it up but of course it will produce more heat and probably die younger. Its a fantastic light though I love it.

Been busy cleaning up and picking up new toys! Extreamly excited to start up. I have 20 GDP seeds in the fridge awaiting their time currently.
I bought a push sensor to alert my phone of temp and humidity 24/7 (I also bought the hub to connect to my wifi for push notifications)


I bought the Guardian Monitor to watch my water effortlessly

I bought the Bluelab PH adjuster to continously monitor and adjust my PH for me


I bought a 402 CFM AC infinity inline fan that will automatically adjust fan speed to your keep a set temp and humidity in the tent (I will likely combine this with a 4" inline infinity to work jointly together as an intake, and exhaust)

I also picked up a digital scope for tricomes

I bought a 36 pack of 62% humidpaks for cure



I've also bought smart outlets, to notify me if any of my pumps quit operating, and tell me my power draw, in addition i bought two flood sensors to alert of of overflows or leaks


I've now decided to run a c02 enriched, sealed room for the plants, so I will pick up these


My sealed room will run similar to this diagram, except there will be one tent (for now) and LED light without air cooled hood (obviously)

Sounds like a fun setup. What are you using for smart outlets? I have some but they don't tell me power draw.

What are you using to detect floods and monitor humidity? I just installed stuff to do just that. I have a cheap monitor and I manually adjust PH but those would be my next upgrades when the time comes. I also have a smart dehumidifier and ac. I have the scope but it kinda sucks I find. I just use my 108mp cell camera up close and then zoom in.

I also use the AC infinity fan with an intake fan but my intake fan is cheap and always on. It keeps up with my 4" ac infinity sucking out of a carbon filter fine. My tent is well balanced.

I get alerts for leaks, temp, humidity, res temperature with most stuff I am able to remedy remotely.

All that for 2 lousy plants lol.

Distortionist said:

Sounds like a fun setup. What are you using for smart outlets? I have some but they don't tell me power draw.

What are you using to detect floods and monitor humidity? I just installed stuff to do just that. I have a cheap monitor and I manually adjust PH but those would be my next upgrades when the time comes. I also have a smart dehumidifier and ac. I have the scope but it kinda sucks I find. I just use my 108mp cell camera up close and then zoom in.

I also use the AC infinity fan with an intake fan but my intake fan is cheap and always on. It keeps up with my 4" ac infinity sucking out of a carbon filter fine. My tent is well balanced.

I get alerts for leaks, temp, humidity, res temperature with most stuff I am able to remedy remotely.

All that for 2 lousy plants lol.

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I am having a great time finding what I want for my setup, I will have an even better time setting it all up and trying it out.
I am so glad technology has gotten us to the point where its extreamly economical to buy these smart sensors and be able to monitor the room from anywhere.
Here is the link for my humidity/temp push sensor https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01AEQ9X9I/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_fab_2uGGFbPV4ABVW

Here is the flood detector

And here is my smart outlets

The app for the push sensor is impressive, I am happy for the price, right now its setup with my seeds in the fridge to keep an eye on them.
I haven't got a chance to try out the other sensors yet

ÒÒlegilizeitÒÒ said:

The app for the push sensor is impressive, I am happy for the price, right now its setup with my seeds in the fridge to keep an eye on them.
I haven't got a chance to try out the other sensors yet
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Yeah my app shows me similar stuff and graphs. I actually also steal the data and log it all on my computer. I have 10 temperature and humidity sensors all over my house. Even my res has a temp monitor lol. I love the graphs lol.

So I have similar outlets by wyze and they say the same the only thing is I can't tell how many watts are being consumed. Or amps. Or anything. Just can tell and control its off and on, and track its daily usage time wise not the actual power. I wish I did power. I'm unsure if yours does what I want, does it? When it says track usage is it like mine just track hours per day?

It would be awesome to graph power consumption.