RDWC set-up & general hydroponic questions

[MisterPotatoHead]

Good Day: I'm months away from implementing, but prior planning ... I'd like to build a 4 x (3.5g)bucket RDWC system. 2x bulkhead fittings per bucket (in/out) connected by garden hose, to reservoir, and circulated via pump. My questions: Are white plastic buckets advisable? How do I calculate the reservoir size needed, is bigger better? What brand/gpm pump is a good recommendation? Does a cooler make a better reservoir than a tote, considering toughness and insulation value? Are there issues with roots clogging hoses, and is this a consideration? Is an aquarium thermometer floating in reservoir the method for monitoring water temp? Lastly, I've seen DYI setups where each bucket has it's own airstone, some with airstones in the reservoir, and some with both, which is the better way? Thanks

[Toker1]

White let’s light through. Not advisable.
Bigger is better with reservoir. For a minimum I would say 4 each 3.5 gal buckets will require at least a 15 gal reservoir.
I use an eco plus pump, but brand is not as important. To size the pump I recommend total gallons divided by 1.5. So a 19 gph pump would be my minimum. Colder is better. If your pump is submerged it will add heat into the water. You can find inline pumps that add less heat, but still will add some. Water temps are extremely important. I recommend a chiller system to help keep temps in control.
Yes, roots will try to clog holes. This is the nature of RDWC. Sone people put screens over them, but that will decrease your flow rate and pumps must be larger (more heat etc.). Coolers work particularly with chiller systems. But if you are not chilling, you are only insulating the heat from the pump keeping your water temps higher than you want. Some people use a concrete slab as a heat sink, but a cooler will not transfer that heat out as well. So it’s totally dependent on your set up situation.
Yes, I use an aquarium thermometer. It has a suction cup that sticks to the side wall so it stays submerged.
More air the better, but in reality water being pushed by the pump might be good enough.
This depends on your set up. Check out bio buckets. They use a waterfall technique to oxygenate the water.

[RagWeedDWC]

I only use single buckets, but agree completely with Toker1 on not having white buckets. May look at doing something like this in the future.

[MisterPotatoHead]

Thanks. I'm basically researching at this point,but like to consider all angles including pitfalls. For grins I took a 3g bucket and put a handful of LED tactical lights inside with lid on in a pitch black room and saw no glow, but my thinking was that white ought to be cooler than black. I suppose if that were so the folks selling systems would be using white buckets.
I was curious about electric coolers, I've never seen specifics as to choosing or recommendations, but I'd like to address it beforehand.My question concerning Igloo type coolers stems from the fact that, I'll most likely will have to rely on frozen H2O in bottles to cool the reservoir. I'm in an old farm house basement with dubious electrics and don't want't to push the system..I realize that adding a frozen liter bottle of water will raise the reservoirs level, and water wishing to achieve level means the levels in the buckets must also rise... I'm thinking the volume of the bottle would be distributed equally among the 4 buckets and the reservoir. How much, and the effects I haven't a clue. I would like to learn more about electric coolers.
I plan on having both air and water pump on the out side, with check valves both sides of the reservoir in the event a pump goes south.
Y-all sure have given me alot to consider, and it's really helpful at this planning stage...Thank You

[Toker1]

Good to add isolation valves for each bucket. If you lost a plant you can operate the other buckets while the bucket that is not in use gets isolated from the system.

[BakedMoose]

I only use regular DWC, but an easy way to drain/refill the reservoir without moving any of your plants is handy, especially if you want to scrog. I raise my buckets a bit so I can add a drain port and something to drain into, but if you're going with RDWC, a better option might be to put it on the reservoir so you don't have to jostle a setup with seals all over the place. A decent transfer pump would also make easy work of it.

[HighDesertRat]

Garden hose is not big enough for the drains. I have 3/4" PVC, and I'm dealing with clogs and have 4 weeks to go on my current grow. When I harvest I'll be upgrading to 1.5" drains.
i have 2, 20 gallon totes hooked together with 1.5" pipe as a res. I run 30 gallons of water in them, and usually only run 6 plants.
I find I get less pH swings/issues with more water in the system. The totes are up off the ground, and the buckets are higher up on a table..
I run a chiller. Ultimate temp control..set it and forget it. One of my best investments. Period.
I have 12 buckets hooked up, so I have a 950 gph aquarium pump to deliver good flow. When choosing a pump you also need to consider how high it will be lifting the water, and how far it will be pushing it...too small a pump will wear out pretty quickly.
I also have a bypass hooked up so I can pump out the res easily.
I have air in each bucket. Had it in the res for a while, but saw no difference in growth. Between the air in the buckets and the top feed waterfalling thru the hydroton, they get plenty of dissolved oxygen...
i also strongly recommend using hydroguard. Between the chiller and the hydroguard, I never get root rot. I don't even worry about it now.
My last suggestion is to read, read, read. Learn everything you can about maintaining proper pH and nutrient levels...trust the science and the experience of these guys that grow way better than me...
Good luck! I love growing in hydro!

[gbauto]

Welcome, MPH
I agree with HighDesert, after trying to nurse a couple of 8 bucket RDWC systems through root clogs and overflows I finally changed to a 4 tote UC style system running 17 gal HDX totes, 700gph pump and 2" bulkheads. Second year on this system and ZERO issues. I didn't use a chiller for 3 seasons with rez temps up to 80 degF using Hydroguard or GFF. I added a chiller this year so everything is purring along.