Hydroponic tub size

[Wallacem2]

I am currently using a 10 gal Sterilte tote containing 5 gals of water for my first grow. Does anyone have an opinion about going to a 20 gal tote and using 10-12 gals of water? There probably wouldn't be anymore top surface space for more plants but wouldn't the larger water reservoir require fewer nute changes and possibly maintain a mote stable PH? (Maybe add a third airstone?)

Also, on a related subject, 5 gals of water fills the 10 gal Sterilite tote to about 5-6 inches below the top of the tote and seems to be 2+ inches below the bottom of the 3" net pots. Would it be beneficial to add another gal of water, perhaps to extend nutrient life and stabilize ph more?

[gbauto]

I guess it really depends on how many plants you are growing in each tub. Since I use a 3 gal bucket on my RDWC system the amount of room for root growth is alot less than in a 10 gal tote and I have yet to run into an issue with root growth. My level in each bucket is only a few inches but my total capacity for rez change is 20 gal so I go about 2 weeks between changes. If the roots are submerged then it should be good,

[Joker]

I use a 30 gal tote with 18 gal water. 2 water pumps and 2 air pumps w/ 4 air stones. Perfect for 3 to 4 plants.

[Eliot Pryor]

my thinking is the smaller the res. the easier. It depends. As for the air space I think mine is at least 3 inches below the net pot. Good growing !!

[PigSquishy]

When it comes to hydro the bigger the res, the more able you can stabilize the pH, but that can also depend on the grade of pH Down you are using as I personally learned, nute brand can also determine the stability of the pH as I have also personally seen first hand. Oxygen in the res can also help to stabilize the pH nutes for longer water changes from what I have also seen, when running less oxygen to the same res, water, nutes when my air pump went down... then my nutes became unstable in a much shorter period of time, and fixed itself later with the new air pump again of much high oxygenation of the res. But the oxygenation of the water depends on the water temps, anything like 84-degree water would hold zero oxygen so it wouldn't matter much much air you pumped into the hot water at that rate. On the other hand they say 60-64 degree water for hydro holds the greatest amounts of air in the water for the roots, I've played with this information and my results did positively suggest this is a true fact as the plants would respond in some nice ways. When I say a bigger res can help, you have to equally understand I am meaning more water per plant(s)... it would have the opposite effect if you added more water and then more plants again. Which brings us to the final point to help you in hydro... because as I hope you have just shown you hydro greatly depends on a lot of factors to you and your setup... there are some basic principles which affect us all in hydro like water temps, but there is a lot of room to experiment to find out what will work for you... A friend of mine does the Kraken method and doesn't even aerate the water of this hydro system, and can grow huge lusish plants, just going to show there is a lot to learn when it comes to hydroponics growing.

[Wallacem2]

Thank you all for your responses. I think for my next hydro grow I'll go with a 20 gal tote and 15 gal of water.