FourthCity said:

Each plant needs more space and it will be difficult to drain and fill the reservoir. Can you show me someone that has done what you are trying to do successfully? I couldnt fit three of my full grown 5 gallon plants in your tent so its not like the buckets are a size limiter and if its just about watering less than why not get 10 or 20 gallon buckets? You talk about still wanting to lift and check on individual plants but that is not going to work when they are all in the same reservoir.


How is it superior to buckets when the plants are grown only a few inches from each other? If the reservoir was big enough to have each plant site at least a couple feet apart that would be different but op is talking about growing 3 plants out of a cooler. Even rdwc isnt better than buckets if you position the sites that close. If the plants are grown well no amount of training will change the fact that significant productive portions of them will have to be removed to make room as they age.

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The idea behind the cooler is just keeping temps down. The same res makes it easier for me.
To drain I have a pump hooked up and it will get 95% of the solution out.

I have multiple plants in the same lid so when I lift just the one lid, I am able to check all the plants.
When they tent is full it is much easier with 2 people.

I’ve never had an issue with growing multiple plants on one largeRes. The only thing I’ve noticed is a shorter Veg time? The screen fills quicker and I’m flipping it feels like a few weeks sooner.

There is a whole Coolers Club Forums at RIU


I’m not trying to say my way is the best, or that anyone is wrong.
I’m just trying to figure out why the hard feedback?

Does it really matter if multiple plants are grown together ? I understand you don’t want things over crowded, but isn’t the room getting filled either way? Im sorry I am not understanding.

I feel like my setup is far superior to 5 gallon bubble buckets..... am I going crazy? Lol

150L Cooler

I do know this is one plant. But if someone can please explain how I am doing harm by running multiple? I am more than willing to cut down to 1.

With Aqua bringing up the possibility of one plant contracting something and needing to be removed, that alone makes me want to really consider one lady again.

I use to cut down Veg time like I said.
But I also try to train each plant a little differently when running multiple, just to compare any difference between little variables.

Aqua Man said:

More water volume means more stability. 4 plants in 40 gal res prob has about 30 gal of water. 4 plants in 5 gal each has about 14 gallons.

Trimming and training under a scrog you can steer growth. You just need to lookat it openly. If almost all growth is directed outward.

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The extra water volume is great I just dont think you can "steer" the growth enough in such close quarters without removing large portions of the plants or dealing with excessive crowding.

TheOhmOne said:

The idea behind the cooler is just keeping temps down. The same res makes it easier for me.
To drain I have a pump hooked up and it will get 95% of the solution out.

I have multiple plants in the same lid so when I lift just the one lid, I am able to check all the plants.
When they tent is full it is much easier with 2 people.

I’ve never had an issue with growing multiple plants on one largeRes. The only thing I’ve noticed is a shorter Veg time? The screen fills quicker and I’m flipping it feels like a few weeks sooner.

There is a whole Coolers Club Forums at RIU



I’m not trying to say my way is the best, or that anyone is wrong.
I’m just trying to figure out why the hard feedback?

Does it really matter if multiple plants are grown together ? I understand you don’t want things over crowded, but isn’t the room getting filled either way? Im sorry I am not understanding.

I feel like my setup is far superior to 5 gallon bubble buckets..... am I going crazy? Lol

Click to expand...

I have enough trouble lifting one lid with a full grown plant (more awkward than heavy), you will be lifting three plants, a cooler lid, and a scrog net all that same time? Any conceivable effort you would be saving on watering will just be shifted to training and maintaining your canopy. I checked out the thread you referenced and its mostly people growing single plants out of coolers or making multi site systems, the few running multiple plants in one res appeared to be doing single cola sea of green style grows which I think works well but isnt what you are going for.

TheOhmOne said:

150L Cooler

I do know this is one plant. But if someone can please explain how I am doing harm by running multiple? I am more than willing to cut down to 1.

With Aqua bringing up the possibility of one plant contracting something and needing to be removed, that alone makes me want to really consider one lady again.

I use to cut down Veg time like I said.
But I also try to train each plant a little differently when running multiple, just to compare any difference between little variables.

Click to expand...

This is a perfect example, how do you imagine fitting two more plants in there or how could you train that plant to just be on one side of the tent? If you want to do one plant I have no objections to your setup besides not using netpots.

FourthCity said:

The extra water volume is great I just dont think you can "steer" the growth enough in such close quarters without removing large portions of the plants or dealing with excessive crowding.


I have enough trouble lifting one lid with a full grown plant (more awkward than heavy), you will be lifting three plants, a cooler lid, and a scrog net all that same time? Any conceivable effort you would be saving on watering will just be shifted to training and maintaining your canopy. I checked out the thread you referenced and its mostly people growing single plants out of coolers or making multi site systems, the few running multiple plants in one res appeared to be doing single cola sea of green style grows which I think works well but isnt what you are going for.

This is a perfect example, how do you imaging fitting two more plants in there or how could you train that plant to just be on one side of the tent? If you want to do one plant I have no objections to your setup besides not using netpots.

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Fourth, I can understand better where you are coming from now. I guess it’s hard for me to relate because it’s worked well for me in the past growing multiple trees in a tent in a single res. Normally 4x4.

In part it’s always felt like one big plant to me once it’s fully rooted and humming along. All the roots are connected at that point and it just looks like one large plant if not for looking at the base.

I can totally see your point of view now though. The training is pretty crazy, I always just thought it was normally for the circumstances and found it to be fun.

Manipulating the plants is like an art. They are so resilient (normally) and the way they react to stress and slight changes to environment is beautiful to watch.

If I am causing more harm than good by grouping together multiple plants in a single Res, I will by all means stop . I’m always improving myself, my tree is my no means perfect. I did get great results before, but I can only compare that to my own previous grows.

If I can get better results running 1 plant instead of 3-6, then by all means I am going to switch.

Genuinely curious, what do you feel the difference between a 6” netpot, and what I have p

In your opinion, what do you think is doing to be the most ideal hydro setup in a 5x5?

Thank you again for your advice 4th

TheOhmOne said:

In your opinion, what do you think is doing to be the most ideal hydro setup in a 5x5?

Thank you again for your advice 4th

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5 Gallon Grow Bags, 4 plants, ProMix, Fox Farm Trio... Hydro? Nah. Get to know the good plant first. Easy is better in the beginning. And for God's sake, don't attempt advanced LST or HST by any stretch at this stage. Just grow out 4 beautiful unadulterated plants. Soil will help you buffer mistakes. Hydro isn't as forgiving, ESPECIALLY if you do something wild like mistake TBL for TSP lol.

TheOhmOne said:

Fourth, I can understand better where you are coming from now. I guess it’s hard for me to relate because it’s worked well for me in the past growing multiple trees in a tent in a single res. Normally 4x4.

In part it’s always felt like one big plant to me once it’s fully rooted and humming along. All the roots are connected at that point and it just looks like one large plant if not for looking at the base.

I can totally see your point of view now though. The training is pretty crazy, I always just thought it was normally for the circumstances and found it to be fun.

Manipulating the plants is like an art. They are so resilient (normally) and the way they react to stress and slight changes to environment is beautiful to watch.

If I am causing more harm than good by grouping together multiple plants in a single Res, I will by all means stop . I’m always improving myself, my tree is my no means perfect. I did get great results before, but I can only compare that to my own previous grows.

If I can get better results running 1 plant instead of 3-6, then by all means I am going to switch.

Genuinely curious, what do you feel the difference between a 6” netpot, and what I have p

In your opinion, what do you think is doing to be the most ideal hydro setup in a 5x5?

Thank you again for your advice 4th

Click to expand...

I dont think those grates look like they will hold enough hydroton to keep the rockwool from getting too wet and the openings look big enough that they will allow the smaller hydroton to fall through. The grates are probably more expensive than netpots too.

The general idea of the cooler reservoir is fine, running 3 plants in your tent is not outrageous, its those two things together that cause issues. It would make more sense to do a dozen single cola plants in your cooler than it does to have 3 medium to large plants. Look at any rdwc system, there is space built in between each site to allow room for growth and they do that for a reason.

The most ideal hydro setup is the one you can use most successfully. Unlike @Aqua Man I dont think that there is a hierarchy of systems with any one being better than the other. I think each setup has its strengths and weakness, different systems are better for different growers depending on their needs, goals and limitations. For example, imagine you have three people with a 5x5, one of them has an unlimited plant count (whether legally or by choice) and wants to grow all of the same strain, one can only grow 6 plants but wants all different strains, and the last one can only grow one plant. Each person would need a completely different setup to maximize their yield around their limitations.

For me personally I like the 5 gallon individual buckets for a few reasons specific to my situation but may be similar to yours. For one, I like that they make it easy for me to keep a perpetual grow going, when one plant gets harvested another plant is ready to take its place in the flower area and another seedling or clone is ready to get transplanted into a bucket and replace that plant in the veg tent. Individual buckets make my lighting more flexible compared to rdwc, I can keep my plants closer together and use less light in the veg tent for the smaller ones and spread them at as much as I need to while they grow. Even though all my plants are roughly the same size when they leave the veg tent some get twice as big as others in flower area which makes this flexibility extra important for me. I also like to grow many different strains, each with slightly different nutritional needs, the separate buckets allow me to cater to each plant and get to know them better.

What's your yield like growing in that 4x4 just curious about the dry weight because they does look like one big bushy nug plant lol

Yep each system has its benefits and drawbacks... there really isn't one way to do things. I think your cooler provides for more stable parameters because of the volume, better management of res temps less affected by room temps and many some i missed over individual DWC buckets.

But its also a drawback like I mentioned previously and mobility.

Personally I feel training plants to fit a scrig is pretty similar no matter placement as seen by that one plant filling the scrog. I mean as the branches go you tuck them in the direction you want. Prune anything that may make things difficult.

FourthCity said:

I dont think those grates look like they will hold enough hydroton to keep the rockwool from getting too wet

Click to expand...

These can be flooded completely after established roots. Only a concern during transition. If using aqua cloners then they can literally go into a hydroton net pot and water level can cover the net pot. Many dont think thats the case but it is. Feel free to try it. One well known grower that used to post here moved to completely submerged and found better results with root health. This makes sense to me although I have not done it.

Normal hydro systems are built without scrogs in mind none the less they work out well the spacing is just to create even spacing and create overall even growth. However that does not mean that you can't put them closer and train them otherwise.

Honestly I don't know a single grower who has used an RDWC system and said I want to go back to single buckets.

I do t see anything wrong with the system in question for the goals he wants. Sure maybe it could be improved by spreading the plants out to make it easier but that doesn't mean it can't be easily done.

I would prefer a larger volume of water over mobility as the amount of maintenance in songle 5 gal is very high in comparison.

All these systems will work... i agree @FourthCity I should not have put them in a ranking like that without attaching a parameter to it. I rank them in that order for stability of water parameter. With songle 5 gal having the least. But as you pointed it it also has its benefits

TheKushie said:

What's your yield like growing in that 4x4 just curious about the dry weight because they does look like one big bushy nug plant lol

Click to expand...

Thats good question. I missed if that was his grow but it is impressive. I would pull over 2lbs out of my 4x4 with 4 plants and a 3 week veg.

FourthCity said:

The extra water volume is great I just dont think you can "steer" the growth enough in such close quarters without removing large portions of the plants or dealing with excessive crowding.


I have enough trouble lifting one lid with a full grown plant (more awkward than heavy), you will be lifting three plants, a cooler lid, and a scrog net all that same time? Any conceivable effort you would be saving on watering will just be shifted to training and maintaining your canopy. I checked out the thread you referenced and its mostly people growing single plants out of coolers or making multi site systems, the few running multiple plants in one res appeared to be doing single cola sea of green style grows which I think works well but isnt what you are going for.

This is a perfect example, how do you imagine fitting two more plants in there or how could you train that plant to just be on one side of the tent? If you want to do one plant I have no objections to your setup besides not using netpots.

Click to expand...

Do you then think 150L is a bit overkill for one plant?

I can run multiple 10 gallon sites, but ideally I would like them all on the same res, simply because I’d like to monitor the PH and PPM 24/7.. on the flip side I could grow multiple strains in a multi site.

it’s tough. I guess I’m looking to grow the best quality possible over almost anything else. Yield is important, but it’s all personally smoke and anything near a LB will be more then enough until I need a new strain.

So the focus here is quality.

I also really like the way a cooler performs. Linking multiple coolers is a pain in the ass to not have any leaks, due to the 2 poly layers and the inner foam layer.

As far as the netpot goes, the openings are pretty similar. I’ll fill it with hydroton and see how it holds it. But I’m not dead set on these things, it was just an idea. Has any ever used inverted net pots?

Should I build some type of cloner for the Klones I get in rockwool? Or should I continue to root them in the same res throughout as normal ?

I see current culture sells 35 gallon Res. Single and Multi site. I ideally would like to get to the point where I can harvest multiple strains near the same time in the same 5x5

Also, Boomer over at ROI is the king of coolers. He has utilized multiple over the years but he seems to also recommend no more than 2 ladies per 150L Res. This no doubt works. This is nothing new. We’ve been doing it for years. Here some of boomers photos

Aqua Man said:

Yep each system has its benefits and drawbacks... there really isn't one way to do things. I think your cooler provides for more stable parameters because of the volume, better management of res temps less affected by room temps and many some i missed over individual DWC buckets.

But its also a drawback like I mentioned previously and mobility.

Personally I feel training plants to fit a scrig is pretty similar no matter placement as seen by that one plant filling the scrog. I mean as the branches go you tuck them in the direction you want. Prune anything that may make things difficult.


These can be flooded completely after established roots. Only a concern during transition. If using aqua cloners then they can literally go into a hydroton net pot and water level can cover the net pot. Many dont think thats the case but it is. Feel free to try it. One well known grower that used to post here moved to completely submerged and found better results with root health. This makes sense to me although I have not done it.

Normal hydro systems are built without scrogs in mind none the less they work out well the spacing is just to create even spacing and create overall even growth. However that does not mean that you can't put them closer and train them otherwise.

Honestly I don't know a single grower who has used an RDWC system and said I want to go back to single buckets.

I do t see anything wrong with the system in question for the goals he wants. Sure maybe it could be improved by spreading the plants out to make it easier but that doesn't mean it can't be easily done.

I would prefer a larger volume of water over mobility as the amount of maintenance in songle 5 gal is very high in comparison.

All these systems will work... i agree @FourthCity I should not have put them in a ranking like that without attaching a parameter to it. I rank them in that order for stability of water parameter. With songle 5 gal having the least. But as you pointed it it also has its benefits

Click to expand...

I was mostly just trying to point out that I'm not really in a position to say which is best for the op because they know better than I do what they are trying to do but all the other mentioned options are better the three plant one reservoir plan. My reasons for single buckets may or may not apply to the op. I would switch to rdwc in a heartbeat but it requires a little bit more space and lighting than I have room for and the possession limit laws in my state make harvesting more than a couple plants in a short period of time problematic.

TheOhmOne said:

Do you then think 150L is a bit overkill for one plant?

I can run multiple 10 gallon sites, but ideally I would like them all on the same res, simply because I’d like to monitor the PH and PPM 24/7.. on the flip side I could grow multiple strains in a multi site.

it’s tough. I guess I’m looking to grow the best quality possible over almost anything else. Yield is important, but it’s all personally smoke and anything near a LB will be more then enough until I need a new strain.

So the focus here is quality.

I also really like the way a cooler performs. Linking multiple coolers is a pain in the ass to not have any leaks, due to the 2 poly layers and the inner foam layer.

As far as the netpot goes, the openings are pretty similar. I’ll fill it with hydroton and see how it holds it. But I’m not dead set on these things, it was just an idea. Has any ever used inverted net pots?

Should I build some type of cloner for the Klones I get in rockwool? Or should I continue to root them in the same res throughout as normal ?

I see current culture sells 35 gallon Res. Single and Multi site. I ideally would like to get to the point where I can harvest multiple strains near the same time in the same 5x5

Also, Boomer over at ROI is the king of coolers. He has utilized multiple over the years but he seems to also recommend no more than 2 ladies per 150L Res. This no doubt works. This is nothing new. We’ve been doing it for years. Here some of boomers photos

Click to expand...

Thats pretty impressive.

FourthCity said:

I was mostly just trying to point out that I'm not really in a position to say which is best for the op because they know better than I do what they are trying to do but all the other mentioned options are better the three plant one reservoir plan. My reasons for single buckets may or may not apply to the op. I would switch to rdwc in a heartbeat but it requires a little bit more space and lighting than I have room for and the possession limit laws in my state make harvesting more than a couple plants in a short period of time problematic.

Click to expand...

Yeah me either... so many different ways to do things.

Aqua Man said:

Yeah me either... so many different ways to do things.

Click to expand...

Different journey.... same destination... buds.

Aqua Man said:

Thats good question. I missed if that was his grow but it is impressive. I would pull over 2lbs out of my 4x4 with 4 plants and a 3 week veg.

Click to expand...

Lovely numbers! Now I know what my goal for yield should be in an area of that size. Thank you. Now I need to up my goal for my 5x5 outdoor room.

Someone should build a pelxi glass res and grow some plants in that and make a time lapse video of the plants and roots. Lol

TheKushie said:

Someone should build a pelxi glass res and grow some plants in that and make a time lapse video of the plants and roots. Lol

Click to expand...

Shit...... that would be awesome

TheOhmOne said:

Shit...... that would be awesome

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Only thing is light entering res.

TheOhmOne said:

Only thing is light entering res.

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Plexi glass paint 3 sides and a box with night vision camera on the 4th side so light doesn't get in

Aqua Man said:

Plexi glass paint 3 sides and a box with night vision camera on the 4th side so light doesn't get in

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Shiiiiit... just time lapse the grow room...