Size of buckets & piping

[aSilvrHaze]

Can you go too big with the buckets, especially with a certain sized space(small in my case)? I'm planning a 5x5 room and had originally planned on using the 8 gallon EZ-stor buckets, but was able to get 5 - 20 gallon Brute trash cans for free:banana:, and am unsure if the cans would be too big for my planned space. Also, if I do use the trash cans, would 3" piping be ideal?

I would think using the larger containers wouldn't be a problem, as long as I flip the plants into flower at the right size. But at the same time, such large containers make me think large plants.

This is going to be under a horizontal 1kw, & I'm intending to do a scrog screen above the four plant modules (with the epicenter and pumps outside of the space), so maybe container size won't matter as much because I'm going to be trying to fill the screen anyways...?

Another thought I had was having a larger container would take longer for the roots to fill the given space, and might not fill quickly enough to provide stability, just a thought though, whats yours?

 

[TheBioMaster]

Trash cans do not make good containers as they will leak...to much curve for the uni seals....you want something square or rectangle. 20 gallons would not be a problem, but think about how much you really need as nutrients are expensive and you dont wanna waste either. You will normally depending on container shape fill around 1/2 to 3/4 the container with nutrient solution so you can base the size you need on that. Then count the rez tank as well, plus you will want a top off tank that is equal to the entire amount the system holds...i.e if you got a 60 gallon system, then you want at least a 60 gallon top off tank.

These specs are not exactly essential..but ideal.:mysterymachine:

 

[UCMENOW]

Its not so much the curve, unis are made to adapt to this....it's the pliability of the plastic. Be sure to get a sturdy container and it's all good.

 

[aSilvrHaze]

i was planning on using the electrical conduit fittings because I've seen someone else here use it with the Brutes with success. But the part about the amount of nutrients was exactly the kind of input I was looking for, lol I didn't think about that part and if I can still get good sized plants with a smaller container, then all the more reason to stick with something smaller.