I feel your pain. Hits close to home man. I did similar, and ran into a problem once I had the return lines plumbed and was halfway through the supply. All of it trashed, and on to take 2.
It broke my heart, but I was trying to cram more plumbing in than I really had room for, and it ended up way too complex.
Now when I turn around and actually build rooms someday, that may be different. I'll have the room then, and may be able to make it happen. However, it wasn't fitting into a 4x4 tent. The buckets, yeah they fit. The plumbing? Not so much. I was frustrated beyond belief, to the point I was ready to just block the person that was pushing me out if it and into a better setup. It was a frustrating, trying time to say the least.
I had a really good plan, but it got twisted up when I was 9" short on space between buckets with nowhere to go without pushing the plants towards the tent walls. I'm not even sure now that I could have solved it with that even.
What I had set up was 2 return lines, and 2 supply lines. The way it was plumbed I would have been able to isolate buckets from each other and put them on another res. So if I had a picky plant, I could isolate it from the main feed and run it on its own recirculating loop with just the opening/closing of a couple valves. Now there was only 1 entry and 1 exit point per bucket, but right before/after was a tee and a valve on each side. So I could close the main return and open the secondary, and close the main supply and open the secondary. Boom, plant isolated and now feed could be targeted better to that plant (or plants.) I still would love to have that capability, I just don't have the room for it in a tent without some serious intervention.
Now?
Much better. Much, much better. It sucked at the time, but one thing I'm not losing sleep over is whether or not my rig is running properly and whether or not it's all clogged up and overflowing. (I do still cringe when they send me a message now and then, but it's been good since.
)You have some room to work with, which is good. I also noticed you've been to lowe's and picked up a commander xl blah blah tote for your res. That's the 27 gal, isn't it? That's what I use for a res on one of my tents, and have several for other things. They're good, and thankfully not expensive.
The "craftsman" stuff isn't bad either. I have a 10gal on a 3x3 for a single plant that's in a dutch bucket. No problem. They're pretty good too it seems, and I like the handles coming up over the lid to kind of "lock" it down. Better than the snap type, I think. Not as easy to bump it off or anything. Not that I've bumped one off, but they do come off easier and I'm sure I'll bump it at some point.
I will suggest to cover the res lid in gorilla tape. Whether you want reflective silver or white is up to you, but don't use something dark. Intense light + dark res top = heat. No bueno.
While you're shopping, and nobody has mentioned this yet, but what are you going to be monitoring your solution with?
There is a very handy, reliable monitoring unit that monitors the EC (can display as EC, 500, or 700 scale), water temp, and pH. It's the Blue Lab Guardian, and they are extremely convenient.
I won't run a reservoir without one. It is so handy to be able to just glance at the wall and see exactly what your solution is doing. You can get by for a while with a pH pen and an EC meter, but if you start that way set back a little here and there to get the guardian. It's more than worth it, and then some. They've went up a bit this year (what hasn't, really), and are now around tree fiddy on the zon. There are several models that get fancier and fancier, but I find the basic one is just fine. I'm in the garden area several times a day, so no big whoop. Check the zon and look for "Bluelab MONGUA Guardian Monitor."
How's the rest of the environment? Lights? Exhaust fans (AC Infinity Cloudline for a 4" or 6", once you hit 8" look at hyperfan as they draw less power)? Carbon scrubber(s), oscillating fans (not that you're in a tent, but avoid the ones that are made to clip to a tent pole from vivosun or the like), dehumidifier/humidifier, heater(s), AC?
I'm also in an unfinished basement. Wouldn't really need tents, but it helps keep the air cleaner and is easier to scrub and keep any smells contained. I don't necessarily care, I'm legal, but I also don't want to advertise or have someone show up that may react negatively. Just easier that way for now.
Temps stay pretty steady for me. Typically right around 71-72, during the day. Even in the peak of summer when it was 95-100 out, it didn't get over 73. I sit my reservoirs directly on the concrete floor, which helps by acting as a heatsink. Now it won't ever get below what the floor is (and usually a degree or two higher), but it does help in part to keep the water temps manageable. Without running a chiller, my summer reservoirs never topped 73. Now if I were running my big rdwc, maybe. I shut it down in the summer though because it draws enough juice when it's on that being off it helps to somewhat offset the AC being on.
Have you thought about what nutrients you're going to use? A 50gal setup is going to need a healthy amount. I have some basic info on 4 or 5 different lines, and their cost breakdown for a 50gal rig. 3 of them run around $100/grow, one is around $20, another around $35 or so, and a couple others that are $200+.
I can data dump that for ya if you want, but as many details as there are on there, it may be frowned upon since none of the nute companies on my list are "sponsors" here. They like to keep walls of information that aren't sponsor products off the main areas of the site. It sucks, as it's difficult sometimes to discuss/get help with something, but as long as it doesn't turn into what could look like a big advertisement then they usually tolerate a bit of discussion.
Drying/curing? Got that planned up yet? Trimming?
12 plants will be a mother fucker to trim up. Heck, my hands, neck, and shoulders are cringing at the thought.
I have a trimmer. It's a dry trim, tumbler. It's pretty good, but tricky to get dialed in as it is bladeless and your buds need to be at the exact right moisture level to trim correctly. It's a very fine line between dry enough to trim, and blowing your cure. Very fine line. I've had a couple plants that ended up getting trimmed after curing as they were getting a bit close and my nerves couldn't take it. (It's a learning curve, but not bad. Just something that gets better with practice.)
That being the case, I'm probably going to get a better one next spring, that doesn't need the sugars quite as dry as this one. Thankfully this one was only $300. It works, but only when the plant is at the right moisture level. That level is close enough to blowing the cure that it just makes me too nervous. I'd like a green brothers unit, but will probably end up with a table top centurian pro, triminator, or similar.
