55 Gallon Drum Reservoir | Black HDPE, Solid Lid and Bolt Ring

What the 55 Gallon Drum Format Gets Right as a Reservoir

The drum format survives because the dimensions are standard and everything else is built around them. Pumps, drum heaters, siphon tubes and dollies all assume this diameter. Nominal capacity is fifty five gallons while actual capacity is fifty seven, and the second number is the one that matters when you are dosing. Mix to the working volume rather than to the name on the label. The body is moulded in high molecular weight HDPE with a minimum wall of 2.2 mm. Hydrofarm describe the resin as food grade, which is the relevant standard for anything holding nutrient solution. It stands 36 1/2 in tall on a 22 1/4 in base and opens to 23 in across the top. Empty weight is around twenty five and three quarter pounds, so one person can move it and nobody moves it full. Black is doing more than hiding stains. An opaque wall keeps light out of the solution, and light is what turns a reservoir green. Algae costs you dissolved oxygen, clogs filters and feeds root pathogens.

The Solid Cover, the Bolt Ring and What Growers Do to Them

The drum arrives as an open head unit, which is the version worth having. A removable solid cover sits on the rim and a steel band clamps it down. That closure is why a full drum can be moved, stacked or carried without wearing it. It is also the reason this format works as a mixing vessel rather than only as storage. Most growers modify the cover rather than leaving it plain. Drill it for a pump lead and a return line, then cut a port for dosing and for a probe. Cutting the lid rather than the body keeps the drum itself intact and replaceable. Two cautions are worth stating plainly. An open head plastic drum is a water and nutrient vessel, not a fuel container. Fuel storage needs a vessel rated and marked for it, and this one carries no such rating. Support the base when it is full, because a drum holding over four hundred pounds of water wants a flat, solid floor. A pallet or a levelled stand beats bare soil every time.

Key Features

• Nominal capacity: Fifty five gallons, with fifty seven gallons of actual volume
• Material: High molecular weight HDPE, described by Hydrofarm as food grade
• Wall thickness: A minimum of 2.2 mm through the body
• Height: Thirty six and a half inches from the base to the rim
• Diameters: Twenty three inches at the top, twenty two and a quarter at the base
• Empty weight: Around twenty five and three quarter pounds
• Closure: A solid removable cover with a steel bolt ring
• Why black: An opaque wall keeps light out and keeps algae from taking hold
• Common change: Drill the cover for pump leads, return lines and a probe
• Not rated for: Fuel, or any liquid needing a marked container rating

Technical Specifications