Hydrofarm Black Bucket Lid for 5 Gal Buckets, Net Pot Template

A 5 Gallon Bucket Lid That Seals and Stacks

A lip and groove profile runs the whole rim. It seats over the bucket edge and holds, rather than resting on top and lifting when the pail moves. Sealed like that, the contents stay in when the bucket tips. Lidded buckets also stack, which is the difference between a tidy store room and a floor full of pails. The plastic is black, so no light reaches whatever is inside. Hydrofarm list this as part number 724381. The lid is sold for their five gallon bucket. Each pack ships with a cutting template. That template is what turns a flat lid into a net pot collar. The part weighs almost nothing and lasts for years.

Turning a Black Bucket Lid Into a DWC Top

Deep water culture is where most of these end up in a grow room. Cut the centre to the net pot's outside diameter, drop the pot in, and the lid becomes the plant support. The seal matters more here than in storage, because an open reservoir grows algae and loses water to evaporation. A tight fit also keeps light off the nutrient solution, which is half of algae control. Leave room at the edge for an air line and a level check. Cut once and cut small, because you can always open a hole wider. The honest limit is that this is a plain lid and not a gasketed one. It will not hold pressure and it is no substitute for a screw-top pail in transit. For a reservoir sitting still under a light, it does the job.

Key Features

• Fit: Seats on a five gallon bucket with a lip and groove rim
• Seal: Holds the contents in and keeps light off the solution
• Stacking: Lidded buckets stack instead of sprawling across the floor
• Net pot template: A cutting template ships with the pack for DWC builds
• Colour: Black plastic, fully opaque to light
• Part number: Hydrofarm 724381, listed as a black bucket lid

Technical Specifications