Sounds like a good way to lose 2 gallons of root space. Maybe I'm misunderstanding your goal there, could you perhaps reword it?

A self watering container. I was thinking of trying this instead of cutting a second tote to make a platform. The potting mix would just fill in around the bottles. The overflow tube would fit into one of the bottles to keep it clean. A slit in the bottom of the bottles would allow the water to wick up and holes drilled in the topside of the bottles would allow air in to the mix.

et,

For $6.85 at Home Depot, you may want to consider a "container-within-a-container" solution.

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One 18 gallon container within another. Use the upper 4 inches of the second container to form the support for the Aeration Bench:

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Done!

Raybo

Raybo

I have used the 2 container system for years. I was looking for a way to not use 2 totes. It seems like a waste. I was thinking that if you use the plastic bottles, that would work instead of the screen. The mix would wick around the bottles. I have used the cover of the tote as a screen too. Just applying the KISS rule to engineering (keep it simple silly).