Building my first ebb and flow, what do i need?

[B00st3d]

I already have a 2x4 botanicare white tray so what else do I need? I dont wanna spend 300 bux on a prefab system. I know I need a reservoir but what size res would go with a 2x4 tray? What kinda pump, fittings, hose, how long do I feed on the timer, how many times a day and night, etc..

I was thinkin of using either rockwool or hydroton.Would coco be easier and better results? Whats the best stuff to use in ebb and flow? What has the leats chances of havin problems? I already have alot of hydroton cuz I used to line the bottom of my coco buckets with it that I hand watered. Im tired of hand watering everything tho, too much work esp with my bad back. Once I build this and have success with it then I will switch over everything to this system using 8x4 trays with 600's on light rails. I just wanna get my feet wet and learn this, I kno its easy but I wanna make sure I get everything just right so I get perfect results the first time. Thanks in advance.

 

[Haps]

You need to visit the DIY sticky and I bet ya find what you need to know there.

 

[B00st3d]

I already did and couldnt find a good basic diy build at all. Not to mention Im on a proxey server and cant click on links on here . All I could do is read what the links said and that didnt really help me at all. Would it be so much trouble for any of the many ebb and flow experts on here to take 2 minutes out of their day and tell me exactly what I need as far as plumbing, what kinda pump, what size res and how to set the timer. This thread has 40 views but no one wants to chime in.

 

[yamaha_1fan]

setting up an E&F table is pretty easy

Pump: 200 GPH give or take.
Fittings: Ebb and Flo fittings are pretty standard. just ask your local hydro store or google it. www.nationalgardenwholesale.com look under irrigation, page 4 or 5.
hose: depends on fittings. If you put the res under the fittings, you wont even need a hose for the drain fitting
res just find whatever works,you wont need much for a 2x4 tray. I use a 40 gallon for 4x4. For bigger reses, check out tractor supply. They have 100 gallon stock tanks that work well.

I feed every 3 hours during lights on, once during lights off. I run all hydroton in 5.5" pots in a SOG. Some people do more, some do less.


I threw together a E&F table yesterday for some extra plants and it took 10-15 minutes fiddling with extra pumps, different E&F fittings to get sizes that all worked together. Shouldnt take you 10 minutes to throw together a 2x4 table.


As far as coco versus hydroton thats up to you. I have no experience with coco but have heard it can be tricky in a recirculating system as the coco can clog the pump. Maybe I have read wrong but keep that in mind.

 

[B00st3d]

Thanks, that points me in the right direction. And how many plants should I shoot for in a 2x4 tray? If i use hydroton should I get net pots? And if I go with rockwool , I assume the blocks dont need containers, they go right in the tray ? Think I will stay away from coco to avoid any problems plus I hate fungus gnats and they love coco. Dont think I will have any fungus gnat problems with hydroton. What size net pots would work best for me? Im so used to hand watering 5 gallon buckets which is a pain the ass. Thanks again.

 

[yamaha_1fan]

that depends on you, I cant say. I SOG and use 5.5x5.5 pots. You will want bigger if growing bigger plants I assume. Same goes for qty of plants. The longer you veg, the more space they need.

 

[B00st3d]

Ok I got all the plumbin at my local dro shop as well as a 250 pump. And Im gonna use a rubbermaid 18 gallon container I already had since I dont wanna spend crazy money on a reservoir. The net pots he had there were too small for my liking so I got 6 inch rockwool cubes instead as well as the grodan starter plugs. Think I will wait till I have a few good mothers from the cuts I have now to run this setup tho. I dont wanna have more then one cut goin so I can stick with a specific feeding program as well as getting uniform height and finishin time. Think Im gonna run my fave hashberry cut on this table since its such a fast and stout specimen. Gonna be about a month till I get this rockin but imma go ahead and assemble it now to give myself sumthin interesting to do in the meantime. How big of plants can I get with 6x6x4 rockwool cubes? Im hoping for maybe 14 one ounce plants under a 600. Does that sound realistic with a 2x4 tray?

 

[B00st3d]

Im curious also as to how the plants are anchored in rockwool cubes? If I have a big heavy plant then what keeps it from tipping over? What about if I fill my tray with hydroton and have the rockwool cubes burried in there. Is there any drawback to doin it this way, or should I just get smaller rockwool cubes and place them in netpots filled with hydroton?

 

[B. Self Reliant]

You're kinda all over the place here, but I'll do my best to answer some of your questions.

I use the same tray that you just got. I use a rubbermaid bin as a reservoir, so it only cost about $5. They tend to bend and bow since they aren't made to hold liquids, but just get one that's a little bigger than you need and then don't fill it all the way. I have a 40+ gallon model but only fill it to 28 gallons, so even though it's bowed out, it's not going to spill unless there's an earthquake. This allows me to leave for 3-4 days at a time without any sort of real Ph fluctuations. The smaller the reservoir, the more Ph variations you'll get.

I use a 250 gph Magdrive pondmaster pump. It is on for 15 minutes per feeding. That is 4 minutes to fill, 11 minutes flooded. It then takes about 3-4 minutes to drain. I feed 5 times a day. 3 times for lights on and 2 for lights off.

Many people use Rockwool with success, but I've found it to cause Ph fluctuations regardless of how meticulously I follow the directions in terms of preparations, etc. Coco is great and I use it for my moms, but it doesn't work well for me with e & F. I use it with a drip system. Could cause clogs, and i have my system set up so I can leave. I can't leave if I have to worry about clogs or problems with coco in my pump. I use hydroton stones. I see no disadvantage to them besides cleaning them between uses. Even that isn't bad if you have space to clean them without being cramped. I soak them overnight with bleach in a large rubbermaid trash bin that has a drain fitting installed near the bottom. I then rinse them well and dip my pots into it when replanting the tray.

Don't use full net pots. Get the kind that is solid on the sidewalls and net on the bottom.

I've never had any bugs in my hydroton. I do get bugs in rockwool and coco sometimes, but usually just the rockwool, and even then only when I flower in it. When I start plants in 1.5" cubes that are transplanted to 3x3x4" cubes, then put them into the stones, I've never had a problem.

No one can tell you how many plants to run. Do you want to keep plant counts down? What is the strain you'll be growing and how does it behave? Do you care about having a second area to veg in, or having a greater span of time between harvests in order to let them veg in your flower area? I use (11) 8", solid-walled, net-bottomed pots that are lined with 5 gallon paintstrainers. They flood about 40% of the way up, which puts the water level about about as high as I'm willing to have it in a tray with a 7" side. 10" pots could maybe work @ 1/sqft, but in my opinion it's tough to flood them high enough in a tray that only has 7" sides. Plus if you're using a 600, how big do you really need them to get? A 8" pot can grow a big plant! Keep in mind that the flood height is determined by how many spacers you have raising your drain fitting. More spacers = a higher flood level.

As mentioned above, a drain tube isn't necessary. I use one and run it all the way to the bottom of the reservoir, but that's only so I don't have to listen to it drain.

 

[ogatec]

i like hydrton better than rw...

 

[roor smoker]

man you gotta f'ing read...

 

[sweetsmell]

No spoon feed here. Sorry bro. Feed your brain and read