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Guest
Gratz on the table meduser 
Did you wind up slanting the table a little bit towards the drain?
Did you wind up slanting the table a little bit towards the drain?
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Cheap DIY Flood table ideas......
- Thread starter meduser180056
- Start date
meduser180056
Active member
Indica Sativa said:
Yup
I don't have nice lil ridges like the store bought trays have, but as long as it has that slight slant it all runs off nicely no sittin puddles or anything. Water runs off pond liner really weird. After the water runs off the pond liner is dry to the touch immediately. Some kind of crazy plastic.
RedwoodGrower
Member
My vote goes to buying it used and on Craigslist.org
just right now they got a 4x4 white botanicare tray $25!
just right now they got a 4x4 white botanicare tray $25!
RedwoodGrower said:
worst idea ever. i always love buying my growing equipment from some random person I have to meet face to face.
G
Guest
RedwoodGrower
Member
TickleMyBalls said:
How bad could a tray be??? Its not like im buying lights or clones off the guy...
I'd make him fill it up to show me no leaks of course..
Fiberglass.
It's not the cheapest, but the final product is much nicer. If you're only making one, I would say skip the mold and just make a liner. Drill through the top lip and anchor it to the wood frame.
Want drainage channels? Use 1x2 or 1x3 furret strips spaced the width of the channel.
It's not the cheapest, but the final product is much nicer. If you're only making one, I would say skip the mold and just make a liner. Drill through the top lip and anchor it to the wood frame.
Want drainage channels? Use 1x2 or 1x3 furret strips spaced the width of the channel.
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TREE KING
guys, the link to the video is no good and im the type of person where unless i see pics or videos its hard for me to learn how to do this stuff. does someone have another torrent link for that video? i need to build a tray.
Y
yamaha_1fan
At first I used home made rezes and that idea sucked so I used the rubbermaid containers. They are comemrcial grade and don not flex at all.
Just build a wood table with a plywood top and plywood for the sides. You dont even have to build a table. You could use some cinder blocks at each corner, throw on a 4x8 sheet of plywood, put some sides on and there you go.
In hindsight I would probably buy the tables as there is no way I would take these apart and move them. Also my tables are 4x11 so there was a reason I built them
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TREE KING
how does the pond liner stay flat and stick to the plywood? velcro or something? if you staple where the water sits it would leak right through.
other than that i think i understand everything now.
other than that i think i understand everything now.
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PonicalChillin
What type of reaction did you expect? Your walking into a hydro store where a guy gets up in the morning and comes to WORK (typically the owner) to sell quality hydroponic equipment. Most sell stuff at the MSRP - which allows them to stay open and pay their bills. You're in there wasting his time.
Nothing wrong with DIY, but leave the damn hydro dude alone whos just trying to sell a tray at a reasonable price.
I cannot understand why every seems to have a hatred towards hydro shops and the people that run them. Dont like the prices - then dont buy, but dont go in there and bitch to the shop employee about prices. Thats rude and ignorant.
PS - I've actually discussed the tray/plastic prices with a local shop. He actually told me they dont make shit on trays and that their a pain in the ass to move around and store. Pulled out a catalog and showed me the cost on the Botanicare 4x4. Guess how much HE pays - $76
$100 is a bargain price my friend. They now retail for $125.95...and its all related to the price of oil my friend!
So - peace to your hydro peeps. They stick their necks out there for us and get nothing but grief for it with a medium profit margin. They aren't the ones getting rich - its the main distributors like hydrofarm and NGW.
Yeah, the $100 is actually worth it in the long run. Not only do you get re-usable, quality professional equipment, it is also an investment. You can always sell your used trays for roughly 50% of what you paid, and these things are (as yamaha mentioned) much easier to move around than having to build tables, take 'em apart, etc.
Pond liner isn't cheap, either; last I checked it was $9 per foot (12ft wide), meaning you could make perhaps 2 tables out of 5 feet ($50-ish after tax) of material. But first you need some lumber & screws. And tools to cut them, drill / nail them, and staple it in place. After all's said and done, it's not really that much cheaper in terms of TCO (total cost of ownership), and in some cases more expensive to DIY.
I understand better than anyone that DIY is good for some situations, but as PonicalChillin pointed out, WTF kind of response did you expect? What if you ran a business, and someone came in asking how to bypass you and do the job cheaper? What kind of look would you give them? (Profitable) businesses have a purpose: make money. Anyone else is considered either to be charity or stupid. When was the last time you took risk, made investments, and worked hard with absolutely nothing expected in return?
Pond liner isn't cheap, either; last I checked it was $9 per foot (12ft wide), meaning you could make perhaps 2 tables out of 5 feet ($50-ish after tax) of material. But first you need some lumber & screws. And tools to cut them, drill / nail them, and staple it in place. After all's said and done, it's not really that much cheaper in terms of TCO (total cost of ownership), and in some cases more expensive to DIY.
I understand better than anyone that DIY is good for some situations, but as PonicalChillin pointed out, WTF kind of response did you expect? What if you ran a business, and someone came in asking how to bypass you and do the job cheaper? What kind of look would you give them? (Profitable) businesses have a purpose: make money. Anyone else is considered either to be charity or stupid. When was the last time you took risk, made investments, and worked hard with absolutely nothing expected in return?
T
TREE KING
thanks clowntown
My vote is for the trays! I had the DIY solution for a year or so.. it came with constantly reoccurring leaks around the fill/drain connections and also.. since I had to tilt the whole tray about an inch or two to get it to drain properly I lost a good bit of growing medium. Just for the record I DIY right and used proper tools.. exc.
I switched to the botanicare trays and tossed the DIY stuff.. Now no more leaks.. and the table can sit 100% level and still drain properly.. thus increasing the usable growing volume. If I could go back and make any recommendations to myself in the beginning I would have pushed the trays.. they are 75-100 bucks and worth every cent IMO. Pay now or pay later.. plus I encourage you to actually go in the store and pick one of them up.. you want to feel how heavy and sturdy they are.. you might just be as amazed as I was.
And of course there is the whole vanity issue.. I just love the way they make my whole system classy looking! Next I like those new hydro store EZ Drain Res's.. check um out.. $300 for a stink'n res! nice though that it practically drains itself without having to tilt manually like always..
I use the trays for ebb and flow if it matters.. I know thats what kept messing with the DIY trays.. perhaps the leaks wouldn't have been as bad if it was just for drip collection.. but still.. TRY asking people here if they are DISSATISFIED with the pro trays.. that will answer your question I promise.
Also.. do the craigslist thing. Show up with cash as always and act stupid.. say the tray is for washing your dog or something.. I have bought and sold hydro shit on craigs list.. lots of old hippies that dont give a F*** list stuff on there.. and will try to talk to you about it sometimes too.. though I always dodge the conversations.. growing takes BALLS minus stupidity... you should write that down! haha
If you buy used trays don't worry about making them fill it up to check for leaks.. whoever said that.. just remove the fill tubes (if installed) and check that the holes in the tray are nice and circular.. I have bought trays before where someone had carved the holes with a pocket knife.. leaked like a bitch.. ended up in the trash. You want nice smooth perfectly round holes.
I switched to the botanicare trays and tossed the DIY stuff.. Now no more leaks.. and the table can sit 100% level and still drain properly.. thus increasing the usable growing volume. If I could go back and make any recommendations to myself in the beginning I would have pushed the trays.. they are 75-100 bucks and worth every cent IMO. Pay now or pay later.. plus I encourage you to actually go in the store and pick one of them up.. you want to feel how heavy and sturdy they are.. you might just be as amazed as I was.
And of course there is the whole vanity issue.. I just love the way they make my whole system classy looking! Next I like those new hydro store EZ Drain Res's.. check um out.. $300 for a stink'n res! nice though that it practically drains itself without having to tilt manually like always..
I use the trays for ebb and flow if it matters.. I know thats what kept messing with the DIY trays.. perhaps the leaks wouldn't have been as bad if it was just for drip collection.. but still.. TRY asking people here if they are DISSATISFIED with the pro trays.. that will answer your question I promise.
Also.. do the craigslist thing. Show up with cash as always and act stupid.. say the tray is for washing your dog or something.. I have bought and sold hydro shit on craigs list.. lots of old hippies that dont give a F*** list stuff on there.. and will try to talk to you about it sometimes too.. though I always dodge the conversations.. growing takes BALLS minus stupidity... you should write that down! haha
If you buy used trays don't worry about making them fill it up to check for leaks.. whoever said that.. just remove the fill tubes (if installed) and check that the holes in the tray are nice and circular.. I have bought trays before where someone had carved the holes with a pocket knife.. leaked like a bitch.. ended up in the trash. You want nice smooth perfectly round holes.
