DIY cheap ebb & flow setup?

[_Dude]

I've tested my DIY 4x4 table and it works well, except it takes forever to drain. The fill/drain is a length of contractor grade garden hose that passes through a Uniseal. The pond pump is too powerful (350 GPH I think) and it shoots water up and out of the table. So I stuffed a length of soft screen (cheap stuff made for screening porches) down into the hose. It works perfectly, but now the drain works very slowly. It takes almost an hour for the table to drain once the pump turns off.

The medium is Hydroton. Is an hour way too long? Are my roots going to rot if I have the table full that long, twice a day?

 

[_Dude]

Maybe I should ask easier questions?

Is the sky blue? Is water wet? How many donuts in a dozen?

 

[Lucky]

yes sky blue, yes water wet and 12 donuts in a dozen

you could use 5" or 5.5" i forget what they are and youll see how many fit in ur table and veg accordingly. I would recomend to increase the size of ur fill drain line and that will stop it shootin up as much and drain much faster. I was always under the impression that roots in hydroton e/f shouldnt be sumerged for feeding longer than 30 mins. and not sure why no one is helping you out?!?!?!?!?!?!?! you semm like a nice guy.
I will help as much as i can but im no expert. good luck man

 

[rastagrass]

you could fiberglass the table or you could mabye use someconcrete sealer and paint it on. i dont know if it will work but its worth looking into instead of having to worry about the pond liner or whatever you are using, leaking.

 

[yamaha_1fan]

I have a big pump that does the same thing. I put a "T" in line with a shut off valve after it. I can adjust the valve to adjust the pressure going to the table, and the rest goes back into the rez. Also makes it easy for mixing nutes, close the valve and turn the pump on. This way the pump is not getting overworked trying to pump through that blockage you got.

I think the 1 plant per sq ft is way to big for sog. I believe most SOG growers throw their clones right into flowering, with no veg time. 4-6" pots should work for you.

As far as the roots sitting in water, I think they will be fine. My table does not drain completely as it is so big and bows. The plants seem to love it. I do have an air pump in the rez.

I flood every two hours for 20 minutes. Large table takes time to flood.

 

[_Dude]

LOL, I stop watching the thread and start getting replies.

I ended up switching to tarps for the lining. I was using 6 mil "contractor grade" plastic and simple wear and tear was causing shitloads of tiny holes, even in double layers. The leakage with tarps seems (haven't been running them long, but they are very hard to tear) minimal, just a bit around the fitting. I plan to use some kind of sealant around the fittings eventually, once I get another grow and have the fittings situation dialed in.

Other than that, little has changed in the setup I linked to above, except I have discovered that the 1/2" tubing sold at Wally World fits the 1/2" flood and drain fittings, and that stuff is easier to work with for flood fittings (still use 3/4" and garden hose for overflow fittings) than 3/4" and garden hose.

Anyone know where to get cheap 6" square pots? I mean REAAALLY cheap. I've got a bunch of cheap round ones that look sorta like Silo beer cups (I guess they're about 4"), and a bunch of cheap trays that they fit in (need the trays because otherwise the cups will float when filled with hydroton and the tub floods), leftovers from a landscaping project, but I need more. I haven't found any place to buy these online (or in stores for that matter).

I'm also wondering about how to place my clones in these cups (filled with expanded clay). Do I place them deep, for stability, or shallow, so the roots are in the medium with as little of the stem in the medium as possible? Seems like I'd want to keep the stem out of the water (flood level will be about 1/2" below top of medium) as much as possible, but on the other hand stability is good too. Clones are rooting in a bubbler so no rockwool help when transplanting.

 

[_Dude]

I put a "T" in line with a shut off valve after it. I can adjust the valve to adjust the pressure going to the table, and the rest goes back into the rez.

Great idea, I should've thought of that.

 

[Bubble Puppy]

I built my own tables out of plywood and used pond liner to cover them. I cut drain holes and put a lil drain pipe sealed it up with waterproof epoxy I found in the plumbing section. It made a good seal no leaks or whatever the pond liner sealed fine.

Any chance we could see some pics?Im interested in making a table ,can't afford a real one

 

[yamaha_1fan]

Any chance we could see some pics?Im interested in making a table ,can't afford a real one

Forget those wooden boxes on the floor. Those were homemade rezes but they didnt work out well. They actually leaked for some reason. So I switched to the commercial rubbermaid bins.

Just frame it out with 2x4's and put a shett of plywood on top. Then use 6" strips for sides, using "L" brackets to hold them in. I was concerned the walls would push out but not an issue.

Using a holesaw, cut a hole for your ebb and flo fittings. I suggest going a hair bigger than normal so you can fold the rubber down into the hole. I went crazy trying to find an appropiate sealer for the fitting and wound up just using Goop from Home Depot. The thing is, with the plywood, you may not be able to put your "nut" onto the threade portion of the fitting


Dude, when I put my rooted clones into a cup and they have no medium like rockwool or rapid rooter, I put them in as deep as possible so all the roots will get watered. Make sure they have a good root syetem before transplanting them. Also keep an eye on them as sometimes they dislike being taken from an a spot where they get watered constantly to a spot where they get watered 3 times a day.

Pond liner is the bomb. 1.5 years later and still holding strong.


I will say unless you have some custome size requirement, look into pre made tables. I wouldnt make these tables again.


OH yeah, cheap 6" pots http://www.nationalgardenwholesale....OMY-POTS&title=Pots / Containers&type=product

You cant buy them from there but talk to your hydro store you use and tell them thats what you want. Been using those for a while


Anything else??

 

[_Dude]

Forget those wooden boxes on the floor. Those were homemade rezes but they didnt work out well. They actually leaked for some reason. So I switched to the commercial rubbermaid bins.

Just frame it out with 2x4's and put a shett of plywood on top. Then use 6" strips for sides, using "L" brackets to hold them in. I was concerned the walls would push out but not an issue.

Using a holesaw, cut a hole for your ebb and flo fittings. I suggest going a hair bigger than normal so you can fold the rubber down into the hole. I went crazy trying to find an appropiate sealer for the fitting and wound up just using Goop from Home Depot. The thing is, with the plywood, you may not be able to put your "nut" onto the threade portion of the fitting


Dude, when I put my rooted clones into a cup and they have no medium like rockwool or rapid rooter, I put them in as deep as possible so all the roots will get watered. Make sure they have a good root syetem before transplanting them. Also keep an eye on them as sometimes they dislike being taken from an a spot where they get watered constantly to a spot where they get watered 3 times a day.

Pond liner is the bomb. 1.5 years later and still holding strong.


I will say unless you have some custome size requirement, look into pre made tables. I wouldnt make these tables again.


OH yeah, cheap 6" pots http://www.nationalgardenwholesale....OMY-POTS&title=Pots / Containers&type=product

You cant buy them from there but talk to your hydro store you use and tell them thats what you want. Been using those for a while


Anything else??

Thanks. Yeah, what's the capacity of those Rubbermaids you're using for reservoirs? And what are the dimensions? Price shipped?

Any chance we could see some pics?Im interested in making a table ,can't afford a real one

No batteries for my camera atm but maybe if I get a spare minute I'll do something up quick in sketchup. I built mine as two separate parts, first part is a 2x4 frame (very simple worktable design, just need 2x4s, deck screws, and a good drill, or hammer and nails) tall enough so you can get to your res (for a 4x4 tub you're going to need something big for a res, I use 55 gallon drums but I guess a stock feed tub (horses?) would do the trick. They're expensive though, used drums go for 30 bucks).

The second part is the tub which is just a 4x4 sheet of plywood (I'd use 1" if I had it all over again) with 2x6s screwed to it to make a wall (never even thought of the L-bracket thing). I used two holesaws, one the diameter of the threads of the bulkhead (ebb & flow) fittings (which are the same whether the barb part is 1/2" or 3/4"), the other the diameter of the top lip of the fitting (maybe 1/2" bigger?). First I drill the big hole, but just deep enough to seat the top lip and the rubber o-ring (washer, whatever), about 3/8" or so. Then I switch for the smaller holesaw and put the bit into the same hole made by the bigger one, and drill all the way through. Then I chisel the upper bit of wood out of the hole to make room for the top lip & o-ring, line up my tarp (or pond liner, or ideally both, liner under the tarp), make a small x cut where the fittings will be, install the fitting, and done. Adding some kind of goop to seal the tarp and/or liner is optional, very little leakage for me so far.

I don't do grow stores, and find the store-bought tubs overpriced (I can do a frame, table, and ALL equipment except lights for what they're charging) anyway.

 

[yamaha_1fan]

Picked them up from Tractor Supply $65 I think, 100 gallons. I use 2 per table and link them together.

Dont know the dimensions but its Rubbermaid Stock Tank. google rubbermaid commerical products

 

[_Dude]

Thanks Yamaha, you've been a big help. Really I'm just interested in the height. How tall are they? Did you buy them new or is that a used price?


(Edit: NM on the following question, I found a 50 gallon Rubbermaid stock tank (product # 4243) that's perfect, 12" tall. Nice. For some reason I searched high and low (including on Rubbermaid's official commercial site) a few months ago and couldn't find that one. Thanks for putting me on the path.)

Oh, and in your esteemed DIYer opinion, would cutting them down to 12" in height be feasible? I have a grand redesign of my room planned (a giant, sealed grow "box" with CO2 and all the trimmings, a room within a room) and would really like something 12" tall or less so I can maximize grow height within it. I don't need 100 gallons, 55 has been more than enough so far, but I don't have the tubs in front of me so I can't judge if cutting them down would compromise integrity (maybe they're ribbed in a way that would make that a problem, or they have a big lip around the top rim that they can't do without, etc.).

 

[yamaha_1fan]

I bought them new .

They are 24-26" tall if I remember right. I had to raise my tables a bit to make them fit but no biggie.

You could probably cut them but it would be pointless. Making them 12" would be in alf, and you could fine something else that is 50 gallons for cheaper. They do have a roll over lip that may provide structure but the platic is pretty thick.

They also have built in drains so its easy to drain them or link them together as I have

 

[_Dude]

Thanks. Any chance of hooking a pump up to those drains? The intakes on the pond pumps I buy at Home DePot are standard male garden hose thread IIRC. It would be nice if I could, because the only concern I have about using such short, wide tubs is that the pump intakes need about five inches of water to work. Five inches in a 55 gallon drum isn't that much, but in a stock tub its much more significant, if you follow - I'd need to be that much more vigilant about topping off the res. Ah, no biggie, since I'll probably put float valves on them eventually. I just like having all the facts, if you couldn't tell by now.

 

[yamaha_1fan]

Put an elbow on the pumps to get them to pick up from lower in the rez.

You could put a pump on the drain if you wanted. Of course it would be an inline pump at that point, not a submersible. You would just need to get the right fittings and downsize to the pump. I actually link two rezes together and use barbed fitting on each drain to connect a tube.

 

[_Dude]

Damn, didn't even think of putting an elbow on the intake. Why didn't I think of that? Though it could be a PITA finding the right garden hose threaded fitting, but I have tons of female garden hose to barb nylon fittings laying around, I could use one of those with a bit of hose on the end. Thanks for the good tip!

 

[Mr Celsius]

Read these:

http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=71536
http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=50823

Both will steer you in the right directions. Listen to yamaha, the first link is his grow.