This is a quickie version of how to build a Flood and Drain table with almost all off-the-shelf (hardware store) products. I don't have time to write the whole thing up in detail (prices, pictures, links) right now.
(Why Flood & Drain? Because it's simple and efficient. I tried DWC and aside from the cost, the water temp issues sent me back to the drawing board. Lost a whole crop due to the complexity (I'm a newbie grower, 1 harvest under my belt - with F&D).)
1) Take a 4'x4' square of solid exterior-grade plywood and screw 2x6s around the edges, making a 4' square tub, 6" deep. (FYI, a 4' tub is around 10 gallons per inch of water)
2) Make a frame for it to sit on using 2x4s. My first tubs used a simple frame design, but it would take too long to explain it with text and I don't have time for anything else, either. I found the plans with a Google search, and all it required was wood screws, 2x4s, and a drill. I made mine tall enough to fit a standard 50 gallon drum underneath, with room left over for me to reach into it. I recommend about 48" if you'll be using a drum as a res.
Alternately, you could nail or screw a couple of 2x4s into the frame of a closet, or just sit your tub on something you have on hand. Whatever, as long as it's stable and strong enough to hold about 40 gallons of water and a tub full of plants.
3) Cut holes for fittings. In my design the plumbing is built around the one part that requires a visit to the hydro store or hydro website:
http://discount-hydro.com/productdisp.php?pid=185&navid=22
You'll need one of each for each tub you build. The idea is to place the hole for each fitting over the drum; you're going to be using standard garden hose fittings for all the rest of the plumbing so you'll probably have some drippage and you don't want it leaking onto the floor.
Use a holesaw (I forget the exact diameter; take your fitting to the hardware store and find the exact fit) and cut two holes through the plywood, one for the Flood fitting and one for the Drain fitting. (I put mine about 1 or 2 inches apart, right in the center).
(Optional: I used a second holesaw, because I have a bunch of them laying around, to make a second cut so that the fittings sit flush with the plywood. If you want to do this, you'll need a second holesaw, bigger than the lip of the fitting; take the plug of wood from the first holesaw cut, wrap some duct tape or whatever around it until you can just barely squeeze it back into the first holes you cut; use the original drill hole in the center of the plug as a guide and carefully make the second cut, just deep enough to make the fitting sit flush (about 1/8th of an inch); remove the plug, and clean up the second cut if necessary)
4) Set up your tub. Cut a sheet of 6 mil plastic (I used "contractor" plastic from Home DePot, the thickest they had; feel free to use pond liner) big enough to cover the tub, with plenty of overage. I like mine big, with about 2 feet of overage on all sides. This way I don't have to tape anything, just let it drape.
Lay the plastic over the tub and push it around and make it fit as tightly and neatly as you can. No need to obsess, because you probably won't get all the wrinkles out no matter how hard you try. Find one of the holes in the plywood with your finger and cut a SMALL x there in the plastic so you can get your fitting through. Install the fitting (As far as I can tell the rubber washer goes on the bottom). Repeat for the other fitting (they're both the same, the difference is just in a part that gets inserted in the top).
5) Set up the plumbing. There's lots of optional stuff here. The simplest thing is to just run a piece of garden hose (I recommend "contractor" grade) from the Flood fitting (cut off the garden hose thread and stick the hose right onto the barb fitting) to the pond pump in your drum, and a short piece of garden hose from the drain fitting into the drum (just enough so the hose hangs into the drum, so you won't lie awake at night wondering where your drain is draining TO).
The optional parts are stuff I added to make my life easier. I sure as hell don't want to carry water to my drum every time I need to top it off, so I ran a garden hose from a tap into the drum. Likewise, I don't want to fart around when it's time to drain the drum, so I ran another garden hose from the Flood line to a nearby sink drain, using a standard $3 garden hose Y valve (it has shutoffs for the two branches, so I turn the one leading to the tub off, the one leading to the sink drain off, start the pump and it drains the drum instead of filling the tub).
(I had a bunch of 3/4" barb-to-female garden hose thread and 3/4" barb-to-male garden hose thread fittings (from USplastic.com) sitting around and I found them very useful in setting up all this plumbing.)
So just add the pond pump (no need to get all crazy with the GPH, in fact I've found less is more since you don't want to spray water two feet in the air; the one you want is the cheapest one you can get at Home DePot that comes with a fitting to convert to garden hose thread), a light (1k for 4'x4' flowering), a couple of timers (I recommend digital timers for the pumps, since you only want them on about 10-20 minutes at a time), and you're in business!
I think that's everything.
Have fun growing those tomatoes and peppers!
(Why Flood & Drain? Because it's simple and efficient. I tried DWC and aside from the cost, the water temp issues sent me back to the drawing board. Lost a whole crop due to the complexity (I'm a newbie grower, 1 harvest under my belt - with F&D).)
1) Take a 4'x4' square of solid exterior-grade plywood and screw 2x6s around the edges, making a 4' square tub, 6" deep. (FYI, a 4' tub is around 10 gallons per inch of water)
2) Make a frame for it to sit on using 2x4s. My first tubs used a simple frame design, but it would take too long to explain it with text and I don't have time for anything else, either. I found the plans with a Google search, and all it required was wood screws, 2x4s, and a drill. I made mine tall enough to fit a standard 50 gallon drum underneath, with room left over for me to reach into it. I recommend about 48" if you'll be using a drum as a res.
Alternately, you could nail or screw a couple of 2x4s into the frame of a closet, or just sit your tub on something you have on hand. Whatever, as long as it's stable and strong enough to hold about 40 gallons of water and a tub full of plants.
3) Cut holes for fittings. In my design the plumbing is built around the one part that requires a visit to the hydro store or hydro website:
http://discount-hydro.com/productdisp.php?pid=185&navid=22
You'll need one of each for each tub you build. The idea is to place the hole for each fitting over the drum; you're going to be using standard garden hose fittings for all the rest of the plumbing so you'll probably have some drippage and you don't want it leaking onto the floor.
Use a holesaw (I forget the exact diameter; take your fitting to the hardware store and find the exact fit) and cut two holes through the plywood, one for the Flood fitting and one for the Drain fitting. (I put mine about 1 or 2 inches apart, right in the center).
(Optional: I used a second holesaw, because I have a bunch of them laying around, to make a second cut so that the fittings sit flush with the plywood. If you want to do this, you'll need a second holesaw, bigger than the lip of the fitting; take the plug of wood from the first holesaw cut, wrap some duct tape or whatever around it until you can just barely squeeze it back into the first holes you cut; use the original drill hole in the center of the plug as a guide and carefully make the second cut, just deep enough to make the fitting sit flush (about 1/8th of an inch); remove the plug, and clean up the second cut if necessary)
4) Set up your tub. Cut a sheet of 6 mil plastic (I used "contractor" plastic from Home DePot, the thickest they had; feel free to use pond liner) big enough to cover the tub, with plenty of overage. I like mine big, with about 2 feet of overage on all sides. This way I don't have to tape anything, just let it drape.
Lay the plastic over the tub and push it around and make it fit as tightly and neatly as you can. No need to obsess, because you probably won't get all the wrinkles out no matter how hard you try. Find one of the holes in the plywood with your finger and cut a SMALL x there in the plastic so you can get your fitting through. Install the fitting (As far as I can tell the rubber washer goes on the bottom). Repeat for the other fitting (they're both the same, the difference is just in a part that gets inserted in the top).
5) Set up the plumbing. There's lots of optional stuff here. The simplest thing is to just run a piece of garden hose (I recommend "contractor" grade) from the Flood fitting (cut off the garden hose thread and stick the hose right onto the barb fitting) to the pond pump in your drum, and a short piece of garden hose from the drain fitting into the drum (just enough so the hose hangs into the drum, so you won't lie awake at night wondering where your drain is draining TO).
The optional parts are stuff I added to make my life easier. I sure as hell don't want to carry water to my drum every time I need to top it off, so I ran a garden hose from a tap into the drum. Likewise, I don't want to fart around when it's time to drain the drum, so I ran another garden hose from the Flood line to a nearby sink drain, using a standard $3 garden hose Y valve (it has shutoffs for the two branches, so I turn the one leading to the tub off, the one leading to the sink drain off, start the pump and it drains the drum instead of filling the tub).
(I had a bunch of 3/4" barb-to-female garden hose thread and 3/4" barb-to-male garden hose thread fittings (from USplastic.com) sitting around and I found them very useful in setting up all this plumbing.)
So just add the pond pump (no need to get all crazy with the GPH, in fact I've found less is more since you don't want to spray water two feet in the air; the one you want is the cheapest one you can get at Home DePot that comes with a fitting to convert to garden hose thread), a light (1k for 4'x4' flowering), a couple of timers (I recommend digital timers for the pumps, since you only want them on about 10-20 minutes at a time), and you're in business!
I think that's everything.
Have fun growing those tomatoes and peppers!
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