Need a little help building a cloning rack

[Kcar]

I'd like to start with one of these

Dimensions are 48"w x 18"d x 77"h

I'd like to put two trays on lengthwise on each shelf.
And I'd like to have each shelves trays in a 48x18 flood tray.

My plan is to flood the top tray from one side and have it drain
down to the next tray on the other side, and so on. Eventually returning to a rez at the bottom.

I'm pretty sure I can source the rez(20 gal) and lights (2 4' t8's per shelf)

I think my problem is going to be finding the 48" x 18" flood trays, and to figure out how to regulate the flow from one tray to the next.

Any ideas or links would be totally appreciated!

 

[Marshall]

why would you want to flood clone trays?


build the trays from fiberglass or plywood and pond liner. Maybe something thinner would work here, like mylar or heavy duty drop clothes.

pump all the way to the top, then come down and run drippers or drip lines to each tray to regulate flow.


the zig zag pattern is probably going o cause the top trays to absorb more water than the bottom traays

 

[Kcar]

I found these...

They are 40" x 13" I think they may work...

 

[LetTimmySmoke]

you dont need flood trays just use those normal black plastic mini trays clones dont need flooding and irrigation. just dump some perlite at the bottom of your tray that will soak up excess water....clones need high humidity the more water the better.

 

[Kcar]

Yeah, I find hand watering clones a pain in the ass.
Especially when ya have 10 trays. This way I can put A timer on it
and flood for maybe 5 mins 2x a day.

I saw a rack like this for sale on CL for $600 and I can understand why

1 costco rack - $100
5 flood trays + fittings - $150
5 4' 2 bulb t8 fixtures - $100
10 T8 6500k Bulbs - $40
1 10-20 gal res and 2 pumps - $100
Misc cords, power strip, timer - $50

Looks like around $500 in materials

 

[Budget Grower]

I had almost this same idea. I know it can be a pain in the ass to do that many clones by hand, but instead of using a pump and timer I thought of making trays that have a drain hole that is plugged. That way you can fill the tray up by hand with the correct amount of water, pull out the plug and catch the excess water, then on to the next tray. Not quite as "set it and forget it" as your idea, but I think it will work just fine.

 

[shuswap]

watering ten trays takes no more then ten minutes and for the first 5 days your clones dont need anything,in 14 days i water on day seven and on 12,day 14 i choose the best and move them to the veg area,honestly if you make a 5 gallon bucket of whateve u want to feed with and run that into a spouted watering can it does not take more then 1 minute to do per tray,10 mins and maybe 5 more for taking domes on and off,keep it simple man....

 

[They]

These folks have some nice looking racks. No experience with them though.
http://www.growerssolution.com/page/GS/CTGY/stands

 

[Kcar]

I ended up making 2 of my own using:

Costco 5-shelf steel rack with solid shelves - $63
4 4' 2 bulb T8's + bulbs - $80
Small extractor fan - $25
1 25' roll of mylar - $20

All said and done for $200