What's new
  • As of today ICMag has his own Discord server. In this Discord server you can chat, talk with eachother, listen to music, share stories and pictures...and much more. Join now and let's grow together! Join ICMag Discord here! More details in this thread here: here.

Request for Help - Final Mile! Cheapest, shortest rez for 3x3 hut

D

duddits

Member
Hi,

New coco user here and I will have a drip feeder setup ready to go this week. I have a 3 x 3 ft hydrohut and a 3x3 ebb n flow tray that I plan to have sit on cinder blocks. I want to put a reservoir tray underneath there that will be no wider than 36" and as short as possible. I would hope to have the rez be no taller than 7" and I would want to have a capacity of 20 gallons for the rez. I will be drip feeding 8 to 16 plants, each in a 3 gallon B'cuzz Bounce coco grow bag.

My plants are 5 weeks old having been transplanted into the Bounce bags just this past week after growing in 18 oz cups using coco. I also just topped them all last night and they remain in the veg hut under a 250 CMH on 20/4.

I would like to go to flower now, the flowering hydrohut has a 400 W CMH, and just need to come up with a rez. I can't afford to go $80 for a rez from a hydro shop and am hoping there is a good DIY choice out there.

Thanks!!

P.S. Advice on a better way to prop up the ebb/flow tray and have more space for the rez rather than using conder blocks would be appreciated. Coiuld I build a stand out of PVC? Would it be strong enough? Any good references for a tute for that?
 
G

gdawg

go to walmart, they have rubbermaids that might meet your needs and cheap. i saw one at my moms last night i would of jacked, but too many relatives around. it was very low profile. dont be a dumbass and blow money at the hydro store on shit like that for a 400 watt grow. get it at wallyworld for 10 or 12 bucks and spend the rest at seedbay. happy holidays bro
 
D

duddits

Member
:) Thanks meinck.

yah, I need to be able to hold 20 gal and have it be as short as poss. I'm thinking now if I can find something that holds that much will end up being 12" high. Will make that work if so. I agree, it would kill me to not be able to find the right friggin container for reasonable buks.
 
gregor_mendel

gregor_mendel

Active member
A homemade rez will cost valuable headroom in a hydrohut.
An american agritech 40 gallon will fit nicely.
Not as cheap, but the extra foot of headroom, extra twenty gallons of nutrient, and loosing the cinder blocks (sit the table right on the rez) is worth it.

What brand is your tray?

gregor
 
G

Guest

1 gallon is 231 cubic inches....that res is 3960 cubic inches....so about 17 gallons to the top
 
D

duddits

Member
If I went with a fill up of 15 gallon, at least right now I find I get runoff at 1/2 a gallon per plant. Again, I am using coco in 3 gallon grow bags and these 5 week old are now in flower cycle for 2 dayz. I would like to automate their feedings asap as I'm sure you all appreciate. :)
 
G

Guest

ive never had any experience with coco so I cant really help there. Dont forget you wont fill the res up to the very top edge, and the water pump wont be able to utilize the water in the very bottom of the res. So more than likely that 17 gallons is more likely 14 or somewhere around there.

IDK how handy you are but heres a link to a little "how to" I made....if you get your wood cut to the right sizes, you should only need a knife and drill to assemble it. Total cost would be about 50, but you would have the optimum res for your area.

http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=73606

If you made a res that is 3'x3'x8" it will hold about 30 gallons when its filled to 6" high.
 
D

duddits

Member
That sounds doable for me! Yeah, good idea about getting them to cut to fit. I don't have any saws.

Question for you, if I could rest the tray I have on top of the rez that would be great! What board thickness should I go with to support the plants?

Also, what is Kiltz? I'm not clear on what to do to avoid any issues with mold. Should all wood I buy be pressure treated? If I went with a 30 x 25 x 7 that would be perfect. That would give me almost 23 gallons.

What do you think the cost would be for wood to make one that size with PT wood?

Could you clarify the piping 90 degree to be able to pull from bottom of the rez? This is my first time trying to grow with this method and I can't picture what you mean. My past grows were soil, hand watered.

Thanks for pointing me to your thread!
 
Last edited:
G

Guest

I use a 90 degree fitting on my pump beacuse most pumps pull in water from their side. Using the 90 places the inlet about 1 cm off the bottom of the res....so I gain about 1" of usable height in the res. This works with larger pumps that have a threaded inlet hole so they can be used inline

People mentioned about the Kiltz primer in the thread, but then all their posts disapeared. It is just a primer/waterproofer you can buy at just about any hardware store. I didnt use it, and my wood is just normal not treated. I'm going to take the res im using this grow apart to check on it; it looks fine so far, but I have about 40% humidity.

My top board is only 3/8" osb, and it has a large slot down the center....as you can see in the pictures. My res fills us with about 15 gallons of water+the weight of the plants. If your not going to have a large slot like mine, 3/8" should be strong enough since the entire perimeter is supported by the res itself. My old growbox had a 3/8" osb top and my friend and I both stood on top of it....about 400lbs lol.

For pricing....you will need one 2"x8"x10' for your perimeter about 8 bucks, pond liner is about 30 bucks, but thats enough to do a couple of your size res. A 4x8 sheet of 3/8 osb runs about 6 or 7 bucks, I'm not sure on treated plywood, but it shouldnt be too much more. They might charge you for cuts, but its like a quarter a cut.

Dont forget to take into account the width of the boards when your getting the sides cut. If you want ur res to turn out 30x25, get the sides cut to 30 and 22 or 27 and 25. I hope that made sense.

You really dont even need the one piece of plywood on the bottom, I just put it on there because I was making it mobile with some casters.

Hope that helps, good luck with ur res and post some pics when u get done! :rant:



*edit*
Hey dude, I just realize you said 7" for your height of the res. You could use 2x6" for the sides if you wanted, but I would stick with 2x8". The larger capacity of the res will allow you to change the res less, and reduce ph swings.

Also if you would use 16 plants in a 3x3 space your going to have to keep them short anyhow.....whats the overall heigh of your hut?
 
Last edited:
G

Guest

just thought I'd throw in a quick pic of my first res in action.....I call it the stealth res :muahaha: res and ebb/flow table that is under 13" tall :joint:

201721111070135-med.jpg




sorry for the shameless plug :nono:
its kindof sad im more proud of the system than I am of the plants at this point.......damn hermi :fsu:
 
D

duddits

Member
alright meow said:
I use a 90 degree fitting on my pump beacuse most pumps pull in water from their side. Using the 90 places the inlet about 1 cm off the bottom of the res....so I gain about 1" of usable height in the res. This works with larger pumps that have a threaded inlet hole so they can be used inline

People mentioned about the Kiltz primer in the thread, but then all their posts disapeared. It is just a primer/waterproofer you can buy at just about any hardware store. I didnt use it, and my wood is just normal not treated. I'm going to take the res im using this grow apart to check on it; it looks fine so far, but I have about 40% humidity.

My top board is only 3/8" osb, and it has a large slot down the center....as you can see in the pictures. My res fills us with about 15 gallons of water+the weight of the plants. If your not going to have a large slot like mine, 3/8" should be strong enough since the entire perimeter is supported by the res itself. My old growbox had a 3/8" osb top and my friend and I both stood on top of it....about 400lbs lol.

For pricing....you will need one 2"x8"x10' for your perimeter about 8 bucks, pond liner is about 30 bucks, but thats enough to do a couple of your size res. A 4x8 sheet of 3/8 osb runs about 6 or 7 bucks, I'm not sure on treated plywood, but it shouldnt be too much more. They might charge you for cuts, but its like a quarter a cut.

Dont forget to take into account the width of the boards when your getting the sides cut. If you want ur res to turn out 30x25, get the sides cut to 30 and 22 or 27 and 25. I hope that made sense.

You really dont even need the one piece of plywood on the bottom, I just put it on there because I was making it mobile with some casters.

Hope that helps, good luck with ur res and post some pics when u get done! :rant:



*edit*
Hey dude, I just realize you said 7" for your height of the res. You could use 2x6" for the sides if you wanted, but I would stick with 2x8". The larger capacity of the res will allow you to change the res less, and reduce ph swings.

Also if you would use 16 plants in a 3x3 space your going to have to keep them short anyhow.....whats the overall heigh of your hut?
Click to expand...

Well, I just lost a long typed out reply...

I have a hydro hut, it is 6.5 ft tall. I am woried if the bags can be a good 20 lbs. wet then that would be a lot of weight for the rez to support. I am no carpenter and would want to know I am safe with support.. Any carpenters to advise? lol The pics are the hydrohut as of today. The plants are all 5.5 weeks from seed and have been in 12/12 for almost a week now and in the 3 gal coco bags from 18 oz cups for a week also. Topped them this past weekend, have yet to check for sex. They were pretty rootbound in the cups, think I'll give them some fulvic/humic acid tonight in their feeding.
5 BOG Lifesaver F2's
5 C99/Panama Red X ECSDV3
4 Mota Toxic Blue
2 DJ original blueberry clones















Also, how will I access the rez with 400 lbs. on top? I would have to have a slot cut into the side rather than top...

I might have to rethink how to pull this off. Might need a stand after all. Any ideas?

Your table looks sweet! Wait til you have a strain going that you're happier with!
 
D

duddits

Member
BTW, I am using a 400 W CMH (see CMH thread) for flower and have a 250 CMH for veg hut. Space all around the flower hut is very limited, hence why it is so important to pull off the best way to incorporate a rez.
 
G

Guest

wow that is a great looking setup. Your really going to be squeezing every thing you can out of that hut once they start getting bigger!

Your right, I didnt think about your table being the same size as your res. In the following picture you can see where I access mine, its the flap that is just sitting on top of the res. The long slot in the center of the res is for drainage of the ebb/flo table,


Wow that makes it a pita. If you could build a frame to support the table, you could make it similar to mine with a removable flap. Dont forget you will constantly have to take ph readings and stuff from the res, so having very little room to access the res will be a pain in the ass. I guess its a little late, but have you consider a res exterior to your hut?
 
D

duddits

Member
OK, I'm decided. I have enough space to go next to the hut with a 36 x 25 x 8 rez. That comes out to a 31 gallon total. I figured the best part of the hut for the entry pipe is furthest most back. Back to cinder block shopping this weekend. :muahaha:
 
D

duddits

Member
alright meow said:
1 gallon is 231 cubic inches....that res is 3960 cubic inches....so about 17 gallons to the top
Click to expand...

Since the measurements I am going to use reflect the total length and width, does the total volume of water go down in keeping with the true inside volume measurement?

Edit: For example, I am now considering a footprint of 39" x 21" x 8" which gives a total of 8502 inches. Divide that by 231 and I come up with 36.8 gallons. Is the true volume 35 x 17 x 7.5 which comes out to 19.3 gal?
 
Last edited:
G

Guest

yes, your right. If your going to make the res external, you might as well make it a little larger than you need, so that its more stable, and requires less refilling.

Ive never used coco...so i'm not sure of how much runoff you get. Is it similar to soil? Have you considered a drain to waste? With a drain to waste you wouldnt have to deal with the runoff making you res dirty inside.

heres an example just to make sure:
hypothetically you want a 36x36x8" res
walls cut to 36", 36", 33", 33"(2 sides 3" shorter because they will go on the inside)
top and bottom plywood cut to 36x36"
internal size is about 33x33x8"
volume when filled to 7" is 7623in^3....or 33 gallons
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Latest posts

Top