Need help on low clearance drain table design.

[Hank]

This might sound crazy but why not use pot saucers to catch the runoff then use a small shop vac (wet/dry) to suck it up.

 

[deacon1503]

Botanicare low tide tables on 2x2 frame and PVC drains?

 

[Hank]

I have yet to look at those tables but with me I paid extra for a gorilla tent with extra height so if its possible I want to keep it.
How much height do you think I would loose?

 

[Nobodynobody]

A lot of people have said good info here. I use the Multiflow Ebb controller on drain only for my hydro needs. CAP makes few things that will get the job done as well. More build for soil? Say trash sump pump or just a large sump pump with a paint screen from the hard ware store. Make sure to use switch for automatic drain or you be a slave! Easy switch is call Float ON switch. Before a zip tie. Make sure to read and measure the correct distance of cord to let the ball move correctly. Witch you want to keep as much away so ANY switch can move to turn the pump off and on when needed. When those tether balls turn off it needs to hand down wards not sideways. So you be placing zip tie like on top of pump on a handle.

 

[We Solidarity]

6ft overhead you don't wanna be messing with tables. Prop your plants on 2x4s with a piece of foamboard insulation underneath them. I have foot tall tables on casters in an 11ft ceiling and I still want more space.

 

[WalterWhiteFire]

Lots of good points here! I would use 1/2 inch Ridgid isnsulation to prop up a 3x6 botanicare tray for 2 blockbusters. Blockbusters are designed to hit a 4x4 canopy, so 3x6 will allow you to scrog out to 4x8 without wasting floor space and saving you money. Don't drill any holes in the tray and just shop vac the run off. Use squat pots. On the high side this would only be razing the bottom of the pot an inch and a half. Good luck!

 

[CropAndGardn]

So I have been scouring the net and racking my brain for hours and can't come up with a good low profile
drain table design and would really appreciate some insight!

So these are my conditions: I am going to be running 4 1000 watt 8" air-cooled blockbusters (height of 9.75") over a ScrOG setup with a ceiling height of 6 ft. Im thinking of making four different 4x4 tables on casters, one for each light. I want to have 4 plants per table in 10 gallon geopots (I use 7 gallon now, is 10 overkill you think?) This will give each plant a 2x2 area to grow.

The toughest part about this is that the table cannot be taller than 12". The low profile of this table makes water drainage and collection tough. I currently use two 4x8 tables made with wood and corrugated roofing that slant down 4.5" over the course of 8ft and then have two rubbermaid catch pans at the bottom. I don't really love the setup only because of the catch pans and the space they take up and it can get messy if they get bumped out of place. So the end goal is to have a design for a 4x4 table on wheels with a cleaner, less cluttery water drainage setup. Any ideas?

Use a EBB Monster controller and do the plumbing on whatever size buckets you want to use, their system comes w/5 gal. I have cut 55 gal drums in half & used 25 gal gro pots as liners.
http://cropandgarden.com/systems-su...roller-module-only-build-your-own-system.html

If you want to stick with tables / trays you can use a auto nutrient drain controller; this will enable you to drain W/W from a ground level table.
http://cropandgarden.com/systems-supplies/1-auto-nutrient-drain-controller.html

Be cautious of jimmy-rig ideas you will spend more money getting it to work right than you will by getting an ADC-1 which is designed to do exactly what you are doing. It costs the same as a good pump and timer, but it comes with everything.

 

[Pimples]

Old post but iam in a low ceiling (6.5 ft) basement as well. With tables of any sort with fittings and a table frame...nope. Too tall. The lowest your gonna get and still have it automated (fuk a shop vac) is to get GoPro NX Level plastic pot risers. Hydro store should have them. Cheap at 2 bucks a pop. The 15 inch ones are perfect. Put them inside the catch saucers (I like the simple smooth wall drip oil pans from autozone or advanced for 2 bucks a piece - the 8 qt ones. Real catch saucers usually have mold lines that make a smooth no leak grommet impossible) Plumb them all together using a step drill bit and half inch rubber grommets..barbed tees and elbows..and half inch flexi drain line. Really only works if you have a sump well for your final drain line running to. Or a condensate/bottom intake high pressure sump pump. And your drip manifold up top with a feeder and stake. Boom. Lowest clearance fully automated feed and drain to 2waste setup your gonna get.

 

[Jfrezy]

Botanicare makes a low profile tray

https://www.sunlightsupply.com/shop...8-ft?categoryId=grow-systems-trays-reservoirs

 

[Pimples]

Botanicare makes a low profile tray

https://www.sunlightsupply.com/shop...8-ft?categoryId=grow-systems-trays-reservoirs

Yes they do. But any tray for my low ceiling basement is too much (drain fittings and tubing poking out the bottom). And with double ended Gavita HPS..its really tight vertical wise. Using catch saucers plumbed together with barbed fittings on the saucer side walls and tubing works well. I know of no other way to get full automation top drip and bottom drain that can get any lower.

 

[Freshone]

Gavitas with 6.5' ceilings is kind of hard,you are a little fucked,this is what I would do.
First get the new gavita wide hoods,it spreads light instead of concentrating it.
Second get a metal frame for a mattress/ bed (Goodwill or new about 20-30 bucks) and put your tray on that with one of those under bed plastic storage boxes under it to catch runoff.
I hope you have 750s and not thouies,good luck.

 

[Pimples]

Yep. 8 Gavita 6/750's. Iam good. Had them for about 2.5 years now. I grow short wide plants. No taller than 28 inches. I keep my Gavitas recessed in betwixt the floor joices up top. And sliver backed foam board for room walls and ceiling. My plumbed together catch saucers /top feed drip setup works a charm. Funny you should say metal bed frame. The foldy "L" steel ones right? Yep. Used them for drain table frames before. Lol. They work great. But I went even lower. Thx though.

 

[Freshone]

Yep. 8 Gavita 6/750's. Iam good. Had them for about 2.5 years now. I grow short wide plants. No taller than 28 inches. I keep my Gavitas recessed in betwixt the floor joices up top. And sliver backed foam board for room walls and ceiling. My plumbed together catch saucers /top feed drip setup works a charm. Funny you should say metal bed frame. The foldy "L" steel ones right? Yep. Used them for drain table frames before. Lol. They work great. But I went even lower. Thx though.

Those are the ones.

 

[brazel]

Low profile tubs, try washer machine or water heater drain tubs. Home depot, lowes. Not sure if they're the sizes you're looking for. You could also make one!

 

[Pimples]

Low profile tubs, try washer machine or water heater drain tubs. Home depot, lowes. Not sure if they're the sizes you're looking for. You could also make one!

The cement/mason mortar mixing tubs from Lowes or Home Depot are nice and cheap as well. 2x3 I think are the dimensions. Hole saw bit for drilling holes for simple fill and drain fittings. Or just drain for top drip setups. As you can tell...Ive used them. Built or bought just about every hydroponic feed system there is over the years. Ive been on coco drip to waste systems for quite a few years now. Rockwool slabs and blcoks as well. Back in tje day..no one ran open non recovery systems. All recirculating was the go to method. The few magazines and vids said drain to waste wasnt practical for the home hobbyist/basement cultivator. We proved them wrong.