Setting up new ebb and flow grow space.

[threatco]

Yeah it's hit or miss sometimes with those. I only really ever use the top o-ring. If you ever end up replacing them next time go with a bigger fill diameter. 3/4 is good. 1in is better (depending on pump outlet size). The bigger the fill the quicker it will fill and drain. Makes it that much better. I usually just run the pump right to where it hits the overflow and turn it off. More of a backup.

Welcome to the ebb life. Pretty soon you will have boxes of shit like this laying around :D
View attachment 976573

Thank for the tip. I may go with a wider inlet next time. I am curious as I have not read much on the subject. Why do you value quicker flood and drain times? Are there certain benefits?

 

[threatco]

Right on!!! What spectrum? I love mine, it's for flowering only so 3000k + 660nm

I went with an even mix of 3000k and 4000k LM301B diodes, Meanwell driver with a separate dimmer switch, and 32 Epistar 660 nm diodes with on/off switches.

 

[cemchris]

Thank for the tip. I may go with a wider inlet next time. I am curious as I have not read much on the subject. Why do you value quicker flood and drain times? Are there certain benefits?

The quicker the tables fill and drain the quicker you get the action of the o2 through the medium. More smaller feeds usually win vs bigger longer feeds on growth. Why big glass house tomatoes ect use pressure comp drippers and drip them all day. A ton of small feeds.

One thing I will say is once a week you will want to flush from the top with nutes. Just use a pitcher and pour through the top out of the rez or a pump. Ebb & flo will build up a nutrient line at the water level. This can cause problems over time in some cases. Once a week will cure this. Why if I usually go recirc nowadays ill still drip them with drippers in the same setup, same drains, recirc ect. It avoids this problem and you don't need all of that water volume to fill all the tables. When you get into 4x8's the amount of water starts to go through the roof. I was running over 500 gals a week with 4 4x8's with 110 rez's vs going DTW in the same setup its like 160 gals now just for an example.

 

[threatco]

The quicker the tables fill and drain the quicker you get the action of the o2 through the medium. More smaller feeds usually win vs bigger longer feeds on growth. Why big glass house tomatoes ect use pressure comp drippers and drip them all day. A ton of small feeds.

How often do you flood during flowering? how long does the flood last? Do you control it with a digital timer?

 

[revfunk]

I went with an even mix of 3000k and 4000k LM301B diodes, Meanwell driver with a separate dimmer switch, and 32 Epistar 660 nm diodes with on/off switches.

Nice! Lm301b here too, with osram 660nm and meanwell. No dimmer

 

[cemchris]

How often do you flood during flowering? how long does the flood last? Do you control it with a digital timer?

That is going to be medium dependent. Hydroton would be about 4-6 times during flower and just enough time to hit the overflow and turn off. I would use big ass pumps so they would drain and fill quicker.

Usually around 750-1000 gph on 4x8's. Use the 710 bottom draw eco's on 4x4's. Prob the 510's on 3x3 and 2x4 (dont ever run that size). The bottom draws are nice since you can pretty much get everything at the bottom of the rez. You really need to run the Botanicare ebb fittings if doing this because they screw in vs push in or you can have water shoot up through the fill port everywhere or shoot the push in fittings out sometimes. Just note the Botanicare fittings are a larger hole Eco fittings. 2x4's/3x3's I would use a min of a 40 gal rez. 4x4 50-60. 4x8 100 gal plus.

Also you don't need to flood up to the top of the table once they get established just when they are young. After about 2 weeks I would take a riser out. That helps on rez levels.

 

[threatco]

That is going to be medium dependent. Hydroton would be about 4-6 times during flower and just enough time to hit the overflow and turn off. I would use big ass pumps so they would drain and fill quicker.

Usually around 750-1000 gph on 4x8's. Use the 710 bottom draw eco's on 4x4's. Prob the 510's on 3x3 and 2x4 (dont ever run that size). The bottom draws are nice since you can pretty much get everything at the bottom of the rez. You really need to run the Botanicare ebb fittings if doing this because they screw in vs push in or you can have water shoot up through the fill port everywhere or shoot the push in fittings out sometimes. Just note the Botanicare fittings are a larger hole Eco fittings. 2x4's/3x3's I would use a min of a 40 gal rez. 4x4 50-60. 4x8 100 gal plus.

Also you don't need to flood up to the top of the table once they get established just when they are young. After about 2 weeks I would take a riser out. That helps on rez levels.

Thank you. This is very helpful.

For pumps, I have 2x ZOIC Water Submersible Aquarium Fountain Pump for Garden Swimming Pool Fish Tank Adjustable Flow Rate (100W / 2641 GPH)



While I am filling through 1/2 inch inlets, there are 4 of them. And the area being flooded is 5.5 ft by 3.5 feet. So with the pump set to 10, I can fill in less than 60 seconds. I just picked up a smart surge protector I should be able to program in 1-minute increments for flooding. Do you think getting that down to below 1 minute is worthwhile?

I was half expecting to see the eco drain fitting pop off when I set the pump to 10 but it has not yet. I will probably swap it out like I did the leaky one just for peace of mind.

With my clones still being very young, I am thinking that I need to let the Rockwool cube still dry out a bit, so I am not flooding it at all and just top watering every couple of days. Am I approaching that wrong? Should it be okay to flood baby clones super-early on like once a day?

 

[threatco]

A quick trip to the Home-de-Pot and got this for my room. An oscillating tower fan with remote control for the back corner. A wifi surge protector for the pump programming. And a 45 gal Husky wheeled tote that looks like it was born for this space.

Time to put it all in there.

 

[One drop]

Nice fit snug as a bug ..... oh no bugs please ......

 

[threatco]

Troubles abound.

Having 0.5 inch clearence is cool until you realize that none of your drain fittings will clear it without lifting up totes.

Got it to work with a bit of imagination.

But now the front right inlet is leaking. And thats a botanicare one. Took it out, smoothed it, reseated it. Still leaking. Arghh....

 

[cemchris]

Thank you. This is very helpful.

For pumps, I have 2x ZOIC Water Submersible Aquarium Fountain Pump for Garden Swimming Pool Fish Tank Adjustable Flow Rate (100W / 2641 GPH)



While I am filling through 1/2 inch inlets, there are 4 of them. And the area being flooded is 5.5 ft by 3.5 feet. So with the pump set to 10, I can fill in less than 60 seconds. I just picked up a smart surge protector I should be able to program in 1-minute increments for flooding. Do you think getting that down to below 1 minute is worthwhile?

I was half expecting to see the eco drain fitting pop off when I set the pump to 10 but it has not yet. I will probably swap it out like I did the leaky one just for peace of mind.

With my clones still being very young, I am thinking that I need to let the Rockwool cube still dry out a bit, so I am not flooding it at all and just top watering every couple of days. Am I approaching that wrong? Should it be okay to flood baby clones super-early on like once a day?

Naw that's perfect.

What size cubes are they in rooters or actual 3in, 4in ect?

 

[threatco]

Naw that's perfect.

What size cubes are they in rooters or actual 3in, 4in ect?

Rooter cubes.

 

[AnselAdams]

Hey. The totes are stationary. A submersible pump pushes water up the inlets in the middle. It fills until it reaches the height of the outflow and then overflows back through that into the same totes.

Then when pump turns off, the rest of the water drains down the inlet and back through the turned off pump.

In pure hydroton ive gone with flooding every 3 hours during lights on. You only need to flood long enough to fill, then it can turn off. My mechanical timer makes floods last 15 minutes.

OK, now you have my attention. I'm gonna go sit in the corner with my vap pen if you don't mind...

Thanks for the details. Always interested in how things work...

 

[AnselAdams]

Thanks a tonne for sharing your experience and pics.

Yeah I assumed I would need to cinch it somehow no matter what kind I get. Helpful seeing yours in use.

I might keep the lid strapped onto mine and just cut holes on top for tubes. Figure I'll get more structure and less algae that way at the cost of some accessibility.

The shitty ecoplus hardware actually came with 2x O rings, one for each side. Maybe the bottom one hindered it from making the top one tight.

All the other ones I have installed except 1 have just the top side of tote with an O ring.

That 1 exception is the 1 eco plus inlet and outlet that miraculously are lot leaking.

I think you will find the strap and ratchet work much better if you wrap it around the the circumference of the tote. That way you also give the corners support. It will also give you a flat surface on which to place the ratchet assembly.

Happy Growing..

 

[threatco]

How did I get this old and no one has ever told me that Bell Siphons are a thing.

Just saw one in an aquaponics video and that seems like a much better idea than putting the pump on a timer.

Is there some reason ebb and flow growers don't use these more commonly?

 

[cemchris]

How did I get this old and no one has ever told me that Bell Siphons are a thing.

Just saw one in an aquaponics video and that seems like a much better idea than putting the pump on a timer.

Is there some reason ebb and flow growers don't use these more commonly?

They aren't 100% reliable. Great for a no power option. Ebb growers, for what we do, want the control of the timings. Most aquaponics guys I know still use timers.

As far as the rooters for rockwool they will be fine. You only need to worry if using actual blocks. In that case you would set them on top of the hydroton and top water/drip until the roots make it to the flood level.

 

[threatco]

They are growing!

 

[threatco]

Update with 24h 1900x timelapse. Noticeable growth in that short time!

 

[threatco]

Training day.

I also lifted the whole rack 1.5 in to make it a little more accessible underneath.

 

[threatco]

19000x timelapse (each dark part is 6 hours)
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