Ebb & Flow Questions

[willowgrow]

Ok, so i was thinking of trying out an ebb & flow setup for my next grow. I plan on growing 6 plants in a 2'x4' tray. I have a few questions: is 6 plants a good number given my tray size?

I was planing on starting the seedlings in 1" rockwool cubes in a separate space, and then putting the 1" cubes inside larger 5" cubes when i move them into my flowering room. I was just going to put the 5" cubes in the tray and fill in the rest with hydrotron. However, i was wondering thinking about using 'mesh bottom pots' (hxxp://www.wormsway.com/detail.asp?sku=MBRP306) and just setting them in the tray and allowing them to each flood individually, this way i can move them around as needed and it won't take as much hydrotron. Which way would you guys recomend?

And finally, how big of a res should i look at getting to be able to flood the 2'x4' tray, and what kind of gph rated pump?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Vegs]

I would roll with a 5-8 gallon rez if you can swing it. Get a pump with around 200-350 gph give or take a few (although it is the common gph rating you'll find).

5 inches will give you some space for each plant although folks will have different opinions on what's suitable. And that is fair because it really depends on what kind of strain you will be growing and what techniques you plant on using to contain them within your space. About 5 inches to a foot per plant will do it for you regardless of setup.

I see your thinking in using the mess bottom DWC pots so you can move your girls around. But you may want to think about the fact that roots will still grow out of those pots and start clinging to the hydroton. That doesn't mean you wont be able to move them around. But you will have to content with those roots if and when moving them around.

 

[willowgrow]

They're not the mesh bottom pots that you would use with a DWC, you could i guess but these are different from the netpots. Do you think the roots would still work their way out of the flood holes at the bottom?

 

[Budders Keeper]

I used a 20 gal res. for my 2x4 and i felt it was barely adequate. I haven't used it in a while cause I didn't like having my plants stuck either. Ive heard of people using 1 gal pots filled with rockwool also.

 

[Lemmongrass]

power drill man.

 

[willowgrow]

I used a 20 gal res. for my 2x4 and i felt it was barely adequate. I haven't used it in a while cause I didn't like having my plants stuck either. Ive heard of people using 1 gal pots filled with rockwool also.

Dam, really? I was hoping to get away with a smaller res. What kind of pump were you using? What was your feeding cycle?

 

[Lemmongrass]

so say im sick of having dirt and water all over my basement from soil/watering, what would i have to do to be able to grow like 40 or so full plants in 1 system with this?

 

[TURKEYNECK]

Check out my ebb&flow trial thread in my sig... I used 4" cubes and filled in with hydroton and it was a MESS to clean out, Im switching to standard 6" square pots this go-round,..

same size tray btw.. and I use an 18 gallon rubbermade style container and I had to fill my res with about 10-12 gallons every 10 or 12 days.. with six plants... I love ebb&flow...

 

[Budders Keeper]

Dam, really? I was hoping to get away with a smaller res. What kind of pump were you using? What was your feeding cycle?

ecoplus 185 pump(185 gph) and did 3-5 floods each time lights were on. The table flooded for 20 minutes each time. I was growing with rockwool at the time.

 

[Vegs]

I do three 15 minute cycles every 24 hours using a 5 gallon rez. Once they start flowering I find myself adding up to 1 gallon a day. So really if you can swing the topping off almost daily throughout the last 5-8 weeks of flowering you'll do good with a 5 gallon rez and a $35 pump and some hoses.

 

[NewbieG]

I do a 15 minute flood every 3 hours day or night. The roots still need moisture and fresh air at night too.