# how often to flood and drain



## process 0238 (Oct 2, 2008)

ok i got my table all set up and im starting them off in rockwool cubes then i will put into pots with clay pebble and it will be under a 150 hps. so i was wondering what would be the best times to flood and drain the system. half hour on and half hour off. or maybe half hour on for only three times a day.or maybe 1/2 hr 2 times a day starting out then three when they get bigger? little help please.


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## tankdogster (Oct 3, 2008)

I could not figure that out myself so this is what I did. I bought an eight event timer so I set it to flood every four hours for 15 min. 1200, 1500, 1800. 2100, 2400 0300, 0600, 0900 and start over @ 1200. Eight cycles every 24 hours. Then to cut down on water loss I switched to 10 min of flood then drain. Seems to be working good for me. I heard that the girls don't use the nutes/water during dark cycle but it helps the air circulation of the roots.


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## lyfr (Oct 3, 2008)

when i ran rockwool F&D i flooded when lights came on, once 3hours later, and again 3 hours after that for a total of 3 floods in 9 hours giving 3 hours for surface to dry before lights out...20 min. each.  Not sure if you need to do more with hydroton clay peb or not.


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## Elven (Oct 6, 2008)

I have no idea, but good luck anyway.


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## joseaf (Nov 11, 2008)

I flood 4 times when light on. 6am, 12pm, 6pm and 9pm.  Lights turn off at midnight.


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## smokingjoe (Nov 11, 2008)

15mins every two hours does the trick for me; and is generally the hydroton recommendation


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## QuebecGold (Nov 11, 2008)

I just switched to hydro for this new grow and I am having the similar problem... I use hydroton and rockwool, and my  pump fills the tray in 1mins 30secs and only the drain hole where the water pumps drains the water when the pump stop. I was wondering if this is ok or should i absolutely drill one more hole on the table and add another drain. If I dont make any changes how often should i flood my table when the lights are on 18/6 and 12/12? The table doesnt completely drain either... is that ok or will that cause me any problems... or does the light intensity (600w) dry out the table for you after a couple of hours... if someone could answer it would help alot of us newbies growing in hydroton and rockwool...


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## joseaf (Nov 13, 2008)

I cycle 4 times between 6am when the lights turn on and 9PM.  My lights turn off at midnight.  My plant are doing well.


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## stonegroove (Nov 22, 2008)

my 6 plants are only an inch tall they've just germinated and are in 4"x4" rockwool, how often should i flood my tray?
 i'm using canna aqua vega at 1/4 dilution, they are about 3.5 feet below 1 600w MH and the temp is about 80-85F (high i know but i've an air cooled reflector on its way)


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