Best lights, lighting for a 4x4?

Feisty1UR

Well-Known Member
Can anyone link me to a good DIY ebb n flow system? Need something for a 4x4, can't find much on google. Everyone has different setups
 

HydroRed

Well-Known Member
Flood and drain DIY

Parts list:
(2) 27x20x6 mixing trays from Home Depot or Lowes @ $5.98 ea.
(2) 185 GPH submersible pumps @ $14 ea @ hydro store or online
(2) 1/2" fill /3/4" drain Bulkheads Approx $15 for everything from hydro store or online
8' of 3/4" black tubing @ .49 per ft from hydro store
8' of 1/2" black tubing @ .31 per ft from hydro store
27 gallon tote (with lid) for reservoir @ $7.79 from Home Depot
(2) large airstones @ $2.39 from Walmart
25' of 1/4" tubing @ $2.29 from Walmart
(1) dual diaphram air pump @ $9 from Walmart
(?) However many netpots you plan to use or how many plants you will be doing.
(1) bag of hydroton medium @ $24 for 50L bag from hydro store which is good for many grows.


Build a makeshift table big enough to support both mixing trays.
You can build a wooden frame for the table then lay plywood or whatever works for making a table for the trays that the 27 gal res can sit underneath.
You can even build the table from milk crates and a sheet of 5/8" plywood. Whatever you need to do to make it work....this is DIY.

This is how mine is going to be to give you an idea of how it will be set up with 10 plants (5) 6" net pots in each tray)

Untitled.jpg

Here is a video to help you understand how to set up your flood & drain table.
 

Feisty1UR

Well-Known Member
Flood and drain DIY

Parts list:
(2) 27x20x6 mixing trays from Home Depot or Lowes @ $5.98 ea.
(2) 185 GPH submersible pumps @ $14 ea @ hydro store or online
(2) 1/2" fill /3/4" drain Bulkheads Approx $15 for everything from hydro store or online
8' of 3/4" black tubing @ .49 per ft from hydro store
8' of 1/2" black tubing @ .31 per ft from hydro store
27 gallon tote (with lid) for reservoir @ $7.79 from Home Depot
(2) large airstones @ $2.39 from Walmart
25' of 1/4" tubing @ $2.29 from Walmart
(1) dual diaphram air pump @ $9 from Walmart
(?) However many netpots you plan to use or how many plants you will be doing.
(1) bag of hydroton medium @ $24 for 50L bag from hydro store which is good for many grows.


Build a makeshift table big enough to support both mixing trays.
You can build a wooden frame for the table then lay plywood or whatever works for making a table for the trays that the 27 gal res can sit underneath.
You can even build the table from milk crates and a sheet of 5/8" plywood. Whatever you need to do to make it work....this is DIY.

This is how mine is going to be to give you an idea of how it will be set up with 10 plants (5) 6" net pots in each tray)

View attachment 3721098

Here is a video to help you understand how to set up your flood & drain table.
This looks too easy lol, can you get a 4x4 mixing tray? would I be better off using 4 1x2 trays? I see alot of effort went into making this guide! :mrgreen: cheers :bigjoint:
 
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HydroRed

Well-Known Member
This looks too easy lol, can you get a 4x4 mixing tray? would I be better off using 4 1x2 trays? I see alot of effort went into making this guide! :mrgreen: cheers :bigjoint:
They carry a larger mixing tray, but its only about 25% bigger than the ones I got and about 2-3" deeper which would do you no good.
You can buy actual flood and drain tables in 2x2-2x4-4x4-4x8 etc, but they are pricey $$$$$.
More trays = more money spent on flood & drain bulkheads,tubing,pumps and the trays themselves.
I'd recommend a store bought 4x4 tray if you are worried about exacting dimensions and sizes.
I built what would work best for me and was cheapest and easiest to build. I just got done building my flood trays and getting the pumps/tubing hooked up and running on 27 gal res just to test for any leaks.
I'm now in the process of building the table it will all sit on right now. I just bought the lumber so I'll post some pics when I get it finished.
With this build you can do anywhere from 2 larger plants or 36 small plants....just depends on how you pot them and arrange them in the flood trays and what size net pots you use. I'm using 6" netpots so I'll only have room for 10 smaller plants. Im only allowed 12 legally so this works perfect for me...10 in flower and 2 mommas. 2 plants to take clones from any time I like in a seperate veg room with a cloner and I'm 100% self sufficient. Easy peasy.
You can do 36 in a 4x4, but I wouldnt expect an oz off of each like you had mentioned in a previous reply.
If you used 3" net pots I'm confident you could fit 18 into one of the trays I have...x2 trays is 36 small plants for a sea of green hydroponic flood and drain grow.
 

HydroRed

Well-Known Member
i bought a 4'x6' f n d table,, pretty expensive and takes 70 gallons to flood.. so i bought 4inch pvc pipes, each 1 cut to fit my space, uses half the water to fill n works great as a f n d set up cheap.. so buy some 4inch pvc, cut holes in top to fit 3inch net pots,,, see my set up on page 1 of my thred,,easy to build,...

https://www.rollitup.org/t/chemist77-315-watt-cdl-grow.880895/page-1
yikes....70 gal. Big flood tables require even bigger reservoirs lol
 

HydroRed

Well-Known Member
Can anyone link me to a good DIY ebb n flow system? Need something for a 4x4, can't find much on google. Everyone has different setups
I have under $70 in this entire build since I had plywood/building supplies/27 gal reservoir & res drain kit already.
I would say with certainty that this could be built from scratch without having any of the supplies for $100 or less.
How deep are you flooding? 40gal rez and a 4x4 tray will run you around $250 and cheaper if you can find one used.
It only takes me about 9 gallons to flood my tables I just built. Im using a 27 gal res but will only have about 20 in it.
I literally just finished building it about 30 min ago. Just gotta run the plumbing and its ready for my next run. I'd say I flood it about 3.5-4" in a 6" tray.
The trays I used are 7 gal & I use about 4.5 gal in each tray.
I added a home made reservoir drain kit for easy draining when its time also.
1.jpg 2.jpg 3.jpg 4.jpg 7.jpg 5.jpg 6.jpg
 

Feisty1UR

Well-Known Member
I have under $70 in this entire build since I had plywood/building supplies/27 gal reservoir & res drain kit already.
I would say with certainty that this could be built from scratch without having any of the supplies for $100 or less.

It only takes me about 9 gallons to flood my tables I just built. Im using a 27 gal res but will only have about 20 in it.
I literally just finished building it about 30 min ago. Just gotta run the plumbing and its ready for my next run. I'd say I flood it about 3.5-4" in a 6" tray.
The trays I used are 7 gal & I use about 4.5 gal in each tray.
I added a home made reservoir drain kit for easy draining when its time also.
View attachment 3721521 View attachment 3721522 View attachment 3721524 View attachment 3721528 View attachment 3721529 View attachment 3721530 View attachment 3721531
Definelty copying your setup, my only issue is the tray/res size

There's no way I can fit a 4x4 tray in a 4x4 tent, maybe 3.9x3.9? I'll need to do some customising + I searched something earlier, someone managed to fit 47 small plants into their ebb n flow system in a 4x4. Would that be detrimental to yield? And is it even possible??
 

DropWalk

Active Member
Definelty copying your setup, my only issue is the tray/res size

There's no way I can fit a 4x4 tray in a 4x4 tent, maybe 3.9x3.9? I'll need to do some customising + I searched something earlier, someone managed to fit 47 small plants into their ebb n flow system in a 4x4. Would that be detrimental to yield? And is it even possible??
Yes most of the time people run 5x5 with a 4x4 tray. Active aqua has a new table that the outside of the table is 4x4 instead in the inner being 4x4 so it will fit in your tent. Msrp is 80 so pretty good back for the buck!
 

HydroRed

Well-Known Member
Definelty copying your setup, my only issue is the tray/res size

There's no way I can fit a 4x4 tray in a 4x4 tent, maybe 3.9x3.9? I'll need to do some customising + I searched something earlier, someone managed to fit 47 small plants into their ebb n flow system in a 4x4. Would that be detrimental to yield? And is it even possible??
The setup I built is 44"x34" outside diameter and will fit perfect in a 4x4 tent. Its 24" off the ground so plenty of headroom in a 7' tall tent. If needed, you could always scale it down 2" on width and length since I actually built the table bigger than i really needed for the flood trays.
 

HydroRed

Well-Known Member
Definelty copying your setup, my only issue is the tray/res size

There's no way I can fit a 4x4 tray in a 4x4 tent, maybe 3.9x3.9? I'll need to do some customising + I searched something earlier, someone managed to fit 47 small plants into their ebb n flow system in a 4x4. Would that be detrimental to yield? And is it even possible??
And what was their yield? What light did they use? What was the strain. Plant count isnt the only factor in yield.
I mean hell, if that were the case then toss 85 of em in there......right? lol
 

Indefinately

Well-Known Member
I definitely would use a 1000 watt HPS in a cool tube.

Flood and Drain is the way to go for sure.

If your going to use coco, I find it best to put a layer of Rockwool Floc at the bottom of each pot to stop the coco spilling out onto my tray/reservoir.

If you are groin SOG ( no veg - flower straight from clone ). You will be hitting half a Zip per plant easy. After a few grows and dependent on the strain, you may be able to get it up to 1.25 zips per plant.

Spend the next few days Reading Al B Fucts thread. You won't get better information anywhere else on Sea of Green.

https://www.rollitup.org/t/get-a-harvest-every-2-weeks.6592/

Indefinately
"Let there be Green in 2016"
 

Indefinately

Well-Known Member
Extracted From Al B Fuct - My Aussie Grow Bible

Sea of Green

A better solution to poor density on lower buds is to simply not grow any lower buds. This is one of the problems that the Sea of Green method solves.

The SoG technique produces essentially just the very top cola and the few buds below it on the mainstem that you would find in the top couple of feet of an unpruned plant.

A couple of things need to be done to produce the SoG 'lollipop' style plant. In SoG, clones are put into 12/12 with no veg time post setting root, aside from time they spend in the clone box under fluoros, where no appreciable growth occurs. All branching on the lower 1/3 of the plant is removed; pruning is done in wk 1 and again in wk 3. Any branch that's more than about an inch long gets nipped off. This forces the plant to grow only the big nugs that are attached directly to the mainstem- and they will be larger and denser on average than unpruned plants- the plant will put resources into growing the top that would normally have gone into the fluffy, wispy lower buds. The top buds are denser than any other on the plant and produce the least amount of bud leaf per bud mass. This makes them a lot easier and faster to manicure come harvest time.

The SoG method depends on a larger number of smaller plants. Removing the lower branching of course reduces the per-plant yield. However, you can grow as many as 4 SoG plants per sq ft, where unpruned plants may need at least a couple sq ft just for each plant. A lot of floorspace is consumed by thin lower branches which are shaded by upper foliage, naturally limiting what they can produce. SoG plants yield between 0.5-1.5oz per plant depending on strain and grow room conditions. These poorly producing lower branches will also have a lot of leaf, which restricts air circulation around the plants. SoG lollipops can really be packed in, making best use of available lighted space. Without branches, SoG plants don't crowd each other, even at 4 per sf.

The net result with SoG is you are harvesting mainly top cola buds. SoG grows produce a much higher average bud size and density compared to styles which permit growth of the lower branches.

The downside to SoG is the high plant numbers. If you have severe penalties in your area for large plant counts or have medical grow permission for only a few plants, you may not want to do SoG. It may be better to do the 'mainstem lopped' style, which requires that the plants be vegged for a few weeks after the mainstem is clipped so that the branches will develop large enough to make some decent buddage. If you must veg plants you intend to flower later on and still want a perpetual harvest arrangement, you need a separate grow room with 18+h/day light to do your vegging.

SoG allows you to grow the best quality and highest yield per amount of lighted floorspace of all methods- and reduces work at harvest time, to boot.

Extracted From Al B Fuct - My Aussie Grow Bible
 
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