Flood and Drain Questions

[aeviaanah]

I am currently thinking of using my 4'x4' flood table..I want to set up full blown hydro for next grow as I have lots of plants in small party cups (with soil). Would it be ok to transplant a party cups worth of soil in a gallon net pot of hydroton? I'm tired of watering...I could also bottom feed but this leads to high humidity.

Does anyone flood and drain with soil?

 

[aeviaanah]

Also, what would be a good reservoir size for a 4' x 4' flood table...with about 9-12 plants. I dont want to have to top reservoir off every day. I appreciate the help...

 

[Robert Paulson]

i'd get a 42 gallon rez or better. the tray alone will hold 16 gal or better depending on how tall your sides are. i've never heard of anyonne using soil in a flood and drain system. it would be kind of pointless because you only water every three days or so anyway, plus with soil you do not want to feed with nutes every time you water.

 

[tommyo3000]

I am currently thinking of using my 4'x4' flood table..I want to set up full blown hydro for next grow as I have lots of plants in small party cups (with soil). Would it be ok to transplant a party cups worth of soil in a gallon net pot of hydroton? I'm tired of watering...I could also bottom feed but this leads to high humidity.

Does anyone flood and drain with soil?

I have transplanted from soil into hydroton.. just shake off the dirt as much as you can and you will be fine.

tommy

 

[aeviaanah]

i'd get a 42 gallon rez or better. the tray alone will hold 16 gal or better depending on how tall your sides are. i've never heard of anyonne using soil in a flood and drain system. it would be kind of pointless because you only water every three days or so anyway, plus with soil you do not want to feed with nutes every time you water.

yes i meant, 16oz of soil transplanted into a hydro media. im getting a slow drainage....is there a way around this?

I have transplanted from soil into hydroton.. just shake off the dirt as much as you can and you will be fine.
thanks bro, this is what i wanted to hear.
tommy

 

[Clown Baby]

If you're going to do this, be sure to keep an eye on your pumps for the first couple weeks.
That dirt could get out and clog it up.

 

[tommyo3000]

I would shake off as much dirt as possible without disturbing the roots.. But don't go crazy.. I vegged in dirt b4 in like 6" round pots then put them into 3.5 gallons of hydroton in and abb and gro bucket system. we didn't even shake off the dirt bcuz they were root bound (hard to shake it out).

 

[panhead]

Depending on the gpm of the pump being used you can use res's from 40 gal to 60 gal for 4x4 f&d tables,i run 4x8 tables mainly but i still have 2 4x4's,i use 42 gal res's on mine.

As allready correctly pointed out by others you can go from soil to hydro,ive done it several times where ive bought a bunch of clones in soil,i take the soil plants and put them in a small 25 gallon dwc system for a few days before putting them in a table,the dwc system allows for the soil to loosen and drop from the root mass gently and leaves the roots undamaged and ready for a flood and drain .

 

[aeviaanah]

I ended up going with a 4 gallon reservoir, should be plenty before i have to top off again. Im thinking of having a separate 15 gal tank which will connect to the 45 gal reservoir ( which sits under the flood table). being the reservoir is hard to get to im thinking the 15 gallon tank will be used to top off, add nutrients, check ph and possibly dechlorinate the water (if i add a valve to the connection line). the tank will have to sit the same elevation as the reservoir. in the model, the tank is shown higher in elevation than the 45 gal reservoir, it wont be this way.

im thinking the drain end from flood table could also route to the 15 gallon and from there it would auto level with the reservoir which will hold the supply pump. the

how do you set up your flood table for checking ph and stuff? any clever ideas for when main reservoir is unaccessable?

Here is a design of the new grow room...hydro table is set up already, just testing it in the garage for leaks and fine tuning exactly how im going to run it....getting ready to purchase the 1000 watt light which will replace 2- 400's. This 4 x 4 table will hold 16 plants total. Im thinking of doing a organic synthetic hybrid feeding program...something like start off with synthetics and slowly transition to organics before the flush, what you think? i got the co2 getting filled also!

 

[tommyo3000]

looks like a good setup.. I would just pick one nutrient program and stick with it for the entire grow.

 

[panhead]

Tommy gave you sound advice,plants do not take well to such a hardcore nutrient switch as you propose.

If you go organic in a flood and drain your cutting yourself off from using chemicals that are beneficial in your res,such as H202 oxidizer which helps keep the rez disease & mold free.

An organic rez sounds like a breeding ground for disease and alot more work than needed.

What have you decided on using for a medium and have you thought of using no grow medium at all ?

 

[aeviaanah]

looks like a good setup.. I would just pick one nutrient program and stick with it for the entire grow.

ok good advice...thanks i wont mix em up. i want that organic taste perhaps i just need to flush longer.

Tommy gave you sound advice,plants do not take well to such a hardcore nutrient switch as you propose.

If you go organic in a flood and drain your cutting yourself off from using chemicals that are beneficial in your res,such as H202 oxidizer which helps keep the rez disease & mold free.

An organic rez sounds like a breeding ground for disease and alot more work than needed.

What have you decided on using for a medium and have you thought of using no grow medium at all ?

yea good point. i went with hydroton....i think i bought 6" square pots they seem to be about a gallon. i will also surround the base of the pots with hydroton, this should give me a little more room for roots so spread out right? i decided against coco as ive used it in the past, i had great results but that was a drain to waste. i know of cocos potential to have salt buildup, may not be a good idea in a recirculating system.

has anyone came across a dual chambered reservoir...one to hold bulk of the water and the other for topping off, checking ph etc? im curious of a good way to set this up. it would be nice to have a removable 5 gallon that disconnects and reattaches. this way i wont spill any water in the grow room.

Here is the first attempt i did at hydro, this was a DWC setup. Deep purple....

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[tommyo3000]

you don't need to put hydroton in your table - just the pots.

... i'm marinating on the dual rez system...

 

[aeviaanah]

looks like a good setup.. I would just pick one nutrient program and stick with it for the entire grow.

Tommy gave you sound advice,plants do not take well to such a hardcore nutrient switch as you propose.

If you go organic in a flood and drain your cutting yourself off from using chemicals that are beneficial in your res,such as H202 oxidizer which helps keep the rez disease & mold free.

An organic rez sounds like a breeding ground for disease and alot more work than needed.

What have you decided on using for a medium and have you thought of using no grow medium at all ?

you don't need to put hydroton in your table - just the pots.

... i'm marinating on the dual rez system...

wont roots come out of the bottom? people that do this are just wasting hydroton eh? why do people do this?

 

[tommyo3000]

I've not seen anyone pack hydroton around their pots in their tables... I, for one, fill teh entire table up with square pots.. there is one square unoccupied and that's where the drain and intake tube are... Roots come out the bottom of my containers' holes a bit, but they are air-pruned generally..

I love love love my ebb and flow table... I set up this latest rez over a week ago.. the air pump fell in and died forever ago.. That shit has 3 foot plants in 6" containers... WAYYY overdo to go in my big bucket system...

anyway.. good luck!

tommy

 

[tommyo3000]

ps I like that big plant in the pics

 

[panhead]

Ive seen tables filled to the rim with hydroton and other mediums like flytocel and perlite,the reason people do this is for root mass,having roots exposed to light prunes the roots.

The problem with a table full of medium is that it ad's drastically to humidity levels,not to mention being the main culprit of powdery mildew which will topple even the best flood table.

Ive gave up on using any medium at all,i cover all my tables with 5ml panda plastic and cut precise holes in the cover to set the net pots in,this leaves the top of the net pot exposed to the light,to stop the light penetrating the top of the net pot i cut squares out of the panda and cover the net pot top,i also use an extension on the flood port and set the table at dead level so the gutter channels at the bottom retain water.

Ya get massive root mass without using any medium at all,ya just have to compensate for the lack of medium with increased flood times,if you can keep everything free of light no medium is needed.

 

[aeviaanah]

I've not seen anyone pack hydroton around their pots in their tables... I, for one, fill teh entire table up with square pots.. there is one square unoccupied and that's where the drain and intake tube are... Roots come out the bottom of my containers' holes a bit, but they are air-pruned generally..

I love love love my ebb and flow table... I set up this latest rez over a week ago.. the air pump fell in and died forever ago.. That shit has 3 foot plants in 6" containers... WAYYY overdo to go in my big bucket system...

anyway.. good luck!

tommy

hmm so i should put more plants in there eh? i figured this would leave enough room in between them. do you veg long? can you post a picture of what your setup looks like at the end and beginning of flower? im curious what you can get away with....

Ive seen tables filled to the rim with hydroton and other mediums like flytocel and perlite,the reason people do this is for root mass,having roots exposed to light prunes the roots.

The problem with a table full of medium is that it ad's drastically to humidity levels,not to mention being the main culprit of powdery mildew which will topple even the best flood table.

Ive gave up on using any medium at all,i cover all my tables with 5ml panda plastic and cut precise holes in the cover to set the net pots in,this leaves the top of the net pot exposed to the light,to stop the light penetrating the top of the net pot i cut squares out of the panda and cover the net pot top,i also use an extension on the flood port and set the table at dead level so the gutter channels at the bottom retain water.

Ya get massive root mass without using any medium at all,ya just have to compensate for the lack of medium with increased flood times,if you can keep everything free of light no medium is needed.

hmm good idea, ill use this hydroton up a bit and i may give that a try..


has anyone thought about my reservoir issue? i know someone has a clever idea up there sleeve. also, should i go 1000 watt or 600? ive been runnin 2- 400s and i want to pack more weight per plant- less plants. thanks for the help!

 

[tommyo3000]

hmm so i should put more plants in there eh? i figured this would leave enough room in between them. do you veg long? can you post a picture of what your setup looks like at the end and beginning of flower? im curious what you can get away with....

hmm good idea, ill use this hydroton up a bit and i may give that a try..


has anyone thought about my reservoir issue?

I really only veg in the ebb and flow tables.. Then i move them to an ebb and gro bucket system..

I would imagine that you could flower a bunch of little ladies without much veg time in a sea of green type of grow..

Or you could maybe do a small handful in bigger pots and grow them up larger..


I'll post some pics this weekend of my tables..

 

[panhead]

With w 4x4 table plant height would be the deciding factor about which wattage light to use,with small to medium plants a 600 is perfect but big ladies need the 1,000,i prefer 600's ( 3 per table )but i do sog with no veg time from clone in most of my tables.