There are many ways to set a flood table up properly,for instance i use a 3/4 inch hose from the pump to the table,i install the inlet tube one one side of the table in the well area.
The drain/return hose i drill a hole in the oposite end of the table & use a 1/2 inch hose for the return line,the drain assemble is in the well area as well,all tables are not the same so set up is different in many.
The main goal for set up is to have water comming into the table faster than it drains out to acquire desired flood height,some people use larger pumps that push more volume faster than the drian works on gravity feed but i was taught by my mentor that is not the best method.
Larger pumps create more heat to warm up the water,smaller pumps run longer & it takes nearly the entire 15 minute flood time to reach optimun flood but its still a better method in theory,the smaller pump obviously pumps less water & the fact that it takes the entire 15 minute flood cycle to reach optimum flood level means the pump housing is assured to be submerged under water,protecting from overheating & burning out the pump,also the smaller pumps dont get nowhere near as hot.
In the main grow we use 50 gallon plastic barrels,holes are dug,rock salt is in the bottom of the hole to salt the soil making tree root growth impossible,the barrels are put in the holes leaving 6 inches of barrel above floor level to keep contaimanents out,the holes are backfilled with sand & rock salt to within a foot from the floor & new concrete poured around the barrel sides in a sloping angle to also help keep contaimenets out.
A sump pump is put in the bottom of each barrel for dumping the waste water & connected to pvc plumbing lines,all connections in the lines are done with rubber clamp connectors known as "oateys" vs glue & plastic connectors making drain lines flexible,the lines comming from the sump pump are connected directly to spickets outside the bldg where we pump old nutrient water to the lawn of the bldg,we used to pump directly into the waste/grey water lines of the bldg but we changed it to recycle the water & nutes instead,the bldg we use is a shithole but the lawns kick ass
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This makes draining the barrels easy as pie,we also added fresh water lines that come within 3 ft of the barrel,then a washing machine hose hangs from the plumbing into the barrell,all barels have lids that clamp on & have a slot cut out so we can remove the lids & get around the plumbing lines,changing all the
drums & refilling takes less than an hour.
This rez system is for the 4 ft x 8 ft tables we flower in.
The pumps we use for the big tables are one size up from what we use on the 2 ft x 4 ft veg tables with the 22 gallon rez,i think the rating is for a 40 gallon rez,the larger pump hose vs smaller drain hose is what regulates voulme in the table.
The FOX FARM nutrients your using are one of the worst nutes on the market right behind ADVANCED NUTRIENTS & the latter being the absolute worst,fox farms nutes are extremely over priced,thier 3 part grow system is lacking in much needed micro nutrients requiring the use of expensive additives,plus fox farm nutes leave the rez a complete mess,they are prone to turning into a scum in systems that are constantly airaited through mass feedings like mine or from air stones,i refuse to use them.
I use general hydroponic 3 part system,aside from dyna gro nutes its the most complete 3 part system on the market,its also much cheaper than other brands,the mixture is nearly ph perfect so you dont use much ph control liquids & the nutes leave the rez free of scum,in late flower i use a bloom enhncer from botanicare called hydroplex,i chose this enhancer over others because it has micronutes as well as the increased p&k values,i reduce the amount of the 3 main gh nutes to make up for the addition of the hydroplex,once you find the max ppm of the strain your growing its best not to go past the max by adding enhancers without making room for them.
Do not follow the fox farms feed chart then flush,when you flush the act of drowning the plant puts the plant in a mild stress,its better to cautiously feed the plants every 2 weeks instead of the constant feeding,no nute burn,no bad soil,no stressed plants from nutr burn & drowning them translates into bigger buds,i grew in soil over 20 years before switching to hydro.
Also flushing & not feeding anymore 2 weeks prior to harvest is an unneeded & assanine pratice,created by nutrient manufacturers who told growers to overfeed the plants to start with,the act of flushing does nothing to improve taste,looks,smell,resin build up ect,its a wives tale with no science behind it & should not be done,unless the grower over fertilized & tainted the soil & thats the only real reason to do something that stresses the plant.
No need to buy expensive hydroponic nutrients for soil,most any off the shelf powder fertilizer will work just as well ,as long as it contains a full range of micro nutes,peters brand,jacks classic,vigaro & even miracle grow will work great,just be sure to read directions then mix the powder at 1/4 of the reccomended dose or less, then feed every 2 weeks & no more.
You can also use the nutrients from your rez when you change rez water,only then fertilize with the used nute water once weekly,this is how my soil plants are fed with great results.
