For All Cap Ebb and Grow Users

mrduke

Well-Known Member
thanks kitty where did you get 3.5g pots and why, I veg 2-4 weeks and my pots are full of roots but not overly full, not like a totally packed bucket, just full. do you fill your res. with all 55g?
 

researchkitty

Well-Known Member
I veg in 1 gallon buckets. 3.5 gallon buckets are avilable at any hydro store anywhere in north america - extremely common. Or, usplastics.com for about $5 each delivered and they come in red or black.
 

researchkitty

Well-Known Member
did you adapt them for the ebb&gro or do you run a different system
Ebb & Gro means buckets.

Ebb & Flow means tray tables (which you could have buckets in, or rockwool, or a flat tray of hydroton, whatever, but its tray based).

So I guess 'technically' I didnt adapt anything from anything. My 1 gallon veg buckets are just double 1 gallon buckets on a separate res & controller. I wish I went with a tray instead and the flimsy black square pots, and I'll be upgrading to that eventually. Makes it much easier to manage so many plants in a smaller area unlike the buckets. They get transplanted when they are ready to flower into the 3.5 gallon buckets -- just fill em with water, gently soak the roots into the hydroton/water in the bucket and thats it! They will look a little weak for a day or two but that's it and the transplant shock is over and back to full health and growing again.

This is just how I do it, I dont know if theres a better way or not, if so someone will surely chime in........

Good luck m8
 

shnkrmn

Well-Known Member
I don't use my ebb n gro anymore, but I am using the buckets in a flood table for my mothers. I just couldn't stand the tubing everywhere. I'm thinking of adapting the controller and res to flood a single very large tray filled with the ebb n gro buckets.


Sorry, I fell away from the true faith. It was the siren song of the turbo garden. ;)
 

mrduke

Well-Known Member
any body here running coco in there buckets if so what grade and brand? if you have any pointers thats bueno too
 
Hi guys, I also want to know how effective is an ebb flow system compared with other growing systems like NFT... Is it really advisable to use ebb in growing cannabis? Any thoughts will be appreciated. Thanks :)
 

researchkitty

Well-Known Member
Sorry if this question has been asked before as I have only read up to page 72.
Couldn't you just use 8 Inch Pot W/Rim in your CAP buckets, so you don't have to use as much hydroton? That much hydroton seems like overkill.

http://www.plantlightinghydroponics.com/inch-pot-wrim-mesh-sides-and-bottom-p-1591.html
You can *not* use them. If you do, the roots will grow outside of the net pot, and into the empty air with no water solution. The roots will die within a half of an hour of being in open air and your plant will end up not growing much weed at all and you'll have a terrible harvest. Hydroton is the way to go, and it isnt overkill. Even the extra hydroton that doesnt "touch roots" still allows the oxygenated water to evaporate keeping a moving flow of humid air to the roots in other areas.

Net pots would be more designed for a full bucket but with airstones bubbling in the filled bucket 24/7.
 

Bobby Brown

Well-Known Member
You can *not* use them. If you do, the roots will grow outside of the net pot, and into the empty air with no water solution.
I have read that the CAP buckets are left with about an inch of water after draining, wouldn't that be enough to keep the roots from drying out in between fills? I was under the impression that more oxygen to the roots was beneficial. Do roots only get oxygen through water?
 

GreenThumbSucker

Well-Known Member
I have read that the CAP buckets are left with about an inch of water after draining, wouldn't that be enough to keep the roots from drying out in between fills? I was under the impression that more oxygen to the roots was beneficial. Do roots only get oxygen through water?
Netpots only hang down 3 or 4 inches. That leaves about 8 inches of airspace between the bottom of the netpot and the bottom of the bucket.
 

ears

Well-Known Member
let me start by asking you to overlook my spelling, thanks.
here is a run down on ebb and grow... if you remove the the inside bucket and use net pots your roots will die! just like kitty said, but with that you can run air stones in the bottom. again advice from kitty is on the money. but the air stones should only be run with system in a flood cycle. if you run with that one inch of water you will kill the roots in the bucket, worm the water, change ph, or even coat your roots with nuttz at the same time as drying the nuttz on the roots. as far as hydroton it is garbage. cocco is good, but the stuff i have grown with is silica rock.. hands down the best medium i have ever used. my advice is dont rreivent the wheel
.
 

shnkrmn

Well-Known Member
Well, this guy runs a ebb and grow with netpot lids and has massive white roots hanging down. He floods 4 times a day. AND he uses those STG inserts. Impressive harvests too. I don't know if he posts in this thread, I know he's been in ResearchKitty's thread, so I'm surprised she hasn't checked his grow out.

https://www.rollitup.org/grow-journals/353200-villans-5-300-watt-3-a.html

Anyway, your roots won't 'just die'. Coupdevillian's thread proves it.
 

JuzzSmOkeIt

Member
First of all, this is the best damn thread on ebb and grow out there, thank you all. My question is about trimming roots. I am running 30 buckets and everything is looking great, in fact too great. My root mass has become so dense that they are starting to climb UP the sides of my inner buckets and are so packed between the two buckets that I am afraid it will constrict the flow of water and nutes to my inner buckets. I veg'd a little longer than I planned ( some 4 some 5) and I am in my first week of 12/12. I still have months to go and am wondering if anybody else out there has had similar issues. I have heard about root prunning but is it really going to help or just make them grow back even worse. So far they have not worked there way down the fill lines, just packed tight under inner bucket. Please, any advice would be great. Will post better pic of roots soon.
 

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mrduke

Well-Known Member
a good trick is to boost the inner bucket up on some pieces of pvc pipe, I'd say you need about 2 inch long pieces. Also ita good ideal to left the whole bucket set up about 1 1/2" to keep the minimum amount of standing water in your buckets. I set them on a 1 foot long piece of 2x6 and end up with just about 1/2" of water. hope it helps bro. BTW your garden looks sweet
 

JuzzSmOkeIt

Member
First of all, thank you. I already have my buckets raised about an inch and a half which definenitly helps on the drainage, your right. The problem is that my roots are already packed in between the buckets. I have heard of using a piece of PVC like u said but if I do that now, the PVC will crush what roots are there. I don't, or at least I hope, that this root problem doesn't get so dense and packed that it actually blocks the water from going into my inner buckets. Do your roots try to climb up the sides too?
 
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