Hydrofarm Megagarden Flood Height

atomicData

Well-Known Member
Hi, All,

I am just getting back into growing after a bit of an hiatus and I decided I want to get into hydroponics. I decided to get into flood and drain, because I really like the simplicity and flexibility of this style of growing. I can try different types of media as well as convert the table to top-feed if I wish.

The problem is that right now I have only a 2' x 2' grow tent to work with. So far I have been able to do quite a bit with this four square feet and am really enjoying it, cramped working conditions aside. The only flood and drain setup I could find to fit in my tent is the Megagarden by Hydrofarm. I have heard good things about it and so far I really love the unit. There are only a couple things I would change about it, really. The biggest drawback I find to using it is that the flood tray isn't very deep--only 5".

Currently I have several clones in there, SOG style, in the pots supplied (which are 5" x 5" x 7" tall), in the clay pellets that also came with the kit. I am concerned that this tray doesn't flood as high up the pots as it perhaps should. With the drain set as high as it can go, it floods to about 3.5" deep, which is half-way up the pots. If I were using a more fibrous media like coco or rockwool, I am sure that the nutrient solution would wick its way all the way up to the top, but clay pellets don't wick water nearly as well as they do.

It occurs to me that these pots and this media were supplied with this kit and as such it should all be designed to work properly together, I have even seen people grow really tall plants in these units on Youtube, but I want to see what my Rollitup peers have to say on the matter.

Thanks for your input!

If you want some pics, I can do that too.
 

70's natureboy

Well-Known Member
3.5 inches is fine. I plant my clones as deep as possible so when it grows the stalk will have a few inches of rocks to support it.
 

atomicData

Well-Known Member
3.5 inches is fine. I plant my clones as deep as possible so when it grows the stalk will have a few inches of rocks to support it.
Thanks, @70's natureboy! I have been agonizing over this for days. It just didn't make sense to me to have over half of the media not being flooded, ya know? I planted my clones nice and deep too.

Can't wait to see how this turns out. I've been wanting to try SOG style for so long!
 
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