I typed up a really long reply last night but it didn't post evidently
I would just let them veg for 5 weeks and then put them in the flowering room, it'll be a pain to constantly drain to waste especially if it might flood again but you'll have a better end product. as for cloning them I would just wait to redo your set up to make sure you don't have any flooding problems or height issues, which means you'll have to buy more clones but at least you'll know that it'll work.
to use 3 tables for a perpetual grow:
1) start one table in the veg room with some clones
2) at week 2 top them, this will make them split and produce up to 4 colas and it gives you a cutting for new clones
3) veg the table for 2 more weeks while the clones are rooting
4) at the one month mark, move the table into the flowering room and put the clones in the next table in the veg room.
5) repeat steps 2 and 3 for the second table
6) at the second month use your second round of clones to fill up your third table. at this point you'll have 2 tables in your flowering room, the first one will be one month ahead of the other.
7) repeat steps 2 and 3 for the third table
by the time you are going to move the 3rd table into the flowering room the first table should be ready for harvest if you have an 8 week strain. just harvest them. clean your table and flush out your medium then plant the new clones in it and start it in the veg room again.
with this set up you will constantly have a perpetual garden that you can harvest every month. I would pick the table with the least amount of holes for plants and start that one first. you will be cloning based off of how many tops you can get which you'll be limited by the amount of holes in one of your tables eventually so might as well start it off that way. seems to me you said one table only held 11 plants? then you'll only need 11 clones. harvesting 11 plants once a month will give you plenty of bud I'd say about a pound and a half a month.
my set up does the same thing but I designed my own NFT/fog tables (I call it the nifty fogger) using vinyl fence posts and a bunch of connectors. I leave my lights (I use 6 led lights over each table) where they are and move the tables around. as I remove a table from the flowering room I put a new one in from the veg room and replant. this keeps me under the "federally mandated" 99 plants, I'll have 60 mature and 30 immature at any one time so I know that I at least have a fighting chance not to get put in jail. I have permission to grow from a dispensary though, I'm not sure where you are or your rules but these are just the guidelines I follow to play it safe and still harvest about 4 pounds a month
I went with the Nutrient Film Technique over any other hydroponic type because it's the only technique that allows the roots to get nutrients and oxygen at the same time all the time. ebb and flow will suffocate them while they're feeding then it will starve them while they're breathing. don't get me wrong, ebb/flow has worked marvelously for lot's of people I'm just nit picky. I also have a sonic fogger (google nutramist) supplying fog and oxygen through the tubes. it ensures that all the roots get an even amount of nutes and it also pumps fresh oxygen to them (roots like oxygen, plants like co2)
I use LED's mainly cuz I'm a techie nerd but also because they are more efficient, don't produce a bunch of heat (won't burn my plants even if I smoosh it against them) and have a light spectrum that was designed for growth. HPS and MetalHalide are great lights as proven for the last 40 some years but I'm not even 40 years old and I definitely wouldn't watch a tv from 40 years ago.
Use co2. have you ever heard of the 5 limiting factors? theory goes is that if one of the aspects of growing a plant is limited then no matter how much of the other factors you provide, the growth will be limited by the smallest factor. it's like a body builder working out 12 hours a day but never taking protein or multivitamins.
the limiting factors are:
air (temperature/humidity),
water (ppm/temperature)
light (intensity/spectrum/length)
co2
nutrients (quality/quantity)
co2 is often overlooked because people think that it's just an extra like frosting on a cake. plants use co2 for photosynthesis. without co2 plants can only use so much light, if they can only use so much light then they will only use so much nutrients and the process goes on. so to maximize growth (which is what we all want) you have to have an "equal" amount of each limiting factor. works well in theory but to actually apply it correctly you would need tons of lab equipment to dial it all in.
air (temps: 75-85 with co2/45%-55%RH)
water (use your RO/ 65-70 degree water)
light (your set up is good)
co2 (1200 ppm is good 1500 ppm is expensive)
nutrients (I have my preferences but just follow the manufacturers instructions)
it sounds like your growing in your room (I think) but you should make sure to add filters to your intakes into your tent. never let animals in there and never smoke in there. smoke clogs the plants "pores" and animal hair gets stuck all over the buds tastes like crap when you smoke it
. also go get a "kyvex" suit from home depot. you slip it on over your clothes before you enter your grow space and you never have to worry about bad bugs following you in.
I also have a grobot set up. it allows me to automate everything. (once your making 4 pounds a month it gets time consuming) I just have to make sure I'm there every 2 weeks to harvest and move a table or to take clones. I can even see my grow rooms from the security cameras through my phone. I can adjust all my nutes or my light cycles from my phone no matter where I am. ( I'm still trying to design a reliable foiliar feeding system that's automated like at a grocery store, but the thought of intentionally spraying water all over my grow rooms makes me nervous
)
I think I started rambling and don't know if I answered any of your questions. I'm not here to float my own boat. I'm just telling you stuff that's useful or stuff that I do to make things easier or better for myself. ask ten people for advice and you'll get 11 different opinions but don't be hesitant to ask if you have any questions and hope your plants are looking good despite the set backs. post some pics if you have them (or want too)
